| Scratches, broken levers or fairing damage | - Hidden damage from a drop or crash
- Trim or accessory missing
| - Turn the bars lock to lock: do they hit the stops evenly, are the stops intact?
- Sight along the forks and compare bar-end height left and right.
- Look for ground-down engine covers, pegs, exhaust and lever ends on the same side.
- Check the frame around the headstock for cracked paint.
| - What happened, at what speed.
- Repair invoices.
- Any insurance write-off category.
| Basic to Professional, depending on the cause Diagnosis time: Under an hour Safety-critical | Levers, mirrors and turn signals are small. Genuine fairing panels and tanks are expensive, painted parts more so. A bent fork, yoke or frame ends the project. | - Broken or re-welded steering stops.
- Forks that are not parallel.
- Declared or suspected write-off you cannot verify.
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| Non-runner after long storage | - Flat or dead starter battery
- Stale fuel or blocked carburetor
- Rusted tank or gummed fuel system
- Seized brakes
- Tires perished with age
- Leaking fork seals
- Seized engine
| - Open the tank and look inside with a flashlight: rust, varnish, smell.
- Push it in neutral: do the brakes drag?
- Tire date codes and sidewall cracks.
- With permission, turn the engine by hand or starter before any talk of starting it.
| - How it was stored, for how long, with or without fuel.
- Whether it ran when parked, and why it was parked.
| Intermediate to Professional, depending on the cause Diagnosis time: Half a day or more Safety-critical | Each item is ordinary; together they are not: battery, carburetor or injector cleaning, tank treatment, tires, brake rebuild, fork seals, fluids, chain. Add them all before you look at the price. | - Engine will not turn.
- Tank rusted through.
- Story and condition do not fit.
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| Engine noise, smoke or oil leak | - Internal engine wear
- Low compression
| - Cold start: listen for knocking that changes with revs, watch for blue or white smoke that persists.
- Look for oil at the head and base gaskets and around the output shaft.
- Check oil level and look for metal or milkiness.
| - Service invoices for valve clearances and timing components.
- Compression or leak-down figures, if the seller has them.
| Advanced to Professional, depending on the cause Diagnosis time: Workshop job Safety-relevant | Engine work is dominated by labor and by what is found once it is open. It cannot be estimated from a listing. | - Knocking from the bottom end.
- Coolant in oil.
- Seller discourages a cold start.
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| Leaking fork seals or spongy brakes | - Leaking fork seals
- Hydraulic leak or air in the system
- Worn brake pads
| - Oil film on the fork stanchions or pitting in the chrome.
- Lever feel front and rear; disc thickness and lip; pad material left.
- Bounce the front end with the brake on: knocking means head bearings.
| - When fork oil and brake fluid were last changed.
- Invoices for seals or calipers.
| Intermediate to Professional, depending on the cause Diagnosis time: Under an hour Safety-critical | Seals and pads are modest parts. Pitted stanchions, warped discs or seized calipers multiply the bill, and the work needs correct torque and bleeding. | - Pitted fork chrome in the seal’s travel.
- Brake work you would do for the first time on this bike.
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| Lights, turn signals or charging not working | - Flat or dead starter battery
- Regulator/rectifier or stator fault
- Corroded or chafed wiring
- Coded or master key missing
- Airbag or ABS system fault
| - Battery voltage at rest and charging voltage with the engine running.
- All warning lights come on with the ignition and go out as they should.
- Count the keys and ask which one is the master.
| - Any diagnostic read-out.
- History of batteries going flat.
- Alarm or tracker fitting and removal.
| Intermediate to Professional, depending on the cause Diagnosis time: 1–3 hours Safety-relevant | A battery is simple. Stators, regulators, ABS units and immobilizer problems are parts-expensive and need diagnosis, sometimes dealer equipment. | - ABS or immobilizer fault with no diagnosis.
- Master key missing on a system that needs it.
- Hacked-about alarm wiring.
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| Papers missing or identifiers do not match | - Ownership or registration documents missing
- Frame or VIN number does not match the papers
| - Frame number against documents, stamped cleanly and not disturbed.
- History check where your country provides one.
- Seller’s name and address against the document.
| - Document photos in advance.
- Proof that any finance is settled.
- Written sales agreement with both identities.
| Professional Diagnosis time: Under an hour Safety-critical | There is no repair for a bad identity. | - Any mismatch.
- Seller is not the registered keeper and cannot explain why.
- Pressure to pay before you have seen the documents.
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