swapping a bike

[flumpy7]

Hi all

I've done a fair bit of bike selling and buying online (ebay usually) but i'm interested in doing a swap this time. Anyone had good or bad experiences with swaps and are there any good websites out there for swapping?
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2012 Sinnis apache

[MarJay]

Someone always gets a bad deal with a swap. If you're happy to make sure that person is not you, and if you're comfortable with the idea that you might be minorly or majorly ripping someone off, then go ahead.

Remember though, the person being ripped off could still be you, even if you think you're getting a good deal. A motorcycle has less tangible value than a wad of cash, so just make sure it has actual value and isn't an old nail with knackered main bearings, no fork oil and an angle ground cut in each frame rail hidden by the bodywork.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[P.addy]

I have only swapped bikes 2 or 3 times. 2/3 were fine, 1 the engine went bang in the bike I traded with, guy on here in fact.. wasn't anything wrong with the bike, it just happened

But, in terms of trading, be sure you want it first. I'm all up for trades, I like variety.

[gdj444]

In my opinion it's a lot harder than it sounds, I am a serial bike changer and have offered excellent condition honest bikes for swap a couple of times via Swapz and gumtree, the majority of responses bore no relation to what bikes I stated I would be interested in swapping for and a lot of the time the swap offered wasn't even a bloody motorbike! (Swapz is particularly bad for this, reading some of the listings I wouldn't swap a fiver for a tenner with a lot of the posters!)

The few times I did connect with someone who seemed honest and had what I was looking for and vice versa the deal fell thru due to distance or hassle factor etc, although living in Devon probably didn't help

I found the best way was to state a value for my bike in the ad and say direct sale or possible swap, i have always then sold as a direct sale but you never know.

Just my tuppence worth

[CaNsA]

A couple of years ago I swapped my cbr600f for a zx6r.
I ended up going back with a couple of "large" mates to reverse the swap.

The zx6r had multiple electrical faults, for example.
Cutting out in the rain on a very busy triple-carriageway at night killing all the lights in the process.

The fact it had Relentless stickers slapped on it should have been a warning sign.

On the other hand though,
I went with a mate so he could swap his Bandit 12 for a Fireblade.
He didnt have any problems at all with it.

[Wonko The Sane]

[flumpy7]

The reason I fancy a swap is that I am willing to get back a bike that is of slightly less value if it fits my needs completely. Likewise, the other person may be willing to take a slight hit in terms of overall value if it matches their needs.

As an example, I got a '99 zx6r in excellent nick. Someone with a smaller or more practical newer bike that might make more than my bikes worth in a private sell might swap if they really fancy a sports bike in good nick.

For a boring/practical commuter that ticks all my boxes and is reliable I may swap my zx6 even if its worth more.
Saves all the hassle of buying and selling. Im just interested in whether most people think its really dodgy though, and if im only likely to get stupid offers from chavs who have fecked their 2 stroke 50's up.

As an aside, it amazes me the lack of maintenance people do. I went to view an er5 2005 with only 12000 miles and one owner. It looked as new (yes I know its a boring old barge). I asked the guy how often he'd changed the oil and filter (no service history) and he said "hasn't needed it mate, the level always been just right"....duh.
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2012 Sinnis apache

[Rogerborg]

I did rather well out of a Gumtree swap, through a combination of blind luck and getting in quickly.

You might as well stick it up there and see what you get offered. Just be prepared to turn down a lot of "nearly working washing machine" and "two dozen assorted lampshades".
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[flumpy7]

[Wonko The Sane]

were your bike a sport tourer such as a ZZR 600 I was looking to swap my 125 Varadero for one,

not really keen on sports bikes for commuting on as I prefer a more upright position and need a bit more ground clearance for my 'driveway' than they usually afford.


so you might find someone with a more capable 125 or a 250 etc who want's to step up to a bigger bike having done their test / seen out their restriction period.

I've just spent a bit on the Varadero to make it a bit more suited to my needs, and the wife views pillion perches as race bikes so I'm only allowed flat seats!

worth trying in classifieds etc
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[flumpy7]

[moppy]

[flumpy7]

[Ste]

I swapped my NSR for a ZX6R.

[jimspeed]

I went with a mate to swap his 10 plate Hongda 125 chinese takeaway for a 1989 ZZR400, he had just passed his test and wanted rid of the chink and couldn't sell it for even £450 and the bloke with the zzr had bought it and realised it was too heavy for him (he was tiny) so they did the swap and were both happy.
the ZZR has wanted a few bits doing the reg-rec fried and the cdi packed up but easily sorted for less than £100 all in where as the chinky bike was on the verge of falling apart and would prob only have sold for £300 on ebay.
works ok if you find the right person with the right swap I guess.
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Hyosung cruise 125(passed test on, sold) Kawasaki el 252 (better than expected but sold on) Kawasaki GPZ500S first "big"bike.(sold) ZZR600 E5..Z750 2007,ER5, currently on a 2008 Enfield bullet electra x and loving it..
,"Alpha-9: Is there any correlation between dyno rod and dyno kits?"

[nightshaddow]

www.swapz.co.uk

i never had any luck there but my freind swaped a tzr for a dtr there
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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 100 MPH THATS IMPOSSIBLE Its chinese OFFICER."
Current rides CB 125 TDE(the next project) NS125RK ( now on the road ) CB125TDC (soon to be project 17) melody ( the nephews )

[YZFR1IAN]

swapped my XJR1300 for a blade on www.swapz.co.uk a few weeks ago, was so much easier than selling. We both test rode each others bikes and were happy so the swap went ahead with no problems.
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05 Yamaha YBR125 > 94 Honda CB500 > 98 Honda Hornet 600 > 02 Yamaha R6 > 2000 Yamaha R1 > 2000 Yamaha XJR1300SP > 2000 Honda CBR929RR Fireblade
MY BIKES Past & Present

[yanto]

i have a few bikes on there now

[UnspeedySam]

I would consider it. I tried it with my ZZR in fact. Sadly I need to reduce the number of bikes I have so it's not really an option at the moment.
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Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[dannymassive]

Sounds like a good way to have a change of bike if you ask me. Think I may well have a search on the above mentioned sites myself!
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Previous Ride's - '01 Aprilia SR125 (Sold) '08 HONDA CBF600n (Sold) '96 CB500 (Sold) '01 FZS 1000 (Sold) '06 CB1300SA (Sold) '07 CB600F Hornet (Sold) - '93 Suzuki Savage LS400 (Sold) '98 Honda VTR1000 Firestorm (Sold) '05 CB600F Hornet (Sold) '01 FZS1000 Fazer (Sold) 2016 Harley Davidson Street Bob SE (Sold) '02 Kawasaki ZX9R (Sold) '98 CB600F Hornet (Sold) '04 Suzuki Bandit 1200s (Sold) '13 Yamaha FZ1-N

[Eddie Hitler]

I swap my bikes for money. Then buy bikes with the money. Is that considered swapping?