why would you do this?

[wbrissette]

Recently we added another BMW to our bike family (a used 2004 R1150RA for my wife) from Lone Star BMW I noticed when looking at their website that they had a 2004 R1150RT with only 61 miles on it!

 

http://www.lonestarcycle.com/uinv008.htm

 

While there I inquired about the bike. Turns out the person who owned it, bought the bike then put it in the garage and never rode it. Lone Star is having to do some work on it to get it running again.

 

But why in the world would anybody buy a bike and NEVER ride it? Maybe they had some medical or time reasons, but I would think if that was the case they would sell it within the year and not wait 3 years to get rid of it.

 

Wayne

[RTRay]

I bought my 1997 R1100RT after it had been sitting in the previous owners garage for over two years. He used to ride but then fell off a roof and shattered his leg. This meant he could no longer get on the bike so it just sat until he was willing to sell it. It was in perfect condition but I had the local dealer go over it and do whatever it needed to get it in top shape. Just and oil change and general clean up. I got an exceptionally good deal on the bike! I'm glad it was available. You may have found a similar great deal!

 

Terry

[tallman]

People do strange things.

I sold a new RT to a man who hadn't ridden motos for years, but was, and had been, riding a big scooter.

He wanted to recreate a trip from his younger days.

He bought the bike, all the farkles, the right ATGATT.

We talked about the bike, how to ride it, the shifting, balance, training, etc.., etc.., etc..

He left with an appointment to come back in a week when all the farkles were added.

He had ridden BMW's for years when younger. He rode a 650cc scooter daily.

When he returned, we had an extensive sit down and then a twice over of the bike.

He got on, fell over, put the bike up for sale right then and there.

Had the same identical thing happen in regard to the purchase of anothe RT. This rider also had beemers in his background.

Went over everything twice from top to bottom, including gear shift on a boxer (he said he remembered).

He too rode a big scooter.

He came back a week later, picked up the farkelized RT.

Headed out and down the road.

We got a call about 20 minutes later. "This thing doesn't have an automatic transmission?"

He "rode" home, we picked the bike up.

Both of these are true stories, and they aren't the strangest ones. Those you might not believe.

Sometimes an injury, health condition, or even non-motorcycle related death leaves a low mileage machine in need of a new owner. I've seen that too.

Sometimes the purchase is an acquisition. An expenditure for the sake of spending money. The bike is rarely ridden and makes for a great deal when they tire of the toy.

[keithb]

I have a good friend who apparently is the same way. Buys bikes and does not ride them. He bought a 93 Yamaha Seca II in 94 and it sat in his garage for 4 years. I bought the bike with 22 miles on the clock!! I put 180 miles on it and sold it to buy my Ducati 748. He has had a Hayabusa for a few years and I would be willing to bet $100 right now there is less than 500 miles on it. If I was in the market to buy I would certainly be looking at this type of bike. Basically brand new but never ridden. Usually a very good value without the depreciation hit or huge sales tax hit. Change some fluids and you are good to go. Just my .02

[tobyzusa]

Bought my 1150 RT with 890 miles on it....just enough for the previous owner to take the depreciation hit and perform the 600 miles service.....priceless....... .....

[Dave McReynolds]

One of my main clients has a mid-nineties Harley Heritage Softail sitting in his reception area, as art, I guess. I think the only time it was ridden was when the dealer sent someone over with it to his office. As I recall, it has less than 50 miles on it. Considering that a lot of people spend way more than that for art in their reception areas, I guess it makes financial sense, if you like Harleys as art. But I don't think anyone ever changes the oil or runs it to keep the whatevers from gumming up, so whoever ends up with it will have a beautiful bike that needs a lot of work to get it going, probably.

[TracerBullet]

With regards to Keithb's post

Pick up any sunday paper and look at that Harley ads.

One they are the largest percentage for sale. One could argue they sell the most so it stands to reason the largest percentage would be for sale.

But, to the point look at the mileage. In my area at least most are 3-4 yaers old and have less than 1000 miles on them

 

This is in no way intended as a Harley Bashing post just an observation in my geographic area

[leikam]

I have a car in the garage that I'm ambivalent about selling. It makes sense to do it, but it just hasn't been important enough given everything else in my life. I don't drive it, so it sits. When I do get around to selling it, the buyer will get a nice car that has been sitting for a while. He'll be excited about it, get a pretty good deal and wonder how I could have let this beauty go.

 

What makes sense isn't always what's important and occasionally what gets done is a third animal altogether.

[Jim VonBaden]

My GF got an 18 month old R1200ST with 905 miles on it, 5 miles and 7 months after the 600 mile service was done, for $12K even, a savings of around $5K.

 

The guy had 9 bikes, 2 boxer cup RM specials, one with 800 miles on it, and one with 2 miles on it. A 92{?} R100GS Dakar with 12 miles on it, and a 78 R100T with full Vetter gear with just 2000 miles on it, plus a couple nice daily riders.

 

He just collect them, and was a bit cash poor at the time, so he sold the ST for a steal!

