first bike test ride

Help & Advice
1

wondering if anyone could give me some hints on my first bike purchase, specifically how you go about test rides

my licence is at the DVLA getting its new category added, but i assume i can call them to ensure it has been received and get them to verify this with a showroom/garage over the phone

but as i have no insurance (do have car though) is there any way i can test ride? do showrooms have their own TP insurance to cover people in my situation?

was going to wait until the licence comes back but legally i do have the entitlement and can ride (as long as DVLA acknowledge receipt) so i am really itching to get on a bike :slight_smile:

cheers

2

I think you would be lucky to find a dealer who would lend you a bike on the strength of a phone call.

You would be better off asking the dealer in question. They might trust you if you are a regular customer but I wouldn’t hold your breath mate.

3

yeah thought so, i might find it hard even with the licence on me as i am newhttp://www.southlondonmotorcycles.co.uk/ have some interesting deals

might do the usual checks, start up etc and depend on dealer’s warranty and standard buyer protection if i get a dud, not really comfortable buying an egine and gearbox without putting it through its paces though

none of my mates own a bike, thats the prob as they could do a quick test ride for me otherwise (they are all car nuts, poor fools ;))

4

What is the status if South London Motorcycles? last summer when I visited to view bikes they were only accepting cash which rings a lot of alarm bells. I realsie they may be in new hands etc now.

5

oops, that doesnt sound good, gives me concern on their warranty

and i would normally expect a good discount if paying cash

6

I rang round dealers to find out who had a demo version of the bike I wanted to buy and who would let me take it for a test ride. I eventually found P&H Motorcycles near Gatwick who were really nice, arranged in advance and I turned up with my licence and the bike was there and waiting for me to go for an hours pootle. As I put an order in for the bike they didn’t charge me for the test ride either.

I got the impression lots of dealers have demo bikes, just not necessarily the model you’re after. Still I was a brand new rider and it was the first time I’d been on a bike since my DAS and there I was on someone else’s brand new one. I think I had to agree to pay the excess on the insurance if I totalled it but fortunately this wasn’t the case.

I definitely needed my licence (both parts) and further ID of my address to get the bike though. Wouldn’t have thought they’d accept a phone call.

7

thanks for the infoi’m looking at secondhand, approx 6 years old to keep costs and insurance down, so i suppose they may be a little put off giving me a ride on a non demo bike

will give a few places a call and see what their position is

8

In general you would need a lisence to show if they don;t know you and over here you sign a form to say you have insurance etc also if they don’t know you.

Must places are cool about you test riding second hand bikes too. Nice second hand examples don’t stick around long so demo miles won’t rack up that much… and most people wouldn’t buy a second hand (or new bike) without a demo first.

9

thanks for the info, as a new rider i have no insurance

is there a way of getting temp cover from someone like Bennetts for purposes of buying a bike?

10

Are you looking to try a bike to see whether it is right for you, or do you just want to know that it goes OK? If it is the latter and you find something that is west or south london then gimme a PM, I can meet up and give it a test ride if you want…?

11

hey thats really cool of you mate, much appreciated! :slight_smile:

i will send you a msg to see if u r free once i find a good deal

i’m looking at circa 2002 Fazer 600s and CBR600Fs (a bit silly but insurance is less than fazer!) at the moment and messing about with insurance quotes

security is all set-up ready and licence should be back from DVLA within the next couple of weeks

12

I turnt up the weekend after i had past my test with just my pass certificate and i hade to sign an insurance waiver sayin i’d pay for any damage i caused :w00t: i also went and bought the bike the same day :Dhmmm have you any bike at mo?? if so could go for a ride to on yer bike in aylesbury, kill 2 birds with 1 stone ian :stuck_out_tongue:

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?&hloc=GB|HP180JX#t=l&map=51.81291,-0.8065|14|4&loc=GB:51.85662:-0.95791:16|HP180JX|HP18 0JX

got quite a few honda 600’s on there too
http://www.onyerbike.net/used.php?make=24

13

i can tell you now that NO dealers will allow someone to take one of their bikes out without seeing their licence. If they do id be very very surprised…

Ya best off waiting for your licence to come back first…:slight_smile:

14

well i must be extra special then :smiley:

15

Special needs kid:D

16

most dealers are quite cautious of accepting a pass certificate, if they do they will usually ask for another for of id, ie passport and agaion an excess waiver of £500 could be expected to be signed for.

17

yea i had to hand in passport and bank card

18

thanks for the onYerBike tip and first demo experience info guysi only have car transport at the mo, nearly got a 125 (varadero) but decided to push ahead with the DAS quickly instead

over the next week or two i will be scanning around for 600s at around the £3000 mark approx and 02/03 plate (insurance too high in Bermondsey for newer models)

Fazer was my choice after trying out loads of models for seating pos at the London MCN show but due to the lower insurance an old CBR6F may be tempting and i could fit one reasonably (me lanky) as they are more accomodating than the latest 600s from what i have heard

19

Metropolis let me test ride a fazer 600 for over an hour even though I only passed my DAS a few days before and that was without my license as it had been sent off to DVLA - they needed to see my pass certificate though and passport etc and i was liable for the £1000 excess. Wouldn’t let me test ride the tuono - but then that is to be expected :wink: