Buying a motorcycle that's been dropped.

[JulesMaximus]

A guy I work with is selling a very low mileage 1999 Suzuki Marauder that he's dropped twice. The bike is a V-Twin 800cc bike and other than some scratches on the tank and some of the chrome it is reportedly in very good condition. He described what happened and they both sound like very minor drops. Once he was going around a corner and clipped the curb and the other time he laid it down on slippery pavement to avoid rear ending a truck...not paying attention (very low speed though-he started going with traffic but didn't realize it had stopped again).

Anyway, the tank is scratched on both sides and some of the chrome is scratched up as well. Nothing that affects functioning of the bike. I think he'll sell it to me for $2500.

 

[Amused]

Too much.

2000 tops but first have the local dealer inspect it completely.

 

[frankgomez75]

whats the mileage?

 

[Superwormy]

If its only cosmetic damage you should be fine, you could even have it repainted or touched up for a few hundred bucks probably.

What you really want to watch out for are broken parts of the engine, twisted steering columns from the drop, etc. and also just in general how the bike looks. Did he take care of it? Keep it out of the rain and snow? Change the oil and follow the maintainance schedule?

 

[acemcmac]

that sounds like a great deal either way... I've always wanted a motorcycle... albeit a really fast one (which this doesen't appear to be)

 

[rivan]

Sounds high to me, too. There are a whole lotta bikes for sale these days - I don't see a reason to pay that much for a 7 year old bike. Unless it's got crazy low miles or some other major redeeming factors...

 

[Amused]

No matter what you decide, have it inspected/tested by a mechanic.

A dropped bike can have a bent frame or forks. A bend, no matter how slight, and you can end up with a bike that will put you in a high speed tank slapper and hurt you very bad.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Superwormy

If its only cosmetic damage you should be fine, you could even have it repainted or touched up for a few hundred bucks probably.

What you really want to watch out for are broken parts of the engine, twisted steering columns from the drop, etc. and also just in general how the bike looks. Did he take care of it? Keep it out of the rain and snow? Change the oil and follow the maintainance schedule?

This is SoCal. No snow here and very little rain.

Mileage is reportedly under 3k miles.

This is a cruiser...or a Faurley as he called it.

 

[Bulk Beef]

He didn't drop it - he crashed.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: sward666
He didn't drop it - he crashed.

Crashed is such a strong word. He laid it down...on a bed of feather pillows in the middle of the road.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

2500 sounds too high. Even if it only has 3k miles on it. He dropped it twice, not many other people are going to want it for 2500, and it's easy to get a bike in better shape (more miles and a bit older though) for that much, that hasn't been dropped.

 

[quakefiend420]

dropped is when your foot slides out from under you on some oil and you fall over at a stoplight, or in your driveway...those were wrecks

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: sward666
He didn't drop it - he crashed.

Not quite the same thing...if his story's true, he didn't hit anything but the ground, and that at low speed. There's no equivalent for a car.

BTW, "low mileage" = "parked in the garage 8 months out of the year." Check all the fluids and stuff. Engines don't die by being used, they die by NOT being used.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: quakefiend420
dropped is when your foot slides out from under you on some oil and you fall over at a stoplight, or in your driveway...those were wrecks

They were low speed crashes involving the bike and pavement only. They definitely did cosmetic damage to the bike but whether or not it did any other damage is something I'll have checked out prior to buying it.

My question is this, assuming the bike is still sound and the only damage done was cosmetic, is this bike worth $2500?

 

[puffff]

if this is your first bike ever, you will probably drop it yourself. as long as its only cosmetic, you shouldnt be too concerned about it.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: quakefiend420
dropped is when your foot slides out from under you on some oil and you fall over at a stoplight, or in your driveway...those were wrecks

Well said ... I've dropped my bike twice, both times in my driveway... first time I was moving it outside to work on it & just got careless & the second time my kickstand cracked through some brittle concrete & it fell. The first time I put a nice scuff mark on the side of the fairing & the second time I snapped the end off my clutch-lever.

This bike has been crashed, not "dropped" & just because it wasn't serious doesn't mean theres not more damage then meets the eye... if you buy it, don't pay more then $2k and before you agree to buy it, you really need to have it inspected at a dealer for frame damage which can cause you to lose control at high speeds or during abrupt manouvers.

 

[Cattlegod]

crashing a bike is no big deal

i've crashed mine at 90 mph and it still runs fine. the entire right side is shaved down by about 2mm.

take it for a test drive and get it up to speed. so long as everything operates correctly, there shouldn't be an issue at all.