Motorcycle question

[jgcable]

I would like some opinions please:
I sold a Harley Davidson Sportster that was dead reliable to me for the past 2 years. I had no hesitation of driving it anywhere and did many 500 mile days on it in any weather conditions even with my wife on the back of it.
I sell it to a guy who tests drives it and buys it and he drives it home. He gets 25 miles from my house and he calls me to tell me that he blew a head gasket on the highway.
My Bill of Sale says As Is but I am not the kind of guy to leave the guy hanging. He tells me that his dad is coming with a trailer and he can fix the bike himself but would like me to cover the cost of parts. He thinks its a head gasket and possibly he might need a valve or some other parts.
My thought is that he either overrevved the bike or he missed a shift.
He does have 2 other bikes so he certainly knows how to ride.
Anyway.. what would you do if you were me?

[442w30]

What kind of $$ are we talking for parts?
If it's $1-300 and you cleared >$6k for the bike, it sucks, but I'd just give it to him.

Then again, if he's talking >$500, I'd point at the # of miles and say - now just how the %$#$% do you think that happened and tell him about the preventative maintenance you've done, show him how there hasn't been a wrench on the head, etc.

I am assuming the bike has <30k miles, right?

Does seem suspicious - how old is the bike?

[thetroy]

I would either take it back and have it fixed yourself or just stick to the "as-is" sale.

Who knows if he even had a problem? Maybe he's just fishing for a rebate on the bike.

[jgcable]

Bike has 12K on it. Its a 1988. The motor had a 5K Johnson Engine Technology 1200 conversion done to it in 2001. The motor has 4K on it total since rebuild.
I sold the bike for $3500.00 which was a steal. It has a little clutch noise in 1st gear that has been like that all the time that I owned it. The buyer was not concerned with the noise. I changed the oil every 3K and used Mobil 1 Full Synth V-Twin.
I had about 8K total invested in the bike and it ran like a raped ape.

[thetroy]

Anything is possible, but I'd stick with the "don't trust him" approach.

Unfortunately it seems like most people are dishonest and/or ignorant about things. Especially males about problems/ignorance/mistakes with anything mechanical...

[scotty]

jgcable it is nice to know good people like you exist but don't let anyone take advantage of your good nature. I think you know what you have to do, so stick to your guns.

[StukaJU87]

John, he got a good deal on the bike. He broke it. He may have been getting on it and f'd something up. I'd be real leary agreeing to anythig since he already got a steal on the purchase price. This could escalate into a much bigger problem once they take the bike apart. Use caution when agreeing to help out with the cost.

[CharvelRocker]

John, he got a good deal on the bike. He broke it. He may have been getting on it and f'd something up. I'd be real leary agreeing to anythig since he already got a steal on the purchase price. This could escalate into a much bigger problem once they take the bike apart. Use caution when agreeing to help out with the cost.

+1. I would see supporting him if it just broke on it's own, but since he over revved it, and thus damaged it, he probably threw a rod and lord knows what else. Could of/probably damaged the valve/valve springs as well. Let's put it this way; if you bought a car with a stick shift, and on the way home I over-revved and blew out a push rod, the dealer would laugh if you asked them to fix it.

[Spivonious]

Yeah, as-is means as-is. It ran fine when he picked it up.

[DonP]

Watch People's Court. Saw a similar case with a car.

Guy bought the car as-is from a lot, it broke 25 days later, the dealer fixed it. Some time later, something else broke, and the dealer said no-way the second time. The seller won the case based on as-is.

If it's sold as-is, it is as-is, UNLESS you knowingly hid issues about the bike. When you go to court, it would be up to him to prove that you knew the bike had issues but didn't tell him about it.

[SEEGERMANY]

I sell it to a guy who tests drives it and buys it and he drives it home. He gets 25 miles from my house and he calls me to tell me that he blew a head gasket on the highway.

I'd bet a dollar to a donut that once he got on the highway, he decided to "open it up" to see what she would do. It's damn near human nature. I agree with John, he either overrevved or missed a shift.

I've bought stuff before and it's crapped out in a similar manner. When you buy used, that's the chance you take.

[442w30]

$3500? Wow, that was a deal.
Yeah, I am thinking no way, you are opening the door to a world of trouble if you budge an inch - why does he just think it's a head gasket BTW?

[jgcable]

$3500? Wow, that was a deal.
Yeah, I am thinking no way, you are opening the door to a world of trouble if you budge an inch - why does he just think it's a head gasket BTW?

He said the bike lost all power and he heard a loud air sound huffing from the bottom of one of the jugs. He pulled over immediately and he could hear air being sucked in at the head gasket on the clutch side of the motor. He told me it sounded like it sucked in a head gasket.

[SEEGERMANY]

John,

You suffer from a condition called "Big Heart Syndrome." Like you, I don't want anyone coming away from a deal less than 100% happy. But in this case, the guy took the bike for a test ride and then came back and followed through with the deal. You need to accept the fact that you sold a "working" bike that was used, yet maintained to the best of your abilities and then let it go at that.

In my opinion, there is only one vehicle that is worse to sell than a used motorcycle and that's a used boat. No matter how well maintained, that are subject to crapping out if you look at them crosseyed! That's why I have a standing rule to never sell to a friend. I don't mind selling to family because for the most part, I dislike them more than strangers!

[thetroy]

John,

You suffer from a condition called "Big Heart Syndrome." Like you, I don't want anyone coming away from a deal less than 100% happy. But in this case, the guy took the bike for a test ride and then came back and followed through with the deal. You need to accept the fact that you sold a "working" bike that was used, yet maintained to the best of your abilities and then let it go at that.

In my opinion, there is only one vehicle that is worse to sell than a used motorcycle and that's a used boat. No matter how well maintained, that are subject to crapping out if you look at them crosseyed! That's why I have a standing rule to never sell to a friend. I don't mind selling to family because for the most part, I dislike them more than strangers!

RV's are almost as bad as boats. I'm glad my dad finally stopped owning those things a few years ago. Something breaks on them every time you go out.