Buying a motorcycle remotely

[Raffi D]

So I found a motorcycle I'm interested in but it's far enough that it will be not be easy to check it out myself with my work schedule. My first concern is not being able to physically see the bike. Obviously I can get more pics but not actually seeing it is still a little unnerving. Is there such a thing as a company who inspects bikes remotely and sends you a report? Shipping is the second issue but I think I can handle that

[MUZ720]

I just Purchased a bike from CA with nothing more then pictures and the words from the sales guy. (Small Ducati Shop) Cant say its went 100% smoothly but overall I got a great deal on the bike. But your trusting someone you don't know so yes the process is a bit nerve racking... If its a private sale have him take detailed pictures of the bike (close-ups) ( I didn't do this and the bike had more then its share of nicks and dings but its a race bike so I was not overly upset by this except the seller told me its was mint cosmetically?) have him send you any maintenance records he has. Talk to the seller a lot does his story change? Is he open to an inspection from a third party?
You might try to contact a local dealership near him and have someone go look at it for you.
I know there are company's that inspect boats but have not heard of a motorcycle based business. Many good shipping options out there so that's not a biggie. good luck

[butcher bergs]

If you're on a national type of forum, see if someone who is local to the bike is willing to assist with your questions.

[breakdirt916]

Ya I would post on advrider...but then the inspection is only as good as the random bodunk checking it

Better be a really good deal or at least a very specific bike

[Raffi D]

I might try to find someone over on the SV forums for their help. This is at a dealer but it's at a car dealership so I'm guessing they received it as a trade in and I'm just not sure if they would overlook something that motorcycle dealers would know to look out for. The price is pretty good... good enough that I'm considering this hassle anyway lol.

[MUZ720]

Have the dealer do a walk around video. With them starting it. Not the end all but you get to hear it.

[aldend123]

Depending on how much money you're spending, and how much caution you like to employ, what about contacting a local mechanic to inspect it?

The term in the car world is 'prepurchase inspection'. I'm not sure if this is even remotely common in the motorcycle industry, but I'd suspect if you can pay someone enough for their time someone will want it.

[loudbeard]

I can't imagine any SV being worth the effort of buying it remotely. There's a couple for sale locally for short money that look like nice clean bikes...

[Raffi D]

I can't imagine any SV being worth the effort of buying it remotely. There's a couple for sale locally for short money that look like nice clean bikes...

It's not for an SV but svrider is the only national forum I'm on soi was gonna check if anyone I there would be willing to check it out. If I ask someone from the same manufacturer forum, they might buy the bike instead haha.
Anyways I called the dealer. Bike was sold Saturday. FML

[DucatiGuy]

I just Purchased a bike from CA with nothing more then pictures and the words from the sales guy. (Small Ducati Shop) Cant say its went 100% smoothly but overall I got a great deal on the bike. But your trusting someone you don't know so yes the process is a bit nerve racking... If its a private sale have him take detailed pictures of the bike (close-ups) ( I didn't do this and the bike had more then its share of nicks and dings but its a race bike so I was not overly upset by this except the seller told me its was mint cosmetically?) have him send you any maintenance records he has. Talk to the seller a lot does his story change? Is he open to an inspection from a third party?
You might try to contact a local dealership near him and have someone go look at it for you.
I know there are company's that inspect boats but have not heard of a motorcycle based business. Many good shipping options out there so that's not a biggie. good luck

What did you get?

I’ve bought a bunch of bikes without seeing them. Talk to the guy one the phone for a bit and ask about the history. Get lots of pictures,maybe a video or two and you will be fine. I know a shipper that will go anywhere on this side of the Mississippi.

[MUZ720]

I purchased a 2004 SS 1000 DS main issue was the lack of knowledge about the bike.. They had plenty of paper work. Dyno charts and built sheets .
Seller didn't know that the custom wiring harness had a glitch when you killed the bike with the handle bar switch it didn't kill the fuel injectors and flooded the bike. Biggest pain figuring that out. Much Thanks to Eric at Clubhouse for helping me with this. They also didn't know about how many fuel maps where loaded. But still I got a great bike with lots of goodies that should be a hoot to race... Cant wait..

[Stromper]

NRIA

I had the thought how many FLOOD vehicles must be around between Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico