Race bikes that are listed as "never raced"

[Supa_Hero_RR]

A sign that the seller is lying to you about other things?


I'm in the market for a newer bike, and I have seen some pristine, unmolested garage queens, and in most cases, the owners know that they can let the bike's condition speak for itself.. Its always the bikes that have hidden damage.. or have otherwise obvious damage that are listed as "never raced"

I went to see one of these "never raced" examples today, and the owner was selling gear with the bike, and he had some alpinestar boots with rashed up toe sliders.

so what say you? is "never raced" a red flag?

 

[Supa_Hero_RR]

oops, posted in the wrong sub. can a mod bounce this to general?

 

[Daredevil]

going to a track day is not racing. scuffed up toe sliders doesn't mean the rider has done either. there are PLENTY of other telltale signs that the bike has been tracked, and/or raced.

even most race bikes are meticulously maintained as riders actually care. I have never thought twice about buying a "race" bike, but i have passed on purchasing specific "race" bikes. if that makes sense.

 

[Enchanter]

A sign that the seller is lying to you about other things?


I'm in the market for a newer bike, and I have seen some pristine, unmolested garage queens, and in most cases, the owners know that they can let the bike's condition speak for itself.. Its always the bikes that have hidden damage.. or have otherwise obvious damage that are listed as "never raced"

I went to see one of these "never raced" examples today, and the owner was selling gear with the bike, and he had some alpinestar boots with rashed up toe sliders.

so what say you? is "never raced" a red flag?

I'm confused. Can you please help? What do you call a 'race bike'? What do you call 'racing'?

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

A sign that the seller is lying to you about other things?


I'm in the market for a newer bike, and I have seen some pristine, unmolested garage queens, and in most cases, the owners know that they can let the bike's condition speak for itself.. Its always the bikes that have hidden damage.. or have otherwise obvious damage that are listed as "never raced"

I went to see one of these "never raced" examples today, and the owner was selling gear with the bike, and he had some alpinestar boots with rashed up toe sliders.

so what say you? is "never raced" a red flag?

As an FYI, most of the racers I know take better care of their bikes than the majority of people out there riding on the street. Racing is expensive... not maintaining your bike will just end up with you pulling money from your race budget for repairs that shouldn't have had to be made.
FTR, my Gixxer has around 55,000 miles on it... runs like a top... and I did dozens of track days on it before I picked up my race bikes and stopped tracking the Gixxer.
Since most race bikes have long since had all the street legal stuff stripped off, race plastics put on, and registration not paid, when I see "never raced", I just figure it's someone who doesn't know anything about racing... most race bikes end up staying race bikes, or becoming someone's track bike.
Lastly, I'd care more about their maintenance, what's been done and when, and if there are any mods/upgrades, that they were done by someone who actually knew what they were doing.

Oh- and rashed up toe sliders doesn't mean anything. That happens with an aggressive lean angle. I've got some rashing on mine... and got it before I started racing.

 

[russ69]

Never raced = I binned it during practice and never made my race.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

Never raced = I binned it during practice and never made my race.

I almost resembled that remark... didn't even finish my first lap of my first expert race...
But at least the Li'l Ninjettes crash awesome!

 

[Supa_Hero_RR]

well besides the toe slider thing, I forgot to mention that the bike had some ragged rear tires, you could see some pretty aggressive wear down to both edges.. not only that, but there was balled up rubber underneath the rear fender.

I'm no racer or expert, but I know the signs that a bike has been run HARD. and this one was.

 

[Supa_Hero_RR]

going to a track day is not racing. scuffed up toe sliders doesn't mean the rider has done either. there are PLENTY of other telltale signs that the bike has been tracked, and/or raced.

even most race bikes are meticulously maintained as riders actually care. I have never thought twice about buying a "race" bike, but i have passed on purchasing specific "race" bikes. if that makes sense.

what you said makes perfect sense. but the point im making is people who go out of their way to convince you that what they have wasnt used for the intended purpose are usually out to hide other things.

Its like going to to buy some golf clubs, the owner advertised them as "never golfed" then you see the club face is dirty and worn??

 

[250gpracer]

A sign that the seller is lying to you about other things?


I'm in the market for a newer bike, and I have seen some pristine, unmolested garage queens, and in most cases, the owners know that they can let the bike's condition speak for itself.. Its always the bikes that have hidden damage.. or have otherwise obvious damage that are listed as "never raced"

I went to see one of these "never raced" examples today, and the owner was selling gear with the bike, and he had some alpinestar boots with rashed up toe sliders.

so what say you? is "never raced" a red flag?

when in doubt... just move on to the next bike of interest. No point dropping a couple grand on a motorcycle you're going to regret owning/have doubts about. what's stopping you from buying the "garage queens"?

FYI... toe sliders are not a gauge of the motorcycle's condition- my toe sliders are scraped / almost melted down to the boot & I have to replace them every 1-2 months (depending on how much I ride); my bikes are pristine & get full synthetic oil changes every 2,500 miles; they are professionally maintained. Never had any mechanical issues in 40,000+ miles (knock on wood). But... I never plan to sell my motorcycles. I just buy more.

