New Or Second Hand _ What would you do?

[thequietman]

I have decided on getting myself the Aerox R from Yamaha. I am hearing good reports about them but have yet to ride on one. The local dealer won't provide one to test out first. (<deleted>)

 

Anyway, there are a number of them second hand selling for 50,000 baht with 8,000 km's on the clock. The problem arises because Thai's never seem to keep service records and there is always that niggle in the back of your mind that it has been abused( even though it does look great) or at worst, it has been clocked.

 

The seller (a dealer) assures me that it is a bike taken back from a customer because they haven't paid their monthly payments. Yamaha are 20,000 baht more for the bike BUT New! The 2nd hand one has 8,000 km and is 20,000 baht less.

 

I love a good deal but the wife says that you never know for sure if the KM's are right and even if they are, the previous owner may have driven the <deleted> out of the bike. So, guys, what to do, what to do?

 

Looking forward to your opinions.

[Kwasaki]

Is there a main dealer near by or contact Yam head office in Bkk and tell them you want a test ride from a dealer near you. 

[OneMoreFarang]

11 minutes ago, thequietman said:

The 2nd hand one has 8,000 km and is 20,000 baht less.

I think with 8000km you can't do too much wrong.

I guess the first 1000km service is included and people will do it (not sure, just what I think).

And if after that no service was ever done 8000km with the same oil should be no big problem.

If the bike looks ok and sounds ok what can go wrong? Likely very little.

[BritManToo]

Don't think they can clock digital displays.

I'd go for it, 20Kbht cheaper for 8km is a good deal IMHO.

[thequietman]

Forgot to say, the 2nd hand bike is one year old, so 2018. March 2018)

[DILLIGAD]

Thais don’t like the idea of second-hand vehicles. They do like the ‘show-off’ factor of new.
I’d buy a near-new one, if all looks good after a test ride.


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[guzzi850m2]

Check the service book, if filled in; you can see when and at what km's it was done. I always made sure the service books on the vehicles in our household are kept up to date, then I know when it's time for a service, any owner with just a bit of common sense will do the same I would think.

Just bought a 1 year old big bike myself and saved a lot, a lot as it came with some suspension upgrades. Since I could see the previous expat owner is a keen MC rider and loves his bike, I was pretty sure all was in order, and the service book off-course filled in.

I agree; 8000km in a year sounds okay and if you are unlucky, it will be cheap to fix, way less than 20k baht, so I will also say; go for it.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

11 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Check the service book, if filled in; you can see when and at what km's it was done. I always made sure the service books on the vehicles in our household are kept up to date, then I know when it's time for a service, any owner with just a bit of common sense will do the same I would think.

You would think, I wound think, some others would think the same, but I wonder how many people don't think it's necessary to do the service.

I guess it also depends a lot on the bike. I guess service on new big bikes is done more regularly than and many small bikes or older bikes.

[thequietman]

16 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Don't think they can clock digital displays.

I'd go for it, 20Kbht cheaper for 8km is a good deal IMHO.

Dealer sent me more photo's. He has an NMAX for 57,000 baht with 2700 km's on it!

 

Can't help it but the suspicious person in me smells a rat. Probably unsubstantiated but who the hell has a bike for a year and only puts 2700 on it? Would love to get the MNAX.

 

Crap!

[VocalNeal]

I recently bought a two year old Vespa with less than 900 kms on it, in Indonesia

 

Who would own a scooter for two years and only use it for 900 kms. 

[brokenbone]

i would take that nmax for 57k before it slips through my fingers.

of course you need to check first you can change owner before paying, but other than that, you cant beat it

[Henryford]

I would never even consider a used bike in Thailand. What are you going to save 8-10,000 baht? For that you take on a lot of risk about ownership/abuse/clocking and forgo the joy of a new bike.  Mad to buy second hand.

[lust]

How does one beat on a scooter? Lol, they are twist and go!

[thequietman]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

I would never even consider a used bike in Thailand. What are you going to save 8-10,000 baht? For that you take on a lot of risk about ownership/abuse/clocking and forgo the joy of a new bike.  Mad to buy second hand.

Saving at least 20,000 baht! But I get your point. ????

[PattayaDavid]

2 hours ago, thequietman said:

Dealer sent me more photo's. He has an NMAX for 57,000 baht with 2700 km's on it!

