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Tips On Shopping For A Pre-owned Harley Davidson In McKinney
Author : Motur Guru
Submitted : 2011-08-16 Word Count : 870 Popularity: Not Rated
Tags: used motorcycle dealer, used motorcycle dealership, motorcycle shop, used Harley Davidson dealer, used Harley Davidson dealership, used motorcycle dealer, Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership, Harley Davidson motorcycle shop, Harley Davidson dealer, Harley
Step 1: Determine what kind of riding you're going to be doing in most cases: commuting, sports, touring, or possibly a mix. This is the most essential criterion you need to consider. A 1000 cc superbike will make your heart skip a beat, but there's a good chance that you will detest it on the commute, and that your passanger is going to be uncomfortable on it. Track-days on a cruiser may also be frustrating.
Step 2: Buy from Family PowerSports. Private sales might be lower priced, but you'll not really have any option if the motorcycle breaks down or blows up. If you're determined to purchase from an individual party, insist that you can bring the motorcycle to Family PowerSports to have it assessed and inspected. A few bucks spent right now could save you heaps of cash and hassle in the future. Furthermore, Family PowerSports can perform an ownership history search for you to be sure the bike involved has not been stolen and hasn't been listed as "written off" by an insurance company.
Step 3: Look at the motorcycle on your own. Bring some basic hand tools along, including a flashlight and, when possible, a multimeter.
Examine the state of the chain and sprocket. The chain should have around 3/4" of slack (up and down) and the teeth of the sprocket should not show clear damage or wear. Try to move the chain side to side on the sprocket. There really should not be much movement with a good set. Have someone have a seat on the bike and check to ensure the chain is somewhat snug, with hardly any motion up and down. Chains degrade with time, but sprockets should last much longer. A seriously worn sprocket suggests possibly an old sprocket or a poor upkeep routine.
The tires needs to have good tread all the way across the surface with no indications of irregular wear or damage. Day-to-day drivers' tires typically have more wear in the middle on the tread (much more highway driving). Others who have raced their motorcycle on the track, may have tires that demonstrate a lot more wear at the side of the tread.
Take a seat on the bike. Check out the condition of the brake and clutch levers, bar-end weights, straightness of the handlebars and instrument cluster. These might be signs of an accident or drop. Other indications could be nicked engine cases, foot pegs or exhaust pipes. Hold the handbrake and bounce the front suspension. It must feel even and solid. Get off the motorcycle and test the fork tubes for signs of rust, pitting and oil. They're warning signs of worn fork seals, or likely upcoming expensive problems.
When checking out the forks, run a fingernail across the brake rotors, looking for uneven wear or grooving. Look at the brake caliper to determine how much of the pads are left. If the bike has spokes, look at the overall condition of the individual spokes. For all types, search for dings and dents or damage to the rim.
Put the motorcycle on its center stand if so equipped; turn the bars side to side. Inspect for any uneven motion or roughness in the steering.
Whenever possible, examine the visible frame; remove the seat to see beneath it also. There should be no dents, kinks or visible damage to the frame. If you find any, find another motorcycle.
While the seat is off and you can access the battery, attach the multi-meter over the battery terminals and check the voltage. It needs to read no less than 12 volts. Start the engine. The meter ought to read no more than 14 volts approximately while running. If it does, that may be a sign of a defective voltage regulator and it may well overcharge a battery and lead it to break. Examine the lights and indicators at this point also. Draw a fuse or two out and check for corrosion. Do this with the engine off of course. Furthermore, look at the battery terminals and overall appearance of the battery. Replace the seat.
Open up the fuel tank and inspect for obvious indications of rust or oxidation using your flashlight.
Inspect under fairings (in the event the bike has fairings). Take away the same fairing the owner takes away to switch spark plugs and do regular maintenance. Check the frame for weakness at the weld points. Inspect the general condition of the engine block, plugs, and radiator. Look for leaking close to the oil filter and oil pan bolt.
Look at the brake fluid level. Normally, this is on top of handlebars, within an enclosure having a transparent eye-port. With the engine running, draw hard on the front brakes level and release as you're watching the fluid level. It needs to fall and go up. It needs to rise quickly after the brake is released.
Step 4: Take a test drive. Select a good day with dry roads and great visibility when possible. Bring your motorcycle permit and appropriate gear when you have it. Almost all retailers will have loaner equipment available for you to use.
Choose a route that you're acquainted with which has light traffic and good road conditions if you can. Ease into it and get used to the way the motorcycle feels and responds.
Test out the brakes. They should not 'pulse'. That may be a sign of out of shape disks. They need to activate smoothly and smoothly and not seize violently or feel mushy.
Accelerate throughout the gears. The tranny must really feel firm and not fall out of gear under acceleration or feel chunky.
While you're on a straight, clean patch of street, weave right and left slightly to find out the way the bike responds. It has to feel secure and simple to correct.
Pay attention for any kind of abnormal engine sounds, suspension creaking or rattling and virtually any excessive oscillations. Ask questions about everything else you have suspicions about.
Step 5: Check out the bike again following the ride, looking for virtually any leaks or drips. Look at the oil, through either the sight glass or; once the engine cools down, the dipstick if so equipped. Nearly all semi or full synthetic oils will probably darken following only a couple of miles. That is completely normal.
Step 6: Obtain a service record. It's always a good thing to have, but for a number of reasons, it's possibly that they may not be around. Ask for the owner's manual and factory tool set if available.
Step 7: Be reasonable when negotiating on the ultimate price of the bike. For an individual owner, this might be his baby and insulting him now will make sure that you will not get a fair price. If at a dealership, realize that the salesman might have objectives to satisfy plus a supervisor looking over his shoulder. Do some research on the web; use the retail pricing guides when available, or read the motorcycle classifieds to get a fair market price of the bike. Next, set the purchase price correctly.
Author's Resource Box
In case you are looking to get an used Harley Davidson and you are around the McKinney region, then you will wish to check out Family PowerSports and have a look at the pre-owned Harley Davidson in McKinney. In the following article we are going to go into some of the key considerations you should keep in mind when youre shopping for an used Harley Davidson in the McKinney area.