 

[250gpracer]

Never raced = I binned it during practice and never made my race.

 

[sprorchid]

if you don't like the bike don't buy it.

 

[Supa_Hero_RR]

if you don't like the bike don't buy it.

well i didnt :|

but i dont like being lied to either

 

[UDRider]

well i didnt :|

but i dont like being lied to either

They are not lying. As others have already said: Track days are not racing. I can sell my bike and put "Never raced" in the add and it would be 100% correct. I have 5-6 track days on it. Now if I was asked if it was taken to a track I would say yes. Also just because a bike was taken to a track doesn't mean it's over sudden a bad bike that is going to grenade at any moment. Also you don't have to ride a bike particularly hard at a track to get tire rubber to melt.

 

[catch2otwo]

Just cause a bike has worn rubber doesnt mean its been to a track. youtube highway 9... but yes, when in doubt, move on to the next one, god knows there aren't a shortage of sportbikes for sale.

OP I think your correlating ridden hard to "abused". Many times it is not the case

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

well besides the toe slider thing, I forgot to mention that the bike had some ragged rear tires, you could see some pretty aggressive wear down to both edges.. not only that, but there was balled up rubber underneath the rear fender.

I'm no racer or expert, but I know the signs that a bike has been run HARD. and this one was.

No, you are incorrect. Lower tire pressures will allow the tire to heat up, get good and gummy (and with, say, Q2's, that's the whole point), and some aggressive cornering, and voila, the tires shed as they're supposed to. Taking a bike to a track doesn't damage it- unless you toss it down the track. It doesn't mean it's a "bad" bike that's going to grenade, it doesn't mean that it's going to be a "problem" bike with mountains of repairs right around the corner.
The "signs" you're looking at aren't the ones that would be a concern to me... like I said, I'd be more interested in the maintenance records, were valve adjustments done, how often were oil changes done, did they use full synthetic, what sort of upgrades does it have, who did them, and has the bike been on the ground.
Has it been to the track? If the answer is "yes", then I'm going to ask which one, and how did the bike handle? A good ten minute conversation about that specific track is going to follow, and by the time we're done talking track days vs racing, and how much fun they are, if I decide to buy the bike, bet I get a better price on it than you...

well i didnt :|

but i dont like being lied to either

He didn't lie to you. If it's never been raced, it's never been raced. For the record, just as there's a difference between street riding and track days, there's a difference between track days and racing.

You may well have missed the boat on a fantastic bike. Might not have... but IMHO you're focusing on the wrong "areas of concern".

 

[J-Boat]

If it hadn't been drilled for safety wire, then it wasn't raced...

 

[sprorchid]

semantics peeps. those of us who track, we know it's not racing. and the racers know trackdays ain't racing.

but to the peeps that do not do either, it's all the same. yes, they don't know any better.

happens all the time to me, with co-workers, family, friends... I try to educate, but it's just the lay perception and misconception.

as for lying. the is debatable as well. if you consider a lie, an omission of truth, or saying something to decieve you, knowingly. no, the seller didn't lie to you.

but if you do not define 'racing' the same way, then OP, I can see why you think he lied to you.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

semantics peeps. those of us who track, we know it's not racing. and the racers know trackdays ain't racing.

but to the peeps that do not do either, it's all the same. yes, they don't know any better.

happens all the time to me, with co-workers, family, friends... I try to educate, but it's just the lay perception and misconception.

as for lying. the is debatable as well. if you consider a lie, an omission of truth, or saying something to decieve you, knowingly. no, the seller didn't lie to you.

but if you do not define 'racing' the same way, then OP, I can see why you think he lied to you.

For all we know, the bike has never even seen the track. OP didn't ask the right questions. And no matter how you define racing, the owner didn't lie to the OP.

If you're going to buy a bike, and you don't know what to look for when doing so, it's always best to bring an actual 'expert' with you. They'll know what to ask, and what to look for. Greatly increases your odds of buying a bike you're going to enjoy.

 

[Supa_Hero_RR]

semantics peeps. those of us who track, we know it's not racing. and the racers know trackdays ain't racing.

but to the peeps that do not do either, it's all the same. yes, they don't know any better.

happens all the time to me, with co-workers, family, friends... I try to educate, but it's just the lay perception and misconception.

as for lying. the is debatable as well. if you consider a lie, an omission of truth, or saying something to decieve you, knowingly. no, the seller didn't lie to you.

but if you do not define 'racing' the same way, then OP, I can see why you think he lied to you.

I have done two track days, and even in novice group, they can get pretty competitive..

I also know my bike has seen its fair share of 15k rpm.. even on the street.

I personally wont list it as never raced.. especially since im not the first owner .

People use the 'never raced' phrase to dupe buyers into thinking the bike hasnt been run hard at all. And to counter your point, you can do a hard track day without racing, but that doesnt mean that you arent putting the same wear and tear on the drivetrain and engine.

I'm just saying.