Safety First

The most important thing with riding is your safety, making the correct purchase of a motorbike/scooter is critical.

Does it fit?

Whether buying a new or second-hand, you must make sure that you can sit comfortably and safely, this means that when sitting on the seat, you must be able to touch the ground with your left foot. Young or smaller riders often struggle to fit on a scooter without sliding off the front of the seat. If you don’t feel comfortable, then try a different model/manufacturer. If buying new ask the dealer if the bike can be lowered or adjusted. Often a cost-effective solution is to have padding removed from the seat, but this should be undertaken by a professional.

Buying Second Hand

Firstly we see frequent ads on social media for bikes that are ‘CBT Ready’ but when we inspect them they fail our basic tests.  You must ensure that the bike is roadworthy and generally in good working order. At a bare minimum, you must ensure the following:

• Lights must be in working order, headlights and taillights, including brake light, works when using the front or rear brake.
• Steering must move freely without drag or notchiness, it must not be restricted by cables. It must be securely mounted, and the grips should not be loose or in poor condition.
• Brakes;   It goes without saying, that properly working brakes may just save your life! Check all hoses for leaks, bulges, cracks etc. Check disk brakes for wear and ensure wheels rotate freely without drag.
• Nothing sharp is exposed, for instance, it is quite common for second-hand bikes to have damaged levers i.e. brakes/clutch. If they are damaged, then ideally, they should be replaced. At a minimum, they should be taped up for protection.
• Wheels and tyres, the tread should meet the legal requirement, check there is no damage to the wheel itself and that nothing is ‘hiding’ under the dirt. Ensure there isn’t excessive play and direction arrows on the tyres are pointing towards the forward rotation. Ideally, the front and rear tyres should be the same manufacturer/model.
• Suspension should not be leaking, springs/shock absorbers should be in good working order. The suspension travel should operate smoothly.
• Exhaust must not be leaking, and baffles should be fitted, many 2-stroke scooters/bikes can be smoky but not excessively so.
• Other things to check should be the condition of the chain, and working horn; have the mirrors been removed, and if so, does the current owner still have them? If the bike was fitted with mirrors by the manufacturer, they must be fitted when you attend our training.
• Look at the general condition of the bike, a dirty bike is usually a good indicator that it has not been looked after. You may end up paying considerably more to fix issues than the bike cost to buy!

If in doubt, get a trained mechanic to look at the bike before you buy, at the very least, get someone with the correct license category and insurance to take it for a test ride.