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    Motorcycle Shopping Preferences

    Where do you prefer to shop for your motorcycles - old or newer? Is any one better than the other and is there any that a person should stay away from?
    53
    Craigslist
    67.92%
    36
    Newspaper
    1.89%
    1
    EBay
    11.32%
    6
    Cycle Trader
    5.66%
    3
    Motorcycle Store
    9.43%
    5
    Other - please provide below
    39.62%
    21
    sigpic
    Cowboy Up or Quit. - Run Free Lou and Rest in Peace

    1981 GS550T - My First
    1981 GS550L - My Eldest Daughter's
    2007 GSF1250SA Bandit - My touring bike

    Sit tall in the saddle Hold your head up high
    Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky and live like you ain't afraid to die
    and don't be scared, just enjoy your ride - Chris Ledoux, "The Ride"

    #2
    As an afterthought, how trustworthy is Ebay for buying vehicles? We all have had some horror stories on not getting exactly what you bought for some of the individual parts but are bike purchases pretty much as honest as going to a dealer?
    sigpic
    Cowboy Up or Quit. - Run Free Lou and Rest in Peace

    1981 GS550T - My First
    1981 GS550L - My Eldest Daughter's
    2007 GSF1250SA Bandit - My touring bike

    Sit tall in the saddle Hold your head up high
    Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky and live like you ain't afraid to die
    and don't be scared, just enjoy your ride - Chris Ledoux, "The Ride"

    Comment


      #3
      Up here in Canada Kijiji is popular across the country but here on Vancouver Island, UsedCa is popular as well but not much in other parts of the country.
      Rob
      1983 1100ES, 98' ST1100, 02' DR-Z400E and a few other 'bits and pieces'
      Are you on the GSR Google Earth Map yet? http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=170533

      Comment


        #4
        The way you are asking how we shop for bikes almost makes it sound like we do this often.

        Well, maybe some do acquire bikes to fix and re-sell, but some of us are happy enough with what we have, that we don't bother 'shopping'.

        When I retire (yeah, right), I might have enough time to flip a few bikes, but right now, there is soo much "life" happening to devote that much time to buying, fixing and selling bikes.

        .
        sigpic
        mine: 2000 Honda GoldWing GL1500SE and 1980 GS850G'K' "Junior"
        hers: 1982 GS850GL - "Angel" and 1969 Suzuki T250 Scrambler
        #1 son: 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale 1300 and 1982 GS650GL "Rat Bagger"
        #2 son: 1980 GS1000G
        Family Portrait
        Siblings and Spouses
        Mom's first ride
        Want a copy of my valve adjust spreadsheet for your 2-valve per cylinder engine? Send me an e-mail request (not a PM)
        (Click on my username in the upper-left corner for e-mail info.)

        Comment


          #5
          The good ones seem to come to me.


          Life is too short to ride an L.

          Comment


            #6
            Too Many thoughts to mention all...

            I prefer Craigslist because I can see pics, and also especially looking at cars, the traffic has gotten so bad I often type in different town/city names nearby and a price range is my main criteria LOL.

            I almost always prefer "for sale by owner" over BUT there's been a few good deals at pawn shops for MC's it looked like a few times.

            Dealer tends to be way overpriced. UNLESS it's a tiny shop with the owner present from my experience.

            -I gave up on Ebay a while back because the price kept changing drastically. The "Buy it now" ?
            How / why buy an MC off the pic alone(?)
            Also one ad was a dealership and the price when I called was for their "financing plan only" that one really had me P'd (told story elsewhere where I'd prepared to travel to Ohio, figured truck rental, schedule etc. in advance before calling...URGH!)

            ALSO, an auction (any) could be easily rigged IMO. For example , offers not good enough? then just buy it from self or have a friend...RIGGED auction BS... course sometimes I suspect CL posters do similar by placing fake ads to manipulate the market at times maybe (?)

            Newspaper might be ok but seems a bit stone-age in comparison. And probably not much selection.
            I'd be interested to check out cycle trader site, the old paper one was good back then...

            I stay away from Baltimore (completely ignore), mostly since the race riot.
            One can get a feel for ad sometimes based on ad wording, but I judged my current bike's seller badly, Ad read "could use paint, just no time for it" I figured it was a guy with good job/ money /unskilled to work on it/$ for better one/prestige LOL...Needed everything, rotten shape and no time because he was a fisherman crabber boat guy w/ wife and baby etc...
            well just my .02 since I voted on it. Oh, I bought 3 motorcycles total off CL ads By the way.
            One (first one) from a used car dealer ,for cheap ($100), he wanted it off lot because it was causing trespassers stealing parts he said...[EDIT: This one was a car lot, not from an ad, other 3 were CL ad]
            Last edited by Guest; 12-13-2016, 10:25 PM.

