Why so many low mileage bikes for sale.

[ARtraveler]

I am looking at buying an RT or F3 and am wondering why there are so many bikes with low <5k miles.
Is it because of issues with the bike or just not what someone expected or enjoys riding?
Thanks,
Barender

Glad to address your question. Many above have hit the nail on the head. The good news. These days it is not because of issues with the bikes. Overall, the product is good and breakdowns (they do happen) are few and far between.

We have an interesting demographic. Most have a bit more money to experiment with and buy new toys. And...the :spyder2::spyder: :ani29:'s are expensive toys at that. Many, I fear, jumped in and found it was not their cup of tea. Others start at bottom or mid-line and eventually end up with the top of the line. The good side: this makes for a great used market with low mileage on many of the bikes.

I started with the base SM5/GS when they first came out in 08. Spouse got involved and we bought her a new 09 RS/SE5. Then the RT's came out. I had to have a 2010 Premier. In 12, I bought a new 2011 RT. Four model years in a row at first. Then I slowed down a bit. A new 2014 RT in 2014 and now I just bought a 19 F3L. I am thinking the last two will be keepers and I am now done. I did say that when I bought the 14 though. :roflblack: The 2011 is now being traded in on the F3.

My experience has been good. On the six Spyders owned, I have 152,000 assorted miles. No miles on the 19 yet. Still waiting for delivery. So far, none have had mechanical issues or breakdowns leaving me stranded on the highway. And between 2008 and this year...all of those Spyders were in AK. Now I have moved to an area where I can ride year around. And...my plans are to take advantage of the situation. I'm only 74, so have a while to enjoy the Spyders.

 

[2dogs]

When I was shopping for a 3 wheeler I looked at both Harley and the Spyder. That was in 2014 and there were many more secondhand Harleys on the market than Spyders. Maybe as many as 10 to 1. Two and three year old Harleys with less than 4k or 6k miles were for sale everywhere. A few with less than 1k miles. Most every one of them were owned by a widow and were being advertised 4sale by a friend or son or son-in-law of the widow. Sad, but what those poor o'l geezers paid for their last hurrah, could have been spent putting them in the ground in grand style, and would have left their spouse's without the stress of dumping that dam o'l expensive Harley.

 

[ABBADABBA]

Thats exactly how i feel,just bought a 2013 RT and its winter here in new england and i swear it has raind 95% of the time .Have lots of time on my wing but we change to the spyder,need road time to feel good about the ride i had all the the factors you had and now I have to correct them.thanks ,i see im not the only one out there.

 

[davehirst]

Some people start riding and realize it will rain on them sometimes. I get asked all the time "What do you do when it rains?" I say, "I get wet", but that's what rain gear is for!

 

[ThreeWheels]

This may have been covered, so I apologize if I'm repeating others thoughts.


I think if you look at motorcycles in general, not just Spyders, you'll find a similar phenomenon.
People buy motorcycles with the best of intentions, but then they get tired of riding in the heat, or the rain, or the cold.
After maybe one or two seasons of riding, about 5,000 miles, people just tire of riding, so the bikes sit in the garage.
Until the owner finally decides to unload the bike.
They're called Garage Queens.


It's similar with all big ticket toys. You may have heard this about boats.
There are two best days in a man's boating life:
The day he buys his boat and.......
The day he sells his boat.

 

[Peteoz]

My thoughts exactly. I bought my Spyder from a retired Marine col. who you could tell had been buying toys for his retirement. Well he got to ride it on one long trip and around town and was diagnosed with dementia. Couldn't ride log distance anymore and the needed money to pay for nursing home care when the time comes. He was younger then me. You just never know what is just around the corner. People get sick, they have financial reverses, life style changes, interest changes

Couldn’t agree more with you, coke and others Pegasus. I bought mine in early 17, rode it for 3 months, and got sudden onset hip degeneration. Couldn’t ride for 18months. If I had sold it, it would have been 2 years old with around 3k miles on it. Riding it again now :2thumbs:

Pete

 

[askitee]

