Hey guys,

I am looking at getting a 86-88 softail in about 3 months and have been looking around to see what what is available. Not much around in Vic at the moment but I have found exactly what I am looking for in Adelaide and the price is spot on. Here is the bike in question.

1988 FXST Softail If this thing is around in a few months then I want to purchase it.

Question is how do I go about it so that I do not get shafted? Its bad enough when you buy locally and can see the bike and meet the seller. Does anyone know of bike brokers that hdnale interstae sales exist and do this type of thing for a fee?

Any advice/tips/hints will be greatly appreciated. I would also like to hear from people who have done this and what their experience was.

Vudoo,

Flights are cheap Brother, and trust me, you will love the ride home however long it takes.
Why pay someone when you can do it yourself for not much of a cost....

Rans

I bought a bike from interstate this time last year. Drove over to Victoria from Adelaide with a bag load of cash, had a look took it for a test ride loaded it in the ute and drove home that night.
Take the time to inspect the bike for yourself and having a fist full of cash to waved under the sellers nose always helps to get a good deal.

I would love to fly over and ride the bike back home but I am not that mechanically minded to test the bike out to make sure it is okay. I can check the basic things like tyres, brakes and lights but internal mechanics have me scratching my head. Also, the last thing I would want is for the bike to die halfway home. In saying that, I did ride in one go from Sydney to Melbourne on a Kawasaki ZX2RC...

What I was thinking of doing was asking a member to check the bike out for me. If it gets the thumbs up I would transfer the $$ to a friend/family member in that state and have them pay the seller once the bike has been dropped off at the shipping depot.

Why dont you ask the seller to get the bike to bikeworks on South Rd for a mechanical inspection. You could arrange all this before coming to Adelaide and having a final inspection to see if you like the way it rides.

No harm in asking the seller to ride it to a place of repair for a inspection.

(You would need to check with bike works before asking the owner to get it down there for a inspection.)

 

Sounds like a good idea getting the seller to take the bike to a reputable shop for a check over. If he's keen to sell then it shouldn't be a problem for him. Thanks for all the tips guys, hopefully in a few months I will find the bike I am looking for in Victoria otherwise I know how to go about buying a bike safely interstate.

P.S. What did you guys think about the bike? I checked out the shop where tue bike has had engine work done and they are reputable...even a forum member recommended them to someone here a while back to get some head work done

Hope you bought it Vudoo cause its not on the bike site anymore, All the chat might have led someone to look at it  and slip under you, bought 2 bikes from interstate,  no hassels, do your homework, ask questions on phone , email, , As the guys say, flights are cheap go have a look ,

Cheers

 

Hardest buy i did interstate was through a dealer - easiest with a Japanese bloke for a iron head sporty - shit had to be back for work the following day, flew up - trained it across Brissy (never been there b4) and sign languaged the sale into a neat 84 sporty - rode back to Sydney arriving at home at 9:05 the next morning....had the side case break about 100km from brissy when lifting up for a pothole - ran outa fuel 20kms out of Warwick and slept next to the highway around Gosford for an hour...........next time i fork over for transport costs.....well maybe. All part of the adventure aye!

No it wasn't me that bought it. I am not in a position to do so for a few more months. It was one sweet bike though!

As many have said before.

 

Fly over  check it out and ride back , you wont regret it.

As mentioned earlier yes having someone reputable check over the bike before you go look at it is a brilliant idea.

 

I bought my Trike from Vic and live in Sydney

Flew to Melbourne then on to Port Fairy or there abouts , paid for the trike and Rode it back home ( took me 2 days approx 1500klm  but what a ride.

 

Got to know the Trike quite well and was very comfortable with my purchase, apart from the rego thin in Syd.. see my post.

 

Good luck finding your ideal bike at the right price, see you on the road.

LOL....going to pick up the iron head sporty was interesting, only iron heads id ever ridden before were POS, so i knew i was gonna need some tools etc.....but i flew up the day after the unpleasantness at Sydney domestic a few years ago, had my own personal security escort for the hour and a half before boarding. but obviously because of terror watch etc, couldnt take any tools. Was shittin myself, thought i was gonna have all sorts of drama. As i said the bloke i was buying from was Japanese, so the language barrier stopped any Questions i had. and the translation of his auction ad left a bit to be desired too. That being said, he took good pics. you can tell a lot about a bike from pics......

When i broke the side case where the footpeg mounts (150kg blokes shouldnt ride sporties) i thought that that was the end...it was all about to fall in a heap. When i ran outa fuel and pushed it for 7kms i knew my heart would give out b4 the sporty. My mate in Warwick helped me fashion a 1/8th plate on both sides to hold the peg and prevent further damage and i rode with that until i sold the wee beastie/ even though id purchased the new part to fix it.While in Warwick i hit the autozone and bought a plastic fuel can for the long leg between Walcha and Glouster.....and wound that liile bugga up to 130 and hung un for dear life.

Sorry for jackin the thread, but it was a hoot. wish id have kept that little bike it was grouse.

Damn that seat was hard by the boarder.....