Topic: Test Rides? On My Bike?

[Paris]

I'm pretty set on my ways when it comes to someone else riding my bikes. I made the mistake 1 time and my friend wrecked it. He returned the bike back to me with a simple "Sorry man". Has never happened since. I personally don't even want to think of someone else riding my bike and I wouldn't ask to ride some elses bike either. You never know what could happen to your bike while you're not on it.

[Gordon]

Let my brother in law ride my first bike back when I was 18 and he laid it down.  Luckily he had the money to pay for the repairs, but I'll never make the same mistake again... I hope! 

[dusterdude]

brother only

[mcpuffett]

never    mick

[Gordon]

I'll have to ammend my earlier response.  I would let my father ride my bike at the drop of a hat, because he's the reason I got into motorcycles in the first place.  Besides, he's half the reason I'm here to begin with!

[DammitDan]

I would let my father ride my bike at the drop of a hat, because he's the reason I got into motorcycles in the first place. Besides, he's half the reason I'm here to begin with!

Same deal with me.  My brother in law got me into motorcycles, and if he wants to ride my bike, sure I'll let him.  Course he's also ridden just about everything under the sun for the last 20 years, and I know if he lays it down he will do everything he can to help me fix it.

Ugh... He's riding a pristine 1969 MotoGuzzi police model Ambassador right now, I'm so damn jealous.

[skamania19]

I'd let my brother ride it, he's owned and ridden more than twenty bikes over thirty years and never laid one down. AND, if he wrecks it, he'd know how to fix it.  A friend of mine wanted to trade bikes for a few miles on a recent ride; I politely declined. I wasn't afraid so much of him crashing my bike as I was afraid of crashing his. No way I could afford to fix up that thing.

[Egil]

Only my brother ride it , then he coms on summer holydays 2>3 days not every year. He was a biker 37>38years  ago ,before he took a round trip to  dakota (usa),and Alberta-BC Canada back in 1968-69.


Cheers !

Egil

[ofreen]

I decided a few years ago to reduce the herd a little, so put some bikes up for sale.  I wasn't going to allow any test rides by people whose skill or integrity level was unknown to me.  This is maybe a little contradictory because I wouldn't want to buy a bike I had not ridden, but my bikes are all well cared for and it shows.  I stuck to the no test ride policy (with one exception), which led to some bitter conversations with prospective buyers.  They'd tell me how interested they were in the bike, how experienced they were, blah, blah, blah.

The exception was with a nice silver and blue '82 CB900F I was selling.  It looked and ran basically like new, even though it was 15 or 16 years old at the time.  A guy told me he was very interested and wanted to take it for a ride.  I said no, but he nagged me, telling me how interested he was, how he'd wanted one like it ever since they'd come out, in that color, etc.  Since he seemed sincere and I wasn't getting much action on the bike from the ad, I relented.  As soon as he cleared the driveway, he red-lined it and ran through the gears.  The bike had an open Kerker exhaust on it, so I could hear him way down the road, just beating the heck out of it.  When he got back, he said he'd think about it and let me know, then left.  Never heard from the SOB again.  I am not a particularly violent person, but at that time I would have cheerfully broken his neck.

I stuck to my policy after that.  It made it harder to sell the bikes, but they all eventually sold.

Greg
'75 CB750F

[Gibson]

Only my father

[TitaniumRic]

I traet all my bike like my wife ..no one rides em but me!

[toycollector10]

Only one, my mate Jeff at work. He has owned bikes and ridden them basically on a daily basis for the last 35 years.

I trust him with my '69 K0, but I've also got him listed on my insurance as a rider, just for backup, in case he puts it down.

He also lets me ride his bikes but he always says, "if you drop it, you own it", which is fair enough.

[mrblasty]

The guy I bought my bike from every now and then I jump on his 350 twin and make a few hot laps around the 'hood and he the same, one of my brothers would also be allowed.

[Haggis]

Let my wife ride any of my bikes and she lets me ride her bikes,been like that the last 25 years

[8 Track]

Nobody.  I would let my dad ride it, but it's impossible get the bike to where he is.   

[Japbikemike]

Never let a stranger ride your bike.
I sold a bike to a guy who had never ridden before, wanted the 750 as his first bike.  I test rode it with him on the back.  Then with cash in hand delivered it.
I only let my father in law or my old racing buddies who have more expensive bikes than mine ride.