place like car giant for bikes would be the 1 place i would avoid, i doubt they would have feck all knowledge about what they sell and only want a good price for said object.
best value for bike is always private but do know what you are looking for and know about said stuff or take some1 who does.
First identify which ones you like the look of and can afford by sites like Autotrader, then hit the dealers whilst still keeping an eye on private sales…
I would hit dealers, if they don’t have any used bikes of the types you want, have a sit on the newer models. Unless they’ve had major facelifts, I doubt they’re that much different in terms of sitting on them? Maybe even do a test ride on some of the newer ones to get a broad feel. I mean I tested a 690 SMC before going to buy my 625… yeah it was completely different because one felt like it was made modern whereas the other felt like it was made in the stone age!!! Still though I did get a good feel of what a SM felt like to ride. Definitely worth it
Any kind of meet is always a good place to try out and ask questions about bikes.
You know how bikers are, usually very happy to talk about their bike - so approach people with questions and ask to sit on the bike if the conversation is going ok; they can only say no
i picked up a honda vtr1000 firestorm in tidy condition for £1500 from a dealer who sells cheap bikes,nothing wrong with it and only needed subtle changes to the suspension set up.bike rode great and engine was sweet only thing was you could see the bodywork had a blow over and obviously had been dropped at some point.
People tend to tinker with their bikes over the years to make them perfect for them so it might be misleading to compare the riding position of one example of a particular model, with another, especially if you’re looking to buy one that’s more than ten years old, as you are at this price.
I suggest looking around for bikes in your area which are easy to get to and have a try out on the ones you like the look of, by searching online sales sites like MCN. I did one and there are three bikes that meet your criteria within 20 miles of where you live*. If you expand your search to 50 miles there is this very nice looking Ducati ST2 (albeit slightly dirty and in need of tlc) that’s 32 miles away - but if you buy that you will need to keep your socket set handy - but that’s probably the same for any bike of that price/age. This course - again, not far from you (Morden Park SM4 5QX), will come in handy and save you a lot of £s in the long term.
Good luck, and have fun looking
I don’t know your postcode but know you live in Carshalton so I used Lamba’s, assuming you’re not far from them.
Also if you do a search within 25 miles of your home address on Ebay there are some good possibilities.
This Firestorm, going for £1,495 in North London, looks pretty good, and if you negotiate-in the Remus exhausts it will sound very nice indeed :rolleyes:
Here’s one in Dorking, currently going for £1,320, auction ends on Friday, comes with some nice extras including a racing exhaust (not sure if a road-legal one is also included), however it is a Cat C insurance case and I don’t know what the implications for that are.
