Derish

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. **

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.

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.

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?

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!

We didn't get that far, but I certainly had the feeling it was going that way, so nipped it at the bud.

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...

Looking good! Congrats. Some visual cues from a newer Fazer and a 90's Kawasaki GPZ... I wonder what's that about.

Thank you. Updates will follow.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.