Ex- Demo Bikes

[Oldgit]

What are the general opinion on buying an ex-demo bike.

Had a test ride today on a 6 month old 1200GS with about 4500 miles on the clock, main dealer ex-demonstrator. Priced it up against buying a new 2015 model and the saving is almost 2 grand, this includes adding the sat-nav which is free on the new bike.

I'm tempted but at the back of mind is the niggle that is been ridden by an endless procession of people that haven't given a feck about it,
taken out for a couple of hours at a time to be used and abused. I can't see these bikes being run in particularly sympathetically.

Am I worrying about nothing? 2 grand would fund a few nice European trips.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

It will be OK, in fact it will be run in properly as well. Any early niggles will be properly fixed as well with it being a demo bike.

 

[tuftywhite]

My mate bought a Street Triple ex demo, he's had no issues and is really happy with the bike.

 

[Neil W]

Depends on the dealer and the reputation they have for running in bikes, the dealer I use allocate the demo bikes to a member of staff who does all the riding and running in on the bike until it has had its first service before it is let out to the public on test .

Another more local BMW dealer gave me a r1200gsa on trade plates with 3 miles on the clock and numerous PDI faults as no one there could be arsed to run it in , I wouldn't touch one of their ex demos and wouldn't buy from them after the experience

 

[MrMcNamara]

It will be OK, in fact it will be run in properly as well. Any early niggles will be properly fixed as well with it being a demo bike.

Road tested 4x BMW's - sadly cant say I was gentle on any of them, probably just as 'at risk' when buying leased bikes which make up the majority of the nearly new bikes available. Unless bought outright - unlikely the previous owner has cared too much? These bikes are great but very fragile! BMW have just replaced my engine / gearbox complete with brand new under warranty at 5700 miles (many faults but mainly gearbox) If your buying a keeper, get a discount & buy new if you can, more Northern dealers are more likely to give discounts as Northerners like me are tight with money. Good luck going forwards

 

[R1kk3y]

My mate swears by them. Says they're better run in for a bit of tough love. He's been riding since Centurion was a rank, not a tank.


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[Jetstar]

What the general opinion on buying an ex-demo bike.

Had a test ride today on a 6 month old 1200GS with about 4500 miles on the clock, main dealer ex-demonstrator. Priced it up against buying a new 2015 model and the saving is almost 2 grand, this includes adding the sat-nav which is free on the new bike.

I'm tempted but at the back of mind is the niggle that is been ridden by an endless procession of people that haven't given a feck about it,
taken out for a couple of hours at a time to be used and abused. I can't see these bikes being run in particularly sympathetically.

Am I worrying about nothing? 2 grand would fund a few nice European trips.

I personally wouldn't buy one - they are seriously abused, ridden in all weathers and never cleaned! Run in??? I don't think so.......... Spend the extra 2 grand for the peace of mind!!

 

[Oldgit]

Road tested 4x BMW's - sadly cant say I was gentle on any of them, probably just as 'at risk' when buying leased bikes which make up the majority of the nearly new bikes available. Unless bought outright - unlikely the previous owner has cared too much? These bikes are great but very fragile! BMW have just replaced my engine / gearbox complete with brand new under warranty at 5700 miles (many faults but mainly gearbox) If your buying a keeper, get a discount & buy new if you can, more Northern dealers are more likely to give discounts as Northerners like me are tight with money. Good luck going forwards

I think that this is why I have my reservations, I generally keep bikes for at least 5 years. So any damage that was done in the first few months could potentially become my problem later on.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

Having seen the state of Demo bikes parked outside dealers and knowing how I and others have ridden them when on test I would never buy one !

Unloved and neglected when not in use and abused when they are !

 

[MondoRich]

My mate swears by them. Says they're better run in for a bit of tough love. He's been riding since Centurion was a rank, not a tank.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Rushy]

How do you seriously abuse a motorcycle on a test ride ? I would say if the bikes has done say 750 miles then it's unlikely more than 10 people have ridden it. Of those ten then I bet at least 8-9 would've ridden it like most people on here , fairly sensibly. Even if they have given it a good handful on the test ride and redlined it a few times that's unlikely to do any harm . I can't image that anybody test rides by doing rolling stoppies and burnouts.

There was an interesting piece on the news this week about most people having a very negative opinion about others when in fact most are decent , honest and honourable just like you. They used the "wallet test" example where people leave wallets on the street with cash in to see how many people hand them in. Most people when asked expected very few to be handed in but in fact almost all were. Dave Gorman did a similar thing on his show.

