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Hypothetical Question


RDMcD

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These are the pictures she provided. Surprisingly none of the issues I mentioned are visible other than the clutch cover, if you look really hard!

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I think I could excuse everything but the dent in the tank. There was no reason to not mention that. Any bike this age that the seller doesn't have receipts for work, I would assume that you are going to have to do it. Speaking of....I'm sure my bike is due some attention.  Good luck Rick and look forward to seeing you this spring.

 

Speaking of spring...The dates have been posted for Spring Memorial Ride. :cheerleader: 

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FYI it took me over 6 months to find my bike, found on Craigslist at 2am.

Looked at about 8 VFR’s and they were all thrashed and most of them dropped.

Take your time, the sweet ones are out there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 9/24/2018 at 2:10 PM, RDMcD said:

In case you are wondering how the story ends, here goes.

The bike for sale was a 2000, Candy Tahitian Blue with only 34000 km  or 21000 miles . Asking price $3000. Bike also came with a rear rack and top box, but otherwise was completely stock. After asking the usual questions and some negotiations we arrived at a sale price of $2700. The bike was described as well maintained, in excellent condition and needing nothing , being sold with a safety certificate. After arranging a Saturday morning viewing I mentioned that I would like to take it for a quick ride up and down the street in front of the sellers home with the cash in her hand and the understanding that the bike would come back as it left or she could keep the money and the bike was mine. She flat out refused under any circumstances. That's when I posted the question here and asked a couple friend what they would do. Thanks for the replies and valid inputs.

Against my better judgement I agreed to travel almost 4 hours to view an 18 year old bike with no chance of a test drive, in hopes that it was the low mileage gem described to me at what I thought was a fair price for here in Canada.

Saturday morning I arrive at the address to find a blue 5th gen in the driveway and the seller sitting un the front step ...good. I introduce myself, we exchange pleasantries then I start going through some of the papers she had for the bike. It showed that she was the third owner having bought it in 2011 with 28000km meaning 6000km in 7 years. This was odd since she had told me she had bought it about 4 years ago but after some discussion she agreed that it must have been 7. She also mentioned that the tires were new 3 years ago right after she bought the bike???  So over to the bike to look at the tires and found production dates of 2010...not good. Now that I'm close to the bike this is what I find. The rear wheel, swing arm, and front sprocket area are caked with a thick layer of old dried blackened lube, probably never having been cleaned in her 6000km of ownership. The chain and sprockets were original to the bike and in need of replacement. On the right side of the bike were scratches on the clutch cover, chips in the lower body paint and a slightly bent foot peg and brake pedal, from a low speed tip over. She was unaware of any of the damage and blamed previous owners. Moving to the front of the bike I lifted the front wheel as I explained it was to check the head bearing. She happily informed me that her mechanic had replaced that part and when I asked what type of bearing he used she replied "a new one" .

As I began to look at the left side of the bike she let me know that none of this was her fault, her husbands cruiser had tipped over in a truck and they failed to notice it for some time. What I saw was a 3 inch dent in the tank, showing bare steel. Also there was a black stripe about half an inch by 8 inches on the rear cowl below the seat where the paint was wore away and the abs had flat spotted the beautiful blue, rare bodywork... starting to feel a bit discouraged.

With her permission, I started the bike on the centre stand and ran the bike through a few gears... everything seemed well enough... it's a VFR after all. I turned off the bike and decided I'd seen enough. I asked one last time about a test ride and she immediately said no. I began to explain that without the test ride and considering the condition of the bike I wasn't comfortable paying the agreed upon $2700, but I would give my original offer of $2500 just so I didn't have to go home empty handed. This is when she let me know she had changed her mind and wouldn't take any less than the $3000 in the ad!!! 

After a short discussion about that I realized that she was not going to be reasonable and that I didn't want her bike at any price. She knew little about bikes or how to look after them and even less about a vfr. I thanked her for wasting my time and headed for my van as she was yelling out ever decreasing prices behind me. I just waved and drove away.

It wasn't the deal I was hoping for but I had to find out. Not all was lost though, my girlfriend came along and we camped on the shore of beautiful Georgian bay and did some sight seeing

Not a bad weekend after all!. 

Bit late to this, but if that had been me, I would not have wanted even to test ride it in that condition.

 

That is not "in excellent condition, needing nothing".

 

I sold my previous 5th Gen in 2015, with ~73,000kms on the clock, and I can guarantee it was in WAY better condition than you've described this one.

 

My current one (AB's old bike) with a raft of "mods" etc. is also in way better nick than you describe...and has ~136,000kms on the clock. 

 

Something fishy going on with that seller, for mine.

 

BTW, echoing VFROZ' post/s, I've bought and sold plenty of bikes here. Aside from my first 5th Gen, which I flew to another State, paid cash for and left to ride home on it (no test ride), I generally take any bike I'm considering for a ride. Similarly, I allow people to ride a bike I'm selling, as long as I have licence and cash in hand, and conditions (i.e. rain etc.) don't markedly increase the chances of the buyer having an off...

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I sold my RC30 in 2010... It was a quick affair starting on Cannery
Row during MotoGp when I bump into super fabricator Phil of
MotoMorphic... I mentioned my RC30 purchased off Ebay needs a new home
and he mentions his friend Paul who is still lusting for an RC30 ever
since sitting on one back in 1990... I learn Paul lives near the great
bendy bits of NorCal namely the infamous Race Way 9 and hangs out at
Alices two prefect places for an iconic V4 from the Golden Years of
WSBK...

 

We dickered one time on the price as I removed the bottom cowl
for his inspection... My terms were that after the Bank of Mary verified
his 15K cashiers check he was GO for limited test hop just around our
block due to the risk of no insurance!!! Paul rolls into the Busy
Little Shop pointing to his ass... "RC30 bug has bitten"

PaulBoodtNewOwner06.JPG

PaulBoodtNewOwner04.JPG

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