Yea, or Nay? I've got a guy interested in my bike, but he wants payments (I hold onto the bike of course). Anyway, this guy is clearly over his head. He has 4 months riding experience and wants to do track days now. However of course he cant even afford the bike out right (he is a starving student, and rides a Duc Monster). So even if he got the bike he'd still need leathers and the entry fees, and the logistics to get to and from the track. Do you guys get the sense of pitty in your heart about these things. Or you do laugh all the way to the bank I will sell him a perfectly fine race bike, but he will never get to use it. I hope the other potential buyer works out. He has cash in HAND
point 1 - just because something is legally ok, does not make it right. point 2 - would you sell a child a gun? point 3 - how bad do you need the cash?
Tell him to race the Monster and he can win a Clubman championship his first year. he he ha! (sorry couldn't resist. ) I wouldn't worry about feeling guilty about selling him the bike. Even if he can't use it to its full potential, it will teach him about racing (for better or worse). You can "advise" him once that he should start on a smaller bike (see above) after that your contience is clear. I would just worry about the Lay-away part... If he doesn't have the income or is flaky, he could renig, and come asking for his money back half way thru... Hope the ligit buyer comes thru.
Kind of mixed feelings here. Most of us were that poor squid at one time. I also see the thrill of making the sale. My opinion in the end, hope the other buyer comes through and if he doesn't, sell to the squid with a small caveat to keep yourself from losing sleep. Offer to help the squid with answers to his questions and set up advice. Warm him of your reservations of his ability versus the bikes potential. The payment schedule should be in writing and clearly understood by your buyer to keep it all square.
Rent-to-own Rent it to him for track days for a price he can afford at the time. Apply the payments towards the final price. Make a contract that states that If he crashes it, he pays to fix, or else you become a Duc owner.
Thanks for raining on my parade OK I think I will stress pursuing other buyers that can either get it on the track and have fun, or are willing to and have the wrench skills to get it back on the street. Another buyer I have lined up is looking at an F2 needing a front end. Mine is a perfectly fine F3. So I guess it all depends on how much he wants to save verses how much he wants to work on making the F2 straight. I dont need the money of course. I am just lining up my ducks for next season. Get this out of my garage, and room for my next upgrade. Come next Feb. I will start to get in a panic to get rid of this. I just didnt get a good vibe from the squid buyer. It felt like he was immature and arrogant about his riding skills. He was talking about bikes like he knew everything he needed to know. When in reality he only has had 4 months and one bike.
Well, I am not renting the bike out for track days. He can take a race school if he wants to do that. And instrucors will watch over him. As for the lay away part. I am business savvy, and hold business degrees. He said he could give me 1200 down (I want 2k for the bike), but then I would want it paid off by March, and I want to keep $200 if he backs out. All in writting of course. Mostly I want the deposit becasue I will need to make it up if I have to cut the price a little to sell it QUICK because the next season would be too close by then. Then I tought, yes, we here all squids, and I remember getting the cold shoulder from fellows like us when I was just starting out. But FOUR MONTHS of riding, that really is a little to little I think. I think there is an important part to the development of the riding skills of riders. That is the experience that we all get for the first time when we PANIC!!!!!!!! and how we react to that and save our ass or get ourselves killed. With only 4 months he has not had that yet. You/and I have all paniced, and then there is the time we first get on the track and learn a new kind of panic. That is when you open it up FULLY with no holds, and then have to REALLY get on the brakes. This is NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING like you have done on the street. But I think if you have at least saved yourself from close calls on the street it will help your survivability on the track. I have no problem with that. If he wanted this as a street bike that is fine too. It is a high mile unmodified F3. It is a VERY tame machine for its sporty style compared to newer bikes. But who am I to judge when he would be ready for the track. I am less concerned about his money situation. He is an adult, he is a business major in college. If he thinks he can afford it then fine. I am not to say how one spends his money. I just dont kind of want to be the one that provides him the instrument that could kill him when he goes thought the CYCLONE (aptly names) at Turn 5 at my local track, or when he enters T10 thinking it has the same properties as T1 becasue it looks similar but really is a MUCH slower turn.
