buying used motorcycles

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronPlant

On the way back from a trip I went on this weekend I saw a very nice used late 70s, early 80s style yamaha.

You know the sort, British nock off, went for about 800 new back in the day. I've been looking for one of these for a while.

What exactly do I need to know about this bike to buy it? Do bikes have titles, and if this one doesn't have one, how do you get one? What does insurance run?

Sorry if these are dumb questions. I tried google but its turned up a few pages of "what an experence my first bike was" crap.

It's been a while since I had my bikes (11 years ago or so), and I'm no mechanic, but here's a bit of info.

(1) Motorcycles, especially ones from 20 years ago, weren't especially sophisiticated. If it's chain driven, and it actually runs, it's probably ok. Yes, there could still be lots of little things to fix (leaking cylinders, blown shocks, etc.), but if it actually seems to run ok, you're probably 90% there. Test drive it, and make sure it shifts, accelerates and brakes smoothly.

(2) If by "title" you mean DMV registration, then yes, it absolutely should have a legitimate title, and you should acquire the "pink slip" upon purchase. That's the way it is in California, at least. Without legit title, you could be tooling around on an ostensibly stolen bike...have fun explaining that to Andy Taylor when you inevitably get pulled over.

(3) Insurance is typically cheap. Wonder why? Because unlike a car, when a motorcyclist gets into an accident, it's the bike and rider that usually get creamed, and that's not the risk you're insuring against. California isn't a good gauge for the cost of premiums (it's a fortune out here), but I'd guess you can get the bare minimum collision insurance for several hundred dollars a year.

Good luck.