Dealers and test riding bikes....

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:31 am

Have you ever had a dealer let you test ride a brand new bike? Surprised

The ONLY bike I was ever allowed to test ride was my 81 750F. I was about 70% sure going in that I wanted to buy the bike, but still was going to head over to Kawasaki and look at the KZ750 !!

After the test ride, I was 100% set on buying the F!!! Man, what a fine machine, I didn't need to look any further.

It seems most dealers don't have a test bike avalible for some weird reason. Evil or Very Mad

Kawasaki held a demo ride day at the local race track for a couple of years. You could pick the 250, 600, 900 or 1000 Ninja and ride it (with a pace rider) around the track. There was even a little 1/4 mile straight away where you could gas it up and get flying for a short bit. That was a great idea and I bet they sold lots of bikes that way. beerchug

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:58 am

It's all about liability and insurance. Too many people walk into a dealership with zero experience riding a bike, and the dealership would be held liable or even negligent if that individual left on a test ride, and either injured or killed himself or someone else. And, we can't forget about the bike itself.

I am a GM for a company, and one of our four divisions is a power equipment company that has the Bombardier ATV dealership, and when testing an ATV, we have to keep the ATV on our grounds, and the operator has to wear saftey equipment. Before they can purchase one, they have to attend a 3 hour saftey course that we provide, and sign off on all kinds of paperwork releasing Bombardier and us from liability.

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:04 pm

Someone just died this past weekend at my Honda dealer doing a test ride on a CBR1000RR.
He crashed and died all within 150 feet of the dealer driveway

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:18 pm

mmmmm CBR1000RR....

the Triumph Dealer near me, which provides better service for me and my F than my Honda dealer (bunch of JERKS!) lets you test ride anything. even the Rocket III which is a beats of a bike. Everything from the speed triple to the bonnevil

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:51 pm

all the manufacturers have roving demo trailers to accomondate your every test a bike whim...atleast they do in my neck of the woods...so I'm sure they do it near you just look around.....hell there isnt a single bike that I have not ridden that I wanted to...within reason...honda,kawi,suzi,yamaha and yes harley

Hawk Joined: Sep 18, 2003 Posts: 317 Location: Bangor, ME.

You found a Harley you wanted to ride? On purpose?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:24 pm

i think he meant that someone made him ride a harley

Hawk Joined: Sep 18, 2003 Posts: 317 Location: Bangor, ME.

You can't be made to ride a Harley.

You can practically outrun one on foot.

Good thought though. Laughing

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:16 pm

SixSRacing wrote:

You found a Harley you wanted to ride? On purpose?

yes....a vrod

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:26 pm

Quote:

Someone just died this past weekend at my Honda dealer doing a test ride on a CBR1000RR.
He crashed and died all within 150 feet of the dealer driveway

Where was this???

A dealer let me ride a '97 FZR600 back then....it was a nice bike but I opted for the CBRF3

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:55 pm

fasterspider wrote:

Someone just died this past weekend at my Honda dealer doing a test ride on a CBR1000RR.
He crashed and died all within 150 feet of the dealer driveway

You would think that a dealer would kind of screen people that they turn loose on a bike. Sad

In my case, I had a valid M/C license and rode to the dealer on a motorcycle ......had all the proper safety gear ect....

I guess super bikes are a concern these days considering you can be over 100 mph in 5 seconds. Embarassed

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:04 pm

Macman wrote:

It's all about liability and insurance. Too many people walk into a dealership with zero experience riding a bike, and the dealership would be held liable or even negligent if that individual left on a test ride, and either injured or killed himself or someone else.

Can you be held liable or negligent if the person is licensed to operate the vehicle? Wouldn't the same apply if the person simply bought a bike and wrcked it anyway?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:32 pm

CB1100F wrote:

Macman wrote:

It's all about liability and insurance. Too many people walk into a dealership with zero experience riding a bike, and the dealership would be held liable or even negligent if that individual left on a test ride, and either injured or killed himself or someone else.

Can you be held liable or negligent if the person is licensed to operate the vehicle? Wouldn't the same apply if the person simply bought a bike and wrcked it anyway?

its not about liability at all...they have waivers and insurance.....they ask you to sign a document ensuring 2 years minimum of heavy motorcycle experience....

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:03 pm

900Supersport wrote:

Kawasaki held a demo ride day at the local race track for a couple of years.

That was factory sponsored. Doesn't put the local dealer on the hook.

I have a few dealers that know me and they'll let me ride anything they have. Most are pretty careful about letting a guy on a bike. Plus, if they demo too many bikes or any given bike too many times they've got a bunch of bikes with more than delivery miles on them. If I'm buying new, I don't want the imprints of someone elses ass on my seat.

Tdem wrote:

the Triumph Dealer near me, which provides better service for me and my F than my Honda dealer (bunch of JERKS!) lets you test ride anything

Hey Tdem, who is the Triumph dealer and which local Honda dealer don't you like?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:45 pm

I have always testridden the bikes I buy, or a identical model. I usually buy from my favorite dealership because they always let me test the bikes..Thats why I buy them there! And they know it.
I know all bout the liability thing, etc, but I myself would never buy a bike I couldnt try out first. In fact i have bought a few just because I was offered a ride. I think it might have something to do with being a established customer, or at least them suspecting I am serious and not wasting their time... Even theHarley dealer lets me try em out if I am interested... I did order one once , but i did drive a yr old identicasl one first...

