Motorcycle Investor mag
Subscribe to our free email news
Remote buying
& selling
Sunday shed wrap
July 13, 2025, by Guy 'Guido' Allen
How the bike market has shifted in
recent years
It was while hauling home the latest transport of
delight, a 1999 Yamaha XT225 (above), that I began trying
to recall when was the last time I actually saw a
motorcycle in the flesh before I bought it? And for extra
points, when was the last time I actually took it for a
test ride?
Clapping eyes on the thing? Probably the Triumph Speed
Triple I bought from old mate Newbold about three years
ago. And that was only because he insisted I at least see
the thing before handing over the cash. Several more bikes
have been bought since then.
Nope – I forgot. I did eyeball young Mr Waugh's Triumph Thruxton 1200 R on the other side of the continent a couple of years ago (see our Nullabor Run feature), and ended up buying it much more recently. However it wasn't then for sale and I was happy to cast a non-critical eye over the thing and make what I suspect might have been purring noises...
As for the most recent test ride, that would be the used
Suzuki SV650 we bought Ms M about 13 years ago.
What got me on to this theme is I recently sold the Suzuki DR650SE
and effectively had two buyers. The chap who now owns it
was doing all the negotiations from the UK, where he
happened to be at the time. And the person who missed out
only did so because of timing. He was keen and wanted a
test ride, but the deal was done by the time it might have
been arranged.
Something similar happened with the XT. I talked with the
seller and bought it over the phone, while another player
was annoyed because he missed out – his mate had delayed
getting there to test ride the machine.
This whole thing has of course extended to the new market – and has for some time. My latest new purchase was the 25th anniversary edition Suzuki Hayabusa, which was ordered online. The first time I clapped eyes on it was when I picked it up from Mick Hone Motorcycles. To be fair, in that case I had ridden a regular third-gen Hayabusa some months before and really liked it.
The vast majority of
motorcycles I've purchased in the last couple of
decades or more have been negotiated by phone and
email, with the most extreme example being the 1952 Vincent
Rapide I recently imported from the USA. In that
case I at least knew the broker at the other end.
Most of the time the
bikes have turned out pretty well. Though there have
been some disappointments, such as a Yamaha
GTS1000 that photographed nicely but was in much
poorer condition than I expected. In that case, I
don't believe the seller was being tricky – it was
simply his idea of excellent condition and mine were
clearly worlds apart.
And some sellers can
simply be either mildly delusional or blind to what I
would regard as obvious flaws. Such was the case with
the Kawasaki
ZX-12R I bought in Brisbane, after checking
with the seller that it would be okay for the 1800km
(1100-mile) ride back to Melbourne. It was, apart from
the sketchy front brakes with their tendency to bind
plus the completely stuffed chain and sprocket set.
That was a slow ride home.
We've since sorted all
that out and the bike is now a gem.
Overall I've had some
great wins and a few disappointments, with the good
easily outnumbering the ordinary experiences. I guess
it helps to have a fair bit of buying, owning and
selling experience under the belt. And I'm fortunate
enough to be in a position where a risk that doesn't
quite play out as you might have hoped is not
life-changing.
Buying exclusively
online now has a bit of history. Ducati was a pioneer,
in 2001 selling its first batch of 1000
MH900e entirely via the web at what was then a
heady €15,000 (Au$26,600,
US$17,500, GB£13,000).
Of course I'm old enough
to recall the days when your options were limited to
visiting the local bike shop, or precinct if you lived
in the big smoke, and getting your hands on the latest
classifieds either in the Saturday edition of the
local mainstream newspaper or the weekly Trading
Post classified rag. In some ways I miss that,
but in others I don't.
While there are
unquestionably risks in remote buying, it also means
you have access to far greater choice and I reckon the
benefits outweigh the negatives.
***
-------------------------------------------------
Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722
Privacy: we do not collect cookies or any other data.
Archives
Contact