CYCLE CITY near Millville, MN

FOUR 41

Member
Aug 22, 2002
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I took a friend of mine who is shopping for a motocross bike to Cycle City yesterday. They had a 2000 yz426 on the lot that would fit my friend's budget but looked like it needed some work.

The sales guy treated us decent, but the bike wouldn't run. I started kicking, no fire, so I started fiddling with different things on the bike. Would not go. The owner "Rick" comes out and tells me that he'll get a mechanic to come out and look at it since "You probably don't know very much about this bike and it's a very sophisticated piece of machinery. (BTW, I have had a yz400, 01 yz250f, and now a yz450- all of which I have done motor rebuilds and all maintainance on). His mechanic comes out and tries to kick it over and it won't kick. Hmmm, I never had that problem. He's calls over another mechanic who promptly tells him to pull in the decrompression lever.

The bike is in horrific shape. The backgrounds are falling of, the fenders are shot, the tires are flat, the grips are falling off, the rear fender is so sun-faded that is looks like it has dried wax on it, the tank decals are also so weathered they have bubbled up and are falling off, it has white carbon steel bars on it, it's covered in dirt, and one fork seal is leaking like a girl from the trailer park's eyes on the anniversary of Elvis's death. I tell my friend to lowball them an offer and see if we can take it as is, because I am confident that we can make any repairs and get it running. I am not being cocky, but just guessing that the bike has been sitting a long time. They negotiate a price. I felt like we came out way ahead on our price, but we twisted pretty hard and said we were leaving many times before the owner Rick agreed to our price.

When we got the bike home, I ended up pulling the carb and finding the entire float, bowl and jets are all completely GREEN. The gas in the tank was green also. It took 2 hrs to get the carb scrubbed up, jets to have openings again, and getting gas to the bowl from the tank. On top of it all, the mechanic did not even have the plug cap back on after he had fiddled with it and he had tried to start it.

Why can't dealers at least make an effort to take care of bikes that they are trying to sell? I understand used bikes is a tough market to make money on, but a new set of graphics, grips, filling up the tires, and having it run, would have been worth another $500-$800 dollars on this bike. Also, I would stronly avoid the service department. Sorry for the long post, just a truly unbelieveable experience.

BTW, Cycle City in Rochester, MN. Let me know if you have had other experiences with them.
 

mx547

Ortho doc's wet dream
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Nov 24, 2000
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i don't know, maybe it's better for the buyer to see one in it's real condition, rather than dressed up?

perhaps it was a consignment bike so they didn't want to put anything into it?

but i'll agree with avoiding the service department.
 

Jaybird

Apprentice Goon
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Mar 16, 2001
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Charlestown, IN
How much money was this jewel?
 

motometal

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Sep 3, 2001
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the sad part about it, is that folks will buy used crud from dealers all day long, there is some kind of weird trust factor there, even though the actual salesperson may know nothing about the bike, while a private individual will stuggle right now to sell a used bike.
 

TheJunkMan

Member
Jul 9, 2003
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This post or dealer doesn't sound any different from any other bike shop in the country. Their there to sell you a new bike those are easy to sell cause most people know what they want(or afford) but the used market people get in their head that this bike right here is the last one they will ever see so they better buy it now. Hell your better off alley shopping and comprimise sometimes.

Little example of my own. I am helping a friend (novice rider) find a different bike (offroad) that she will not grow out of too quickly. looking for most any evolution 125 (1985-present) that is cheap (relatively speaking) found a few on the edge of the cheap/good deal catagory but ran across an 1979 XL185 for $125 a little more than i wanted to pay but turns out to be an excelt bike clean the carb and put so cheap rubber on it and go.
 

Jaybird

Apprentice Goon
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Mar 16, 2001
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Charlestown, IN
Originally posted by TheJunkMan
..1979 XL185 for $125 a little more than i wanted to pay...

Tight ass!

 :)
 

dirty~d~

Resident nudist
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Apr 17, 2002
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Dealerships don't make money off of used bikes so it's understandable as to why they won't put any money into making the bike more 'user friendly.' As for those mechanics... yikes. :eek:
 

FOUR 41

Member
Aug 22, 2002
31
0
Now for the update.....

We pulled the carb off and cleaned every passage possible. NO DICE. Spark is good, getting air, getting fuel to the bow. Bike has obviously been sitting a long time because the bowl, needles, jets were all green and clogged shut. Carb is being soaked by a mechanic friend of mine. Hoping some of the small passages on the top end of the carb are whats causing the problem.