            Comment


              #7
              I bought my '81 Honda CB900 Custom off of an ad on CL. I live in Ann Arbor, MI, and the seller lived in one of the little towns north of Detroit - close enough for me to drive to to look at the bike in person. The seller was a straight-up kind of guy, and we made a deal and he even delivered it for me.

              My '81 Suzuki GS850G I bought on the strength of a few pictures that the Harley dealer in Ames, Iowa had posted on a website (I don't remember which website). I found the ad on a Sunday night by doing a Google search for "GS850's for sale", and this one popped up. I had to wait until Monday morning to confirm that it was still for sale. When I asked the dealer for the price, and he said $600, I decided there on the spot that I'd buy it (although I did make the salesman take a bunch of additional pictures for me - especially the exhaust because it seems the exhaust is always the first to go). I hired a guy on U-Ship to transport it for me, and even after I paid him, it was still a pretty good buy. It's one of those bikes that looks great in pictures, and from about 15 feet away, but when you get up close to inspect it, there were lots of little details that needed attending to. I've spent more on it than I'll ever get out of it, but all-in-all, I'm glad I bought it.

              Comment


                #8
                I almost always prefer "for sale by owner" over BUT there's been a few good deals at pawn shops for MC's it looked like a few times.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I voted Other... There's a website called GS Resource that I like to use to find what I'm looking for 👍
                  My Motorcycles:
                  22 Kawasaki Z900 RS (Candy Tone Blue)
                  22 BMW K1600GT (Probably been to a town near you)
                  82 1100e Drag Bike (needs race engine)
                  81 1100e Street Bike (with race engine)
                  79 1000e (all original)
                  82 850g (all original)
                  80 KZ 650F (needs restored)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by cowboyup3371 View Post
                    As an afterthought, how trustworthy is Ebay for buying vehicles? We all have had some horror stories on not getting exactly what you bought for some of the individual parts but are bike purchases pretty much as honest as going to a dealer?
                    I have bought two motorcycles and one Jeep Cherokee on Ebay. All were as advertised by honest sellers. No surprises.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Searchtempest.com

                      Try it - it's ALL of Craigslist in one place.

                      I found my GS850 this way --
                      Currently in the Stable :
                      2002 Honda Goldwing GL1800 Sunburst Pearl Orange
                      1983 Suzuki GS850 GL Blue & Black

                      " I am never lost until I run out of fuel...until that moment I am EXPLORING."
                      - Carl R. Munkwitz

                      Munk's Maxim: "There is no such thing as a cheap motorcycle"

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by tkent02 View Post
                        The good ones seem to come to me.
                        Same here. Last bike I actually bought that wasn't through a friend or close acquaintance was the 1977 XS750-2D I bought new at a dealer.
                        '84 GS750EF (Oct 2015 BOM) '79 GS1000N (June 2007 BOM) My Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/soates50/

                        Comment


                          #13
                          My first bike, 1982 GS 550L, I found on Clist. I didn't know thing one about motorcycles, and I had sat on another one, didn't like it, and found this 550L and I liked it. The seller brought it to my house. Shortly after that, I found GSR.

                          Second bike, 1982 1100GL, I bought direct from ddaniels, right here in river city.

                          Third bike, 1985 700E, I bought on Ebay. It was 700 miles away. I took a train to Chicago, met the seller, gave him the cash, did the title transfer, and rode home 700 miles in one day. I bought it because it was sexy and I at least knew a little about motorcycles and what to look for in an ad.

                          Fourth and current bike, 1983 650GL, I bought on Ebay. Kind of an accident. I met the minimum bid and nobody bid over me. It wasn't running. I borrowed a buddy's pickup and drove 150 miles and picked up the bike. I rode it around my parking lot, and then when I went to change the oil, I drained it and then could not for anything get the oil cap off. Later I took the bike apart and it sat in pieces in my garage for a year. Then gsrick offered to rebuild it, so I sent it to Florida and he rebuilt it and sent it back.

                          I'm not particularly interested in looking at GSes on Ebay any more. Clist, yes, and GSR, definitely.
                          "I have come to believe that all life is precious." -- Eastman, TWD6.4

                          1999 Triumph Legend 900 TT




                          Comment


                            #14
                            I bought five GS's in two years off of CL and got fair deals on each. One shipped across country. Risky but I had a good feeling about the guy and got lucky. The shipping cost double what I had budgeted and spoiled the fun a bit but it's a good bike. The others were good transactions with reasonable people. I like inspecting before buying. I have run across some inconsiderate boobs on CL though too. Travel to buy something and get a text before you arrive that it's sold. Only had one bad deal on eBay and it got resolved. Whether buying or selling I'd say the key to success is patience.
                            sigpic
                            1983 GS1100ES (Bought July 2014)
                            1983 GS1100E (Bought July 2014)
                            1985 GS700ES (Bought June 2015) Sold
                            On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
                            All Other Ground is Sinking Sand

                            Comment


                              #15
                              facebook marketplace has replaced craigslist for me.
                              81 GS650GL

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