Where to look for motorbikes for sale ?

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Magic_x_uk

Soldato
Joined
11 Oct 2005
Posts
5,717
Location
Derbyshire
Hi I recently passed my DAS and I am looking for a Fazer 600.

Want to spend around £2500.

I have no friends who are into bikes etc. So apart from a couple of bike shops in my town. Where else perhaps on line is good to look for bikes for sale.

I have done some checking up and I like the fazer. I think it will be a good first bike. Just dont really want to buy off of Ebay from some 'chap' and then find the bike has problems as I would not know what to look for at all etc.


Hopefully someone on here can point me in the right direction.
Thank you
 
Used from dealer perhaps, autotrader has a lot of listings from dealers as well, that you can search by distance from your postcode, would cover nearby towns as well. Can't help much with what to look for though...
 
Try biketrader and search for stuff near you... Then you have to decide wether you prefer a shop bike or go cheaper and risk cheaper private. If you go shop route go for a proper dealer and not some private shop, been stung a couple of times with sheds that appeared ok but weren't. At least dealer you'll have more come back if faults develop..

I'm really rubbish at mechanics but even so spend a good time just looking over bike.. look out for obvious problems..

worn tyres
tyres with melting on edges indication last owner bit of a hero :)
lockwired / holed sump plug indicating track use
spongy brakes could be all sorts of problems
check pad wear
warped discs, look out for pulsing brake lever when braking and lurching at low speed
check for hooked sprockets
uneven links that dont straighten
tight spots in chain,
you should not be able to pull chain from back of rear sprocket with fingers
check all bodywork and engine casings
check for play in bearings front and rear axle and headstock by rocking bike
and deffo FSH with reciepts, no exceptions.

edit: and if everything on bike is very dry and furred up / alloys corroded bike shows good sign of spending it's life being jetwashed, winter ridden and not lubed up... avoid these bikes like plague as will prolly just turn to dust and fall apart. A looked after bike can look and be mint if looked after even if ridden day in day out in winter.

prolly best off looking for stock bikes not 'boyed' up machines... will show a more sensible previous owner has had bike, you can always add these bits yourself..

don't let someone try to sell a bike for more coz it has 'aftermaket parts', usually makes no odds on value
 
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Flukester said:
If you go shop route go for a proper dealer and not some private shop, been stung a couple of times with sheds that appeared ok but weren't. At least dealer you'll have more come back if faults develop..
Click to expand...

Definitely, had the same.

lockwired / holed sump plug indicating track use - No clue
spongy brakes could be all sorts of problems - How do you test that?
warped discs, look out for pulsing brake lever when braking and lurching at low speed - How would that feel?
and deffo FSH with reciepts, no exceptions. - What's that?
Click to expand...

Can some of those be explained a bit more? As I got no idea what most of those are :o.
 
rsatd said:
Definitely, had the same.



Can some of those be explained a bit more? As I got no idea what most of those are :o.
Click to expand...

a lot of tracks require the sump plug where you drain oil to be lockwired shut to stop spillage onto track. it's prolly not gonna happen on a fazer but worth checking under bike

when you pull brake lever it should not travel to far back to bars, it should be tight. lots of things can cause it I guess, siezed up capliers that could be expensive to fix, bad brake lines on older bikes, master cylinder probs, or just bad fluid. it's deffo something the garage should sort before selling bike...
sometimes brake lever will only tighten with pumping then go soft after few miles with no use, this is also indicating a problem somewhere..

if you have warped discs you will be able to feel a slight pulsing through brake lever at low speed and possibly a lurching of bike... also makes braking less efficient, worst of all it'll prolly fail MOT and new discs cost £££££. Check for dings in the disc holders where someone might of tried to ride off with disc lock on by accident.

sorry I meant full service history, so generally every 4000 miles for interim, with most jap bikes needing expensive full services every 8k miles.. including valve clearance checks on many.


i'm abit of a cowboy / noob at bike mechs, so prolly someone can explain these better.
 
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Ah cool, thanks for clearing that up, will have a look on my one :o, though nice to know that half of that should not apply, recently had callipers, sprockets, chain, disks replaced as they were really rubbish... Still now I am interested in the rest :o.
 
Visordown, BikeChatForums, MCN, PistonHeads, BikeTrader, local paper classifieds, local dealers and the popular auction site are all good places to look.
 
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