Selling Your Bike to a Dufus

[moshe_levy]

So I'm scanning Craig's List today and there, lo and behold, is my precious two-tone 1998 Sportster 1200 Custom I sold off about 5 years ago. I had that bike for 9 years and so help me, you could eat off of the tires. Immaculate was not the word. I sold it when I bought my RT because, well, after the RT it was just collecting dust.

 

I strike up a deal with dufus, who shows up with cash and asks to ride it. I told him, once I was paid and paperwork was signed, he could have at it. We exchange cash and paper, he sits on it and drops it twice in the lot before even starting the engine. I had the damn thing for 9 years and it never saw pavement once, but anyway.... Fearing for his safety I told him he's better load it up in his van and ride it somewhere I couldn't see, because even though she wasn't mine anymore, it was breaking my heart to see what was happening to her.

 

So today, I see the ad, and there she is! Brought back memories - almost 57,000 miles worth. Dufus put a whopping 1,000 miles on her in the 5 years he's had her, and left her outside where she was slowly turned from a queen to a rat. I don't even recognize her anymore. I don't know why I'm ranting about this, other than I feel a strange depression at how something I cared for so deeply and for so long can be treated like such crap. I almost want to buy her back and spruce her up again, but that's not going to happen. Augh......

 

-MKL

[MarkyP]

I had a 66 Chevelle from 1987 to 1989. To say that I loved this car is an understatement, but college bills required me to streamline my finances. I met the car again about 5 years later with the new owner and had the same emotions. It's tough enough to let go, it's even harder when others disappoint you with something you held so dear...

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

DPO damn prior owner comes up a lot in British car forums.

Now, I guess there should be DNO for damn new owner.

[Dennis Andress]

Life is all about other people's children.

[upflying]

this one?

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/mcy/2261251130.html

[moshe_levy]

That's her. She used to look like this when she was mine

 

 

DNO... I like that!

 

-MKL

[upflying]

He must have burnt up the starter cylinoid (sic) from all the drops.

 

[moshe_levy]

Here's a pic I used in my ad from 2006

 

 

Not a spot on her anywhere. 1205cc Nallin-modified Buell top end I built myself. 95HP at the rear wheel and still a reliable daily commuter. My first new bike. Damn, I miss her.

 

-MKL

[SageRider]

You sold her.

Let her go...

If you couldn't bear to see someone destroy the bike, you should not have sold it.

[Kitsap]

I sold a PC800 to a guy down the road that also commutes on the ferry. He just had to have it, it was his dream commuter. The bike was cherry and ran like a Seiko watch, about the same amount of character too (not much). With each passing week I watched my former bike age before my eyes, it was hard to look at by the time he moved on to his next victim.

[SuperG]

Not as bad as my story.

I sold my beautiful low milage yamaha FZ1 rocketship to a dufus.

A year later I get a notification in the mail that it was towed and in the towing companies impound lot, no plates on her , no reg. sticker. It will be auctioned off ( to cover towing + storage cost)in 70 days if not claimed... and tow, storage, and other document and legal fees not paid.

I no longer hold the title but I still show up in DMV records as owner, dufus did nor register/transfer title.

What a waste

[Patallaire]

I sold my Ducati ST2 to a guy who when he got on it to ride it out of storage had a belt buckle on that was the size of Rhode Island, he rode up to the stop sign, hit the brakes and put a 4 inch scar right down the gas tank. I was sick as the bike was Ducati red with about 5 coats of wax on it! To make matters worse he said he was afraid of it, would I ride it home for him, so I did, 3 months later he sold it with 35 more miles on it than when I sold it to him with the scratch and for $1500 less!

[moshe_levy]

I couldn't resist - I wrote to the guy to ask about the details of the machine. I know I shouldn't have, but, like watching a train wreck, I had to know how bad things truly were. Direct quote:

 

>>>>It runs great, tho it has been kept under a tarp instead of a garage. I did lay it down once - rather than hit a plummeting truck that cut me off and it messed up the bag on the right side and I had to replace the muffler. It was under 20 mph, and I had it gone over really good by my mechanic in Queens. Replaced the horn with a bigger one, and the starter switch, and just had a new starter solenoid put in it.<<<<<

 

Ahhhh, where to begin? I should've had the personal discipline not to even look!

 

-MKL

[Hermes]

Cylinoid,

once that goes, interest in the bike just kinda fades.

jus sayin..

[OoPEZoO]

Is this better or worse than selling your pristine motorcycle (my first bike) to a coworker that promptly shows up to work on crutches with road rash about 3 weeks later?

 

Then he asked me to help him fix it.

