Buying A Used Dirt Bike? Read This First

If you don't know what to look for when buying a used dirt bike you run the risk of purchasing a lemon. Motocross, trail and enduro bikes are high performance motorcycles that require strict maintenance to keep them running in peak condition. If the owner of the bike that you are thinking of buying hasn't maintained it with regular oil changes, filter cleaning, top and bottom end rebuilds etc then you could be about to buy something that is going to cost you a lot of money when you realize all these things need replacing or rebuilding.

I bought a Suzuki RM 80 when I was 14 years old with all of the hard earned money I had saved over my school holidays. I had ridden it for less than 2 hours when the piston blew and seized the engine! This cost me half of the original price of the bike to have repaired. Don't let this happen to you.

Buying a second hand dirt bike is actually a great way to cut a huge amount off the price tag of a brand new bike, so if you do your homework you can pick up a great deal. The key is to find one that has been well looked after, and if it has had recent engine work done to it make sure you ask the owner for receipts to prove it. All dirt bikes need engine rebuilds at one time or another so don't be put off if you read that it has had the piston replaced after 50 hours of riding time. If it has done less than 10 or 20 hours on the new piston, it's good to go for many more hours without you having to spend a cent. Better the previous owner pays for the rebuild than you right?

The first step when looking to buy a used dirt bike is to find out what the market value of the particular year and model you are interested in is. This is easy to do by looking in auto trading magazines and websites that list lots of new and used motorcycles, Ebay is one place. Check out the different prices for the same model of bike, they will vary but you will be able to easily work out what the average price is. Now you know how much you should expect to pay.

The second step is to learn about the common 'wear and tear' components of a motorcycle. When you go to inspect the bike you need to know about all of the small things that may look OK on the outside but are actually worn out or about to break. Lots of these small things can quickly add up to big dollars if you are unaware of them. I suggest taking a mechanically minded friend with you to test ride it or read up about things like cracked clutch levers, worn brake pads and tyres, ripped seat covers, leaking radiators, worn steering head bearings, threaded spokes etc. These are amongst lots of other potentially costly problems that the second hand bike you are looking at may have.

By: H B

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more pointers and a detailed list of components that need to be checked on a used dirt bike check out www.dirt-bike-tips-and-pics.com/used-dirt-bike.html
Dirt-Bike-Tips-And-Pics.com is a popular dirt bike enthusiast site packed full of information, entertainment and discussions. Check it out!
Copyright: You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, active links and copyright notice remain intact.