What's new

Test Rides - The Demand Curve

I went to buy a new DRZ400 with cash in a sandwich bag but they wouldn't let me test ride it first.

Wanted to buy a $500 Shoei helmet once but wanted to zip it around the block once to see if it was going to be as quiet as everyone said it was. Counter guy stared at me like a cow looking at a new gate. What? $500 is not throwaway money.

Went to an Indian demo day a while back to play with the FTR's. They only had one there. They'd started out with half a dozen a few weeks earlier but they'd all been crashed except that one 😂

One Japanese/KTM dealership around here don't want you even sitting on the bikes without a salesman holding it. Their sister location ( Japanese/Husky) will call me on the phone when the model I'm interested in shows up and toss me the key. The BMW/Ducati/Triumph/Indian dealership almost won't let you out the door until you ride something. Every location is gonna have a different vibe.
 
When I go to buy a used bike I Am gonna test ride it. The seller holds my $$ until I get back , I mess the bike up , he's covered.
Same. I leave a buddy behind to make sure the seller don't bounce with my cash while I'm gone. You never know.

They get fussy when you hand them full asking price to cover the ride, then haggle em down afterwards 😂 That's life, pal!
 
Test rides? Sheez, I've bought a few I haven't even seen in person yet, let alone ridden.

I haven't shopped for Japanese bikes so am not familiar with the dealers, but there are two main Ducati dealers I've used through the years and they've both offered test rides. One of them once requested I come in and ride a demo bike to put miles on it so he could sell it. The other even had demos at a track day - the bike I brought wasn't running right so I ended up borrowing bikes for most sessions. 959, V4 Panigale, 959 again... not a bad afternoon.

I don't allow test rides when I sell a bike, not without cash in hand and a price established. There's no haggling after. I know the bike is right, you aren't going to find anything wrong with it. The price doesn't change because it isn't exactly what you dreamed it would be. You can decide not to buy it but the final price is based on how much I like the bike, not how much you do. I've never HAD to sell one, it's been my experience if the first guy doesn't want it the next guy usually does. I can't recall any bike I've sold that had three people look at it. Most often the first guy to look at it ends up with it.

And the guy who asks "what's the lowest you'd take" in his email is NEVER the one who ends up buying it. Ever.
 
I've found Honda dealers to be the worst. You can stand there with gear, a fistful of cash and an Isle of Man TT trophy and the typical Honda dealer will act like you just asked for his wife's cell phone number. I don't know if it's because they're more comfortable selling chain saws and snowblowers and other Honda jimcrackery, but they need to take a lesson from their automobile cousins and loosen up. Honestly, I was very curious about the new Gold Wings when they were introduced a few years ago but I never checked them out because of my previous encounters with Honda dealers. If they can't be bothered to sell them, I can't be bothered to buy them.
 
Last edited:
I guess it depends on the Honda dealer. Your dealer must suck.

Sept 29, 2018 - I walked into Honda to look at 2019 CRF450L. Dealer said they ordered 7 of them and had 5 left in crates.
Best part was he said $1000 below MSRP at $9,400 not $10,400, PLUS they threw in some barkbusters and installed them as part of the PIA for free.

I went back to buy a SxS last year with COVID Pricing. gulp - $4k OVER MSRP !! go figure.
 
I've found Honda dealers to be the worst. You can stand there with gear, a fistful of cash and an Isle of Man TT trophy and the typical Honda dealer will act like you just asked for his wife's cell phone number. I don't know if it's because they're more comfortable selling chain saws and snowblowers and other Honda jimcrackery, but they need to take a lesson from their automobile cousins and loosen up. Honestly, I was very curious about the new Gold Wings when they were introduced a few years ago but I never checked them out because of my previous encounters with Honda dealers. If they can't be bothered to sell them, I can't be bothered to buy them.


Maybe the key is to ask for the cell# first then walk it back to a test tide...
 
I went to a dealer in CT for a friend to pick up a Z50R an employee there was selling, and saw the XR650L I still ride (used, 1 yr old, 750 miles).

They wouldn't allow a test ride, and the bike was so gutless stock I may have not bought it, I rode it before putting it in my truck and I was really disappointed.