Nitro

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:28 am

CB1100F wrote:

Macman wrote:

It's all about liability and insurance. Too many people walk into a dealership with zero experience riding a bike, and the dealership would be held liable or even negligent if that individual left on a test ride, and either injured or killed himself or someone else.

Can you be held liable or negligent if the person is licensed to operate the vehicle? Wouldn't the same apply if the person simply bought a bike and wrcked it anyway?

Within the American legal system, you can sue anyone over anything. Whether you prevail is a a different story all together. There is always some slezo that would take the case and try to convince a jury that although he had a motorcycle validation, the dealership was negligent in not familarizing the rider with that particular bike and therefore was contributory to the riders demise. Hey, if you can sue and prevail in a case where you put fresh hot coffee between your legs and then it spills and burns your inner thighs and vaginal area....shit, anything is possible right "stupid old female fart in California." Yes, Dorothy...anything is possible within the American legal system. The system is to provide the stupid with awards from anyone with deeper pockets than the plaintiff - it's the American way.

Spook Wink

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:54 am

Only once did I have a dealer let me test ride a bike. It was a used Yamaha RD250B and I knew the salesman from grade school. I ended up buying the bike for my wife to learn on....$650.

Most dealers around here won't let you test ride which kind of sucks because you don't really know what you're buying until you own it. I was interested in an Interceptor and considered buying a new one until I test rode one for sale by private owner. Nice bike but I just decided it wasn't for me. I could have made a $10,000 mistake and ended up with something I didn't really want if I wouldn't have found one to test ride.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:01 am

The only problem I have is, it ends up being little things that you may not find out until you actually commit to buying and riding the bike. I bought a 02 R6 and the tank and handlebar is so tight at full lock, you have to adjust your hand to be able to twist the throttle...... that is something you don't find out on the showroom floor.

.....I often worry when selling bikes. People always want to test ride your used bike but you have no idea if they can handle it or not. My policy now is to hold their money and if they crash it, they bought it. Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:18 pm

Like many have stated. The factory Demo Ride Team makes the rounds here yearly it seems. Harley had one, the nearest BMW dealer (Wolf BMW-London Ont.) had one, WCK-Honda had one in Coruna Ont. (about 5 min's away from Sarnia). On the Honda Demo day you could ride the complete line, RC-51 and down. I missed it but fellow BMW pilot and former Honda rider Gary took two of the bikes for a ride. He was most impressed with the 919 Hornet for "bang for the buck". They let the riders do just about anything on them it seemed. So Gary said. Weather was not the best, read: "cold", so turn out was low. This may have played a part in the free running attitude perhaps.

Back in 83 and 84 I bought both my "F"'s with out a test ride,..didn't have a bike license at the time either.

Tony "wanted a ride on the RC-51 but didn't make it" Bagley

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:02 pm

900Supersport wrote:

I bought a 02 R6 and the tank and handlebar is so tight at full lock, you have to adjust your hand to be able to twist the throttle.

.....I often worry when selling bikes. People always want to test ride your used bike but you have no idea if they can handle it or not. My policy now is to hold their money and if they crash it, they bought it. Evil or Very Mad

I can't think of many times that I have wanted to twist the throttle of a 120 Hp hyper sport bike with the bars at full lock! Razz

Donuts maybe? Laughing

I know the feeling, anyone that wants to look at a bike you are selling thinks that you should just let them get on and take it for a ride, at least if you want them to buy it! Somehow I have found that the veteran riders seem to know that there is an unwritten, unspoken code that applies in these situations. Ranks right up there with "lending" your bike to someone, there's aren't very many people I lend mine to.

The local Harley dealer had a Buell demo ride 2 years ago and it turned into just that. They were well experienced with the crowd that shows up for the Harley demo rides, they aren't out to push the envelope, just to see if they can hear the radio and not spill their coffee. However Buell riders are sportbikers, the dealer, not all that familiar with the genre, or waving at them didn't really know how to control the ride. Subsequently 3 nice Buells went down and the ride was actually shortened because of it.

I keep trying to make it to any of the test rides, especially if there is a 1000RR or RC involved, and I have to admit the Wing intrigues me, mainly because I have heard 3 times now that they are comparable to the ST1300. I have swapped rides with a friend who has an ST, I was impressed, he loves the 11F though so it was fair.

Bryan

Twinstar Joined: Oct 08, 2004 Posts: 197 Location: S.C.

Test rides were no problem when I worked at a dealer in the 80's but times have changed for sure. May be it's was the gray hair on my head that help are knowing the owner of the local Kaw, Suz, Yam dealer, but test rides for me were not a problem. With our local Honda I just did try, Honda does not offer anything I want, and they stopped making the Blackbird.

Triumph dealers do have demo bikes so a test ride is a given
and I took the new 05 St for a ride (..nice handling bike but no power and the under seat exhaust made things "vary hot" from my feet to my butt..). With out a test ride and reading all the good write ups and being one of the so called top ten, I would have been one unhappy camper if I did buy the St with out a test ride.