Originally Posted by
canamjhb
For those that do test rides, I am curious as to why? I'm not trying to be antagonistic. Just curious. In the past, I have purchased 6 different Goldwings including my current trike. I didn't test ride any of them. One of them was purchased from a private party. That bike still had over a year left on the transferable factory warranty. And, I was given all the service records. The other 5 Goldwings were purchased from dealers. I also bought my Spyder from an out of state dealer. It was also covered by warranty. My test ride was riding it 1200 miles home. Additionally, In the last few years I bought a CanAm Outlander and a CanAm Commander. These are off road vehicles that I bought new from a dealer. No test rides. And I'm pretty certain if a prospective buyer insisted that the dealer take the vehicle out of town to test ride on a trail he would be told to take a hike.
Maybe I'm a different kind of purchaser. I just research and decide upon what I want. Then shop for what suits me, make sure any know issues have been addressed, look at vehicle history, condition, and negotiate my best price. For me, there is no reason to test ride. Especially the Goldwings. I know how they ride.......
My take on the situation from the OP is the purchaser probably wanted to see if he liked riding a Spyder. The chances are that he most likely would not for reasons previously posted and discussed many times here. Lots and lots of Spyder riders here who thought they made a big mistake buying a Spyder on their first ride. Why would the OP want to take the risks involved with a first timer with no skills or knowledge? When I sold mine the situation was exactly like the OPs. The buyer was an elderly gentleman who was giving up 2-wheeling after many decades of riding. He did a lot of research and knew what he wanted. He knew the things on my bike like car tires, BajaRon bar, upgraded shocks, etc. addressed areas of weakness on the Spyder. He asked to take it for a spin and I declined. I was honest and told him he probably wouldn't like it until he has had a chance to develop the different skills needed on a Spyder. He knew exactly what I was talking about because he had researched that too. We spent over an hour going over the bike, it's history, service records, and talked about riding technique and learning curve. He gave me a cashiers check for my asking price and rode away with his wife following in their car......
And the debate goes on....... Jim