Instead of going out and buying a brand new dirt bike, you can get really good deals on a used bike. So, let’s go through a checklist of what to look for when you’re shopping for that used bike. So, before you head out there to look at the bike when you’re on the phone or texting. The seller obviously ask questions about how well the bike was maintained. What kind of condition the bike is in and just get a gauge. If you can trust the seller or not. That’s a huge thing when you’re buying anything used things. That specifically ask the seller about is if they have the title in hand if the price is negotiable. And what type of writing they did with the bike whether it’s track trail. Whatever that’ll give you a good idea of what to expect when you go look at the bike. And I would also recommend bringing a buddy with you that we have stuff go style you got back up. And it’ll also prevent you from making a rash decision based on a motion. Anyone looking at the bike is usually pretty excited. So, it’s easier to be too excited and miss some important stuff on the bike. All right, so you decided to go check out the bike in person. And I’m gonna go over the most important thing.
First how well does the bike run and operate before you go to start the bike or how did the seller start. It feel the side of the engine see if it’s warm. If the seller decided to start the bike before you showed up that may be an indicator. That there is some sort of starting issue just something to be aware of kick. The bike over slowly a few times before you actually start it. This will give you an idea if it’s got a good compression. Or not even better bring along a compression tester that’ll give you a really good idea of the condition of the top-end. So, you can figure out the PSI a bike should be pumping out with just a quick google search. For example, if the bikes an oh three yz250. Just Google 2003 yz250 compression psi and you should have some info right there. And then when you go to start the bike if you’re kicking and kicking forever that’s obviously an issue on a two-stroke. Like this bike if it’s hard to start that could indicate a worn top end which is low compression. Or it could possibly be a carburetor issue as well and then on a four-stroke. The valves being out of adjustment is the most likely scenario for being hard to start.
And it also could be low compression you know worn top end or a carburetor or fuel injection issue too now. It’s time to go for a rip and try things out. So basically what I’m gonna be checking over is the brakes clutch. Make sure it’s got good power go through all the gears. And then check over a few other things as well pullin out there riding. So, the first run down the driveway is just going to be going through the gear slowly. Make sure they all click in and everything operates smoothly. And then I’ll test the brakes at the end punch. The brakes make sure they engage properly. There’s no pulsation in the lever or the brake pedal. And now this time around I’m going to check over check out the clutch. I’m going to put it into like third gear fourth gear. Like that’s holding pretty good and now I’m going to go through the gears. A little harder give it some give us. It’s all for sure and make sure it runs clearly throughout the entire rpm range. Seems like they’re pretty solid and then the last thing I’m at check over. It’s not really too relevant on a stroke but definitely on the four-stroke upon deceleration. You want to make sure it’s not popping or backfiring. Lets you see the indicator of valves that are out of adjustment. I’m just going to bring it up to about third or fourth year.
That’s pretty much all I check over when I’m on the bike riding it. We got brakes checking to see if it’s backfiring or popping on deceleration. Okay, so you went for a test ride and say everything checked out fine. And now you really want to inspect the bike the next most important thing to check over would be the air filter. That’ll give you a good indication on how well the bike was maintained. I would really insist that the seller let you pull the seat off. And inspect the air filter. It’s always a good idea to bring some tools along for this. I just put a fresh filter on this bike so of course. It’s gonna be super clean. I have a filter skin on here but as you can see underneath. It is absolutely spotless if you come across a filter that is disgusting and just filthy. I would almost take it a step further and pull the filter off. And look inside the air boot actually you know what it’s not a bad idea to do that either way. If you have a light on your phone this would be perfect for shining down into the air boot.
