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Looking to buy a used motorcycle?

Read these 5 tips for inspecting a used motorcycle to avoid being tricked into buying a bike that will cost you more money down the road!

1. Look for aftermarket handle bar ends. Most motorcycles that have been in an accident suffer handle bar damage and owners replace them with much cheaper aftermarket parts; this includes the bar ends and/or the handle grips. Looking at the ends are easy giveaways while you are checking the history of used motorcycles.

2. Look for any sort of scratches, cracks, or other damage on the motorcycle’s frame. If a motorcycle is dropped, or in a more serious accident, the plastics can easily be replaced. However, frame

Man Inspecting used motorcycle

Bonus tip: be sure to check wear on the chain and sprocket.

damage is almost always a total loss and therefore not repaired by private parties or insurance companies; otherwise this would be shown on the VIN report.

3. Ask for a service history report from the manufacturer’s local dealership. Certain warranties, minimums of oil changes, and chain maintenance is mandatory and regular service intervals require them. Also, check if any warranty is remaining and factor this into your purchase offer. This pairs well with a VIN number lookup as the VIN report may not include service history.

4. Check tire thread depth and wear pattern. New tires can be expensive and judging by how wide the used tread pattern is on a sport bike you can tell fairly reliably whether a motorcycle was a track bike, ridden hard and modified, or a fair weather cruiser.

5. Most importantly, get a motorcycle VIN history report to see if there is any accident or recall history report. Don’t forget to review the ownership and mileage histories for any anomalies that the VIN check may not report.