Let's Ride_ Sonny Barger's Guide to Motorcycling Part 5

You can tell if this is the case with a simple test. First, make certain that the owner or the mechanic you brought along, or anyone else capable of standing on his or her own two feet, is standing beside the bike to help keep it secure. Go to the front of the bike and get a strong grip on the handlebar. With the front wheel placed firmly between your legs, squeeze the front brake lever to keep the bike from rolling away from you (or worse yet, over you) and lift the bike up off its side stand. Once you have the bike securely upright, pump the fork up and down a few times. When you are finished, put the bike back down on its side stand, making sure that it's resting in a secure position, and rub your finger along the exposed part of the fork tube above (or below on USD forks) the slider. If the seal is leaking, you'll feel a thin film of oil.

If the bike is more than a few years old and hasn't had the fork seals replaced, there's a good chance you'll find a leaky fork seal. A leaky fork seal shouldn't be a deal breaker, but like just about everything else a.s.sociated with a motorcycle, it will be relatively expensive to fix. Call a motorcycle shop that sells the model you're looking at and get a quote for replacing the seals. Your final offer for the bike should reflect the money you'll have to pay to repair the fork.

Follow the same procedure to check for other possible fork problems. When you're pumping the fork up and down, make certain that both sides of the fork legs are moving up and down freely, without binding or making noise, both of which could be signs of expensive problems to come.

Steering Head Bearings You can check the steering head bearings at the same time you're checking out the fork. While you're holding the bike up turn the handlebar all the way to the left, then all the way back to the right. Listen to see if you hear a clunking sound, which could indicate that a steering head bearing is loose or worn out; it may have dents and flat spots that can't be adjusted away.

If the bike has a center stand, put it up on the center stand, as described in chapter 3.

Once the bike is securely on the stand, have the person who's with you place his or her weight on the rear of the bike. This should lift the front tire in the air. When you've made sure the bike is secure, center the bar so that the tire is facing straight ahead and let it fall to one side, and then the other. If the wheel moves evenly and smoothly, chances are it's in good condition. If it moves with a clunky, jerky motion, the bike likely has problems with the steering head bearings.

Again, this is not uncommon on older bikes, and it shouldn't be a deal breaker; the bearings may just need an adjustment, but there is a good chance that they will need to be replaced. This will be even more expensive than leaky fork seals, especially if the bike has a lot of bodywork that needs to be removed. Check with a local shop to find out what this will cost to repair, and if you decide to buy the bike, make an offer that will reflect that cost.

While you have the front of the bike up in the air, check the condition of the wheel bearings by grasping the front wheel at a right angle to the fork and rock it from side to side. If you notice any play in the wheel, the wheel bearing will need s.h.i.+mming or replacement.

Tires If you're used to automobile tires, which often last fifty thousand miles or more, you're in for a rude and expensive awakening when it comes to motorcycle tires. The very best motorcycle tires won't last ten thousand miles; in most cases you'll be doing good to get seventy-five hundred miles from a set of tires. And these tires are expensive; on big touring bikes like the Gold Wing or Vision that require the removal of a lot of plastic bodywork to gain access to the tires, you could be looking at $600-plus to buy a set of high-quality tires, and another $300 to have a shop mount them.

There's really no way around this-it's just the price you'll pay to ride a motorcycle-but with that said, you can still do a few things to help keep your costs down, even when you first buy a bike. Pick up a tread-measuring tool and measure the depth of the tread on any bike you're thinking of buying. Make sure the tires have at least 50 percent of their tread life left. If they don't, get an estimate for the cost of tire replacement from your local shop and reflect those costs in any offer you might make for the bike.

Check the air pressure of the tires. Low air pressure is obviously not a major problem, but you'll want to make certain that the tires are properly inflated before a bike is safe to take out on a test ride (consult the owner's manual for the proper air-pressure level). Low pressure can mean a tire has a leak, but as often as not it just means the bike might have sat unused for a while. If a bike has been unused for more than a few months, check the sidewalls for dry rot, cracks, and weather checking. If a tire shows signs of problems like this, it should be replaced regardless of how much tread is left on it.

You can get a lot of information from the tire itself, like the date the tire was manufactured, for example. The date of manufacture is found in the final four-digit code stamped into the small oval area on the tire's sidewall, right after the word DOT DOT (Department of Transportation). The first two digits denote the week of the year in which the tire was manufactured and the last two digits represent the last two numbers of the year of manufacture. For example, if a tire was manufactured in June of 2006, the code will read: "2806." (Department of Transportation). The first two digits denote the week of the year in which the tire was manufactured and the last two digits represent the last two numbers of the year of manufacture. For example, if a tire was manufactured in June of 2006, the code will read: "2806."

