Buying used bike - advice please!

I would appreciate some advice regarding a 2 year old z900 I’m looking at with 4000 odd miles - ST18RMX

Registered June18 and from vehicle check looks like no tax has been on it from June19. So it may have been sitting for over a year potentially. It comes with 3 months warranty from a Honda approved garage

I’ve got some high res pics and it looks fab but I can’t test ride it with COVID restrictions and I’m 4 hour drive away so would be taking a chance buying from pics only

What questions should i ask? Ie how long have they had the bike.

Should I be worried if it’s been sitting a year what condition the fuel tank, brakes, battery etc might be like? Any other issues I need to watch out for? How else can I be sure I’m not going to have to spend a fortune fixing issues assuming these things won’t be covered under warranty?

Would really appreciate advice how I should progress

Hi Mike,

How are you getting the bike then? Is the seller going to drop the bike off or are you going to meet the seller at theirs?

Personally I won't buy anything on just photos alone as there is no telling when the photos were taken. Also is it a commercial or private seller that is selling this bike?

All the questions you have mentioned in your post are things you should inspect when you are physically next to the bike as you're just blind trusting the seller to not lie to you on their responses.

Hi Mike,

How are you getting the bike then? Is the seller going to drop the bike off or are you going to meet the seller at theirs?

Personally I won't buy anything on just photos alone as there is no telling when the photos were taken. Also is it a commercial or private seller that is selling this bike?

All the questions you have mentioned in your post are things you should inspect when you are physically next to the bike as you're just blind trusting the seller to not lie to you on their responses.

It is from a commercial dealer and they are charging £100 to deliver it and pickup my part exchange. I wouldn’t know enough to check these things myself

go and take a trusted mate with you and even better if he has a van/trailer

I never bought blind like this, but I seem to remember some people here saying either they have, or they would. I think I would if the bike and the dealer were right.

Since you're buying from a dealer, then I'd be asking as much about the dealer as the bike: how do their reviews compare with other Honda dealers? Some are good, some are not so good. Also, is the warranty just with them, or is it backed up by the whole dealer network? - it might be a real hassle to get stuff sorted out if you have to take the bike on a 4 hour journey each time.

I'd also ask for details of all the non-routine work that's been carried out on the bike in the two years of its life - it's not much, but it might give you some idea of how much trouble it's been to own up to now. And sure I'd ask about the year when it wasn't used, when was the fuel was last filled up and that kind of stuff. You could ask for a vid of it idling if you think it would help.

To be honest, it's a Kwak and it's just 2 years old. If it looks as if it's been looked after (check for corrosion on the headers, for example) then I'd have thought it should be an ok bike.

I wouldn't buy a bike without riding it. There's no way to know if you will like it until you ride it.

If the bike is from a Honda dealer and with a 3months warranty with only 4000 odd miles then yes I would buy unseen that’s provided that you know what they are like to ride, my mate has just traded his Z900 in he had it from new and it was a excellent bike, plus I have a FZ6 2007 which was purchased from CMC in Wales in just the same way and it is in excellent condition.

A three month warranty will be with that dealer only, so if it's four hours away and you've got a problem it will be difficult getting the bike back to them.

The bike is probably fine but personally I'd want to check it myself before buying. And unless you've ridden one there's a risk it may not suit you.