Buying second hand motorbike?

Buying a 2010 Honda fireblade with 11 000Km on the clock.

Going to test drive it tomorrow and was wondering what to look for if the bike has been looked after and secondly when riding are their any signs that would tell if the bike has been hammered?

I haven't had a bike for over 30 years but you should look for wear on the sides of the tyres to see if it has been consistently leaning over cornering fast, look under the foot pegs to see if they have been scraping the ground, take your hands of the handle bars to see if it's running true and of course listen to the engine for noise.

my last bike was a 1972 Honda K2 750, well ahead of their time, I wish I still had it.

You say this is the first used bike you're buying, but what other bikes have you owned/ridden in the past?

If you're an inexperienced rider, the Fireblade is terrible choice for a newbie rider.

Experienced or not, a Fireblade is a terrible choice… Unless you're planning on some track-days, which I highly doubt…

What's the point of riding like 'Rickie The Racer' on crowded public roads? Ha!

My Speed Triple is a better bike in almost every regard! And guess what; it's MUCH cheaper too… Makes torque where you need it the most… Upright comfortable riding posture… Fuel economy of ~50 MPG if you ride sensibly…

And most importantly:

IT LOOKS MILES BETTER AND COOLER THAN ANY CROTCH ROCKET OUT THERE, PERIOD!

Test drive it to a motorcycle shop for compression and leakdown tests and pay a mechanic look it over. It's worth it.

If you have to ask you aren't really going to be a very good judge.

I'd have a Honda trained mechanic look it over. But before you do that ask for service records.

After checking the paperwork, service history and hpi, I have a good look around, see it started from cold, check the brakes, tyres, chain, fork seals etc, then take it for a test ride. In second and third gears give it hard acceleration, if it jumps out of gear, walk away. But 11,000 kms is not that much, and if it has been properly maintained you should have few mechanical issues.

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