Changed the leaking fork seal tonight. The cup the sits on top of the spring in the fork and the top of the spring both has large corrosion, rust spots on them. Changed all fork oil and the springs and the fork seems to work great. The bushings all looked good.

I can't believe how some bikes get treated!
 

FOUR 41

Member
Aug 22, 2002
31
0
The bike is now running. Proved to be nothing wrong other than a clogged pilot jet. Soaked overnight, put back together, and it runs like a dream.

That said, my friend paid just about $2000, put $120 dollars worth of parts into it and he now has a really rideable and pretty decent looking '00 426. Does that seem like a reasonable deal? The only things it needs now are a graphics kit, a front fender, and chain and sprockets. Otherwise the bike is actually pretty nice.

Let me know what you think about the price. Is that similar or lower than what others have been getting?
 

dirty~d~

Resident nudist
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My question is... where is the problem/flame in all of this? :think:
 

roosteater

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Dec 27, 1999
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I don't see the flame either. You could have pointed out all of the issues with the bike and then promptly taken your business elsewhere. Instead, you negotiated what is probably a fair enough price and invested a minimal amount of time and energy into getting the bike running.

As I said, I think the price was fair enough, although I still would have tried to get a lower price given the ratted out conditon of the bike. Sounds like you tried that and got the best price you could and one your friend was comfortable with.

Low retail is $2495 per NADA. Average retail is $3280. High retail is $3545. Per Kelly Blue Book's website, trade-in value is $2475. Suggested retail is $3620. I don't put a lot of faith in just Nada or Kelly. I generally use them as a starting point. Then I look to the market itself and look for actual comparables (ie--other 2000 or 2001 YZ426Fs for sale in the same general area).

You did ok enough and I don't see much need for the flame.
 

karterron

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Mar 24, 2002
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Sounds like a good deal. I just looked at Cycletrader and checked the entire country for a 2000 YZ426. Cheapest one for sale is at $2,699 in Texas. 17 total for sale with the majority in the mid 3's. Your friend could put $1000 in it and still be right in the ballpark.

I don't think he was flaming the dealer. His flame was dealers who put junk on the showroom when they could put a few dollars in them and get more money. Sounds like this is the perfect example of that. Had the dealer put $500 of his own money in the bike he could have sold for $3,500 instead of $2,000 after sitting for an eternity.

Like others have said, Motorcycle dealers are different than car dealers. They won't do anything to used bikes.
 

FOUR 41

Member
Aug 22, 2002
31
0
My whole flame is with the dealer. I can see taking a bike in on trade and not fixing up most things, costs money to do that, and you don't make much on trade-ins relative to what they are making on new sales. The simple things though, put air in the tires, clean the gas out once in a while (the carb bowl was GREEN!, all jets blocked), clean the dust off of it. Then a motorcycle mechanic, that would work on my bike if I brought it in, does not even know there is a decomp lever????? The dealer is supposed to be a source of knowledge and a representative of the company's bikes we ride. Instead I find myself constantly coming to these forums for technical support because the dealer can't or won't provide it.
 

490Dave

Member
Mar 18, 2003
316
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Consider your self lucky (and your friend) The dealer probably made a few bucks on the deal without lifting a finger, and yes he probably could have gotten more for it had he taken the time to dress it up and check everything out, and dont always count on the dealer to have all the answers or much technical knowlage either.
I love a challange, but i probably would have walked away from this one.
 

billtx

~SPONSOR~
Dec 22, 2002
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I don't see the flame here either. You got below market price for a bike that needed TLC. Also, dealers probably make more on used bikes than new - but not much more. I worked at a dealer and my friend runs one currently. He's lucky to sell a new MX bike for a couple hundred over invoice.

Dealership mechanics make more money for the dealer working on customer's bikes than fixing up used ones to be sold at a slightly higher price sometime in the future. You should be upset with the guy that used to own the 426, he obviously did very little maintenance.
 

Jaybird

Apprentice Goon
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Right, the guy who traded the bike in was the only soul who probably ever touched this rat.
Dealers aren't in business to show their skills and amaze you with brilliance, they are there to make a dollar.
You maybe should have steered your friend clear of this deal. It's definately going to be more money, that is if he wants it to be in top shape.
A bike that has been ratted out, you can bet, has internals that were neglected as well. Also a whole host of other problems that take time and money to correct.
A used bike in decent shape can be a great buy for the money, but a few more bucks than the rats.
 
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