Derish
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Posts posted by Derish
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Finally completed the dealer survey today, having left what I thought was my best chance for the end. Turns out it wasn't really.
It's the second time I've gone to visit Padgett's, the biggest Yamaha dealer in the area that also does Honda and Suzuki. Last time it was on a technical issue. In both cases they proved to be useless but extremely polite. I know people in the UK like to complain about how bad customer service is these days, but for me as a foreigner it remains one of your country's strongest points. Such was the case here, where they took a few glances at the bike, didn't even ask about mileage, previous owners, etc., and came back to me saying that as it's an import, they're not interested, but thanks for stopping by. I wish every woman that ever rejected me was that polite.
Meanwhile, I went on webuyanybike.com and they actually surprised me with a very good offer. I do however suspect it will come down drastically once they see the actual bike and realise it has metric gauges and a few scratched plastics. Unfortunately their quote system doesn't go into much detail before coming up with a number, which I'm sure works in their favour once a customer is engaged to sell and the man with the van shows up with (a bit less) cash.
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Thank you.
Unfortunately Facebook groups in my area have a problematic record, so that would be my last resort. For now I got some more dealers to try, as well as apps like LetGo. Eventually something will work.
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A couple of weeks went by with exactly zero additional calls or viewings. I've been busy with other things, but today found the time to make my first dealer run.
I wasn't sure what price to advertise for, so when everyone else was asking for £1800-2000 I put £1600, allowing for an extra 15-25% to come off in negotiation. My local town dealer has a similar bike two years younger advertised for £2400, so I started with him. Sadly, while he may price his bikes on the high end of the scale, he wasn't able (or willing) to buy mine for more than £700. I proceeded to a few other small shops that said flat out 'no thanks', and ended with a big Honda dealership where the sales guy awkwardly explained 2007 might be too old for them. So no happy ending quite yet, but I have a few more places to visit on the other side of Leeds, and perhaps I'll have better luck there.
I guess my next step will be to lower the advertised prices towards £1k and see what happens. Honestly, for less than that I may as well just hang it on the wall above the telly.
P.S. The MCN printed ad was ridiculous, with just a few words and a mis-registered picture. Why do they even bother?
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Another success story.
Middle Eastern gent tries to low-ball me over messages, I make it clear I'll only go so far (about 20% flexible). He says OK, then comes around and starts pointing out scratches and blemishes that were clearly mentioned in the ad, as if I promised him a brand new product. Based on that evidence, he tries to low-ball me again, practically doing me a favour taking it off my hands at 50% value. Sadly he didn't realise I spent many years in the Middle East myself and was impervious to his street market tactics.
Used my best British face to politely send him on his merry way without explaining in detail what his mother does for a living. Next customer please!
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We didn't get that far, but I certainly had the feeling it was going that way, so nipped it at the bud.
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Well then... The ads are up, a free one on PistonHeads and a £14 basic one on MCN. Staying out of eBay for the moment, as it has a few similar bikes with rock bottom pricing.
Less than 24 hours passed and I got a text from MCN with some lady asking me to contact her by email. I did, then she proceeded to ask me redundant questions like why I'm selling, and told a sad story about not being able to view the bike, just being out of hospital, her phone being inactive, etc. I suspected a scam, so told her thanks and good luck with her search.
I think I'll give it a week and then go visit some dealers in my area. To be continued...
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Thank you. Updates will follow.
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That's true, it's just hard for me to gauge the amount of wankers in this country. Guess I'll find out soon.
For some reason these heavy scooters aren't too popular in Yorkshire, although they make great commuters. Scarcity might be good for business, but only if there is demand.
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Thanks everyone, not what I expected to hear but makes sense. Guess that's globalisation for you, when even criminal techniques are aligned and uniform between the UK and some of the world's worst.
General safety is less of a concern for me, where I come from you never show a car or a bike near your house, only in public places and preferably those with security cameras. Some of my past locations also had issues with posting your phone number or license plate online - the phone number would quickly be put on numerous spam lists and the license plate would be used by gangs to trace your home address and pay you a nightly visit. Gladly, the UK doesn't seem to have gone this far yet.
