RIP test rides
 

So I'm chopping in my SV, just need to test ride a few choice bikes and pick one. Great, only no-one is allowing test rides unless they're a big franchise dealer, so the odds of one of those having something I'm after are small. WTF? It's been a few years since I last looked at a new bike (new to me, secondhand), but it wasn't like this. Loads of places also punting out finance first and who cares what bike, shocking reviews. Am getting fed up of ringing around and getting the same answer. Who the hell buys a bike without a test ride?

Re: RIP test rides
 

Many don't these days (unless you're buying it) due to the costs behind it. Which is why big dealers have specific test ride bikes to take the cost/depreciation hits.

Bike has to be cleaned and re-inspected after return
wear and tear on components (someone may abuse it tyres/chain/brakes etc)
mileage updated on advert/diminishing the service interval
more miles on bike (depreciation - how many test rides do you offer?)

At the end of the day what does a 30 minute test ride do, except tell you the bike is different to what you have? You can't get to know how it really rides, performs and copes with everything all in 30 minutes.

Re: RIP test rides
 

On my recent bike search, there were several places that wouldn't even allow a test drive on a second-hand bike - I was shocked. I'm new to biking, so any little handling differences are a big thing to me at the moment, so I needed the test drives!

Re: RIP test rides
 

I do understand the risks from their side, this isn't news, and after 32 years of riding bikes, I can very much get what I need from even a 10 minute test ride, speaking for myself.

Re: RIP test rides
 

What little do you need to know that becomes apparent in 10 minutes? Genuinely intrigued as to what this small time scale really tells you about the bike.

Re: RIP test rides
 

Bikes are tactile things, unlike are that are a much more mechanical experience, so that makes it hard to put into words. You're not going to explore too much of the bike in any short time, but you can get a feel of the power delivery, ergonomics, the way the steering behaves and the first bits of handling, whether all of this is adding up much like if you talked to someone for 10mins, by the end of that you'd know quite a lot both about them and about what you think of them. We're all different though, conversely it takes me quite a long time to take any bike and ride it fast. Mate of mine rides fairly fast all the time, on track days he needs one session to get his head in the game, for me it's all morning.

Re: RIP test rides
 

You might not be able to tell if a bike is going to be perfect for you on a half hour test, but you can definitely tell pretty quickly if it's not right for you.


I knew fairly quickly that I didn't like the Tiger 800 I rode. I knew immediatley the the KTM 690 Enduro was too similar a ride to my DRZ400 to justify the expense. I knew in half an hour that the BMW 800 GT (although a decent bike) wasn't what I was looking for.


Some places still allow them, on demonstrators and some even on second hand bikes in my experience. I've test ridden a lot of bikes in the past couple of years.


I've also had a couple of places who want you to pay for a service on any second hand bike first before you can ride it. What!!?

Re: RIP test rides
 

Re: RIP test rides
 

Back in the day did anyone have a test ride? It was at a time when there were loads of bike shops but no stock! You chose your bike and patiently waited for it to be made. I never thought about asking for a test ride when I bought Suzy, but it was an inspired choice. As the years go by even more so. Its light, powerful enough (for me) and since I have never ridden a perfect suspension set up I am not envious of those that have

Re: RIP test rides
 

I've taken one or two bikes for a test ride before...

With new bikes the main dealers should have a demonstrator available to take out, but its not always their whole range. The bigger shop you go with the more likely they will have what you want. I was in a main dealer just before Christmas with a mate and they had a demonstrator for the bike he was looking at that we'd be welcome to take out.

As for secondhand bikes from a dealer they should allow it. If you are serious about the bike and meet the insurance requirements (age and licence) then it shouldnt be a problem. Without a test ride I wouldnt by the bike. I've ridden back to back models before and then picked the best one.

If its from a private seller then its a little more tricky as you'll likely need to arrange insurance and have the cash ready. When selling I'd let someone test ride if they could prove insurance and passed the sniff test. As for buying, the bikes I go for these days need lifting into a van so not really something I've considered recently.