If the tire has a code that ends in three digits, that means the tire was manufactured before the year 2000. If that's the case, then figure that you will need to replace it regardless of how good it looks. There is no hard-and-fast rule about how old a tire should get before replacing, but if you don't have the sense not to ride on tires that are over ten years old, you should probably take up a safer hobby, like knitting. Even if a tire is just six or seven years old, you can a.s.sume it's past its prime and will need replacement before you start riding the bike. Again, this isn't a deal breaker, but when negotiating to buy the bike, your offer should reflect the cost of tire replacement.

Frames Modern motorcycle frames are generally pretty robust pieces of equipment and won't shake to pieces the way they used to on earlier bikes. (There are, however, exceptions, including Suzuki's first-generation TL1000, a high-performance V-twin sport bike built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and which developed a notable reputation for frame failure. Most frames you look at will either be made of tubular steel or aluminum alloy beams, though those found on BMWs from the 1980s and 1990s are virtually not frames at all, but rather consist of a couple of subframes bolted to the engine cases. In general, these were strong and reliable and should be no more problematic than the frames on other modern bikes.

Even though frame failures are rare, you should still take some time to inspect the frame of any used bike you consider buying. Check the gussets and welds for cracks, especially in high-stress areas like around the steering head. Look for dents or severe scratches that might indicate a bike has been wrecked, and look for signs of corrosion around the battery box. Take note of flaking paint, which could also be a sign that a bike has been through a serious crash. Don't walk away from a bike because of a little flaking in the frame's paint, but if you do see this, keep your eyes open for other trouble signs.

Swingarms/Rear Suspensions All modern motorcycles have some sort of swinging arm rear suspension. From the 1950s until the 1980s this consisted of a fairly standard setup, with a metal fork attached to the rear wheel, coming together in front of the wheel, and attaching to the frame at a pivot point behind the transmission. A pair of shocks, one on either side of the rear wheel, controlled the wheel's up-and-down motion.

This status quo began to change in the mid-1970s. Yamaha used the first modern single-shock setup on its factory motocross race bike in 1973. Within a few years both Yamaha and Suzuki offered single-shock dirt bikes to the general public. At first these used triangular swingarms that placed the shock at the top of the triangle, in front of the rear tire. The shocks on these bikes rested at an angle and connected to the frame up under the gas tank. This system was soon replaced by a setup that placed the shock upright in front of the wheel. By the early 1980s all compet.i.tive dirt bikes used this latter setup.

At the same time, single-shock arrangements began to appear on street bikes. In 1980 BMW introduced the R80G/S, an 800-cc dual sport that featured a single shock, though this was mounted in the traditional position, alongside the rear wheel. Where the BMW design broke with tradition was its use of a single-sided rear swingarm, which was basically like a traditional swingarm cut in half. BMW called this system the "Monolever."

Yamaha used a more innovative single-shock system when it introduced the Virago series in 1981. These early Yamahas used a system much like the very first single-shock dirt bikes, with a triangular swingarm and a laid-down shock that ran under the seat and connected to the frame up by the gas tank.

Over the next few years j.a.panese sport bikes began to feature single-shock rear suspensions, though these followed the practice of the later dirt bikes, with a vertical shock mounted in front of the rear tire. Harley even got into the alternative rear suspension business with its Softail system. Like the Virago, this system featured a triangular rear swingarm, but instead of being located under the seat, the shocks were mounted down under the engine, hidden from sight.

The main difference between the Harley system and the various systems used by the j.a.panese and Germans was that the j.a.panese and German systems were all about function. The main purpose of the Harley system was cosmetic; Harley was trying to re-create the look of the earlier hardtails (bikes without any rear suspension at all). It did this by hiding the entire rear suspension system as best it could.

Today we have a bewildering variety of rear suspension designs to pick from. Having said all this, unless you're planning to spend a lot of time on a racetrack, you should simply make sure that any used bike you're buying doesn't have problems with its swingarm. Swingarms generally are extremely stout and should cause little trouble over the life of a motorcycle, but you'll still need to check for potential problems.

First, examine the shock or shocks. Make sure they aren't leaking fluid, or that they haven't lost their gas charge if they are nitrogen shocks. You can check for leaks in much the same way you check the fork seals-bounce the bike up and down and then check for greasy moisture on the shaft of the shock. You should be able to tell if the shocks are properly charged and/or filled with fluid after you bounce the bike up and down. If it bounces too easily, the shock(s) will probably need work. This is not uncommon on bikes with a few miles under their belts, but like everything else, it will be expensive.

An even more expensive repair would be to replace the swingarm pivot bus.h.i.+ngs. When these get bad, they can make your rear wheel wobble while you ride down the road. As you might imagine, this can have fatal consequences on the highway and needs to be fixed immediately. Thankfully you should easily be able to determine if the swingarm bus.h.i.+ngs are bad before your bike enters a "death wobble" on the open road. The procedure for checking swingarm bus.h.i.+ngs is similar to checking the steering head bearing and is much easier to do on a bike equipped with a center stand. When the bike is on a center stand, the rear wheel is lifted up in the air so you can wiggle it back and forth to see if there is any play in the bus.h.i.+ngs. If there is a little play, that might not mean there's a problem-on many bikes the swingarm pivot simply can be adjusted to eliminate this play-but if the swingarm clunks from side to side, you can be certain the bike will soon experience expensive and dangerous problems. Walk away from any bike with a sick swingarm while you still can.

