Well, I finally bought a motorcycle. I haven't ridden in about 20 years so i figured it was time. My last bike was a 1986 Kawi KLR 250 so I decided to go a similar route and get a KLR 650 with a price range of about $5000. After checking prices on kijiji and a few fails I came to the conclusion I would probably not find one in the GTA that met my requirements. My search took almost 6 weeks!
The first one I looked at was was an '09 with 3000km in perfect condition in the beaches. I stopped by to look at it on my way to work, settled on a price of $4800 and told the owner I would be by the next day to buy it. He called me at work 2 hours later and informed me he had just sold it :sad:. Oh well, first come, first served.
About 3 weeks later, I found another '09 with the same mileage for $5000 negotiable in the Lawrence-Bathurst area. I did a quick once over and offered $4700. Offer declined. I bumped it up to $4800 and declined again. Hmmm...I offered $4900 and he insisted on $5000. What happened to negotiable? I then decided to do a thorough visual inspection and didn't like what I found. I checked the oil inspection window and discoved that the oil level was way below the minimum level (barely visible at all). I didn't mention what I saw. I then checked the cooling system and discovered a few coolant leaks from hose connections and the flange where it connects to the engine itself. When I mentioned this, he claimed that he had just added coolant. It was obvious this bike was not being maintained and has mechanical issues. At this point I shook his hand, thanked him for his time and informed him I was not interested. He calls me back a few hours later and accepted my offer of $4900. I think not.
About 2 weeks later, I found another '09 with 3000km for $4800 in Midland just north of Barrie. We communicated by text and negotiated a price of $4700 uncertified including the Kappa/Givi hard luggage which retails for about $400. Since he could only meet evenings and I only have my M1, I would have to truck it home. So I rented a truck, called the boys and made a day of it. We showed up early so we sat by the Georgian bay for a bit.
The bike was very clean except for one small dent and a small scratch when the owner dropped it loading it onto his trailer one day. He showed us the rest of his toys as well. 4-wheeler, another new motorcycle he had and his boat. All very clean and maintained. He told me to take it for a spin, but I didn't have my gear with me. I just had a really good feeling about this bike. The UVIP was clean so I paid him and we loaded it into the truck. We were both very happy with the transaction. $4700 for the bike, $100 to get it certified and $200 for beer, lunch and the truck.
A few pics...
