06/21/2026
cautionary tales..........
been a while since I have added anything......
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When buying a used motorcycle;
~ never trust the seller is telling you the truth!
~ if you aren't expert level motorcycle mechanic, take it to someone who is and get it looked over before spending thousands!
~ if you buy it based solely on pictures, you likely will be sorely disappointed and paying too much (decades of experience talking with the experience of hundreds of motorcycles customers have brought in as recent purchases to them)
~ but if you buy it anyways and took none of the warning signs or advice.......
Then you self diagnose it and claim you "just need an oil change and look it over for me , the tire pressure monitor system light is on and cruise control isn't working".... ---hey have you checked you tire pressures???--- "no, but it rides good"
uggg...
So you arrive on appointment day and you have 28psi in the front, 31psi in the rear, the safety switches for all the cruise control shut offs and stuck or sticky and the bushing in the clutch lever is so worn out, the ecu thinks the clutch is always pulled in.. but as I work on it, I find not only all these things but dozens of more important safety issues and spend about 4-5 hours on your bike then looking up parts and availability and then finally sending you off an email for ~$3000 in repairs that are needed (since you have zero service records) and the outward look of the bike sans bodywork is a mess Tires
Fork seals
Brake pads
Brake fluids flush
Air filter and so much more including adjusting valves that should have been done atleast 5 times already but ... NO SERVICE RECORDS, so it is probable they have never been done not once!
So this turns into a 20+ hour job
newsflash, this is now a new appointment at the end of the line of all the other appointment motorcycles..... which can routinely be a month or more out
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#2
and when I estimate something based upon what I can see with all that bodywork hiding most of the mechanicals....... You know it can be more
I have had no less than 10 motorcycles arrive this season for what was a planned 1-4 hour service that have all been 2x, 3x and even 4x the time commitment, due to so many problems with them. And them needing so many safety issues fixed to be safe to even ride
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A few pictures for your entertainment.....
~1,2&3.............. customer states, I just need a clutch cable installed, mine is frayed.....
turns out it did not need a clutch cable at all, the pivot end was siezed at the lever and it was dry (it could have been cleaned and l**ed)
but hey, since the new cable was here and going in...... I find you have zero charging system, the stator to reg/rectifier connection was corroded and burnt..12.18v in the battery, you might not have even made it home had I not fixed this too and charged up your battery- it had zero charging system................
~ #4 & 5.......... sometimes a stator is an easy replacement, sometimes it is engine unbolted from frame and lifted to get to the second stator assy. you know one of those 5x jobs.......................
~ #6,7,8,9 &10?
Mice building nests in your airbox, pooping and peeing all over the air filter and that eats through the filter and drips on your throttle bodies and in the airbox and they tend to chew wires......... no seeing those things until you are hours deep into other services on most bikes.....................
#11,12,13 and 14
a bunch of craptastic stripped, rusty and corroded fasteners and a handful of auto style plastic fasteners that were forced in but won't come back out sans cutting them since most can't be reached.
Running 40ish bolts through a die and wire wheel and then running a tap through all the "nuts" afixed to fork legs, seat mount tabs and every other place the 'nut" is part of an assembly like the forks, the frame, the subframe etc...... You can't really forsee the added hours for this crap, or how many of the fasteners you will be throwing away and replacing.
While I know the oem pop rivets and well nuts aren't cheap, they work and they fit and they are re-useable many times if not abused and neglected. They are money well spent!!! (my hourly rate would have replaced all of these multiple times over, now you are paying for the extra time and the new oem parts!).........................
lots more..... 15-????
if you are not flushing your brake and clutch fluid at minimum every other year. You are doing yourself and your motorcycle a disservice!
and don't forget to clean and l**e the lever pivots and the clutch pivot bushing.
When replacing brake pads, make sure you clean the calipers thoroughly especially the pistons..... and pay extra attention to the slider pins and how well they fit in the brake pads
and if your throttle is sticky. don't be like this guy and install a steel grip and let it sit outside and rust to the bar......
and finally................
If you think paying a professional to adjust your valves is too expensive........ How much more do you imagine it costs to have him fix it after you attempt it on your own and screw the pooch!