The Final Drive This is also the time to check the final drive system. As mentioned in chapter 1, there are three common types of final drive systems: chains, shafts, and belts. Belts are the best system, in my opinion, and require little maintenance, but they can fail with age and wear. For this reason, check the condition of the rubber to ensure it's not cracked or coming apart. Most important, make certain the belt has all of its teeth. If teeth are missing from the belt, it is just about to fail.

A damaged belt is not a huge problem on some belt-drive bikes, but, on others, it could get expensive. Generally speaking, if the belt runs inside the frame as it pa.s.ses over the swingarm pivot between the front and rear pulleys, as it does on Harley-Davidson touring bikes and Softail models, the frame will have to come apart to replace the belt. This is a huge job and is much more expensive than changing belts on models that have the belt running outside the frame, such as Harley's Dyna and Sportster models. If the belt has any damage or noticeable wear, check with a local shop to see how much they charge for replacing belts on that model. If you decide to buy the bike, reflect the cost of belt replacement in your offer.

I prefer belts over shafts because belts don't alter the handling characteristics of a bike the way shafts do, even though shafts require less maintenance than belts. When you have a shaft-driven bike up on a center stand (most bikes with shaft drives have center stands), you can check the oil level in the rear drive unit by opening a screw-in plug that rests on the upper part of the ring and pinion housing and looking inside to see that the oil is at the proper level. Once you've determined that it is, put the bike in gear (with the engine off, of course), grab the rear wheel, and jerk it back and forth. If you feel a loud, loose "clunk" inside the rear drive housing, the bike may be about to experience a very expensive drive-shaft failure.

Chains are the most common types of rear-drive systems, and they also wear out the fastest. In the 1970s and early 1980s a few manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and Yamaha used chain-drive systems that ran the chain in an enclosed oil bath. These enclosed chains lasted virtually forever, but the cases that held the oil were heavy and p.r.o.ne to leaking. They eventually proved to be a technological dead end and by the mid-1980s all motorcycle companies had abandoned the idea and gone back to open chains and sprockets, or in Harley's case, belts.

You'd be lucky to get twenty thousand miles from a chain and a set of sprockets. If you're like me, that won't get you through one riding season. Add to that the fact that the chain final drive is the most maintenance-intensive system on a modern motorcycle, and you can see why I don't care for them. You'll need to adjust your chain at least every week, perhaps every other day if you're a serious rider.

Be prepared to get dirty when checking the condition of the chain. Although there are some good chain lubricants that don't leave a greasy buildup or attract too much road grime, even the cleanest chain on a bike that is regularly ridden will be somewhat greasy and dirty. This is where the clean rag you brought along will come in handy.

First check the tension on the chain to make certain the chain isn't so loose that it will cause problems when riding. If the bike is well maintained, then the slack should be within the manufacturer's tolerance, usually meaning the chain should have enough free play to move up and down an inch or two. An overly tight chain might be evidence of a well-meaning but ill-informed seller. A slightly loose chain may only mean the bike gets ridden a lot, but in my mind, a chain that is sloppy is a red flag indicating its owner neglects basic maintenance. If the chain is too loose to ride safely, have the owner adjust it before going out on a test ride.

When the chain tension has been set to the proper level, roll the rear wheel to turn the chain and check it at various spots. If the tension varies from location to location, the chain may have tight spots, indicating that it is on its last legs.

The condition of the sprockets will also tell you how long you can expect the chain to last. Since the wheel only turns one direction under power (no chain-driven motorcycles have reverse gears), the teeth of the sprockets only wear on one side. Because of this, they develop a distinct cupping appearance as they wear out-one side of each tooth appears worn and the other appears almost new.

Sprockets usually wear out at almost identical rates as chains, requiring the chain and both sprockets to be replaced at the same time. Since wear is much easier to see on the sprockets than on the chain itself, you can expect that the chain will have about as much life left in it as do the sprockets. If the owner claims to have replaced the chain but not the sprockets, ignore anything the person says after that because he or she is either a liar or a fool.

If the bike lacks a center stand, the process of checking the suspension and cha.s.sis gets a lot trickier. Here's where taking the bike to a mechanic can be worthwhile, because any worthy mechanic will have a lift he or she can use to hoist the bike up for these types of examinations. Barring access to a secure lift, your next best bet is to use a good stand, like those built by the company Pit Bull. Quality stands will support either wheel (if you have two, you can support both ends at once), but unlike a lift designed specifically for motorcycles, which connect to a bike at the center of the frame, stands lift a bike at its wheels. This loads the suspension with the weight of the motorcycle, making it much more difficult to check for problems with the swingarm bus.h.i.+ngs or steering head bearing.