But I had it so I tried the usual jet kit, better but still pretty sad.

I found the details of the old baja designs kit piece by piece, the jets, the washer, the drill but, snorkel delete, put them all back together, and that got popular as the Dave mods.
(I didn't name it that, BTW. I didn't even take the good photos!)

That made it a reasonable dirt scoot.
 
I just started buying new Japanese bikes a few years ago and was surprised that a test ride was not an option.
When I pressed a Yamaha dealer he said I could test ride after going through the full purchase paperwork, i.e. buy the bike and they will refund if I don't like it!
 
I went to a dealer in CT for a friend to pick up a Z50R an employee there was selling, and saw the XR650L I still ride (used, 1 yr old, 750 miles).

They wouldn't allow a test ride, and the bike was so gutless stock I may have not bought it, I rode it before putting it in my truck and I was really disappointed.

But I had it so I tried the usual jet kit, better but still pretty sad.

I found the details of the old baja designs kit piece by piece, the jets, the washer, the drill but, snorkel delete, put them all back together, and that got popular as the Dave mods.
(I didn't name it that, BTW. I didn't even take the good photos!)

That made it a reasonable dirt scoot.
Bucket list bike! It is up there with some 2 strokes..... one day and I like the white one.
 
So have I, which strikes me as a bit odd, considering they are usually the pricier option. But it may have something to do with the manufacturers being willing to accept a portion of the liability and/or providing bikes to dealers they expect to be used as demos.
I was allowed to test ride my W800 before buying it, but it was a a left-over 2019 I bought in late 2020 and they were pretty eager to get it off their sales floor. But when I was thinking about a new Vulcan S at the same dealership a few years prior to that, they offered to let me ride that too.

Harley Davidson has the best test ride policy in motorcycling. Say what you will about their dealerships or motorcycles, but if you want to ride an HD, go to a dealership and they will practically throw the keys at you. It's no wonder they sell so many of the damn things.
I don't think I've ever seen a Harley dealer that didn't allow test rides. The one in Huntsville even has the occasional Saturday event where they have free food and test rides, advertised on the local radio stations.
 
Back in 2018 I went to one of those big box multiline dealers to look at a 2011 Honda NT700VA with a sale price of 5400.00, literally half price of msrp. It was not 100% clear from the advertisement if it was new or used, they were also selling new leftover NC700X’s for a few dollars more.

The dealer wanted that NT gone, I was able to test ride it, look it over for a long time and eventually bought it. The bike was a new leftover and looked as if it was fresh from the crate, no scratches or showroom damage. I wouldn’t have bought it without a test ride, still have it over 4 years later.

Honda is pretty good about test rides on GoldWings, I was not in the market for such an expensive tourer but when I was offered the keys on a 2019 I put some gas in it and rode it for over and hour.

F80AA0A2-65AF-4B31-8370-FF3A998C07B5.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Right now the demand for bikes is so high compared to the supply that dealers really have little incentive to offer test rides. I'm sure that will change at some time but right now that's the case.
The Yamaha dealer down the street from Max Motorsports had that attitude when I was shopping for my new TW. I didn't ask for a test ride; they just had the highest price of anywhere I checked and wouldn't negotiate at all. They wouldn't even accept up-front payment of MSRP + $500 and hold a check for the remainder of their full asking price for a couple of days to allow the funds to transfer into my checking account. They actually told me that if I didn't buy it today, someone else would tomorrow. Of course I could have left a deposit and came back to get it once the funds transferred, but at that point I decided that if I had to walk out without the bike I would just buy it somewhere else.

I stopped in at Max Motorsports. Now that is a great dealership. I could have bought a Himalayan and ridden it home that day, and seriously considered it.

The next day I called some other dealerships within a 150 mile radius and discovered that Smith Sport Cycles in Tuscaloosa has two TWs, with one already spoken for. Not only did they offer to hold the other one for me for the rest of the week, they would not accept a deposit. I was there the next day, check in hand. They allowed me to ride it before closing the deal. Wasn't really necessary because I already knew what a TW rides like, and knew I was going to buy it. To top it off, the price was $700 less than the other dealership.
Guess where I'll be going next time I'm in the market?