 

Jim

[Ben_Ricci]

This is in no way intended as a Harley Bashing post just an observation in my geographic area

 

I was going to say it's the same way in my area, then I looked at your location.

[Baba_ORiley]

But why in the world would anybody buy a bike and NEVER ride it? Maybe they had some medical or time reasons, but I would think if that was the case they would sell it within the year and not wait 3 years to get rid of it.

 

Let me tell you a true story about a friend of mine who purchased a 2007 Harley Heritage Softtail bike around Thanksgiving time 2006. With taxes, registration, accessories the total came out to about to $24K I am told. It is now more than 6 months later and the bike has a grand total of 13 miles. Yes, thirteen. A brand-new bike, it sits covered in dust in his ex-wife's garage (the two of them are still on friendly terms), and the bike has been only ridden twice: Once from the dealer to the ex-wife's house, and the second time by me around the neighborhood.

 

Why no more than 13 miles? Simple. The owner doesn't know how to ride. (and fortunately is not dumb enough to attempt to do so without training) He has been "planing" on taking the MSF course to learn how, but hasn't made one move to do so. My guess is that the thought of crashing is stopping him.

 

So why did a non-rider buy a bike? I think it has to do with image, vanity, and impulsive behavior. He visited a local Harley dealer with a mutual friend of ours who rides. This friend was visiting from out of town, and simply wanted a souvenir t-shirt from with the local Harley dealer's name on it. What happened during that visit for a $15 t-shirt that somehow turned into purchase of a brand new motorcycle, leather jacket, shorty helmet, gloves, chrome farkles, and the obligatory Screaming Eagle "loud pipes" (paid for, but not yet installed), I sure don't know. So, its not clear exactly what events initiated the bike purchase by a non-rider, but apparently the situation took on a life of its own, and all reason went out the front door of the dealership along with the Softtail from the showroom floor.

 

Previously, this friend of mine had expressed interest in riding. My advice to him was to take the MSF course, and then consider the purchase of a inexpensive starter bike like a Honda Nighthawk or Buell Blast. Something that would cost less than $3K. Then as he built his riding skills, he could look at a good used bike. He said he wanted to own a Harley and nothing else. I pointed out that there are a number of great cruiser-style motorcycles in the market that cost 1/2 or even 1/3 the price of a Harley, and can be just as much fun. (e.g. Kawasaki Vulcans, Suzuki Boulevards, Yamaha Stars, Honda VTX models, etc.) But this non-rider friend, held fast to the idea that those bikes were simply Harley-rip offs. And he didn't want to own a "fake". He wanted the "real thing". Period.

 

You see, this guy is extremely "brand conscious" (e.g. he only buys Michelin tires, Sony TVs, etc.) and he does this for the comfort of the name brand and the perceived "quality" that comes with it. (A marketer's dream, eh?) In reality he knows nothing about comparison shopping, only the idea of sticking with a brand name. So buying into all the "lifestyle" hype got him this far.

 

This is the story of one purchase of a bike which then just sat unused. Did anyone guess the bike is now for sale? It is.

 

 

 

.

[AdventurePoser]

Some years ago a former girlfriend and I found her a Honda 600 CBR that had about 40 miles on it. The guy bought it, had a sudden job change overseas and never came home. The bike sat, crated waiting for shipment for about seven years....

 

Needless to say it was in perfect shape except for new tires and battery!

 

Steve in So Cal

[Bill_Walker]

Mine's not quite that good. I got my '04 RT, which had been first sold in July of '04, in Feb. of '05, with 3600 miles on it. But I was the _third_ owner!

 

She's got 31,800 on her now!

[Wyn]

ISYDHTRAH

[AZKomet]

Not that uncommon as mentioned by others. My friend bought an 05 LT recently with 165 miles on it for 14K. The guy bought it in Jersey and suddenly changed jobs and moved to AZ. It sat for 18 months while he was trying to adjust to the heat before he rode it here. The bike sales p/w had a final price OTD of 23K. He bought it in perfect condition (with a tank bag XM and an intercom from BMW) for 14.3K. Not too shabby.....they are out there...just gotta look.

[Bill_Walker]

ISYDHTRAH

 

Huh? Man, that's an acronym/inialism I've never seen before. And Google can't find it anywhere, either.

 

Lessee... I See You Don't Happen To Ride A Harley?

[Wyn]

ISYDHTRAH

 

Huh? Man, that's an acronym/inialism I've never seen before. And Google can't find it anywhere, either.

 

Lessee... I See You Don't Happen To Ride A Harley?

 

Bill, your the best! Real close but, that one was for the above post about the guy who bought the HD and it sits in his garage.

 

I'm Sorry You Didn't Have To Ride A Harley.

 

My usual signature is:

 

I'm Sorry You Have To Ride A Harley.

 

 

ISYHTRAH

[mefly2]

Bought my 04 RT this spring with just over 3k miles!

[SAAB93driver]

I don't here about it as much in Florida but even here people by motorcycles and use them very little or not at all. It can't really be explained, people do strange things like buying 2 of a car to have when the first one wears out because the mfr is stopping production or if you look at guns, and I myself am guilty of it, buy an expensive gun and never shoot it.