Brakes The brakes on any motorcycle you'll consider buying are perhaps the single most important items when it comes to saving your bacon out on the highway. There are two kinds of brakes: disc brakes and drum brakes. Disc brakes slow your motorcycle by squeezing pistons inside calipers, which are attached to your frame or fork so that they don't rotate with the wheel. These pistons push pads against a disc that's connected to the wheel so that it rotates with the wheel. The pressure of the pistons slows and gradually stops the wheel's rotation.

Drum brakes work by expanding the brake shoes-stationary, horseshoe-shaped devices-against the inner surface of a rotating wheel hub. As mentioned earlier, you'll only run across drum brakes on extremely low-end motorcycles, usually the smallest cruisers from the j.a.panese manufacturers, which often still feature drum brakes in the back. The majority of quality motorcycles you'll be considering will have discs at either end.

Finding a bike you like with a drum rear brake shouldn't cause you to exclude that bike automatically. Disc brakes are unquestionably better, but drum brakes can be at least adequate, provided a motorcycle isn't too heavy. Make certain they work smoothly and stop the bike without shuddering.

If there is a problem with the rear drum brake, this means the shoes are worn. Often these can be adjusted. There will be a lever coming out of the wheel hub that activates the shoes inside. Where the lever connects to the brake cable leading to the brake pedal on the right side of the engine, there should be an adjustable rod connecting the cable to the lever. This rod will have a spring on it to keep tension between the rod and the lever. You'll find an adjustable nut at the end of the rod. If the nut is at the beginning of its travel and there is a lot of room to tighten it down before it reaches the end of its travel, chances are the brake shoes still have some usable life in them. If the nut has been adjusted down toward the end of its travel, most likely the brake shoes will need to be replaced soon.

Replacing the brake shoes is a relatively inexpensive process, and one you can easily do yourself, even if you're not mechanically inclined. The hardest part of replacing the shoes is getting the wheel off the bike. If you can do that, the brake cover should just pop off. Yet even simple tasks require your full attention to detail. Always remember that the life you are putting on the line will be your own. As you start taking the wheel apart, take careful notes, outlining where everything goes, so you can put it all back together correctly when you are finished. Leave off one cotter key or leave one bolt loose, and you might find that your wheel falls off when you stab at the brake pedal. If you have any doubts whatsoever about your ability to fix your own brakes, leave the job to a professional.

If you find a bike with a drum brake in front, it will either be too old or too small for you to seriously consider buying. Any bike worth purchasing will have at least one disc brake up front, and likely two. The process for checking disc brakes is quite a bit different than it is for drum brakes.

The first thing you need to check is the condition of the fluid. This will be in a reservoir on the handlebar, right up by the front brake lever. Some BMWs from the 1970s placed the reservoir under the tank, and custom bike builders often place reservoirs in the oddest places you can imagine. But if you're following my advice, you're not going to be looking at antiques or hand-built customs, so any bike you should be looking at will have the front brake reservoir on the right handlebar.

Check both the clarity and level of the brake fluid. The fluid should be relatively clear and set to the correct level. Generally speaking, brake fluid levels don't vary all that much on a properly functioning brake system. In hundreds of thousands of miles of riding, I've rarely had to add fluid to modern disc brakes. A low fluid level usually means there is some sort of leak in the system or that it hasn't been properly maintained and is seriously overdue for a fluid change. Either case is bad news and ought to ring alarm bells.

Likewise fluid that is cloudy or dirty-looking is a sign that something isn't right. This indicates that the bike's owner has neglected to perform routine maintenance or that the brake system is contaminated. If the fluid level is low or if the fluid itself looks murky, chances are an expensive brake repair is in the bike's near future-or worse yet, the system is on the verge of experiencing a catastrophic failure that could end with you being crippled or killed.

After checking the fluid in the front brake master cylinder, move on to the brake hoses. Make certain the visible hoses aren't cracked, kinked, or obviously leaking. If they appear to be in rough condition, it's another sign the bike has been seriously neglected.

But even hoses that look good on the outside might be worn out, especially if the bike is more than five or six years old. You'll only be able to determine this with a test ride. If the front brake lever feels mushy; if there is a slight pause between pulling the brake lever and when the brake pads start to bite into the disc; or if the brake lever seems to move too close to the handlebar, you've got a bike with problematic brakes. It may be something extremely simple, like air in the brake lines. This can be cured by bleeding the brakes. (If you don't know how to do this already, you should probably leave it to a mechanic. If the bike has ABS, then you'll definitely want to leave bleeding to a trained mechanic, even if you know how to bleed brakes yourself, because ABS systems are incredibly complicated.) On the other hand, a mushy brake lever could also indicate the need for new brake lines.