The attitude I got from Hall's pretty much guaranteed that not only would I not buy that bike from them, but I would also avoid them in the future.

Just a quick comment about the dealership on South Parkway in Huntsville. They also had a couple of TWs in stock. They were also the only dealership I talked to that wouldn't even give me a price without sitting down with a salesman and filling out paperwork. And, they weren't in a hurry to find me a salesman to talk to either. I made one more circuit around the showroom, and they didn't even notice when I left. I don't plan to waste any more time there, either.
 
The Yamaha dealer down the street from Max Motorsports had that attitude when I was shopping for my new TW. I didn't ask for a test ride; they just had the highest price of anywhere I checked and wouldn't negotiate at all. They wouldn't even accept up-front payment of MSRP + $500 and hold a check for the remainder of their full asking price for a couple of days to allow the funds to transfer into my checking account. They actually told me that if I didn't buy it today, someone else would tomorrow. Of course I could have left a deposit and came back to get it once the funds transferred, but at that point I decided that if I had to walk out without the bike I would just buy it somewhere else.

I stopped in at Max Motorsports. Now that is a great dealership. I could have bought a Himalayan and ridden it home that day, and seriously considered it.

The next day I called some other dealerships within a 150 mile radius and discovered that Smith Sport Cycles in Tuscaloosa has two TWs, with one already spoken for. Not only did they offer to hold the other one for me for the rest of the week, they would not accept a deposit. I was there the next day, check in hand. They allowed me to ride it before closing the deal. Wasn't really necessary because I already knew what a TW rides like, and knew I was going to buy it. To top it off, the price was $700 less than the other dealership.
Guess where I'll be going next time I'm in the market?

The attitude I got from Hall's pretty much guaranteed that not only would I not buy that bike from them, but I would also avoid them in the future.

Just a quick comment about the dealership on South Parkway in Huntsville. They also had a couple of TWs in stock. They were also the only dealership I talked to that wouldn't even give me a price without sitting down with a salesman and filling out paperwork. And, they weren't in a hurry to find me a salesman to talk to either. I made one more circuit around the showroom, and they didn't even notice when I left. I don't plan to waste any more time there, either.
I bought my Kymco from Max Motorsports. They are a great dealer. I wish they were closer. I have not heard anything good about Hall's. The dealer on South Parkway has probably the highest fees around. They even list a higher base price than the actual MSRP. Despite all this they are selling a lot of bikes.
 
Back in 2007 in Trenton NJ area I bought my 1st Honda ST1100,,,it was a 1995 model year with 30k miles on it...This dealership was a Mom and Pop delaer for like 40 yrs..They offerd new riders a test ride and offered to allow folks to practice and pass their rider portion of the drivers license test..On their own property and they supplied the small bikes...If you passed you only needed to go to DMV for the written test..They were very good at promoting motorcycling and giving back to the local community...They had a piece of property and they had a practice dirt course and even provided the adv bikes for folks to learn on..Wow
It problably helped that the dealership was familiar with me as a customer...I came in on a Fri... expressed interest in the ST1100..the keys were given to me and they said i could bring it back the following Tuesday when they reopened the next week!!! I put 600 miles on that demo weeekend..Came back Tues with the cash in hand and bought it outright...Many times though a purchase was not likely and yet i could still walk into a dealership and get a demo ride...
Nowadays..in this area(Raleigh) If you're ready to sign on the line you'll get a demo ride but you have to ask..But if you just walk in thinking you could demo ride a bike wwithout committing to buy it..you're shit outta luck...
Taking advantage of demo bike days events is a good way to demo ride ...Last year a local powersports dealr had a Yamaaha demo weekend event....I was able to demo a 2021 Yamaha Tracer 9GT and an XSR900..I didnt haave to committ to buying and it was a fun event...
 
In 2001 I was looking at a shiny new Triumph 955 Sprint ST in British Racing Green. The local dealer (SoCal) gave me the keys and asked if I wanted to take it home for the weekend. Hell yeah! He ended up with a sale along with all the bags and other goodies. I don't get why they don't do this anymore.
 
Back
Top Bottom