Ex-demo bikes

[Demannu]

Just to allay your fears, the mighty xsr had 300 miles on the clock and had a fresh oil change, then I have just ragged it solidly for the last 4 years with zero issues.

[MingtheMerciless]

According to the salesman at Alf's who got to see the ZH2 production line, the motors are all plugged into a dyno, with warm oil and water and redlined in every gear before being put in the bikes.

[Mr Moofo]

Pretty sure when I did the Triumph factory tour they said all engines are run up on a dyno before going into the bike.

Not just Triumph, pretty much any vehicle. Most cars get whazzed around a "quick check" track before they're loaded onto a transport anyway.

Yes Triumph are. If you buy it new you'll see the rolling road witness marks on the rear tyre.

TBF, most of the folks who ride them will take ages to cover those up

[Rockburner]

I did a bunch of Tribology (friction, wear and lubrication) testing a few years back, that involved commissioning some special kit and procedures from an external expert. Proper grey beard type guy who'd been around every possible wear block.

He was telling how he'd done loads of work for automotive firms on oil and bearing design. Apparently with modern builds one of two things happens; A) you drive off the production line and the engine is immediately written off because there's swarf/debris loose somewhere in the oil system or B) the engine will run perfectly for the next 10,000 miles

Is that all?

[Dodgy69]

Engines get bench tested. If bikes are warmed up proper, no probs.

[Couchy]

tenere.jpeg

Yeah that's a cool looking thing. I like them and the engine is a peachy thing

You the engine is lovely in the MT07, not in the tenere where the extra weight kills it and makes it quite week especially off road. An 800gs is a much better motor

[westers151]

My last two cars (including the current one), have been ex demonstrators, and my last two bikes (including the current one), have been ex demonstrators. So far I've not had any issues with any of them, although the KTM is still very early days.

I look upon ex demonstrators as being no more risky than buying anything second hand, and don't worry about it at all.

[Demannu]

As another aside, I have now tried the T7 and the world raid T7 as well
Get a WRT7. End of!

[Bigjawa]

My old courier GPZ500 got warmed up properly, then had the balls ragged off it from new. It's still around 25 years and 110k later.

[Couchy]

I think it's probably a safer bet than most second hand bikes/cars, at least you know they've been main dealer supported and looked after, no one wants a dodgy demo to try and sell vehicles, so they look after them IME.

I’ve been given many a demo bikes with zero or less than 50 miles on them. No concerns given for taking them to the redline or runn8ng them in. They’re also used through winter. I guess you get the warranty and first service is done so no worry about that but they do get some hammer.

[Yorick]

The dealers (and makers) wouldn't allow test bikes/cars if they were gonna be worthless afterwards.

[Scootabout]

I'd be a bit nervous about whether the bike might have been mistreated in ways other than ragging the engine, eg cack-handed (footed?) gear changes, crashing over potholes, etc. That could have been done to any used bike but a demo will have been tried by multiple testers. I also imagine a future buyer will discount the value to take account of its being an ex demo (reg'd to the dealer and with 500-1000 miles on the clock is a giveaway), but that might not matter if you got an appropriate discount when you bought it. I wouldn't rule out buying one, but I'm not a fan of the idea. One careful owner preferred!

[Yorick]

I bought 7 brand new GSXR1000s

I drove them home from the shop and they were on track within the next few days.

Far worse treatment than any road rider could manage.

They were all OK

They were built to allow for worst case scenario.

[Horse]

Far worse treatment than any road rider could manage.

They were all OK

They were built to allow for worst case scenario.

Unlike ...

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23253281.n ... -a11-fire/

BMW has said it will no longer be supplying police cars a year after forces were instructed not to use patrol cars fitted with the brand’s N57 engine in any high-speed pursuits due to safety concerns.

The manufacturer has announced it is closing its specialist sales division in the country after many UK police forces restricted the use of its cars featuring the N57 engine, only using the vehicles for “less stressful” operations.

BMW has said the problem with the N57 engine was down to the “particular way” police use the vehicles and that there was “no need for action on any civilian vehicles”.

[Bigjawa]

Far worse treatment than any road rider could manage.

They were all OK

They were built to allow for worst case scenario.

Unlike ...

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23253281.n ... -a11-fire/

BMW has said it will no longer be supplying police cars a year after forces were instructed not to use patrol cars fitted with the brand’s N57 engine in any high-speed pursuits due to safety concerns.

The manufacturer has announced it is closing its specialist sales division in the country after many UK police forces restricted the use of its cars featuring the N57 engine, only using the vehicles for “less stressful” operations.

BMW has said the problem with the N57 engine was down to the “particular way” police use the vehicles and that there was “no need for action on any civilian vehicles”.

Aparrently the N57 doesn't like sitting idling for long periods then gettimg thrashed, they tend to blow up. Literally.

[Horse]

Far worse treatment than any road rider could manage.

They were all OK

They were built to allow for worst case scenario.

Unlike ...

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23253281.n ... -a11-fire/

BMW has said it will no longer be supplying police cars a year after forces were instructed not to use patrol cars fitted with the brand’s N57 engine in any high-speed pursuits due to safety concerns.

The manufacturer has announced it is closing its specialist sales division in the country after many UK police forces restricted the use of its cars featuring the N57 engine, only using the vehicles for “less stressful” operations.

BMW has said the problem with the N57 engine was down to the “particular way” police use the vehicles and that there was “no need for action on any civilian vehicles”.

Aparrently the N57 doesn't like sitting idling for long periods then gettimg thrashed, they tend to blow up. Literally.

And, in one case, the car took the copper with it

[Couchy]

I’ve been given many a demo bikes with zero or less than 50 miles on them. No concerns given for taking them to the redline or runn8ng them in. They’re also used through winter. I guess you get the warranty and first service is done so no worry about that but they do get some hammer.

The winter running could be an issue, with salt on UK roads.

Engine wise - they're being used regularly and run up in all sorts of different ways, some people trying a new demo bike will go steady, some will thrash it. Contrast that with a bloke that is selling a low mileage example that has only been started every few weeks - I've seen videos of engines with damaged cam lobes and all kinds of stresses from starting engines after they've been sitting too long and oil has drained from surfaces.

All other things being equal, if the bike looked visually good, with no winter corrosion or obvious signs of abuse, then I'd still probably choose an ex-demo over a low mileage bike owned by someone that probably never revved it out and ran it in like a nun on a bicycle.

Yup winter damage is all that would concern me tbh, at least on a japanese bike