I asked myself the same question after buying my 2017 RTL new. When I asked those who had units for sale it came down to "Want a new one", "cant ride it any more", "Don't like it", "its a sh^&box :banghead:"

When people ask me about the spyder and are interested in buying I suggest they look at the 2nd hand market where as you point out, there are ample low KM/mileage machines out there that people just haven't got used to and decide the Spyder isn't for them. I almost joined this group until I found THE MASTER - a BRP trained mechanic at another Spyder dealership who fixed all my pain points. I have a photo of him in my lounge-room where I bow my head each time I pass, have offered him my first born daughters hand in marriage, and I pay homage to him every day by riding the thing

 

[h0gr1der]

I am looking at buying an RT or F3 and am wondering why there are so many bikes with low <5k miles.
Is it because of issues with the bike or just not what someone expected or enjoys riding?
Thanks,
Barender

Typical Spyder rider excuse: "I'm to busy Farkling to ride"! I know I lost 2 months of riding time due to warranty repair. You will find this is not an abnormally long period in the Spyder realm.

 

[wyliec]

Couldn’t agree more with you, coke and others Pegasus. I bought mine in early 17, rode it for 3 months, and got sudden onset hip degeneration. Couldn’t ride for 18months. If I had sold it, it would have been 2 years old with around 3k miles on it. Riding it again now :2thumbs:

Pete

Pete,

I have a question. But, before I ask, I’ll answer the original question. I purchased my 2008 GS in 2008, new. I rode it until Sept 2018, and got more than my monies worth out of it. I decided before it depreciated too much more to get a Jeep Wrangler. I still get wet because I like riding with the top panels off, and I can just jump in and take off without spending time gearing up. The top panels come off in less than a minute; a lot less time than gearing up, for me.

Okay Pete,

What is sudden onset hip degeneration? When I think of degeneration, I’m thinking in terms of over time. I’ve heard of babies born with DDH, or soon after birth develop it. Most patients I dealt with had hip replacement due to arthritis, and some due to an accident/injury. Was it by chance AVN?

Oooops, somehow this was posted twice.

 

[Deanna777]

This may have been covered, so I apologize if I'm repeating others thoughts.


I think if you look at motorcycles in general, not just Spyders, you'll find a similar phenomenon.
People buy motorcycles with the best of intentions, but then they get tired of riding in the heat, or the rain, or the cold.
After maybe one or two seasons of riding, about 5,000 miles, people just tire of riding, so the bikes sit in the garage.
Until the owner finally decides to unload the bike.
They're called Garage Queens.


It's similar with all big ticket toys. You may have heard this about boats.
There are two best days in a man's boating life:
The day he buys his boat and.......
The day he sells his boat.

Same thing happens with snowmobiles, you never know what mother nature will bring in the Winter. Especially up here in the North East.

You buy a new sled, register, and insurance them, & etc. wait until the snowmobiles trails open, Ride, then the snowmobile season is over( starts at middle of Dec. until beginning of March). Then you wash, and do a post season check, and put on battery tender, then ride the spyders.

Deanna

 

[Deanna777]

Typical Spyder rider excuse: "I'm to busy Farkling to ride"! I know I lost 2 months of riding time due to warranty repair. You will find this is not an abnormally long period in the Spyder realm.

Here is an other spyder rider excuse::" life got in the way".

I didn't ride this year as much as normally as I do, because of being out of work and looking for work. Life got in the way!
Deanna

 

[2dogs]

I go out and do job estimates on my spyder ALL the time. I can turn any reason into an excuse to ride. The only thing I avoid is a dark rainy night on a dirt road.

 

[askitee]

I go out and do job estimates on my spyder ALL the time. I can turn any reason into an excuse to ride. The only thing I avoid is a dark rainy night on a dirt road.

I was using my RTL as my main means of transport (I.am an IT contractor with clients spread across the region. I had to stop.

Why?

I'd leave a customer site and think "hmm if I go this way home its a 25Km ride, but if I take this one its a 45km. the 45km one it is.

I realized I had to stop when I rode to the neighboring town (Denman about 20kms away) and came back via Broke, Cessnock, Wallsend, Maitland, Easy Gresford etc. My return journey was over 370kms and the phone was full of voicemails from clients chasing me so that was a small realization I needed to ease off.