I'll look at the wording, pictures I think are fine. This is a 9 y/o bike that a realistic buyer should have no problems with, but dealers will no doubt fuss about some scratches and cosmetic things to get the price down. So MCN it is, I guess PistonHeads can be another good resource, a bit apprehensive about eBay... How about big boards like AutoTrader, should I just disregard them to keep time wasters away?
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Hi everyone,
Last time I asked you for advice on how to ride on UK roads like a gentleman, which was really helpful. I've now been doing it for a while now and your tips were spot on.
Now I'm afraid it's time to sell my noble steed and upgrade to something heavier. This bike has been a family member for the last 7 years, so I'd rather sell it privately rather than part exchange. The legal aspect of it seems pretty easy - a few signatures and a tear-away slip on the registration document, but I'm unsure how to handle the actual sale process.
Suppose I put up an ad, a prospect buyer shows up and we have a little chat - is it customary to then allow a test ride? Seems to me like the obvious thing to do, but I lived in some countries where this was a big no-no for insurance and theft reasons. Also, if I do allow a test ride - is it acceptable to ask the person to leave me his/her driver's license or some form of identification? Just so I have something to show the police later if they never come back...
Next thing is a technical inspection, which I assume the buyer might request. I usually have no problem with it, are there any red flags I should be looking for?
Finally - how do you guys handle payments? My bike should fetch about £1500-2000 (hopefully), is this an amount you'd pay in cash, bank transfer, or otherwise?
This and any other advice is welcome. I live in West Yorkshire, if it's relevant. Thank you in advance.
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The current ratio in West Yorkshire is about 70/30. I've been riding for a couple of months now, and most of what I see around here is 125cc scooters with L plates. The nod is more typical of experienced riders I find, be it simple commuters or proper hairy chested Triumph owners. Hoping to see more of them coming out in the next few weeks.
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My friend had this on his Kawasaki ER-6 that I used to borrow when he'd go abroad. Made all the difference to me and my short fingers. The levers had 6 steps - he typically used #6, I used #3 or #4 - BIG difference. Just make sure they're installed properly, and you'll wonder why you lived so long without them.
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Thanks for taking the time to explain this. Judging by what people around me wear and drive, I seem to be right there with you.
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Since we touched on the cultural subject here - I'm trying to find evidence of this English 'class' system I heard so much about, and it's not going well so far. All I see around West Yorkshire is friendly hard-working people who enjoy a pint in the end of the day, similar in mindset to the Dutch or the Flems. Were class differences ever really a thing in this part of England, or was it just historically exaggerated in TV and literature?
Granted, I've only been living here for about 18 months, and had limited interaction with locals. Still makes me wonder.
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Oh, so it wasn't just my imagination - roads around here ARE getting narrower. Great.
Bridgewater Place is one of the busiest entry points to the city for anyone coming from the south, so I'm well familiar with it. Nowadays they just close the road off whenever it gets windy. Less of a problem for me as I usually come in from Hunslet, but definitely something to keep in mind.
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Just my luck then, most of my rides are in Leeds.
Starting to realise why nobody rides here. Some of these roads are fine for cars but feel like cheese graters on the bike. And then there are the wind gusts on the motorway.
Oh well, still beats the bus.
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Thank you. I see the main thing I'll need to be careful with is my Spanish habit of parking on the pavement.
As for #2 - Indeed I meant the hard shoulder on motorways, sorry if it wasn't clear. I remember riding in a Middle Eastern country where using the outer 'emergency' lane was practiced and encouraged by local police, saying they preferred to have all the bikers on one separate lane rather than filtering through busy traffic. It was only allowed during rush hour though, rest of the time they'd get a ticket.
Another take on that subject is what they do in France, mainly around big cities; There they use the inner space between the fast lane and separating wall, and ride with emergency lights flashing. Any of you who visited Paris or Lyon during rush hour would have seen it I'm sure. Personally I don't like this technique as it seems quite unsafe, but evidently it works for them.
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Hello everyone,
A while ago I moved from Spain to the UK and settled down in West Yorkshire. I've been driving here for many years on business trips, but only on four wheels. Every country I lived in so far had a different code of behaviour for riders (not necessarily bound by law), and I'd like to understand the do's and don'ts specific to the UK.
