Red Baron - Friend Wants To Buy A Bike

[CroBiker]

I read only positive things about Red Baron, nice to see there are honest and professional dealerships out there.

I never bought anything from them, but friend of mine has set his mind on this model:

4 years old, only 468,000 baht.

My understanding is that these guys (Red Baron) take care of all registration matters, green book etc. Since this is obviously imported toy, are there going to be any problems? What I am asking is what was TV readers' experience when buying imported used bikes from them.

Thanks in advance!

[LivinLOS]

Never heard anything negative about legality with RB..

Tho not sure that the prices they list are full on the road costs including Reg.. Need to ask them that one..

[Tigersachsclub]

same here, never heard anything bad about Red Baron..all my connection to them was only buying spares and parts which was always fine. I never bought a bike from them so i can not really say much about this... i see them as a straight forward company doing honest business.

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[BigBikeBKK]

I'm a big fan of Red Baron. They run an honest shop.

BUT! FYI, the bike referenced was wrecked badly and repaired- that's why the price is so low.

Don't know if the frame got bent and not aware of any frame shop in Thailand with the equipment to check it so if I were you I'd advise your friend to take it for a thorough test drive before buying.

Ride On!

Tony

[CroBiker]

Thanks for info Tony. I think I know now who rode that bike before..... , may he R.I.P.

[BigBikeBKK]

Thanks for info Tony. I think I know now who rode that bike before..... , may he R.I.P.

Yeah- gave me the creepy crawlies and chills down the spine to see that bike put back together... Original owner put a lot into it and if the repairs were properly done it's a great value, but I could never ever ride a dead man's bike... R.I.P. mate and enjoy the highway in the sky

[GarryP]

Came out in goose bumps reading that. I couldn't knowingly ride a bike whose owner had died riding it. In some countries that information would need to be revealed to prospective buyers - I doubt the same applies in Thailand. Whatever the case, I doubt the seller wants that information to be widely known. If I was the seller I wouldn't.

[Tigersachsclub]

well i would not want to ride this particular bike either ,nor buying it...but, in fact, the bike was not to "blame" for that accident , but a 3rd party ( truck driver) - so it really need someone else's decision on this. I don't "dis" the bikes "function" because of the accident, but rather it's past "lifetime".

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[JonnyF]

I thnk it's an issue with a lot of the imported Japanese big bikes.

I know this particular bike was crashed in Thailand, but why would a Thai importer pay top price for a Jap bike in A1 condition when they can buy a wrecked Jap bike for less than half the price and just import, re-assemble and repair it on the cheap in Thailand?

If I bought one of these bikes I'd be way more concerned that it had been wrecked in Japan than it had been stolen in Japan.

[BigBikeBKK]

I thnk it's an issue with a lot of the imported Japanese big bikes.

I know this particular bike was crashed in Thailand, but why would a Thai importer pay top price for a Jap bike in A1 condition when they can buy a wrecked Jap bike for less than half the price and just import, re-assemble and repair it on the cheap in Thailand?

If I bought one of these bikes I'd be way more concerned that it had been wrecked in Japan than it had been stolen in Japan.

Yes- good point. The Gixxer I recently bought was crashed (perhaps more than once) and the seller pointed out the repairs to me prior to the sale.

So, while I knew the bike had been crashed, I've also seen the previous owner clock some impressive lap times with it at BIRA, so I bought it with a fair degree of confidence that the frame, steering and suspension aren't seriously damaged (or were properly repaired).

I've since put a few thousand kilometers on the bike and it's rock solid through the twisties and up to 275km/hr (haven't topped it out yet). I'm going to re-repair some of the Thai repairs- you know, parts that were repaired "Thai-style" but really should have been replaced.

So anyway, regarding the ZZR1400, IF the frame wasn't tweaked in the crash and IF the subsequent repairs were done properly it SHOULD be a solid bike. Used bikes from Red Baron come with a warranty- I can't remember how many months. So if there are any issues they should be obvious early on and covered by the warranty. Also, if anyone is going to repair a bike in Thailand I'd say Red Baron would be one of the BEST places to go as they're more likely to use REAL parts and their mechanics are top notch.

No doubt Red Baron won't advertise the fact that this bike was wrecked and the previous owner was killed while riding this bike. The NEXT owner, ignorant of this fact, will enjoy an awesome bike at a great price. Sometimes ignorance really IS bliss

Ride On!

Tony

[RusticCharm]

There's currently a few nice Gixxers on sale at Red Baron.

One amazing-looking bike in particular- http://www.redbaronbkk.com/products/item.p...=100430-0000440 is very low-priced. Maybe I'm out of touch with second prices of Jap bikes but I'm just wondering, after reading the above posts, if it's safe to assume that many low-priced bikes at RB have previously been crashed and rebuilt?

Or could it be that RB sell bikes without plate and book?

[Richard-BKK]

Hi RusticCharm,

The GSX-R1000 you refer to is without registration and plates, its a race-track bike only.

[JonnyF]

There's currently a few nice Gixxers on sale at Red Baron.

One amazing-looking bike in particular- http://www.redbaronbkk.com/products/item.p...=100430-0000440 is very low-priced. Maybe I'm out of touch with second prices of Jap bikes but I'm just wondering, after reading the above posts, if it's safe to assume that many low-priced bikes at RB have previously been crashed and rebuilt?

Or could it be that RB sell bikes without plate and book?

Given the history and photos of the bike discussed in this thread, I'd be pretty surprised if your average Thai importer was importing the "cream of the crop" from Japan.

Of course I could be wrong, maybe they're paying top whack for low mileage bikes without a scratch on them so that we can all ride the best bikes available. In practice, only rigorously enforced laws stops this kind of thing in our home countries and even then a few creep through.

In Thailand? I don't think it's that hard to work out.

[Sisaketmike]

Thanks for info Tony. I think I know now who rode that bike before..... , may he R.I.P.

Yeah- gave me the creepy crawlies and chills down the spine to see that bike put back together... Original owner put a lot into it and if the repairs were properly done it's a great value, but I could never ever ride a dead man's bike... R.I.P. mate and enjoy the highway in the sky

Agreed, hope there's a heaven for us bikers. Live to Ride- Ride to Live. Rest in peace brother.

It was his bike, couldn't ride it. Look for another one. Oh river flows, flows into the sea................