I found this bike in Greensboro, NC, and it sounds like a good deal. Problem is my only riding experience is the MSF class, which doesn't qualify me to test ride any bike. It's an 02 with 2600 miles, all service records and has been rejetted by the dealership. I've tried to find someone to test ride for me, but no luck. Do I just go ahead and buy it?

IMPO, since the bike is late model, and has almost no miles on it, you can probably get away with just doing a general inspection on it. Try to get a service record on what's been done, otherwise take a look yourself. If the bike hasn't been crashed and has been relatively well maintained, i think you'll be fine. Checking that the major operating components (drivechain, swingarm, throttle, clutch, handlebars, brakes, cables, etc) are operating properly, as well as simply listening to the engine idle should give you a good idea of the bike's condition, regardless of whether you actually go out and ride it or not.

The following is a very helpful write-up for buying a used bike.

www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

Note that it does go into exhaustive detail. Again, since the bike you're looking at is relatively brand new, you should be fine just looking into the major parts.

My two pants.  

Being a '02 with low miles are they offering any kind of warranty or as-is?

As is. It's a private seller.

Buying a bike (or anything for that matter) privately involves not only making a quick evaluatin and some judgements about the bike, but about the seller as well.  In this case, what the seller tells you about him/herself (and I mean directly, and indirectly) is of great importance, as you will not test ride the bike.  

First question I'd ask is why are you selling the bike?  What kind of riding did you like to do?  What are some of your favorite roads/rides.  Get the seller talking, and you can pick up a lot.  Also, very important,  look around.  Is the property/garage/etc reasonably neat, tidy, well mainatined?  What kind of presentation does the seller make of him/herself personally?  Every little thing reflects something, and you can get a great deal of information by listening and observing, and just asking a few questions.  Then, you need to make a judgement.

It's exciting and I hope it works for you..BUT..don't hesitate to walk if that's what you really feel.  You WILL find the right motorcycle.

Best of luck.  I hope you'll be riding soon.

Don

How much are they asking?  A lot of people try to screw pwople and ask nearly original sticker price for them.

He's asking for $2700. He said he was moving to a bigger bike.  It's been used for commuting. I don't know anything about it other than this and what  I said in the first post.

if it hasn't been seriously crashed its a great deal.

you can test ride it. when i was gettin my gs, the only thing i had ridden was a sporster883 a eliminator 125 and a virago 500 test rode it liked it got 1500 dollars and rode it home the same day

Quote from: pantabloif it hasn't been seriously crashed its a great deal.

   :mrgreen:

You could always ask the owner to take you for a ride as the pillion.  This way you can listen for any strange noises, and also obseve the seller's riding style.

I did this with my first bike, a 1990 Honda CBR 250.  The owner took me for a wild ride through the streets of Santiago, Chile and scared the piss out of me.   Yet the bike looked like it had been maintained (owner told me that he stored it in his living room), so I bought it.

Never gave me a problem in the 10,000KM + that I put on it.

Alright, you guys talked me into it. I'm gonna go with full intentions of buying the bike sometime next week. I wish I could do it this weekend but gotta wait for the paycheck  :x . I'll post pictures as soon as I get it, although it looks like any other stock 02.

If you are still concerned, agree with the owner on a contract that allows you to return the bike  for the selling price minus something (say $200 or 5%) within 6 hrs or 100 miles, provided, of course, that you did not do any damage. That way you're only getting a small hit if you find that there is something wrong. If the bike is ok, you just ride it away. The owner too has some kind of protection that you're not just taking the bike for a spin.

BTW, I too own a miata and a GS.  

Quote from: miket
BTW, I too own a miata and a GS.  

Yeah, very practical  :mrgreen: ,   but who cares, they're so much fun.