Why do PO's do the things they do

Thought my petcock was messed up, turned out someone had opened it up and jammed the seal open, I'm not sure the point of that but I found it and didn't need to do anything to it but get that stuff out, And as soon as my parts arrive from Chacal and I do a little reassembling it should be good to go and I must check valve clearances in the morning before I put anything back on

 

Answer to the post topic???

Uninformed amateurs trying to cover-up defects to facilitate a quick sale.

 

the ol lemon trick would make sense but I do quite enjoy lemonade so jokes on them I guess, I've thought about that though with this bike in particular

 

They will do ANYTHING to unload the Bike.

I went to look at a Bike with my brother.

The guy had the seat and covers of it and was high-pressure washing the bike all over, ... with the Battery still in it.

 

That is SO true, some will do anything. I guess they have no problem sleeping at night.

Two or three years ago I was searching for a '74 or '75 RD350. I found one that the owner was willing to trade. I offered a V65 Honda I had picked up for 300 from a guy. It ran but had non-matching tins. A steal for $300 but a fair trade for a nice RD.

I get in touch with the RD's owner and he sends me teeny tiny pics....1st REDLIGHT....I send him full sized pics of the Honda and ask for larger pics....when I open them something does not look right. The owner claims the bike has 5700 miles(I'll NEVER forget that mileage) and the tank, sicdecovers headlight shell & fork ears all look nearly new...as they should. The factory painted engine however is missing LOTS of paint, even the engine side covers which usually hold up fairly well since they are out of direct air were missing lots of paint so was the frame where I could see it. Then as I begin to really examine the bike, it has worn footpeg rubbers, not ground from cornering hard but worn on TOP from boots. Same with the grips, they were showing a lot of wear at the thin lines of the factory grips. This bike had a lot more miles then 5700 miles.

I question the owner who states…”that’s’ what the title and odometer says” and sent a pic of both….each showing exactly 5700 miles. I’m guessing that he didn’t realize that he had already told me that he had ridden the bike “everywhere” and it was in great shape. At that point it was obvious that he had replaced the tins and had either bought or rolled back the odometer. How else would they both show exactly the same mileage if he had ridden the bike?

I took a pass……I’m sure that somewhere down the road he screwed someone. Those people usually don’t stop until they find a mark.
I usually approach a bike without giving the owner any indication that I have anything lore then a clue. It’s easy for me to tell how honest he is when he thinks I don’t know anything about bikes.

I have seen bikes that were running when I arrived that had broken starters yet the owner didn’t reveal it until I turned the bike off. I have seen oil so thick with STP that it could barely flow used to cover bad rings. I have seen damaged chrome sanded smooth with 1500 or 2000 grit down to bare metal so that it blended in with the other chrome….two days later the rust would have been evident. I have even the inside of a fuel tank coated in PAINT and had the owner stand there and tell me with a straight face that it was a “new type to tank sealer”!!

All I tell people when they ask “how to buy a bike” is that after checking all of the physical things that we all check, see how the deal “feels”….if it doesn’t feel or seem right, it isn’t.

jeff

 

POs rock... without them I'd have to buy new bikes. and generally the more clueless, or should I say hopeless, they are the better as far as getting a bargain and having a giggle.
That statement obviously excludes the rip-off artists as mentioned by JeffK of course.

 

PO's might give you a lemon...and yes you can make lemonade, however sometimes that lemonade is actually some potent Lynchburg Lemonade and it causes you to stumble around like a fool and throw things around the house when you can't quite get things to go as you planned

But in the end it tastes jussssttt fiinnnneeee




Ok I'm done

 

What about all of us future or previous P.O.'s?

 

I am sure that those of us with any self respect would be honest with any potential purchaser. We are also utilizing this site to ensure our rides are safe and reliable for our own use and therefore anyone who is lucky enough to obtain a bike from someone who cares will benefit. The POs that are the subject of the post are those who either don't know and think they have done a good thing, those who don't care and just want to "sell the damned thing", or those who have given up trying to fix it.

 

There seem to be 3 types of PO's.
1. The PO who maintains their bike well (perhaps he frequents this site?)
2. The PO who doesn't maintain their bike well. Bodges things up, doesn't change the oil and wears everything out before selling.
3. The ebay PO. He may have only had the bike for a week. He bought it from PO#2 and now has found it won't start/costs too much to get roadworthy/he doesnt have the ability. He's the one likely to write "Think Carbs need balancing" in the advert!!!

 

You know, in all honesty, CDS1984 is right....I've also had some "GREAT" PO's....like the one guy who had disassembled the top end and exhaust system on a nearly BRAND NEW H1 500 kawasaki triple....thinking there was something wrong because of the strange noises(he had never owned a 2 stroke) and sold me the bike in pieces for $100 bucks even!!!

Heck, he had saved me the time to tear it down to port the engine!! I was singing all the way home!

One of the best was the guy bought my 1975 Z1 900 from a few years back. I paid 650(his asking price) and drove to Youngstown to buy it from a mechanic who had taken it for repairs and the owner hadn't paid....halfway to Ohio he calls and asks what the "deal with that bike is, my phone won't stop ringing" I told him that it was considered one of the first superbikes and was scared to death that he was going to sell it to one of the people offering much more money but he turned out to be a man of his word.

And we shouldn't overlook the guy who I had mentioned in my earlier post...the guy who had sold me the V65 for 300....and it was a nice runner with mismatched tins.....



So , yes...there have been some good po's too
jeff

 

I saw a cheap low milage listing on CL that stated the carbs and fuel injectors needed a cleaning. That scared me off because I couldn't imagine that the bike was taken care of at all if you stated that. My brother-in-law tried to imediately convince his wife to let him buy it because his idea was the guy had no idea what he had and anything wrong was probably a simple fix.

I think a lot of these PO issues are just people who have no idea what they are doing. That petcock issue could be someone not knowing about the vacuum style petcock and trying to overide that function. My PO had the bike running on the reserve constantly and had no idea when I tried to explain how petcocks and this style work.

 

Um...I'M NOT SELLING!!!

:lol:

 

I haven't had that in a while. :twisted:

1 part Jack Daniel's, 1 part triple sec, 1 part sour mix and 4 parts lemon-lime soda

or



Tennessee Tea is good too:
1 part Jack Daniel's® Tennessee whiskey
1 part triple sec
1 part sweet and sour
2 parts cola

 

Well, I know what I'm doing tonight

Is it 5 yet?





DANG IT

 

Sounds like a plan.