[beemerboy]

Moshe,

 

Wow, what a gorgeous bike it was! My story goes like this; I sold my '81 GW to a coworker in late summer of '85. Like your bike mine was spotless and had been well maintained. After handing me the money and signing some paperwork he put on his helmet, threw a leg over the GW then looked at me and said "Take a good look at it now because you'll never see it this clean again!"

 

A year later he comes up to me to bitch about the "cheap battery" I had in the bike. It was the original battery and his tone made me feel he wanted me to shell out some money to repay him.

 

The next five years I had to walk by it in the office parking garage and watch it decompose.

[Kathy R]

No disrespect to the OP, as I realize people like you put up with people like me.

 

Confessions of a Dufus

 

I bought my then pristine 2006 DL650 from the 2nd owner in July of 2009

I am terrible with details, but I think it had 4300 miles, not a scratch on it and perfect everything.

Now, it has 22k or so on it, dirt and grime, some old bugs on the windshield, and a few scratches on the Givi crash bars. Horror of horrors it spent one whole summer living outdoors!

 

But it runs like a champ and I LOVE IT! I hope that puts me in a better class of Dufus...but I don't really care.

I'm one of those people who admire all the hard work you folks put into your machines,

but that is as far as it goes.

I'd rather ride through a puddle than wash my bike.

[moshe_levy]

Kath-

 

Big difference between a DL going through a puddle - as it was intended to do - and my pristine Sportster being "layed down to avoid a plummeting truck," which it was not intended to do.

 

You're right, it's not mine anymore, but this isn't some bland appliance I used and sold without a second thought. I rode and wrenched on her for 9 years and kept her museum condition all that time. It hurts to see what Dufus has done to her, even though she's no longer mine.

 

-MKL

[Paul Mihalka]

I'm glad I don't have this problem. When I'm ready to let a bike go, it is definitely not mint. It is in great running condition, but it does show the xxx.xxx miles of fun I had.

[Twisties]

My bike would qualify for roadscholar's warning:

 

"Raise your arms in the air and back away from the car"

 

But I do all the scheduled maintenance meticulously, and I do clean it every 6k when I do the maintenance.

 

I guess I just see the side case covers, valve covers, headlight lens and windshield as consumables at this point. I really should get the hole in the seat cover repaired...

 

It doesn't look too bad with the side cases off, but after 50k miles it's not going into any museums.

[flars]

I married my first wife in 1970, and we immediately bought a 1970 Triumph Tiger. "Spring Gold". A beautiful bike. When I sold it three years later, it was cleaner and shone more than it had when I first bought it.

I just saw a picture of my ex-wife. Shoulda kept the bike.

[Agent_Orange]

:rofl:

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I have the best deal of all.

A very good friend, from whom I bought my VFR, is still bikeless these 5 years later. I let him babysit my bikes while I am away on business. He gets pissed at dirty wheels, I hate cleaning wheels. Whenever I get a bike back from him, the wheels are pristine, as is the rest of the bike.

[Kathy R]

Kath-

 

Big difference between a DL going through a puddle - as it was intended to do - and my pristine Sportster being "layed down to avoid a plummeting truck," which it was not intended to do.

 

You're right, it's not mine anymore, but this isn't some bland appliance I used and sold without a second thought. I rode and wrenched on her for 9 years and kept her museum condition all that time. It hurts to see what Dufus has done to her, even though she's no longer mine.

 

-MKL

 

I'm right? I didn't say anything about it not being yours anymore?

I am sorry that you are aware that the new owner hasn't kept your bike the way you would have liked. I guess in some ways it must feel like some kind of disrespect?

 

While the bikes are not living things, they do represent our lives - to us. Mine is just messier than yours. Ride on.

[Kathy R]

:rofl:

 

+1

[Spike]

Is this better or worse than selling your pristine motorcycle (my first bike) to a coworker that promptly shows up to work on crutches with road rash about 3 weeks later?

 

Then he asked me to help him fix it.

 

I sold my beloved RT (the one that Patti and I did our honeymoon with) a few years ago. I saw it last Spring and this guy is still beating the peanuts out of it.

[szurszewski]

quoting there will be cake:

Not as bad as my story.

I sold my beautiful low milage yamaha FZ1 rocketship to a dufus.

A year later I get a notification in the mail that it was towed and in the towing companies impound lot, no plates on her , no reg. sticker. It will be auctioned off ( to cover towing + storage cost)in 70 days if not claimed... and tow, storage, and other document and legal fees not paid.

I no longer hold the title but I still show up in DMV records as owner, dufus did nor register/transfer title.

What a waste

 

end quote

 

Same thing, basically, happened to my girlfriend's dad while I was in college...kind of...but with a boat. He sold his boat, bought a new boat, and then a couple months later got a call from the highway department that if he didn't come pick his boat and trailer up off the side of the road it would be impounded. He tried getting in touch with the DNO but couldn't (not really sure how HARD he tried...), went and picked up the boat...and then sold it again.

