Don't Buy Until You Test Ride!

 Honda, Yamaha, all the big brands expect you to plunk down twelve grand for
their two-wheel Buicks without so much as a test ride.  It doesn't matter
that you ride to their showroom on two wheels---they have nothing for you
to try out before buying.  That's rediculous.

You younger riders out there, this is how it used to be.  Any Saturday or
Sunday, if you showed up on a bike, you could ride the latest BSA, Norton,
Honda, Triumph or whatever and their always two or three bikes to take
turns on.  You left your driver's license with the salesman and took off.
That's how they sold bikes.

There are a lot of new kinds of machines on the market and most riders
don't have any idea of their ride....I am thinking of the big scooters with
automatic transmissions.  These machines cost $5000 and up, so why would
anybody buy one without trying it first?

Its no problem to try Chevies and Fords before you buy.  What's the big
problem with Honda and Yamaha dealers?

 I agree...I wanted to test ride a scooter and they wouldn't let me even
in their parking lot.  I understand about Insurance and all but I have
never riden one before so I was I to know I would even enjoy it.  Was
PRETTY sure I would but still.......I ended up buying one from a friend
without ever haven ridden.  I am now going for my license.  I know I
got to test drive my car before I bought it.

 

    Had to have a license first, didn't you ?  And don't MC
licenses have a riding test ?

    But the first thing you should have done, and should do now,
is take the riding safety course.


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 Nomen Nescio wrote:

There are too many folks that would damage equipment if they allowed
this. Believe me, I wish they would, but its just not going to happen.
Its too easy for an inexperienced rider to not know the limits of the
machine or simply not realize what the machine is capable of (imagine a
rider fresh from a Ninja 250 hopping on a Hayabusa) and killing himself.

 On Fri, 14 Apr 2006 00:03:55 -0400, Masospaghetti


I'm not sure about the States but, here in Canada, Harley Davidson
dealers host test-ride days twice a year.  As far as I know, it's done
in the States as well.

There's so much demand to test ride that the dealers don't advertise
it or post announcements when the rides will take place (around here
anyway).  Basically just word-of-mouth.  

Of course, the dealers are especially likely to mention it to people
who have come in to the shop, expressed some interest in buying one of
their bikes and are trying to decide.  

Members from the local HOG chapters volunteer to manage the rides
(I've done it a few years myself).

It sure is a fun way to spend a Saturday.  You can ride every model
there is.  My wife test rode the exact same model of Sportster last
summer that she eventually got in February, which I think was a real
advantage.

So, in spite of the possible down-sides mentioned already, the fact HD
does it shows that offering test rides is not at all impossible or
unfeasible proposition.  Other bike dealers really ought to do the
same.

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