Why I will never buy another bike unseen. (picture heavy)

[stinkwheel]

Maybe sounds stupid but I've done this quite a few times in the past and been pleased with the result. It lets me have a larger selection of bikes that those in easy travelling distance.

Given the bike being "right" coming from a dealers, having plenty of good pictures and having asked all the correct pertinant questions before buying.

What I didn't do this time was go to pick the bike up, I had it delivered because they were doing delivery for less that I could have got a train ticket down there for. This was a mistake because it doesn't allow for me to walk away and get another train straight back home.

So, here's what we have. Hopefully someone will learn from my fail and it may help others toknow what to look for on a second hand bike.

Anyway. A 1992 VFR750 with 14k miles on it. I called up and asked specifically about the condition of the plastics, if there were any cracks or missing lugs and the source of the dent on the tank. I was assured the panels had odd scratches here and there but were in overall good condition and that the tank looks like something's been dropped on it, no scuffing on the plastics or signs of it having been down the road.

It came with the following pictures:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/KGrHqViUE9mKvCtBPy2F1sQ_12.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/KGrHqVHJC0E-P4zwS5BPy2FrR9_12.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/KGrHqVHJBUE-cQHd-GBPy2FqUFQ_12.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/KGrHqJiIE-r4tzOsBPy2FtJb_12.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/KGrHqFHJBEE-byTWv-yBPy2GOtH_12.jpg

I thought I had myself a bargain but see the next post for the extent of the fail.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Redoko]

I'm preparing myself.
____________________
"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51

[pendulum]

The anticipation is immense.
____________________
1998 CG125 (Sold) CB500 [+ Clio 172]
Usually_Wrong: I tend to fail more than pass. [Speaking about Theory Practice]
Usually_Wrong: im on unemployment at the moment

[sidewinder]

Bookmarked
____________________
"Nitrous is like a cheap hooker, you want to hit it but are scared of the consequences

[pendulum]

OP WILL DELIVER!
____________________
1998 CG125 (Sold) CB500 [+ Clio 172]
Usually_Wrong: I tend to fail more than pass. [Speaking about Theory Practice]
Usually_Wrong: im on unemployment at the moment

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

[..and I'm not enjoying eating it]
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[WannaBeDude]

Pic heavy !

Stink wheel the Vet, in donkey carrot shocker !
____________________
Jogging on, destination living.

[pendulum]

My money's on twisted subframe.
____________________
1998 CG125 (Sold) CB500 [+ Clio 172]
Usually_Wrong: I tend to fail more than pass. [Speaking about Theory Practice]
Usually_Wrong: im on unemployment at the moment

[cornish]

oh no! i'm waiting to see but i'm already gutted for you!
____________________
smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[stinkwheel]

First thing that struck me was a general feeling of tattiness when it arrived.

I started having a poke about. Something seems odd and why is there a reflector on the plate?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0621.jpg
Where is the rear mudguard?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0622.jpg

Now those are nice and shiny fork stanchions but the radiator is in a shit state. It's worse than the one on my old VFR with 60k miles on it. How can you have clean stanchions and a fucked radiator?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0639.jpg

I'm having a more detailed look now. In fact. I'm taking all the plastics off.

Doesn't look so good. And why the PVC tape?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0624.jpg

FUUUUUUUUU...
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0663.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0664.jpg

Ok, front fairings then.

Belly pan cracked and scuffed but no scuffing on the panel behind it. That's because it's new and has been resprayed:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0633.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0634.jpg

Right mid panel. Split to buggery, held on with PVC tape and that's a cavity wall fixing you can see on the centre infill.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0637.jpg
Remove the panel and tape and the infill is in two bits with the lugs snapped off.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0654.jpg

Left panel is a shoddy fit too. Honda didn't make it like that. It's a sign of a bent front subframe:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0648.jpg
It's been forced into place and cracked when they tried to do up the Dzeus fitting.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0650.jpg

More fail to follow.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[pendulum]

Stone me, I was right about the subframe

Unlucky though, if it's from a dealer you can hopefully reject it on the basis of not as described?