My main questions:
1. During rush hour traffic, is it acceptable to ride between slowly-moving car lanes? What the Americans call lane-splitting. Will it attract negative attention from the police or other road users? Any difference between local roads and highways in that respect?
2. In similar conditions, is the shoulder typically used by two-wheel traffic? Like on the ring roads of Paris.
3. Is parking on sidewalks generally acceptable, assuming it doesn't create any discomfort for pedestrians?
4. If I park on the edges of a paid car park and don't take up any of the marked spaces - do I still need to pay?
5. I assume we're not allowed to use bus or bicycle lanes in Yorkshire, is that correct?
This is the kind of info I typically get by observing other riders, but for some reason I don't see many of them in my area. Must be the weather up north.
Anyway, this and any other advice are more than welcome. I'd hate to be 'that guy' who rides like a dick.
Thank you in advance.
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Back with an update. Eventually the number was found on top of the crank case, right in front of the left shock, clearly visible from the outside and requiring no disassembly if you only know where to look:
Local Yamaha dealer's (Padgett's in Batley) mechanics were friendly but unfamiliar with the model and thus rather useless. Solution came from Startright - a local family owned business that has also serviced and MOT'ed the bike when it first arrived.
Still unclear why it's not mentioned in any of Yamaha's manuals.
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Thanks, but the location you refer to only shows the VIN. I'm looking for the engine number.
(Got all the literature, went over it several times, didn't see it mentioned anywhere.)
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Well... Yesterday we had a bonding experience, where I took apart all the left side of the bike and went looking again. Just as you said, where the engine meets the crankcase I found a number. Unfortunately it was another part number, no serial. I honestly looked at it from every possible direction and have no idea where else it could be.
Guess the next step is to go to a Yamaha dealer, pay him to repeat the same procedure and hope for a better result. This is profoundly annoying.
Thanks anyway.
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Thanks, that makes sense.
Is it normally supposed to be visible from the outside (like a VIN plate), or only after some plastic panels are disassembled?
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Greetings,
I recently moved to the UK from Spain and brought over my scooter, a 2007 X-Max 250. It's been a member of the family for six years, so selling or leaving it behind wasn't an option. Shortly after the arrival it was serviced and MOT'ed with no issues, but as I was preparing the documents for DVLA, it turned out I don't have the motor number.
I've gone through the service manual and didn't see any indication of where to look for it. I then spent about half an hour kneeling in various positions, then took the whole seat unit off to get a better look, but still wasn't able to find an identification plate or stamp to give me this data. I also don't know the syntax or length it should be, so not sure if I'll recognize it even if I see it.The only stamped characters I found are the ones in the picture attached - 4HC02 YP-6, but this looks more like a part number than a serial.
Do you have any idea where I should look for it? Any other advice on how to handle the siituation?
Thank you in advance.
Bike Selling Etiquette (update: SOLD!!!)
in The Bar
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Glad to report it is done. The bike was eventually sold for peanuts, but went to a nice chap with a rich track resume who was looking for a city commuter. I'm quite pleased with it overall, considering how frustrating the whole process was.
Apparently old 250cc bikes are about as wanted as puppies after Christmas, or maybe it's just Yorkshire with it's three-months-a-year riding weather. It's definitely not about the price, as I've tried advertising within a 300% range and had equally zero responses. The local dealers were also a hoot. To be fair, most of them said no outright. The few who did give me the time of day offered about 1/3 of the bike's perceived value (I'm careful not to use the word 'market' anymore), and one in particular gave me a nice offer but then backpedaled and cut it by 50% on the day I came to hand it over. Seriously questionable business ethics this one had, although he did manage to remain Britishly polite throughout his attempt of assaulting me in the rear.
Webuyanybike.com? Well, apparently not ANY bike. 'We' also don't call back when it doesn't suit us. But 'we' sure do some great advertising, don't we?
MCN - special thanks for no less than five scammers trying to contact me through your messaging system, that was £12 well spent!
Bottom line - what an effing waste of time. What the hell happened, England? You used to be so biker-friendly.
** rant over, tea time. **