Allow a test ride?

I'm about to put my bike up for sale and I'm thinking about test rides; I've not sold a bike before and while I'm sure the potential buyer would prefer to take it for a ride first, it gives me red flags because I have no idea if the buyer knows what they're doing. They could dump the thing and walk away with some bruises and a "sorry".

Am I nuts to think so? Or, is it common to not allow test rides? What's typical/expected, here?

 

I let a dickhead come ride a DRZ I had up for sale one time. Said in the ad that I would not give test rides without cash in hand, but this guy knew bikes, so I gave him a pass. He immediately sent into a wheelie all the way down the street, showed us a stoppie, slid it around a bit, then came back and said it wasn't for him.

Cash in hand first.

 

Let them ride it with a handful of cash and their drivers license in your hand.

 

Good call (cash in hand only). Thanks fellas.

 

Yea I'd need to know they are going to buy it. Cash in hand if they want to ride "their" bike.

A dirt bike? Ya I'd expect a test ride, there's way more to go wrong. But a minty Sportster? No way.

 

No rides - Cash in hand - show me your D.L., none of these - get lost.

 

Throw it up here, you'll get local traffic at least.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/official-new-england-buy-sell-tacoma-marketplace.256079/page-697

And come say hi here too, you could also cross post it

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-england-b-s-thread.204874/page-10065#post-29632120

 

Sold a GSXR years ago. Guy met me at the title transfer place. Had a friend along to test ride it. I demanded cash in hand before a leg was thrown over my bike. He handed me an envelope with the cash, I counted it, then his friend went for a little ride. Make sure you’re paid before anyone touches it.

 

Thanks again, everyone, for the advice. And, thank you @ABA180 for the cross-posting suggestion; I'll do that once I get some details and photos sorted out.

 

Already been said enough, but in case others read and haven't caught the point yet, have the cash and their DL in your hand before they even think about swinging a leg over. If for whatever reason things go south and they crash the bike demanding their money back, I'd hope you were smart enough to meet in a public setting with "backup" nearby (a friend, family, bystander, police). I've learned to weed out all the scammers and idiots when selling things by putting in the ad, "cash only/pickup at local police station." Not a bad idea at all to arrange all your meetups at a nearby police/fire station.

 

I took a hit selling my last Harley to a dealer just so I didn't have to deal with letting a handful of people ride it... bad financial decision? Yes - but my nerves just couldn't handle it.

 

No test rides. Did that once. Guy crashed the bike on a test ride and totalled it out.

 

That's a good chunk of advice too. If I'm buying/selling something expensive, I'm doing it in public. Police station is a great spot. So is the bank. I prefer to buy cars/trucks with cash and don't wanna have that much on me any longer than necessary.

 

Very true plus most police stations (at least in my area) have a designated space for online transactions that is monitored on camera.

Did the same with my Chevy that I had before the Tacoma, more because I didn't want to have any further issues with it.

Another wise point. Every time I've sold a vehicle or large item it was at my house (which hasn't happened in a long time) and I made sure my wife was home and watching from inside the house. I agree to re carrying that kind of cash, though if I were to go to the police station (which I do if it's a smaller item) that's 5 minutes from my house.

 

Very true, the bank is another great place for meetups so you can deposit the cash immediately and not have to be traveling any distance with a large chunk of change. Most important thing is make sure someone knows where you're at and what you're doing. Anytime I'm unable to have someone go with me to sell/buy an item, I always let my wife know what time I'm meeting/where, text or call when I pull up, and text or call when I'm leaving. Have always told her I'll check back in 10 mins, even if I'm just hanging around shooting the shit with the person.

 

A friend of mine once was selling a harley, the guy shows up in a beater car and goes for a test ride and as you can guess he never came back. My only question to him was "How long did you sit there before you thought, he is not coming back?" and then "How long did you sit there before you knew he was not coming back?". And also, as you can quess the car was stolen.

 

Real motorcycle riders know used bike "test ride" etiquette . There have only been a couple of times I've had to tell someone to pound sand.

I watched a guy total a bike my neighbor was selling during a test ride.

 

I carry every time I sell or go look at a vehicle. Although my vehicles are not worth a life. I do have full coverage on all my vehicles so if it was stolen it’s probably worth more as an insurance claim than what I would get selling.