[adouglas]

CL, Cycletrader and eBay are the go-to sources these days. Be patient and start saving every penny. Don't get attached to any one bike, but do be ready to jump when the right one comes along (which is why you should save every penny, so you have the money in hand). I've been known to wait and watch for many months but it really does pay off.

Three rules of buying anything used:

1) If it feels wrong in ANY way, it is. Stories about the owner's second wife's third cousin, etc., rationalization for paperwork that doesn't match, "oh it just fell over in the driveway" when there are big longitudinal scratches on the fairing... Walk.

2) Anyone who "needs to get" a certain amount is delusional. An item -- any item -- is worth precisely what the market will bear, not one penny more.

3) Cash talks. Stand firm and be prepared to walk if the deal isn't right. The siren song of a gleaming bike can be strong... but you must resist and think rationally.


Other tips: Ideally you want to see a pure OEM bike. New levers and bar ends, aftermarket turn signals, etc are all signs of a crash. Straight pipe exhausts to make it obnoxiously loud, LED kits and HIDs on a bike that is otherwise ratty are signs of misplaced priorities and, frankly, stupidity. Tipovers are no big deal, but long, deep gouges mean the bike slid. Rusty fasteners, non-standard hardware, etc. are signs of poor maintenance (you'd be shocked). Oil that is milky is bad. Funky smelling smoke is bad. Oil that smells burnt is bad.

I bike that's warmed up and running when you arrive might be hard to start and the owner is hiding something.

You can also tell a lot about the bike by looking at the owner and where he/she lives. An older person with a neat garage that has a tool cabinet and a workbench... bingo. That's a responsible adult who cares about the bike. Someone with a garage that looks like a bomb went off in it, and with stuff hidden under piles of junk, not so much.