Tips to choose a used motorcycle – When a motorcycle enthusiast looking for a used bike, he has to ask a few questions. “What control? Are the kilometers real?” Etc. This article has our tips to choose a used motorcycle.
Tips to choose a used motorcycle: Restored bike and Preserved bike
Restored bike and preserved bike are different. The restored bike is like straight out from the factory. Painting is as similar as possible to the original, the chrome has been reset and all other working surface aesthetic reruns with extreme care and precision. To bring them back to its former glory, the owner then had to deal with a specific job. Each piece was disassembled, checked and possibly replaced if unusable. But always with the utmost respect of the drawings or photos of the original models.
PRESERVED bike instead brings upon it all the signs of the elapsed time. But were maintained in good working order by the owners. Some parts may have lost their original appearance. But anyone would understand that this is the natural aging process of any mechanical device. Almost always, the bikes still on the road, with travel documents kept in place and the revisions pass successfully. Preserved bikes, at least in my opinion, are fascinating precisely. Because they do not hide the difficulties they experienced in the years, indeed the highlight as if to defy time. Now, our tips to choose a used motorcycle.
CHECK THE FRAME
How to buy a used bike? So, we start with our tips to choose a used motorcycle. In the warehouse of a dealership or in the advertiser’s box, you can’t check a bike’s frame. So, you’ll have to do just a visual examination and, if possible, a short road test. The area of greatest concern is that close to the steering wheel. It must be perfect, intact, with no concavity or bulging. In the latter case the bike might have had a serious accident and restoring the area may have been only superficial. There should be no rust and paint has to be the original.
The road test is important to verify with good approximation if the frame is straight, keeping in mind that a means of aesthetically perfect. A distorted frame is dangerous or even unusable. Arrived at 30-40 mph, you have to leave for a moment the handlebars with both hands. Now, the bike, even though gas closed, must continue straight and without requiring the pilot “adjustments” or emergency body moves to the right or left to keep the direction. In case of slight heeling, once off, let’s check if the rear wheel is perfectly aligned with the swingarm (observing the adjustment sliders) and ask that you restore left and right the correct values. Then, if possible, try the bike again. If it keeps going wrong, say goodbye.
CHECK THE ENGINE
It is not always easy to “understand with your ears” the operation of an engine. Only the experts “feel” right away if something is wrong. Often they fail to diagnose mechanical problems after a few seconds of listening. You can have problems if you want to “describe a noise” on a blank page. It would take the recordings or sound movies, but we try the same.
A vehicle stopped a healthy engine must NOT:
- Produce a constant noise of “dragging” caused by the timing chain now stretched. you must check or replace it after a certain mileage.
- Produce loud noises or “ticking” from the upper area. Sometimes this noise can show a serious defect of the camshaft.
- Some smoke exits the exhaust. To control it, pass a finger inside the exhaust. The black mark left on the fingertip should be “dry” and absolutely not oily.
After these controls, with the warm engine past a tissue of all the parts that you see. The tissue should get dirty very little, but not get stained with oil. In some cases, it may happen that the owner has no intention of turning on the bike with strange excuses. In this case, say goodbye. How to buy a used bike? Our tips continue in the next post. If you have questions, contact us, please! Bye!
