Used Bike Purchasing for the Vacationing American?

Hello, I'm an American who is planning a long (three-four months)
vacation throughout England, Ireland and Western Europe. I've been
mulling over various transport options, and I've decided that the
temporary owning of a motorcycle would be the best option.

Since my language skills outside of English is pretty much limited to
"Bathroom, Where?" and "Me: Hungry", I figure that seeking out a bike
in either England or Ireland would be best.

I would begin and end my journey in the same country (either England
or Ireland), thereby simplifying as much as possible the buying and
subsequent necessary selling of the bike.

So, with that in mind, a few questions:

1) Are there any good sites for the private selling of motorcycles in
England/Ireland? I'd like to get a sense of how much I'd have to spend
for a good, dependable bike to handle the tour.

2) Are there any cities that stand out as better or worse for my
search-central?

3) In the USA anyway, the better value in used bikes are always found
from private parties as opposed to dealers or shops. Is this true over
there?

4) Is it easy for a US citizen to buy and sell a bike in England or
Ireland, or is it impossibly difficult? What agencies do I need to
contact before my trip to find out just what this entails? I'm sure
there is an English equivalent to the American states' DMVs
(Department of Motor Vehicles).

5) Are border crossings in Europe easy?

6) And I'd love to hear recommendations on bikes themselves. I need
something to carry me and my stuff comfortably over long rides. I'm
not a mechanic, so I need something that is not only dependable but
also easy to find service shops to repair the bike if needed. I'm not
looking for super-performance and certainly not looking for something
flashy. Ideally I'd like something very low-profile with a very low
chance of theft.

Sorry for the long, drawn-out post. Any help or guidance would be
really appreciated. Thanks!

 

:

First off, you'll get very wet...

very high chance of theft!

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, shakalaka

www.loot.com, www.autotrader.co.uk, www.ebay.co.uk are all reasonable
starting points.

Yep, you get no warranty of course, but you'll pay less.

Haven't got a clue. Someone will (hopefully) be along shortly.

Usually. Sometimes it's a little hard to tell that you've left one
country and entered another.

CG125? ;^)

For this type of touring I think you'd do very well with a Honda Pan
European. They're relatively expensive to buy, but should be easy to
sell. Shaft-drive, good weather protection, very comfortable. UK police
use them. *All* bikes are prone to theft unfortunately, so a FOAD lock
would be a good call.

 

Poor sod.

D

 

shakalaka says...

www.biketrader.co.uk or ebay.co.uk would be good places to start.

London is probably the best as its got the most people and the best
public transport for going to see prospective bikes

Yes, if you know that to look out for.

Give seller lots of cash[1], ride away into the sunset. Not sure about
the transfer of ownership is IIRC you need a UK address for that
..http://www.dvla.gov.uk/ should have some pointers.

Yes, most of them you won't even notice. The ones into and out of the UK
are probably the worst.

Same sort of bikes as you have over in the US. Honda Blackbird, BMW's
ZZR1100/1200 etc....

 

Ssssh! Don't upset them ... look what happened to "SH"!


--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3 (and KotL), DS#5, COSOC#9, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

Well, wasn't it Napoleon who said, "Those who do not learn from history are
destined to repeat it"?

Obviously "learning" and "American" don't go together.

Yeah, but just you wait until the next time we want to invade some piss-pot
3rd world country and the Merkins are morally obliged to help us.

I'm in the office tomorrow.


--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3 (and KotL), DS#5, COSOC#9, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

AndrewR wrote

We won't be doing that again I reckon. It was boring wasn't it? I
mean, it was that bad they haven't even bothered to make a film out of
it and it was what, a year ago now?

Pissed me right off that did. I had booked time off work for a couple
of weeks into it to watch it live on the telebox and everything. What a
bloody let down, the bastards gave in and dissappeared into the
woodwork. Cheating I call it. Downright taking the piss. No blood, no
gore, no piles of bodies burning in the streets. Hardly what I would
call prime time entertainment.

Still, on the bright side, we have got the Olympics in a few days and
circumstances will find me at home and bored silly.

 

Possibly. The Rev. Jim Jones also said that.

 

Pfwoar. Just my chance, Kwak ZR7S 51 plate (nearly 3 year old) £2800
blue, Northeast england, taxed 2 new tyres (BT020's) Meta alarm/immob.
Very low chance of getting nicked.
You'd think I wrote the op post myself as a lead in.

 

From talking to friends in the States, its more "American" and "history"
that don't go together, especially where the history in question involves
"other countries".

 

What's your budget? Cheap or very cheap?

 

Nigel Eaton was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

.... and they even seem to defeat my ability to break things. They
aren't that expensive any more, you can pick up a good 'un for about
3k-4k depending on mileage.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Andy Ashworth

"Britain, where 200 miles is a long way; America, where 200 years is a
long time."

 

Do Americans know there are other countries?

I mean, they must know about Canada and Mexico, right? Some of them must be
practically able to see those countries from their porches (although
probably not both at the same time).


--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3 (and KotL), DS#5, COSOC#9, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

AndrewR wrote

Of course they bloody do.

Well, those of them who know what day of the week it is do.

 

wrote

No Des, the sad part about it was that the footnote spoilt the humour.

 

No. Try George Santayana

-paul

 

OK, what's his number?


--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3 (and KotL), DS#5, COSOC#9, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

Do you want us to? Look at what happened when we figured out where
Iraq and Afghanistan lay on the map.



PS
I hope your newfound military expenditures to keep the EC a superpower
don't kill all those tasty social programs of yours. You are building
a military to rival the US if you're going to call yourselves a
relevant economy right?