So if we assume that that one bloke was a bit of tit with it then he's probably only done 75 miles of tomfoolery and 1/2 of that would've been on britains crowded 30-40-50 mph restricted roads. So where is the harm?

Personally I'm not rich so I'd take the £2k saving everytime . It's just a fekkin motorcycle at the end of the day!?

 

[twizzle]

Would not bother me if the saving was material enough......

 

[wessie]

I bought a Super Tenere with 900 miles on it. It was first registered by Brands Hatch Yamaha but was taken back by Yamaha when the dealer went bust as it was not paid for.

I have no idea how it was used in those 900 miles. The dealer I bought it from did the 600 miles service as there was no log of this on the Yamaha computer and the service book was unstamped.

I ran that bike for 4 years and nearly 30,000 miles without a problem.

I would be happy to own another dealer demo bike if the price was right. As you have found, they often come with extras (mine had luggage) that sweeten the deal.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Road tested 4x BMW's - sadly cant say I was gentle on any of them, probably just as 'at risk' when buying leased bikes which make up the majority of the nearly new bikes available. Unless bought outright - unlikely the previous owner has cared too much? These bikes are great but very fragile! BMW have just replaced my engine / gearbox complete with brand new under warranty at 5700 miles (many faults but mainly gearbox) If your buying a keeper, get a discount & buy new if you can, more Northern dealers are more likely to give discounts as Northerners like me are tight with money. Good luck going forwards

Seriously this is advise on not buying one at all and has nothing to do with ex demo. Sounds like your bike would have fell apart anyway.

The point about running in I stand by. People are far to easy on the engine when running it in. They end up with less power and burning oil for thousands of miles longer than they should.

 

[Shep]

I bought one of the first 1200's, sold to me as an ex demo, turned out it was one of the press bike, very quick for a 1200 but had a whole heap of problems (early sample a real beta bike)

I only suspected all was not as described until there was a picture of my bike wheelieing down a spanish airfield two up in a mag!!

Just bought an ex demo van, it really doesn't worry me, even having been bitten, modern vehicles can often handle the rough treatment and perhaps relish the hard work early in their lives

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I bought a demo 1200 GSA MU in 2008 - with 4000 miles on it

It went great - been ragged from day 1, I bet

A mate here has it & has done 50-60k with no issues

It was fully loaded & a great saving on a new model

As for gentle running in, by staff ?

Who are you kidding?

10 years ago I was given a R1150R to run in one Easter & I did 1100 hard miles in 5 days

A few months ago I took a R9T with 2 miles on the clock out, brought it back in 20 mins & less than 20 miles - awful bike

Most demo bikes have the tits thrashed off them & I would not hesitate to buy one, for a suitable discount

 

[JerseyNeil]

I would buy an ex demo bike over brand new for a 2 grand saving. Just think when you drive it out of the showroom you won't loose 2 grand!

My 2010 is an ex demo and has been spot on. I'm assuming you will get a warranty which will cover any issues (which are just as likely on a brand spanking one). If it looks okay and rides okay then........ I reckon it will be okay.

We all like to boast how naughty we are when riding a demo but in reality we are not doing anything wrong. Watch the video of new bikes at the end of the production line. They go on to a rolling road and some bloke rags the nuts off them. So I don't think a few seconds on the rev limiter (which, by the way, protects the engine) will have done it any harm.

Just my opinion

 

[jonnie comet]

Ex demo'...??....No problem......

I've bought two.....BIG discount on new and ZERO issues......

 

[Nutty]

I spent all day on a demo bike today, and must say that it went rather well!

But, it looked like its never been washed, in 6000 miles. Would I buy one? Not as long as I can afford a new one.

 

[Robbo1200ADV]

U

I bought a demo 1200 GSA MU in 2008 - with 4000 miles on it

It went great - been ragged from day 1, I bet

A mate here has it & has done 50-60k with no issues



It was fully loaded & a great saving on a new model

As for gentle running in, by staff ?

Who are you kidding?

10 years ago I was given a R1150R to run in one Easter & I did 1100 hard miles in 5 days

A few months ago I took a R9T with 2 miles on the clock out, brought it back in 20 mins & less than 20 miles - awful bike

Most demo bikes have the tits thrashed off them & I would not hesitate to buy one, for a suitable discount

What was wrong with the R9T ?