 

Can't help it but the suspicious person in me smells a rat. Probably unsubstantiated but who the hell has a bike for a year and only puts 2700 on it? Would love to get the MNAX.

 

Crap!

If you decide not to purchase the NMax, I'd be interested to know where the dealership is located to take a look at it, thanks

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

I would never even consider a used bike in Thailand. What are you going to save 8-10,000 baht? For that you take on a lot of risk about ownership/abuse/clocking and forgo the joy of a new bike.  Mad to buy second hand.

If you know nothing about bikes ... I agree

If you do, you can save 30% easy. 50% if U do a little looking.

But most just keep repeating the same old Old Wives Tales they heard when they first got here - or even in their home

555

[AlexRich]

39 minutes ago, thequietman said:

Saving at least 20,000 baht! But I get your point. ????

 

I'd go for a new one, just for safety reasons. If you smell a rat, there probably is one.

 

 

[Henryford]

49 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

If you know nothing about bikes ... I agree

If you do, you can save 30% easy. 50% if U do a little looking.

But most just keep repeating the same old Old Wives Tales they heard when they first got here - or even in their home

555

I recently bought a new Yamaha GT125 for 40,000. So i could have saved 30%, 12,000 baht. I will probably keep the bike for 5 years so my saving was 6 bahts a day. I think i can afford 6 bahts.

[johng]

2 hours ago, lust said:

How does one beat on a scooter?

Hard to beat a "Honda Beat"   105cc  17HP  93KG...2 smoke. 

 

 

 

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

I recently bought a new Yamaha GT125 for 40,000. So i could have saved 30%, 12,000 baht. I will probably keep the bike for 5 years so my saving was 6 bahts a day. I think i can afford 6 bahts.

The defense rest Your Honor

[robblok]

4 hours ago, thequietman said:

Dealer sent me more photo's. He has an NMAX for 57,000 baht with 2700 km's on it!

 

Can't help it but the suspicious person in me smells a rat. Probably unsubstantiated but who the hell has a bike for a year and only puts 2700 on it? Would love to get the MNAX.

 

Crap!

I have had my aerox and put 3000 km on it. So not everyone rides a lot.

[johng]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

keep the bike for 5 years

 

I'm still very happy with my "third hand"   15 year old   Suzi-ooky  Raider 150

bought for 16,000 baht in 2009

[Farangwithaplan]

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You would think, I wound think, some others would think the same, but I wonder how many people don't think it's necessary to do the service.

I guess it also depends a lot on the bike. I guess service on new big bikes is done more regularly than and many small bikes or older bikes.

Well there was some guy on TV trying to convince me there was no need to lubricate a drive chain on a large capacity motorcycle. After that, nothing would suprise me.

 

But it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine some owners buy a scooter and never do anything to it except for filling up the gas tank and giving it an occasional wash and even more occasional air in the tyres.

 

To the OP, on a scooter with a centrifugal clutch, there is really no way to over rev it when riding so that is not an issue. At 8000km the mineral oil would have been quite dark if it was not changed after run in. I'd guess if the oil had never been changed, the bike shop would have done it. They might not have changed the oil filter. You would check that quite easily. 8000km old filter would probably have traces of dirt on it even if cleaned. It might even have some paint chips or bitumen stuck to it. If you have any doubts, change the oil again and change filter.

 

The things that I would check are:

1. Tyres. Look for wear. Uneven wear would be a sign of under or over inflation and prematurely needing to replace tyres because of balding in patches.

 

2. Check brakes. Hold the front brake on gently whilst pushing the bike forward. It should be a consistent resistance. If there is inconsistent resistance, either gets easier to push or harder to push, then the disc is warped and will need machining. Repeat for rear if a disc brake. Also check the brake lines are not cracked. Then check the fluid level in the front brake master cylinder.

 

3. Check under the foot area of the bike and check if it has been offroad. Excessive scratching under the bike might mean it has had a hard life and possibly more likely to have crappy fuel, water in tank, or kept out in the sun so premature fading may be ready to show soon after 1 year etc. The bike should have no fading or external scratches on things like the rear pegs, the handlebar ends and the mirrors. Check all the original stickers are in place. Missing or mismatched stickers or colour schemes are a possible sign of a repair after accident.