Is that 14k genuine? Hmm...
____________________
1998 CG125 (Sold) CB500 [+ Clio 172]
Usually_Wrong: I tend to fail more than pass. [Speaking about Theory Practice]
Usually_Wrong: im on unemployment at the moment

[WannaBeDude]

Come on, how much, it does have a braided line after all.
____________________
Jogging on, destination living.

[anthony_r6]

Or personally drop the bike down there and ask them to explain every single split, chip, crack and dint on it, before demanding your money back, plus reimbursement for dropping it off in the first place.
____________________
Ted : "Maybe he's agoraphobic."
Dougal : "Jack scared of fighting? I don't think so, Ted."

[stinkwheel]

What about the top fairing then. That looks ok?

Or has the leg been snapped off it?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0641.jpg
Actually, the headlight has been snapped off the inside of it too:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0658.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0659.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0660.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0661.jpg

These clocks on the other hand, look remarkably new and cleaner than the reast of the bike. That's because they are and are reading at least 25% less than the actual mileage according to the MOTs.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0657.jpg

So. There are a total of zero undamaged panels. The rear mudguard is missing as is a top infill panel. The radiator looks older than the rest of the bike, the clocks are newer as are the fork stanchions. Has this bike been crashed?
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Suntan Sid]

Bloody hell fire!

Are you going to try and get your money back?
____________________
"Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!"

[cornish]

this is the least of the issues, but the reflector is not on the number plate in their photos. what's that about?

EDIT: sorry, just saw your second post. Isn't it illegal to diddle the mileage through any means even changing the clocks?

Also there's a scrape on the engine and a mis-match of scrapes where two bits of fairing meet. Have they had a crashed bike missing some bits of fairings left the fcuked ones on then replaced the missing ones with smashed bits from another bike?

Is it worth checking to see if it's ever been written off? Has the dealer bought it from an insurance company maybe?
____________________
smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[ThoughtContro...]

[stinkwheel]

Crashed? More like flipped!

Scuffing on the top of the clutch master cylinder.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0646.jpg
Bar end.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0645.jpg

Think that's bad. Check out the shape of the oil cooler. I think this explains the new stanchions and old radiator:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0665.jpg
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0666.jpg

It gets worse. Are those breakers marks on the rear subframe?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0667.jpg

What. The. Actual. Fuck?
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0671.jpg

Icing on the cake. The rear shock has shat itself. MOT is 18 days old and the bike has done 10 miles since. It was delivered with a flat battery and not enough fuel to make it to the filling station a mile up the road.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/CIMG0672.jpg
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Teflon-Mike]

[Polarbear]

Ouch

I especially like the numberplate mounting arrangement. not.
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[WannaBeDude]

How much and where from !
____________________
Jogging on, destination living.

[instigator]

Mr Stinkwheel; I am somewhat surprised!

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Bastards.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[stinkwheel]

So. Send it back?

Well, maybe not. At £1000, it would probably have been an ok buy. It's straight, the frame isn't cracked, the engine runs sweetly and they failed to notice/mention the £480 worth of nearly new stainless exhaust system it has fitted.

I have sent them a letter detailing the extent of the damage and my disgust at the state of the bike compared to how they represented it. I've told them I expect at a very minimum a new shock and an appology.

If they fuck me about at all, it's getting returned to them as not substantially as described, I'll do a clawback through my credit card, name them on this thread and dob them in to the DVLA for selling a bike with an incorrect mileage (as clearly documented in the paperwork they gave me with the bike).
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Redoko]

Subframes ben- Oh wait.

I'd be livid.
____________________
"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
Sudika Sportsman SK50QT > Gilera DNA50 > Honda CBR125 RW7 > Kawasaki Zephyr750 > Suzuki GSXR600 > Honda Hornet CB600F '51