Selling an "advanced" bike to a beginner

crush1776

crush1776

Been Around the Block
DTT BOTM WINNER
So I sold my Sporty today: worked motor, solo seat, forward controls, no handlebar switches, etc. A couple bought it and the woman initially intended on riding it away. They both said they were competent riders and he said he was a decent wrench. Her feet barely reached the controls, and after several times of putting it in first and taking it out she decided not to. They said they were going to go get a truck and pick it up, then the guy said f-it, he'll ride it home. Without overstepping any bounds I asked him if he was sure and he said no problem. He was maybe just a bit taller than her and after riding half a block he pulled over to wait for her in the car and almost dropped it. I was genuinely scared for him for a minute, but he eventually eased on along. I called him after about 45 minutes and he had made it to In-N-Out burger and said he was more comfortable once he got the hang of it. He still had 40 minutes of LA freeway riding to go. He thanked me for checking in and we hung up. I said another silent prayer for him/ them, and I sincerely hope they stay safe, but a part of me thinks I should have been more persuasive on the truck thing. I ultimately feel that a all sales are final and adults are responsible for themselves, and I have confidence in the build, I am just genuinely concerned.

Thoughts? Comments? Criticisms?

The bike:

DSC00614.jpg
 
I agree with your concerns, but like you said there adults. At least it didn't have a suicide shift and foot clutch.
 
You are A+ seller most seller don't give a shit after cash in hand, good to know there are great people out there.

Marco
 
Kev Nemo said:
Sportys are beginner bikes. You could suggest that he switch to mids.
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80 hp and a tick over 400 lbs a beginner bike? Dunno man I disagree, an 80cc dirtbike is a beginners bike, a Honda Rebel is a beginner bike, a CB350 is a beginner bike, maybe a stock 883 with mids is a beginner bike.

For the record, I did suggest they switch to the mids, and looked through my stuff to see if I still had the old ones to no avail. It was just so sketchy watching him ride off, but maybe a touch of that was sellers remorse.
 
So he'd never been on a bike before? IDK- I learned to ride on an '06 CBR F4. Sounded like he had more of an issue with forwards if he couldn't reach the pedals. I think you did the right thing; guy that sold me by cb750 hauled ass and the carbs promptly fell off when I rode it around the neighborhood :mad:
 
As a seller, all you can do is give full disclosure. Beyond that, they are adults and are perfectly capable of making (bad) decisions for themselves.
 
DrJ said:
Impressive. How did you squeeze out that much juice from a 1200?
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Started with an 883, bumped up to 1200cc with Wiseco pistons, Buell heads, Andrews cams, S&S Super E carb, Crane electronic ignition, Bassani pipes, blueprinted internals and dyno tuning. Surprised several big twins and rice rockets stoplight to stoplight!

Thanks for the comments, I feel a bit better as I didn't get a call from the hospital or anything. It really is a well mannered and balanced bike, probably just their first time with forward controls as suggested.
 
Kev Nemo said:
So he'd never been on a bike before? IDK- I learned to ride on an '06 CBR F4. Sounded like he had more of an issue with forwards if he couldn't reach the pedals. I think you did the right thing; guy that sold me by cb750 hauled ass and the carbs promptly fell off when I rode it around the neighborhood :mad:
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Learned to ride street on a modded KZ 650. First sportbike was a '93 GSXR750. 80hp??? Yeah, beginner bi
crush1776 said:
80 hp and a tick over 400 lbs a beginner bike? Dunno man I disagree, an 80cc dirtbike is a beginners bike, a Honda Rebel is a beginner bike, a CB350 is a beginner bike, maybe a stock 883 with mids is a beginner bike.

For the record, I did suggest they switch to the mids, and looked through my stuff to see if I still had the old ones to no avail. It was just so sketchy watching him ride off, but maybe a touch of that was sellers remorse.
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Yeah, I'd say a sporty is a beginner bike. My first streetbike was a '93 GSXR 750, and I thought it was a tank. Baseline was 97hp. Later jetted with full RS3 race exhaust 115hp at the wheel.
 
You are indeed a very good seller.


I sold my first bike a 1993 highly modified Katana to a kid that I later regretted. He was a new rider, had just gotten his M-1. The Katana had a V&H power comander in it, and I turned it down to it's lowest settings. But I also showed the kid how to kick it back to full on. About a month after I sold it to him he totals the bike and lands him self in critical condition. I found out he turned the power comander up to full power that morning. :(
 
I know a guy who knows a guy whose cousin learned to ride on a turbo Hayabusa... ;D
 
I work at a ducati dealer. a couple months ago a guy bought an 1198S, said he had "extensive offroad experience" our service writer does the walk around and answers his questions which all seem normal (break ins, service intervals, tire pressure) and I roll the bike outside for him and start it up.


I wish him safe ride and walk inside, from the service door I watch for a good 5 minutes as he tries over and over to shift with his RIGHT FOOT.


seeing the trouble our writer went out and talked to him, he rode off and I havent seen him come back (which is a good thing)
 
Wasn't trying to troll. You asked for comments, thoughts and criticisms. Just saying the Sporty is hardly an "advanced" rider's bike, that's all. He did say he was a competent rider. I feel your responsibility to the buyer has been met.
 
biker_reject said:
Wasn't trying to troll. You asked for comments, thoughts and criticisms. Just saying the Sporty is hardly an "advanced" rider's bike, that's all. He did say he was a competent rider. I feel your responsibility to the buyer has been met.
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I feel you man, It's all a matter of perspective. You should have seen the chick try to ride it away initially, it was SCARY. I also put "advanced" in quotes because not all folk are created equal. I personally started on a mini bike at 5 years old and went up from there, so I have no idea what it's like being an adult learning to ride. My KDX 80 was too big for me at 7, but I survived...
 
id say you did the best you could. can't tell an adult otherwise in a situation like that.

I learned to ride on my dads bike... a VT750 shadow 750... with one pound for every CC! it was a massive bike for me, but i got along ok. Heck, i took my motorcycle test and passed on my first shot without having ridden any other motorcycle before, but then again it was on a vespa... hardly a bike at all.

A big part of it is if we are naturally inclined to being a good rider. With a background in bikes, hopping on a motorcycle was no difficulty at all, and after a year of riding on the street, i can handle that huge lump of steel as if it were my 20 pound bmx bike, cruising around at 2mph all day if i wanted.


ignore everything i just wrote.... no idea why i went off on that tangent; been a fun night lets say.
 
Well trying a new bike, where things aren't in the usual place, can make for this, but it changes quick.
 
crush1776 said:
My KDX 80 was too big for me at 7, but I survived...
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Ha! my dad gave me a KDX 80 at the same age.. talk about being too young to fully understand the risk. but then again, I survived fine as well.
 
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