A motorcycle carries almost everything in the open, which makes it easier to inspect than a car and less forgiving if you get it wrong. There is no crumple zone between a seized caliper and you. Work through the bike in a fixed order, keep your hands on it, and do not let a clean tank and a fresh set of grips do your thinking.
Bring a flashlight, a tire gauge, a rag, a small ruler or caliper if you have one, and gloves. Arrive early enough that the engine is stone cold. Ask the seller not to warm it up, and treat a warm engine on arrival as a fault you have not found yet.
1. Stand back and look down the bike
Crouch at the front wheel and sight down the length of the machine. The front wheel, frame and rear wheel should line up. Then look at the forks from the front: the tubes should be parallel and the same height through the triple clamps. A tube pushed up even slightly, or a bar end, lever, peg and exhaust that are scuffed on one side only, tells you the bike has been down. A drop is not automatically a deal breaker on an old bike, but it changes the price and it means you check the frame and forks properly.
Look at the frame itself at the steering head and the lower rails for ripples in the paint, fresh paint in one area only, or weld beads that do not match the factory ones elsewhere.
2. Consumables, which tell you how it was owned
The chain and sprockets are the cheapest honesty test on a motorcycle. Try to pull the chain away from the rear sprocket at the three o'clock position. More than a little lift means it is worn out. Look at the sprocket teeth: symmetrical teeth are healthy, hooked or shark-finned teeth are done. A worn chain with a new sprocket, or the reverse, means someone did half a job.
Now the tires. Read the four-digit date code on the sidewall, which gives the week and year of manufacture. Rubber over about six years old is hard and unsafe regardless of tread depth, and old tires on a low-mileage bike are normal but they are a cost you inherit. Check for a flat strip worn down the center, for cupping at the edges, and for cracking in the tread grooves.
Then the brakes. Look at pad thickness through the caliper, at the disc surface for deep scoring and at the disc edge for a lip. Squeeze the lever: it should firm up early and stay there. A lever that pulls slowly to the bar is air or a failing master cylinder. Look at the fluid in the reservoir sight glass. Clear or straw is fine, dark brown means it has not been touched in years, and brake fluid that old is a maintenance signal about everything else.
3. Suspension, bearings and wheels
Hold the front brake and push down hard on the bars several times. The forks should move smoothly and return without a clunk. Look at the fork tubes just above the seals for pitting and for the wet, dirty ring that means a seal is leaking. Pitted tubes mean new tubes, not new seals.
With the front wheel off the ground if possible, turn the bars slowly lock to lock. Any notch or catch at the straight-ahead position is worn steering head bearings. Grab each wheel and rock it side to side for wheel bearing play, and spin it to listen for roughness. On a shaft-drive or single-sided setup, check for play at the final drive and for oil weeping from the drive unit.
4. The cold start and the running check
Turn the key and check that the neutral light, oil light and every other warning lamp actually illuminates before the engine starts, because a bulb removed is the oldest trick there is. Start it cold and listen to the first thirty seconds. A brief top-end rattle that settles is common on an older engine. A persistent knock, a rhythmic tapping that speeds with the engine, or a rattle from the cam chain area is a conversation about money.
Watch the exhaust. Blue smoke is oil, white that does not clear can be coolant on a liquid-cooled bike, and on a two-stroke a haze is normal while a fog is not. Look for oil weeping at the head gasket, the base gasket, the cam cover and the countershaft sprocket seal. Check the coolant in the reservoir and the oil on the sight glass or dipstick.
Ride it if you possibly can, with insurance and a deposit agreed in advance. Feel for a clutch that slips under load in a high gear, a gearbox that jumps out of second, a wobble under braking and a bike that will not hold a line hands-light through a gentle curve.
5. Electrics and paperwork
Check both brake light switches, the headlight on both beams, all four indicators, the horn and the charging system if you can see a voltage reading. On an older bike, look at the wiring behind the headlight shell for a nest of splices and electrical tape, which is a reliable sign of how the rest was maintained.
Finally the documents. Match the frame number on the bike to the title and check the engine number against it, because on an older machine an engine swap is common and only sometimes disclosed. Read the service records for valve clearance checks and, on a modern bike, for the timing chain or belt service. Then price it with the what should I pay calculator and the maintenance interval planner, so you are budgeting for the service that is due rather than the one that was done.
Every model has a specific weak point, and knowing it before you go is the difference between a good buy and a project. Garage, Galley & Hangar writes a model-specific owner's reference manual for every motorcycle in the catalog, built around its known issues and service schedule. Browse the motorcycles catalog to find yours.