[w2ge]

Is this better or worse than selling your pristine motorcycle (my first bike) to a coworker that promptly shows up to work on crutches with road rash about 3 weeks later?

 

Then he asked me to help him fix it.

 

Sold my KTM 300 EX/C 2-stroke race bike to a very good friend who promptly crashed so hard he had to have three surgeries.. and his wrist pinned. Took him about a year to recover. His wife was a little pissed..... to put it mildly.

[beemerboy]

........Now, it has 22k or so on it, dirt and grime, some old bugs on the windshield.....

 

It's not dirty. Think of it this way, the dirt, grime, and bugs are the "glue" that binds you to many wonderful memories.

[OoPEZoO]

Is this better or worse than selling your pristine motorcycle (my first bike) to a coworker that promptly shows up to work on crutches with road rash about 3 weeks later?

 

Then he asked me to help him fix it.

 

I sold my beloved RT (the one that Patti and I did our honeymoon with) a few years ago. I saw it last Spring and this guy is still beating the peanuts out of it.

 

Let me put another 30-40k on it and I'll sell it back you cheap

[Selden]

I rarely keep a motorcycle less than 5 years, and invest a lot of effort and emotional attachment. I've seen two of my bikes after selling them.

 

The first was a 1968 Honda CB350, which I had converted into a semi-cafe racer. A few months after selling it, I spotted it in a Ralph's parking lot in LA, with ape hanger handlebars.

 

The second was a 1980 "Honda FT500. A week after I sold it (on consignment at a small independent shop called "Cycle Nuts and Bolts," I spotted it in the shop's maintenance area, with the left mirror all bent up, and the engine disassembled. Apparently the new owner had stuffed it into first gear at 40 mph, dumped it, and damaged the transmission.

 

Fortunately, I've never run into any of the others.

[Huzband]

Here's mine. After five years & 65,000 miles, I sold my '75 R75/6 that I had bought new at nineteen years of age to a co-worker of my then girlfriend. I rode that bike as it was built to be ridden, but I also took great care of it. It had spent many a night in the living room of my apartment. Much to my first wife's chagrin.

 

Anywho, I sold it to this Hewlitt Packard doofus, & three weeks later he calls me up. Seems he had taken a left hand curve a bit too fast, ran off into the ditch, & hit a mailbox. Wanted to know if I could fix it for him. Short answer was no.

 

Here's the rub. He told me the road he was on, & where he crashed. I knew the road as it was a favorite of mine. I had ridden it many times. And I knew exactly where he crashed. Speed limit was thirty-five, & it was no more than a dog-leg in the road. I had easily taken that slight curve at sixty many times with no worries. It was obvious that he target fixated. And didn't know how to ride.

 

None the less, I felt like he wrecked MY bike. Even though it wasn't mine.

 

That was in 1979, & it still bothers me.

 

Cars & motorcycles may be machinery to many, but to me, they all have a soul.

 

Bottom line, don't let a dumbass defile that which you relate to.

 

[Mister Tee]

Why you people name your bikes or care what happens to it after you sell it? It's a machine.

[moshe_levy]

See the second to last sentence in the post directly above yours. The cheesy Harley saying "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand" applies.

 

-MKL

[Ohio48]

I wonder if the doofus was mad they way you treated his money???

Just sayin!!!

[4wheeldog]

I wonder if the doofus was mad they way you treated his money???

Just sayin!!!

 

Money has no soul. Some folks treat is as if it does, but it can only be traded for something useful, it is useless in and of itself.

[roadscholar]

 

Learned a long time ago, when it's gone, it's gone, nothing you can do about it. More times than not it's the doofi of the world that will pay extra for that sparkling example you lovingly cherished. Just don't expect it to stay that way.

[Gregori]

Not a bike story - but somewhat related...

 

I had a rusty old Porsche that I'd broken in half. (I crested the top of a rise at a goodly clip, and got quite a bit more altitude than I'd expected. The landing did her in.)

I sold it cheap to a guy who planned to part it out.

 

The stinking jerk came back a year later and it looked brand spanking new. It looked as if it had never been wrecked. WTH? I had a bond with the 'personality' evident in every rattle and squeak of that car, and he has the nerve to make it pristine?

 

(Okay - the story is true, other than my attitude. My only unkind thought was a dose of jealousy at how that disaster of a machine had turned out to be so stunning in the hands of a real artist.)

 

A different perspective from a DPO, I guess...

 

 

[BeemerBerg]

My neighbor keeps wanting to buy my old '99 RT (135K miles; now in storage, but still looks brand new).