Needing new brake lines is not a major issue and shouldn't dissuade you from buying a bike. In fact, if the bike is more than five or six years old, expect to replace them sooner or later, even if they aren't causing obvious problems when you buy the bike. It's a relatively simple procedure, but like everything else related to motorcycle maintenance, it is expensive. Get an estimate and, as always, include the replacement cost in your offer.

(A side note on brakes: if you need to replace the brake lines, you should spend a few extra dollars and replace them with braided-steel lines, which will last much longer and are also much better-looking.) Next you'll need to check the brake pads. Most brake calipers will have some sort of cap on top of them. You should be able to pop this cap off and visually inspect the pads. This consists of simply looking at the pads to see how far down the material that grabs the brake discs has worn. Generally, new pads have at least a quarter inch of material on them. Most have a groove in the middle of the pads that runs almost all the way through the material. You can use that groove as a gauge to determine how far the pads have worn down.

Worn brake pads really aren't an issue when buying a used bike because pads are relatively easy and cheap to replace. The most expensive pads on the market seldom cost more than $50, and if you change the pads yourself, you'll save hundreds of dollars over the cost of having the pads replaced in a shop. The first step is usually to remove the calipers by unfastening the two bolts that hold them to the caliper carriers. (On some bikes you don't even have to do this-you can replace the pads with the calipers in place.) Then you pop the inspection cover off, remove a couple of pins, and remove the pads. Putting in the new pads is just a little more difficult, because you'll have to press the pistons back into the calipers to make room for the new pads, which will be much thicker than the old ones due to their additional pad material. This might require using a little force.

Be aware that the pistons are easily damaged. If you try to pry them apart with a metal tool, you'll likely damage the metal on the pistons, creating sharp edges that can tear seals and cause costly leaks. You'll need something soft, like a wood stick, to safely pry apart the pistons. After that, you should be able to drop the calipers in, replace the pins (along with the clips or keys that secure the pins in place), and you're done. Again, if you're going to replace the brake pads yourself, as with any repair, make certain you take careful notes and put everything back together properly. No helmet, riding jacket, boots, gloves, or any other protective gear will save you if your brake calipers fall off. Because of this, if you have any doubts at all about your ability to change the brake pads, leave the job to a professional.

The last part of the brake system you'll examine will be the rotors. These will also be the easiest parts to examine, since they are usually right out in the open where you can see them. Look at them from the front or from the top, whichever gives you the best view, and make sure they're straight and not warped. Have the owner or a friend roll the bike while you look at the brakes because any warping will be more obvious while the wheel is turning.

When the bike is stationary, run your hands across the braking surfaces. The faces of the discs should feel smooth. If the bike has any miles at all on it, you'll most likely feel some ridges, but these shouldn't be numerous or deep. Damaged discs could be another sign of a crash; at the very least they're evidence of improper maintenance.

Checking the Oil You would think that anyone selling a bike would have the sense to make certain the engine had oil, but I didn't live this long by overestimating the average person's capacity for common sense. Most people will have the oil filled to the proper level, but you don't want to have an engine seize up and cause you to crash because you happened across the one idiot who didn't.

Most modern motorcycles use wet-sump oil systems. These are similar to automotive systems in that the oil is held in a reservoir at the bottom of the crankcase and is checked via a dipstick.

However, unlike automotive dipsticks, which are usually held in place by rubber plugs and their own weight, motorcycle dipsticks are usually made of lightweight plastic and screwed in place. This can lead to confusion when checking the oil, since some manufacturers require you to screw the dipstick all the way down to check the level while others require you to unscrew it and simply let it rest in the filler hole to get the proper level. The difference between these two methods is significant and can lead to underfilling, or worse yet, overfilling the oil reservoir by as much as one quart. The only way to find out for certain which method you need to use is to check the owner's manual (any conscientious owner will have an owner's manual to go with a bike-if he or she doesn't, you should probably find another bike).

If a bike has a center stand, place the bike on the stand to check the oil level. On bikes that lack center stands, you'll have to consult the owner's manual to find out whether you should check the oil with the bike on its side stand or if you need to have someone hold the bike upright while you check the oil. You'd think that manufacturers who neglected to fit bikes with center stands would design their dipsticks to work with the bike on its side stand, but you'd be wrong most of the time. More often than not you'll have to figure out a way to hold the bike upright to check oil, which is a major pain in the a.s.s and very unsafe if you don't have a stand or have someone to help you.

While you're checking the oil level, check the condition of the oil. It should be relatively clear and brown. The blacker and dirtier it is, the longer it's been since the oil was changed. In addition to being sludgy and dirty, old oil doesn't provide adequate lubrication. The job of the oil is to coat the moving metal parts with a thin film so that the metal moves on the oil film rather than having metal rub against metal.