Yeah- I just re-read my post - what a cock I am. But, you will probably find that he won't come through with the money anyway. I'm about to sell my F2 very soon, so I might be in the same predicament myself. In which case I'll take the money and run. I find it much easier to uphold high principals when it comes to other people, but when its me.......I can afford to lower those principals occassionally
At 4 months, he will either hurt himself or someone else at a track day on an F3. If he goes to race school, he may or may not be OK. I would encourage him to find an old EX500 or something to begin with, offer him help in the form of advice getting started, and look for a more experienced track rider with cash to sell it to....especially with the attitude you described.
Take the gentleman's $1200. That is a non-refundable deposit. Period. If he isn't serious, he won't bite on that deal. If he isn't serious, you don't want to be messing with him. Since when are we responsible for the decisions of another adult? No, I wouldn't sell a child a gun and Richard is NOT selling a child a gun. He is selling another adult a motorcycle. Worse than the liberal media, blowing this out of proportion. HOWEVER, I would sell the children of that honey Toogood, the "irish nomad" a gun. Minimally a tazer!!! (not really, but she deserves prison for a longgggg time.)
At 4 months, he will either hurt himself or someone else at a track day on an F3. If he goes to race school, he may or may not be OK I started racing after just a summer and a half on a street bike and I had a great time and did fairly well. I raced a 99zx6r my first season I finished in the top 10 fairly often even some 2nd and thirds. My wera race school was my first time ever seeing a track. I dont see why anyone should care what the kid wants to buy. I think a 600 was great to start on. Not that anyone cares but thats my 2cents.
operating a motorcycle is not brain surgery. the advantage of him getting off the street is that he will not learn bad habits that he will find hard if he had say 20,000 miles logged on the street and then went racing. if newbies didnt come out then the grids would be small, solo20's would not pay shit and our family would not grow.
I am sure the situation is much more complex than we can gather from this post, but here's my take: I would worry less about your "responsibilities" and more about the transaction. It has been stated several times that this is an adult. Considering that this is an F3 and not a GSXR 1000, I think he is well within the norm for a "beginner" bike. I would really think that would be a good step. As for his attitude, nothing you or anyone else can do about that, leave that for the track to fix for him. Personally, I would look at the fact that you are in no hurry to sell it. Tell him to stick his money in the bank. When he gets the $2000 to give you a call. If you still have the bike, great. If not, there will be other bikes he can buy. I could just imagine the number of things that COULD go wrong with this story, and most of them end with you on the short end of the deal. Not trying to give him the cold shoulder, its just business. If he is already having financial troubles buying the bike, what's next. Are you a bank, or a roadracer? There are plenty of people looking for bikes as well. Somebody will come along with a much cleaner offer. Get clear of the bike as clean as possible so that you can be ready for next year, not showing up at the first race on your old bike because (fill in your favorite scenario...).
Yea, I think I will let it go to whoever has the cash. RIGHT NOW. In the mean time I am getting it back up to par. It will cost me $100 to get it to pass tech again, and $500 to make it look pretty again. If I make it look pretty and get it on the street, I can ask $3000 for it. What are those head lights that can be fited to race glass? I looked in the LP catalog and they only have a big ass head lights, not the ones like on their project bike. That is what I might do with this thing. This is why I left the OEM harness on the bike, and kept the registration current.
that was my point - we are not responsible because the law alows us to sell bikes between adults. if i were a bike shop owner i would be selling gsxr1000's to 18 year olds. its legal. i'm not responsible. but i had a dilema when selling my R1 recently, and i decided not to sell it to a kid with no experience. why? don't know - but i am sleeping at night. bikes are dangerous, i'm typing with broken fingers right now.