 

He: "Yea, it's been awhile since I've ridden a motorcycle...maybe 15 years. No, I don't think I need to go thru a safety course. I realllly want to buy your motorcycle. How much you want for it?"

Me: "One million dollars"

He: "No really, how much"

Me: "No really."

 

It would kill me to have to watch that bike sitting next door. I guess I'm the guy that says "No one is good enough for my daughter"

[beemerboy]

Building on what roadscholar and beemerberg said, I had a similar experience with a former coworker who lusted after my rare & pristine '92 BMW K1. He'd never owned a motorcycle but "had ridden a friends dirtbike a lot when he was a kid" so he felt he could jump right on it and do fine.

 

I politely deflected his repeated overtures for a year or so and then he got fired from the company so, problem solved.

[pbharvey]

I never sold a bike I didn't want to get rid of. The emotional bond is broken before (or during usually) the decision to sell.

 

That said, I have a buyer for my immaculate 2001 R1200C Montana. I expect tassels will be his first farkle. Oh well.

[tallman]

After reading Ride Tales on this forum wouldn't anyone who buys a bike from one of us be a doofus?

[beemerboy]

I never sold a bike I didn't want to get rid of. The emotional bond is broken before (or during usually) the decision to sell.

 

I think there are variations of "motorcycle breakups" that apply to all of us. For the record, the K1, in my humble opinion, was a piece of BMW motorcycle history. Some would disagree with that but the truth of the matter is that the K1 I owned was in such incredible condition that it was too nice to ride. It took me a year or so to realize that I liked looking at it more than I did riding it. If I had the room I'd have put it on display in my home (yea, really). I parlayed the monies from its sale into an ultra-low mileage '04 KRS zebra that I rode the hell out of before the new K1200S caught my eye.

 

Anyway, I listed in the BMWST classified's and had it sold in two hours to a guy who always wanted one. He didn't own it long, however, before turning it over to his son in another state. I didn't ask why as I couldn't bear to think he'd wrecked or dropped it.

 

Fast forward two years and I came to the same conclusion about another rare bike I owned; a '92 Ducati 907IE. It sold fast as well to a collector in Florida who put it on static display in the office of his veterinary clinic:

 

So, sometimes it's a happy ending and sometimes it's not. I just want my bikes to go to happy, loving homes, ya know?

[Gregori]

I just have to know... Have any of you guys watched Toy Story?

 

There's an important lesson to be learned from that movie.

 

I'm just sayin....

[plext]

While it's nice to see rare machines being cared for, frankly I'd rather see them covered in scratches and mud while ridden constantly than being used as an ornament.

 

Might as well fill the tank with water, stick some flowers in and use it as a vase.

[beemerboy]

While it's nice to see rare machines being cared for, frankly I'd rather see them covered in scratches and mud while ridden constantly than being used as an ornament.

 

Might as well fill the tank with water, stick some flowers in and use it as a vase.

 

Perhaps I should have mentioned that he does occasionally ride it. Anyway, with over 30 bikes in his collection I suspect his spare time is somewhat limited.....

[Rockrib]

Not that this has anything to do with Moshe's original post, but...

 

A few years ago I was in the 7-11 parking lot when next to me pulls up a newish Range Rover. The big, really expensive 4 door model. It's tricked out with every off-road accessory you could think of; light bar, winch, roll bars- everything.

 

Every body panel, including the roof, had a dent, ding, scratch or crease. And it hadn't seen a car wash in, ever, I'd guess. There were little tree branches stuck in the grill. It obviously spent as much time off road as on.

 

Out of this abomination stepped the happiest man I've ever seen. He had a big grin and a genuine spring in his step.

 

I guess my thinking is this: every machine is a tool and any tool that's too pretty or precious to use is just art.

 

That being said, I'm going to go clean my bike.

 

 

[Selden]

A few years ago I was in the 7-11 parking lot when next to me pulls up a newish Range Rover. The big, really expensive 4 door model. It's tricked out with every off-road accessory you could think of; light bar, winch, roll bars- everything.

 

Every body panel, including the roof, had a dent, ding, scratch or crease. And it hadn't seen a car wash in, ever, I'd guess. There were little tree branches stuck in the grill. It obviously spent as much time off road as on.

Thank goodness there is at least one person in this country who actually uses a Range Rover for what it's designed. Most of the RRs I see in Atlanta never see an unpaved road.

[Paul Mihalka]

My Range Rover in Venezuela, 197x, Maria watching the rocks:

 

[beemerboy]

Thank goodness there is at least one person in this country who actually uses a Range Rover for what it's designed. Most of the RRs I see in Atlanta never see an unpaved road.

 

Come out West, Selden, there are lots of RR's with serious off road usage, mine being one of them.