It’s gonna take a look around in here. And if you see any dirt that’s a good indication the air filter was not cleaned on a consistent schedule. Once you have dirt in the air boot chances are it’s gonna work. Its way into the engine and eventually wear out the top end. So the piston and rings would be the parts that would wear out causing low compression. And then on a four-stroke it’ll wear out the bell faces. And then a valve adjustment or valve replacement will be necessary. Another simple thing to look over would just be to pull the radiator cap. And make sure you’ve got fluid in there, yep. She’s definitely full. I would also definitely check into the oil as well on a four-stroke if it’s got a dipstick check. The oil level and the oil color as well. So, on this bike it doesn’t have a dipstick. Just a filler plug so I’m gonna stick my finger in there. And lean the bike over and I should be able to see what color the engine oil is.
I’ve been needing to do an oil change on this bike so I’ll show you what oil looks like when it needs to be changed out. It should be pretty black so this gear oil is pretty black. Definitely needed to be changed out also not a bad idea to just ask the owner. How often they change the engine or transmission oil. Really depends on what kind of riding you’re doing whether tracker trail. But 10 to 20 hours is usually a good integral to change the oil at now. Like any machine. It’s gonna have a lot of bearings but the bearings that we’re up most frequently. On dirt bike are the shock linkage bearings wheel bearings. And steering head bearings we’re gonna check over those right now to check over the linkage bearings. You can either have the bike on a stand with a rear wheel off the ground or if the bikes on the ground you can. Just pull up on the sub frame or the back of the bike and test for swap here in these bearings .
I’m gonna show you how I do it on a stand. I’m just gonna grab the wheel and tug upward on the back of the bike. And if you feel any movement there most likely. It’s in the linkage bearings. The bearing that wears out most frequently is the lower shock bearing. So, this one actually does have a little bit of movement. And I’ll show you exactly where that’s coming from all right. Hopefully you guys can see this as I’m pulling up on the wheel. The lower shock bearing right where the shock connects to the linkage that bearing has a little bit of play in it. So, it’s not the end of the world right now but that bearing is just gonna continue to wear. And it’ll need replacement sooner than later. Some bikes you come across might have a ton of slop in the linkage. So be aware that could be a couple hundred dollar expense. Now for the wheel bearings, I’ll just make sure they spin smoothly without any squeaking or grinding noises. And then I’ll grab the wheel and just kind of shake it and if there’s any play or movement there. Those bearings will need replacement so for the steering stem bearing ziz pretty simple. Just turn the front end back and forth make sure those bearings are operating smoothly. And then a check for slop in those bearings take the bike off the stand grab.
The front brake and rock the bike back and forth. And if you feel any slop there probably not a good sign. The things I’ll check over on the brakes are obviously the rotors and pads for the rotor. I’ll run my thing from the mounting surface to the braking surface if there’s any sort of lip right here that indicates somewhere. And eventually it’ll need some attention and then for the pads what I’m looking for is the amount of material on either side of the rotor. So these ones are getting down they’re still a little bit of life left but they’ll need replacement pretty soon now to check for a bent brake rotor spin. The wheel and if the rotors bent they’ll be some vibration in the pads or some stiction. There and also when you’re on the bike push down the brake pedal or pulling the lever. And if there’s any pulsating there that means you have a bent rotor another thing. That frequently gets damaged on a dirt bike are the wheels. So you want to check over the spokes and rims.
So, with the spokes just make your way around. Make sure there’s no missing or broken spokes and then you can grab them. And make sure they’re tight definitely don’t want loose spokes. And then for the rim it’s gonna crack they usually crack on the outer edge here. So, once again go all the way around the edge. Make sure you don’t see any cracks or bends. And actually I think this front rim has a bend in it. I’ll see if I can find it for you guys. The bend is right here. I don’t know if you guys can see it. Or not it’s pretty minor so not the end of the world. It’s pretty common deal on a dirt bike but if you see a rim with a ton of bends in it. Not a good sign one thing you definitely don’t want to skip over are the chain. And sprockets pretty common wear item. So, for the sprockets just take a look at the teeth. And make sure they’re not bent or cupped out.