Oil is cla.s.sified in two categories: organic and synthetic. Organic oil is the black stuff that is pumped out of the ground. Synthetic oil is man-made and is better in just about every respect than organic oil. Organic oil starts to break down after a thousand or so miles of use; synthetic oil doesn't start to break down until two thousand miles of use. When the molecules in oil start to break down, oil loses its ability to evenly coat the metal with a layer of film, leading to metal-on-metal contact, which is what makes an engine wear out.

Because of this, you'll want to change oil at least every two thousand to three thousand miles if you use organic oil. I use organic oil and change it every twenty-five hundred miles. If you run synthetic oil, you can go three thousand to four thousand miles between oil changes. Many manufacturers specify oil changes at six thousand to eight thousand miles, but this is just marketing hype. My coauthor, Darwin Holmstrom, once asked Erik Buell, former president of the late Buell Motorcycle Company, about this. Buell is a straight shooter and answered honestly. "Of course anyone who knows anything about engines won't go any longer than four thousand miles without changing oil on any bike," he said, "but the other manufacturers still recommend longer intervals for marketing reasons. We have to play their game."

If the oil is black and dirty-looking, then it's gone longer than three thousand to four thousand miles between oil changes. This means that the engine has experienced abnormal wear. Modern engines are tough and will take a certain amount of abuse, so if everything checks out on the bike (and it doesn't have very many miles on the clock), then you still might consider buying one with dirty oil, but I'd probably find another bike. Changing oil is the most basic routine maintenance you can perform on a bike. If an owner has neglected this, he or she has probably neglected everything else, too.

When you examine the oil, smell it. A burnt smell indicates serious engine problems and should cause you to move on to another bike. Also look for specs of crud in the oil. These could be metal shavings and indicate a serious problem. If the bike is barely broken in, you might find a few small metal shavings in the oil, an indication that it left the factory with tolerances that might have been on the tight side, but if the bike is well broken in, metal shavings in the oil are bad news.

In liquid-cooled bikes, also watch for any creamy froth on top of the oil. This indicates a leaking head gasket that allows antifreeze into the oil, which means the bike will need extensive repairs before it's safe and reliable to ride. If you see evidence of this on the dipstick, thank the owner for taking the time to show you the bike and move on to the next bike.

THE ROAD TEST.

AT THIS POINT YOU'LL have learned about as much as you can from examining a stationary bike. If a used motorcycle meets your standards up until here, you'll have to take it for a road test to determine whether the engine and transmission are up to snuff. I know you'll likely want to get straight to the road test, which is by far the most fun part of the entire process, but there's a reason you save this for last-you need to check out everything else to make certain the bike is safe to ride before you risk your life by taking it out on the road. have learned about as much as you can from examining a stationary bike. If a used motorcycle meets your standards up until here, you'll have to take it for a road test to determine whether the engine and transmission are up to snuff. I know you'll likely want to get straight to the road test, which is by far the most fun part of the entire process, but there's a reason you save this for last-you need to check out everything else to make certain the bike is safe to ride before you risk your life by taking it out on the road.

Although the road test may be exciting for the buyer, it's the least enjoyable for the seller. A dealers.h.i.+p might not let you ride a bike at all, though they are more likely to let you ride a used bike than a new one. The dealer may tell you that you won't be able to ride the bike because of insurance reasons, but if you can convince the dealer you're seriously considering buying the bike, you should be able to talk the salesperson into a test ride. It helps if you look like a potentially serious buyer. This is one time it pays to dress conservatively; if you have tribal tattoos on your forehead and are wearing a T-s.h.i.+rt that says "f.u.c.k Death!" your odds of getting a test ride diminish considerably.

Even a private seller may be reluctant to let you ride his or her motorcycle. You can hardly blame the owner; the person is trying to get money by selling his or her bike. To get the most money for the bike, the person likely has worked hard to make it as presentable as possible. Should some dimwit take the bike on a test ride and drop it, the owner loses.

The seller can't count on the potential buyer to do the right thing if a mishap occurs on a test drive; that is, financially compensate the seller for any potential damage to the bike. If that happens, the seller may have to show the bike to an insurance company, which will probably require the seller to pay some sort of deductible, and then the company may jack up his or her rates. So, although you really should ride any bike you are considering buying, don't be surprised if the seller requires some sort of written agreement or security deposit before he or she lets you take out the bike. It might be a bit of an overreaction, but it is understandable.

You should always treat a motorcycle with respect, and this is especially true when that motorcycle belongs to someone else. You're not trying to see how fast the motorcycle is-there are dozens of magazines and websites with professionals who have already answered that question for you. And you're not trying to prove you're the next road-racing superstar. You're just trying to determine the mechanical soundness of the bike.

In addition to confirming the quality of the frame and suspension, the focus of your road test should be to determine the condition of the engine and transmission. If you think the other stuff is expensive, check out the cost of an engine or transmission rebuild in a modern motorcycle. Chances are the costs could approach what you pay for the motorcycle in the first place.