I should have only travelled the bit circled in yellow


Still use it for work, but try to keep a tight leash on the pilot (Me)

 

[RICZ]

That is definitely the long way around the block when you were only going next door.

 

[Bottomline2000]

Had a guy in my MSC class with a 10year old VTX1300 with like leas than 100 miles on it in his garage. He basically bought it and rode it home. Didnt like it and seemed to have scared him so he parked it. He had already bought a new RT Limited before we even started the class so there is a chance it may suffer the same fate. He was getting ready to retire and he didnt seem bothered by having wasted money on a new bike and never using it. He didn't even bother to trade it when buying the RT. The course instructor however was VERY interested in the VTX and if he got it its probably very broken in now as he rode 365 days/yr. Bikes are luxury items for some people so they don't make them a priority and it doesnt mean they are unreliable. I've put 6k miles on my Daytona this year and I bought after a guy traded it back to the dealer to upgrade to something better suited for 2 up riding, but not before dumping $3k in upgrades into it and not using it for 2 years..

 

[Tango]

This happens all the time. With all makes. Not just the Spyder. Lots of HD's out there that guys bought because his friends bought one. Friday and Saturday bar hoppers. They then get tired of seeing a lot of money collecting dust in the garage. :thumbup: Tom :spyder:

 

[ARtraveler]

I have only purchased one bike that I mostly parked after the first year. It was the 1976 Hondamatic 750. The thought of having an automatic tranny really impressed me back then.
The Hondamatic was that avocado green color.

It was neat (at first). Just snick it into drive, turn the throttle, and it sounded like a jet winding up. It just went until you applied the brakes. One comment I got a lot back then...hey, it don't have a clutch.

Turns out, after the first season...I just lost interest in it. It sat in my garage. I ended up trading it off on a KZ 650 four, that I really decked it out. Vetter (remember them) fairing, and saddle bags, custom king/queen seat, etc. That was my first $3,500 bike.

20/20 Hindsight. Wish I still had that Hondamatic. They are worth a few bucks these days. :yes:

More 20/20 hindsight...When Spyders came along...I bought a SM5, manual transmission. The other five, have all been SE 5 and SE 6. Now I would not have it any other way. I still have the Vulcan 900, so can still get my manual fix when I want it.

 

[Peteoz]

Okay Pete,

What is sudden onset hip degeneration? When I think of degeneration, I’m thinking in terms of over time. I’ve heard of babies born with DDH, or soon after birth develop it. Most patients I dealt with had hip replacement due to arthritis, and some due to an accident/injury. Was it by chance AVN?.

Yeah, Wyllie, you got it in one - Avascular Necrosis. Came out of nowhere. Had a bit of leg pain for a few months, x-ray showed nothing, and I have Osteo in both knees, so that was thought to be the issue.........no treatments were working, I had an x-ray 4 months after the first, and there it was, and an MRI confirmed it. Total Hip replacement the following month. The specialist calls it sudden onset degeneration as it makes it much easier for plebs to understand.

Pete

 

[EDBLU]

One reason bikes have low mileage on them is that some people want a bike and other people think they want a bike.

In 2015 I was wanting to get a motorcycle after years of not having one. I decided to get a motorcycle license this time. I asked my wife if she also wanted to go thru the class and get a bike so we can ride together. She said yes even though she has only ridden a Honda 70 that we bought for our kids years ago. We went thru the class and bought the bikes. Long story short she has 3k miles on her bike and I have 8k miles on mine in 4 yrs. I try to ride mine at least 1 to 2 times a week. She doesn't ride hers at all I have to ride it weekly to keep it running properly. I considered getting rid of it 3 months ago to buy a cheap side by side to ride in the neighborhood but she said she wanted to keep it. She has rode it once since then. She doesn't like windy days, big trucks, and low chances of rain.

She thought she wanted a bike but really didn't even thou she doesn't want to say it.

 

[gkamer]

I saw a dealers for sale notice of a 2018 RT with 702 miles on it. No mention on why so few miles.