Some owners are not taking correctly care of their motorcycle because they purchase it just to have fun. To avoid bad surprises, this check points list is the minimum to look at before the purchase of a preowned motorcycle.
Papers
- The licence plate, frame and engine numbers match the ones on the documents
- The owner’s name match the seller’s name
- The owner’s manual is provided
- A spare key is provided for the ignition and for the luggages
- The odometer reading is correct (keep a photo)
Wheels
- Tires show regular and reasonnable wear. No stab or side damage (photo)
- No scratch on wheel rims
- Wheels are not bent (test by making them spin free)
- The chain tension is correct. It has no hard point
- Disks have a regular thickness. No crack.
- Brake pads are not worn out
- Brake fluid levels are fine
- No hard point when stearing from one side to the other
Body
- No scratch on fairing or front fender. All fairing fasteners are of the same kind
- No excessive rust on the exhaust
- No scratch underneath the bike, on levers, mirrors, turn signals or foot pegs
- Saddle and luggages are firmly attached, lock/unlock and maneuver easily
- No scratch on luggages
- The standard tool set is included
- No loose in the rear arm (moving left/right), same for the front wheel
- Screws/bolts for the wheels and chain tension are not rounded
Engine
- Oil level is fine for engine and gearbox. No leak underneath the bike
- Coolant (no leak)
- Shocks absorbers (working, no leak on tubes)
- Gearbox : all gear work fine up and down, lock securely, neutral js easy to find (to be tested engine stopped and while driving)
- No warning message on the dashboard nor on an obd
- Electric is functional (all lights, horn, heated grips work – including gauge lights)
- No delay when going from low to full beam (otherwise the battery is weak)
- Battery connectors are not corroded
- The engine starts easily
- Idle is stable, without unusual smell or smoke
- Revs fast, accelerator has no hard point
- The bike does not stear on left or right when going on a straight line
- Breaking is smooth, with regular sound on the disk
- Abs activates on strong breaking
- With a warm engine, the engine can be stopped (emergency shut down) and restarted easily