After recent european bike shows it seems that apart from the RS12 Superbike its seems we are not in for an immediate refresh which is nice. Fully aware of recent slants on being in the market for an 1199 I am not going down the "which1199" route but more the 848 is paid for, I have a few grand saved, I have worked away for the past 3 months 6-7 day weeks and 12 hour days(violins please) and with a bit of finance I am going to treat myself to an 1199 I think? Whats the forums view on a demo, lots of 1199s at most dealerships for not far off the same money as a 1199 ABS, would you consider something thats been ridden by 50 other people? I am not sure I would so might punt for a newbie standard versus an S demo. I expect some sarcasm so thats fine but genuine thoughts are also welcome, after all we all buy used stuff and I wondered if you think its much different, personal experience of buying an ex demo would be really appreciated. Im in no rush and might leave until the spring when there may be one or two more about? Cheers Mill.
Buy a higher spec demo, insist on a thorough pre-sale checkover, and the extended warranty as part of the deal, should be no extra problems from being a Demo and it will certainly be well run in !!! :biggrin:
I'm not so sure demo bikes are run in properly as the mechanics and salesmen have access and they are used at weekends at some dealers. Saying that I believe the Panigale is electronically restricted for 600 miles? There's also a school of thought that says thrashing them from the off is a good thing. It should've be warmed up before going out on test rides and most riders won't be red lining it through the box. Personally an ex-demo wouldn't bother me if I was saving enough £. I think my 999 was as it had a dealer graphic on the front numberboard, its done 22,000 trouble free miles so far.
i'M sure semi active suspension is right around the corner... BMW HP4 has it, the Mutley has it... no way the top line pani won't have it....
To quote Kat from Red Dwarf `body swap` would you let a garbage truck driver use your rolls royce? Granted, the bike is well mantained and will be serviced but just who was riding the bike, how do they ride? have they been ham-fisted with the controls? Iv missed a gear or 2 and had it reving to the red line during run in and it made me cry, I doubt someone on a test ride, ride it like u stole it mentality will be so mechanically sympathetic. Not a problem if ur spending just a few grand but 15k? Buy new if u can, always.
I other words you would never buy a used bike??????? A very lucky man, unless you always buy bottom of the rage yamacrapi made in china specials. Nowt wrong with buying a demo.
iv bought second hand in the past, usually having had several owners and all have needed some work from new tyres to clutch and more. Granted a demo wont need things like that but its fair to say its run in period wont be as gentle or `delicate` as it would if YOU ran it in. So, if u have the money for a demo then why not see about if u can stretch the rest for a brand new bike. demos may not have done the miles of a second hand bike but will of had more riders with little care for the bike as its not theirs. If they ride the clutch for example, its no wear and tear to them as in an hr its going back. I certainly dont buy shit cos sometimes you do get what u pay for and if its a choice between shit or waiting till i can get the good thing i want then i wait. Iv had 4 second hand bikes when i couldnt afford new but since I could Iv had 3 in the last 6 yrs and knowing that im the only rider and its been treated well with respect and serviced by the dealer on time means I know my machines are running good. I can say, cost aside, its the best way to go and while I can buy new I always will. I still have my GSXR 1000 on 21k that Iv took all over England and across to the Ring, i ride it hard as intended as well as gently touring and it has never gone wrong in any way other than puntures. And Iv my 1199s which only comes out for fun when its nice, so that it stays nice. its been ridden in the same way as all the bikes Iv owned and will be maintained in the same way so that I can enjoy it for yrs and miles to come. No second hand bike Iv generally seen or owned are in as goon nick as my Gixxer, its bloody imacculate save for a couple of stone chips (to be expected) and I can safely say from experience is due to owners neglecting their machine in regards to cheap parts or missed servicing to miss treated while riding. If ever I do buy a second hand bike it will be a ONE OWNER MINTER with all the paperwork etc etc but its took me some yrs to get where I am and now see no reason to need to given the 2 great bikes I have
I see no issue with buying an ex demo. A bike like this is very unlikely to be handed out to any old bloke who walks in off the street. Plus it's very difficult to thrash one unless you're on a track!
Nothing wring with ex demo, comes with all the remaining warranty so whats to worry?! Also probably had its tits wrung out so much better run in than one which has dine 1000 miles at 4k revs....thrash and burn
Bought some ex-demos in the past with no problems or regrets. As already mentioned it cannot be thrashed before 600miles being electronically limited and not many could jump on one of these and really thrash it - have you rode one lol. Besides I don't know why people get so hung up on the subject, the bloody things are made for it! Too many over-opinionated people talk absolute bollox, I should know... I'm one of them lol. Let someone else pay the tax. Chris.
Panni is not electrically restricted during 600 mile running in, the red line just shows your max allowed revs (shows red at 6k all the way to 12k). You can rev past it. After running in red line moves up the rev range.
Thanks for the balanced replys from eveyone, I am going to keep my eye out and then in deepest mid winter take Bradders advice and and start to look seriously, probably for an ex demo S. I will keep you posted. Cheers Mill
Roger that, dont know where people are getting it that it restricts itself, guess it comes from people who have seen the dash but not ridden let alone owned
In my experience I really wouldn't buy an ex- Demo. 4 years ago I bought a 749 from a guy who had bought it from a Ducarti dealer as an ex-Demo. It had done 4,500 miles when I bought it. After 500 miles the Crank went, £3000 worth of repairs !!! - So I bought a used engine off E-bay from a HP reclaim bike with intention of selling the bike but kept it and have done 6k miles without any trouble since. I realised after the crank went that the first service was at logged at 2k miles !!!! - I know naive, but heart ruled the head and didn't look closely enough before buying it. So when this summer I bought a Panigale there was no way I was gonna buy a demo. In fact went I took out the local dealers 1199s for a demo it had done 950 miles and the service light was still on !!!! It was a pretty rubbish day weatherwise. So as you Panigale owners will know, even with a hugger, the back of the bike gets pretty dirty even on the slightest sight of moisure on the road. I returned to the dealers having enjoyed the ride but both me and the bike pretty covered in road muck. When I went outside a bit later there was the Demo dripping wet after having been power hosed down to remove the signs of my Demo ride ready for the next potential customer. So my advise - if you really want to have a bike that you know has been looked after mechanically, and treated with care, then buy new. You could end up spending £15k on nothing more than a piece of metal that's been used to entice many, many, prospective owners into buying a bike that they will own and look after with care.
It would all depend where I bought it from. I'd cheerfully buy a demo bike from my dealer, because they are a class act. Except that I wouldn't be at all surprised if they'd tracked it... But I know they'd tell me if they had. Mind you, they wouldn't be lending it to punters to track, so probably no harm done and they'd have set it up right. But then those sorts of dealers are probably fairly thin on the ground.
Been out for two test rides, both times on an ordinary S version. First ride the bike had just over 100 miles on it and the dealer told me it will not allow you to rev high due to running in restriction although I have too much mechanicle sympathy anyway. 2nd ride out two weeks back and loved it so much I put my GS against a new Tricolore. What a fantastic machine. Which model have you got? Chris.