 

4. Make sure the bike starts quickly. Then hold on the front brake hard and carefully start to accelerate a bit. Check for any grinding noises or rattles that come from the rear wheel area of the bike. odd noises are not a good sign at 8000km. The bike should still feel taught and have no vibration different to what a new test model bike has. Ride a new test bike for comparsion.

 

5. Wipe the chrome part of the front forks and check for any pitting in the chrome. Go for a ride and brake hard a few times and push up and down on the suspension a few times when riding. When you get back, look for any oil on the chrome part of the forks again. Also try to check the rear shock for signs of oil release. You will also get an idea of how the bike is used from the cleanliness of the rear shock spring.

 

6. And finally check all pivot points for lubrication. look for signs of reddish dry powder at places like the rear footpegs, front and rear brake pivots and the like. They should operate squeak free. The key should enter the barrel and turn with very little resistance.

 

All in all, at 8000km, the bike should still feel and handle close to new. Save 19k THB (minus 500 for possible oil, oil filter and air filter) and enjoy.

 

 

[canthai55]

3 minutes ago, Farangwithaplan said:

Well there was some guy on TV trying to convince me there was no need to lubricate a drive chain on a large capacity motorcycle. After that, nothing would suprise me.

Lube the side plates if U want, but the O or X ring seals in the lubefor the rollers. 

How - pray tell - can chain lube make it past those rings ?

[Farangwithaplan]

5 hours ago, thequietman said:

Dealer sent me more photo's. He has an NMAX for 57,000 baht with 2700 km's on it!

 

Can't help it but the suspicious person in me smells a rat. Probably unsubstantiated but who the hell has a bike for a year and only puts 2700 on it? Would love to get the MNAX.

 

Crap!

I bought my last bike with 1000km + change on the clock. It was nearly 12 months old. Same old story. Guy told his fiance he wanted a big bike. She told him to do whatever he wanted. He didn't realise that was code for "not if you want to marry me, dopey!"

 

He went and bought it and got sick of her staring daggers at him when he went for a spin. She ended up telling him it was the bike or her. I got an $90K THB discount off new. He got to keep his wife to be.

 

Why are you smelling a rat? Have you seen the bike, ridden the bike? Use my tips in the above post. If the bike fails any of the points, investigate more and look for logical, non tin foil explanations. If the logic doesn't stack up, keep looking.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, Farangwithaplan said:

I bought my last bike with 1000km + change on the clock. It was nearly 12 months old. Same old story. Guy told his fiance he wanted a big bike. She told him to do whatever he wanted. He didn't realise that was code for "not if you want to marry me, dopey!"

 

He went and bought it and got sick of her staring daggers at him when he went for a spin. She ended up telling him it was the bike or her. I got an $90K THB discount off new. He got to keep his wife to be.

Now that must have been the perfect woman if he was willing to take her instead of his bike and lose 90k.

[Farangwithaplan]

2 hours ago, johng said:

Hard to beat a "Honda Beat"   105cc  17HP  93KG...2 smoke. 

 

 

 

That's 162 hp/litre. Not too shabby for that time. Although it would be a pig of a streetbike.

[Farangwithaplan]

11 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

Lube the side plates if U want, but the O or X ring seals in the lubefor the rollers. 

How - pray tell - can chain lube make it past those rings ?

Oh, so it was you. The lube is not for side plates. The lube is to minimise friction between the surfaces of the external face of the chain rollers and the sprocket. Less friction = less heat = less wear.

 

The o ring hold lubricant inside to lubricate the pin and the internal surface of the roller.

 

For the entity of your choosing's sake. You are making a first class goose out of yourself. Just stop. Please stop. Do yourself a favour and look up co-efficients of lubricated and non lubricated metals.

 

Then check out a few basic laws from some guy called Newton. Educate yourself.

 

[Farangwithaplan]

10 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Now that must have been the perfect woman if he was willing to take her instead of his bike and lose 90k.

Only met her once, but she seemed like a tick in every box!

[canthai55]

1 hour ago, Farangwithaplan said:

Oh, so it was you. The lube is not for side plates. The lube is to minimise friction between the surfaces of the external face of the chain rollers and the sprocket. Less friction = less heat = less wear.

 

5555