ONCE YOU'VE DETERMINED THAT THE BIKE has the proper amount of oil and that the oil is in good condition, start the engine and let it warm up-trying to ride a motorcycle with a cold engine won't tell you much more about it than that the engine is cold. has the proper amount of oil and that the oil is in good condition, start the engine and let it warm up-trying to ride a motorcycle with a cold engine won't tell you much more about it than that the engine is cold.

If the bike has a center stand, leave it on the stand while warming up. When the bike is on the side stand, the oil will slosh to one side of the oil pan. Depending on the position of the pickup of the oil pump, if the oil sloshes too far to one side of the pan or the other, the pump might suck air instead of oil, especially if the oil level is low. Because of this, some bikes, especially older j.a.panese four cylinders, can starve the top ends of oil if they are run for extended periods while resting on their side stands. (This won't be a problem if the bike has a dry-sump system like that used by Harley-Davidson.) Once you're out on the road, pay attention to the overall feel of the motorcycle. Does the frame feel solid or does it squirm around underneath you? Does the suspension seem controlled, yet compliant? Or is it soft and mushy? Or perhaps stiff and bouncing? Does the bike track straight or does it move down the road like it's a crab? Do all the controls work properly or are they sticky and stiff? For the most part you're looking for surprises, since you should have a handle on all of these areas from your earlier inspection of the bike.

You're not going to be pus.h.i.+ng a bike's handling limits on a test ride, but you will want to get a feel for the general soundness of the cha.s.sis. The bike should track straightly and predictably when pointed down the road, corner without any drama, and be stable on the straights. The suspension should be firm but compliant. The fork shouldn't dive excessively during braking and the rear shock(s) shouldn't bottom out over b.u.mps. Make certain the bike doesn't shake its head when decelerating, particularly in the 45- to 30-mile-per-hour range. If it does, it may just need a steering head bearing adjustment, or the bike may just have mismatched tires (this is easy enough to check once you've stopped), but a bearing replacement is probably in the cards.

The main things you're checking on the test ride are the engine and transmission. A strong engine should start easily and idle smoothly once warmed up. An uneven idle could indicate problems with the carburetors or fuel-injection system. The bike should accelerate without hesitation and should not miss or pop. It most definitely should not produce any smoke from the exhaust pipe once the engine is warmed up, and you shouldn't smell a strong odor of unburned gasoline. If you see white smoke, the engine is burning oil. If you see black smoke, the bike is running rich, meaning it's getting too much gas and not enough air in the fuel charge. Either way, it's not good. Any hiccups, uneven response, or engine bogging indicates a fuel-delivery system problem.

The engine shouldn't make any ticking, rattling, or other mechanical knocking sounds. All you should hear is the burble of the exhaust. Some engines emit a whining sound from their cam gears, especially some of the gear-driven V-fours from Honda, but this shouldn't sound like something inside the engine is broken.

The transmission should pop into first gear with slick mechanical precision; there should be no clunks, reluctance, or any other drama. Clutch take-up should be progressive. If the clutch is jerky and sudden, it could just mean that the clutch cable needs to be adjusted, or it could mean that the clutch itself is weak. If this seems like a problem, have the owner adjust the clutch cable per the procedure outlined in the owner's manual and see if that takes care of the problem. If it doesn't, you need to be suspicious of the clutch. This might also indicate potentially expensive transmission problems.

The rest of the s.h.i.+fts should be as smooth and slick as the s.h.i.+ft into first gear. Pay special attention to any clunky s.h.i.+fts or grinding noises coming from the transmission, especially on Yamahas. For years, from the mid-1980s until at least the early 2000s, some Yamahas were p.r.o.ne to transmission failure, the result of Yamaha's practice of using tolerances that were too loose in their transmissions. Most of the afflicted bikes will have had their transmissions fail by now and will have been rebuilt to tighter tolerances, and a lot of people have ridden tens of thousands of miles with no problems at all. Even if I didn't have a policy of buying American-built motorcycles, I'd still stay away from used Yamahas.

But any motorcycle can have a bad transmission. For example, Harley's early five-speed transmissions-those built before the late 1980s-had notoriously weak s.h.i.+fting forks and were p.r.o.ne to expensive failures. This problem was so prevalent that it opened the door for a lot of aftermarket transmission builders like Baker, most of whom made transmissions that were as good as (and, more often than not, better than) the original equipment trannies that Harley used.

When Harley switched to six-speed transmissions in 2008, they once again had transmission problems. They had really bad fifth gears that would fail. It turned out that the problem was caused by the way the fifth gear was cut. Harley revised the way it cut the fifth-gear cogs for 2009 and the problem seems to have gone away.

If you suspect any problems at all with the transmission, pay close attention and don't buy the bike unless you are sure that the problem was something like a loose clutch cable or a poor s.h.i.+ft on your part and not with the transmission itself. If a bike pops out of gear, head directly back to the owner and give the bike back to him or her before the transmission fails completely, possibly giving an unscrupulous seller an opening to blame you for the failed transmission. And a bike that pops out of gear will have its transmission fail sooner rather than later. You don't even need to call a shop and find out what a transmission rebuild will cost you, because I can answer that question for you: too d.a.m.ned much.