And if the tip of the teeth are worn down to a point pretty good indicator. The sprocket needs a replacement a worn out chain will have a ton of play. When you pull up on it when it’s on the sprocket. This one seems pretty normal and then you can check the side-to-side movement in the chain as well. There’s a ton of play. There that’s something I would definitely consider when it comes to negotiating the price. The chain guide and slider should definitely be checked over as well. The chain guide you want a bunch of material here underneath the chain. So this one looks pretty good and then for the swing arm chain slider. That one looks pretty solid as well. This is more of an issue on Honda’s but it could happen on any bike. So, if the chain wears through the chain slider and into the swingarm eventually. It’ll eat up the swing arm pivot bearings and that is not a cheap fix. So, definitely a good area to check over.
So, I don’t really need to cover the obvious like plastics graphics seat cover tires that kind of thing. But a lot of times that’s a pretty good indicator of how well the owner kept up on the bike. Now for leaks what we’re dealing with here is engine oil coolant suspension fluid. And brake fluid for the engine just give a good look around all the mating surfaces. And see if you see any oil buildup but of course any leak is gonna be on the bottom side. And this is where it’d be really handy if the seller allows you to lay the bike over on. Its side so obviously this bike has a skid plate on it. So you can’t see the full underside of the engine but you can take a look here at the clutch cover ceiling surface. And you’d be able to notice any leaks coming from there. If you really want to go all out. You can pull the skid plate off and take a look under that as well and now for coolant. This is the water pump cover right here.
So look around the sealing surface for any leaks and the hole on the bottom side of the cover. If you have coolant coming out of that your water pump seals need replacement. And while you have the bike lay it over on its side. It’s a perfect chance to look at the bottom side of the frame linkage swing arm. And the bottom side of the forks for any dents or cracks. Okay suspension seals so compress the shock and the forks. And if you see any oil buildup here on the tubes. You’re looking at a blown seal or a seal that needs to be cleaned out either way. It’ll need some work things to keep in mind for the radiators are leaks repairs. And obviously seeing if they’re bent.
So, it’s pretty common to see radiators being repaired with j-b weld. You’ll see a blob of gray stuff stuck to the radiator. I don’t know why I save this for last but it’s pretty important. So, look at the bike directly from behind and see if the fender and the tire line up. If the fender is shifted off to the side or twisted chances are it’s got a bent subframe. Now after some careful inspection, the bike it’s time to make a decision or negotiate a price. If you see a lot of stuff that needs replacement or attention on the bike. You’re definitely gonna have to do some negotiating or just walk away from the deal completely. Now on the other hand if you like what you see it’s what you’re looking for. And it’s within your budget then go for it but it still doesn’t hurt to negotiate. Just a little bit so obviously before you look at a bike. You want to do some research on what they’re going for in your area. You know look around get a general idea of what they’re worth that way. You’re not paying too much or you’re not being a complete lowball when you’re negotiating.
How I typically negotiate the price is I’ll bring up everything that I found on the bike that might need attention. And also mention that brought cash to show that I’m serious and you definitely don’t want to insult them. Or be a dick and lowball them just be respectful and generally people will be willing to work with you on the price. So negotiating is pretty simple if you like the bike and everything checks out fine. See what the seller can do on the price if he’s asking two thousand maybe offering fifteen or sixteen. You might counteroffer with 18 and then you just go back and forth until you’re both happy with the price. There’s no point in screwing anyone over here everyone’s got to get their fair share the deal but if you do your due diligence with checking over the bike. You’ll be fine I actually put together a checklist for you guys. So you can print it out and have it with you when you’re looking at that use bike. You’ll have everything right there to carefully look over the bike to access that checklist hit. The first link down in the description and also did a restock on hats over on prime MX comm. So support the channel, pick up yourself, a hat, a t-shirt or some stickers. All right if you found this video helpful. Help me out by sharing it and giving it a like. And if you want to see more content like this. Hit that subscribe button too. Thanks for watching guys. I’ll see you in a future video.