When you get the bike into top gear out on the road-roughly at 45 miles per hour on most bikes-accelerate up to the speed limit. The engine's rpm should rise in proportion to your speed. If the engine seems to spool up faster than you're building speed, the clutch is probably slipping.

Replacing the clutch isn't all that expensive compared to transmissions. But consider that modern clutches are pretty tough, so if the clutch is wearing out on a bike that doesn't have a lot of miles, chances are that it's been seriously abused, perhaps even raced. A weak clutch should serve as a warning flag for other potential problems.

WHAT Y YOU S SHOULD K KNOW.

- A thorough inspection up front can save you thousands of dollars down the road.

- When in doubt, consult a good mechanic.

- If something doesn't check out, find another motorcycle.

by Nicolas Syracuse

Chapter Five.

Buying a Bike Like most aspects of motorcycle owners.h.i.+p, the process of buying bikes is different from automobiles-you'll find this out as soon as you go to finance and insure your bike. Whether you buy a new bike or a used bike, you'll need to make a few arrangements before you ride home on your new (or new-to-you) machine. As mentioned in the last chapter, if you buy a bike from a dealers.h.i.+p, the staff can help you with details like financing, licensing, and insurance; but if you're buying a used bike from a private seller, you'll have to arrange for these things yourself. Either way, you'll want to keep in mind some important considerations that are unique to buying bikes.

PRICING A USED MOTORCYCLE.

DETERMINING WHAT'S A FAIR value for any used motorcycle you're looking at will be a challenge. There are online resources like the venerable value for any used motorcycle you're looking at will be a challenge. There are online resources like the venerable Kelley Blue Book Kelley Blue Book that list rough values for pretty much every motorcycle available, but the prices are a lot more volatile for used motorcycles than they are for used cars. To make matters more confusing, prices can vary wildly from region to region. For example, a high-performance sport bike will have more value in a metro area or a rural area that has a lot of winding roads than it will in a place with few metro areas and nothing but flat, straight roads, places like North Dakota and Kansas. that list rough values for pretty much every motorcycle available, but the prices are a lot more volatile for used motorcycles than they are for used cars. To make matters more confusing, prices can vary wildly from region to region. For example, a high-performance sport bike will have more value in a metro area or a rural area that has a lot of winding roads than it will in a place with few metro areas and nothing but flat, straight roads, places like North Dakota and Kansas.

Regardless of the region, few people are getting the kind of money that KBB KBB lists for any motorcycle since the economy imploded a few years back. Still, you can use lists for any motorcycle since the economy imploded a few years back. Still, you can use KBB KBB prices as a jumping-off point. Remember to deduct the costs of any likely repairs or needed maintenance from the prices listed in sources like prices as a jumping-off point. Remember to deduct the costs of any likely repairs or needed maintenance from the prices listed in sources like KBB. KBB.

A more accurate way to a.s.sess the current market for a bike is to go on eBay and find as many examples of the particular bike as you can. Even if you don't plan to buy a bike on eBay, sign up for an eBay account and monitor the sales of the bikes you are interested in buying using the "My eBay" feature. After spending a couple of weeks watching which bikes sell and how much they sell for, you'll have a pretty fair idea of the current market value of any used bike you may want to buy.

If you're like most people, you'll try to negotiate the best deal possible, but like everyone else you meet, you should treat the seller with respect. This should be true whether you're buying from a private seller or a dealers.h.i.+p. You can make a low-ball offer if you want, but if the offer is insultingly low, you better use a little humor when making it to avoid coming across as a crook. A salesperson at a dealers.h.i.+p will just laugh off your offer by saying something like, "But seriously . . ." Your chances might not be much better with a private seller, but who knows? Maybe the seller will be desperate or inexperienced enough (or both) to take the offer.

In general, you have little to gain by nickel-and-diming the seller. If you've determined that a used bike is worthy of buying, saving a few hundred dollars on the purchase price won't mean much in the long run. If you like the bike and enjoy riding it, you'll have forgotten about the extra money just about as soon as you hit the open road.

FINANCING A BIKE.

SPEAKING OF MONEY, BEFORE you even start looking at used bikes from private sellers, you have to make sure you have the capital to buy the bike or else you're wasting everyone's time. Ideally you should pay cash for everything you buy-paying interest on a loan is a huge waste of money-but the reality is that most people don't have enough spare cash sitting around to buy a motorcycle. you even start looking at used bikes from private sellers, you have to make sure you have the capital to buy the bike or else you're wasting everyone's time. Ideally you should pay cash for everything you buy-paying interest on a loan is a huge waste of money-but the reality is that most people don't have enough spare cash sitting around to buy a motorcycle.