Talk me out of buying a dirt bike

gtluke said:
South Dakota is slightly easier than vermont in my situation where I had no mso.
My bike never had a title, cause it's just a dirt bike. but most bikes come with their certificate of origin, but mine didn't because it was registered in upstate NY as an off road vehicle where they take the MSO and give you a NY registration card. That card is transferrable, but does dick diddly outside of NY. If I had the MSO vermont would have done it, but not having it I had to go through South Dakota and I was able to prove the transfer of custody since new since I had the original dealer invoice and all bill of sale's leading to me.
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i get it, i think.

my situation is i keep seeing bikes pop up with no title, but in NC its easy to get "bonded title" which seems legit. you have to do some leg work to make sure it isn't stolen, then some paperwork to get the title, but seems doable. just a scary situation.
 
pearl said:
i get it, i think.

my situation is i keep seeing bikes pop up with no title, but in NC its easy to get "bonded title" which seems legit. you have to do some leg work to make sure it isn't stolen, then some paperwork to get the title, but seems doable. just a scary situation.
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no title bikes aren't too much of an issue. post some local ads, get something notarized, and its all done. main thing is check the VIN previous to buying to see if its on the list.

if you are looking at a vintage bike, a lot of states (like VT) don't make you get a title for them after a certain age. that's why people use VT as the title loophole.

**edit - that's why there are those title services. you pay triple the fees of what it takes if you were to do the notification and notarization on your own. its almost a guarantee for them to get the moto titled.
 
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Thanks guys, I have a better idea of what I'd be getting myself into now.
 
clarkenstein said:
that's the truth. "oh it must be the battery"

you looking at anything in particular?
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I go through this phase every 6 months or so, right now is an "on" phase...
https://greenville.craigslist.org/mcy/d/honda-cb550-motorcycle-custom/6370186211.html
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1975-honda-cb400f-supersport/6344512807.html

The roads right out my door are very "Sourlands" like in terms of traffic, would make a fun cruise around vehicle...
or maybe the phase will pass again
 
pearl said:
I go through this phase every 6 months or so, right now is an "on" phase...
https://greenville.craigslist.org/mcy/d/honda-cb550-motorcycle-custom/6370186211.html
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1975-honda-cb400f-supersport/6344512807.html

The roads right out my door are very "Sourlands" like in terms of traffic, would make a fun cruise around vehicle...
or maybe the phase will pass again
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good choices! i am picking up another soon for a fix up. i have two emails out - both early 70s honda twins. i like the old hondas. easy to work on and enough parts floating around you can get them running again.

i was very close to picking up a royal enfield new... they are the longest bikes in production but have quality problems. so its like getting an old bike, just they have zero miles on them and keep making the parts. they have so much vibration they rattle themselves apart. but if you keep an eye on them they will go and go and are very simple - plus about 70 mpg. you should take a look at the continental GT. just realize with the old bikes (or a new RE) they can be high maintenance. but to me that's the fun part.
 
UtahJoe said:
So what you were actually trying to say originally was "guys, talk me into getting a new dirt bike" :)
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Right, I was expecting "don't bother, there's no riding in jersey" and I could go back to spending money on pedal bikes (which I think is actually more expensive).
 
Jmann said:
(which I think is actually more expensive)
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I guess it depends on how you do it, but probably comparable if you are just riding offroad....im sure you can figure out scenarios to make either more expensive than the other. I raced MX for years...that was astronomically more expensive than anything I have done with mountain biking. But buy dirtbike and just ride it out your door, or trailer it to a spot where you dont have to pay..im sure its comparable.

I do think about getting back into it somedays...Then im glad I run into the wall of "oh ya, I never got my motorcycle license."
 
clarkenstein said:
good choices! i am picking up another soon for a fix up. i have two emails out - both early 70s honda twins. i like the old hondas. easy to work on and enough parts floating around you can get them running again.
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I probably know just enough to rip it all apart, but it would be a fun project... i think. I could liquidate a bicycle and be ready to roll...
 
ok - i have a vespa project sitting in a barn down the street. Is that too hipster? It's free, so the price is right.
 
fidodie said:
ok - i have a vespa project sitting in a barn down the street. Is that too hipster? It's free, so the price is right.
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I love vespas, comfy and lots of storage. A few years ago I was at hogs and heffers and the bartender was doing her thing of insulting people with a megaphone, and she tore into my friend because he was riding a Vespa, trying to get the grizzled bikers there riled up. It backfired when all the bikers starting talking to us about their love of vespas
 
UtahJoe said:
I guess it depends on how you do it, but probably comparable if you are just riding offroad....im sure you can figure out scenarios to make either more expensive than the other. I raced MX for years...that was astronomically more expensive than anything I have done with mountain biking. But buy dirtbike and just ride it out your door, or trailer it to a spot where you dont have to pay..im sure its comparable.

I do think about getting back into it somedays...Then im glad I run into the wall of "oh ya, I never got my motorcycle license."
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I was half joking but in my case I'm far more invested in bicycles than I was when I raced mx. Of course I didn't really have money back then anyway. And of course I'm invested with mountain road and cross bikes, and a lot of clothes and spare parts.

One thing I do find funny, is that you could probably find a dirt bike for a grand that would be pretty dang capable, but a grand in mtb world doesn't go far. Of course the technology curves are completely different, where dirt bikes have mostly been refined for the last 30 years whereas mtb has drastically changed.

Also the depreciation is a lot different, dirt bikes seem to hit a threshold where they stop. But that's a good thing, if you get a good deal on a moto you probably won't lose much if you sell it in a couple years.
 
fidodie said:
ok - i have a vespa project sitting in a barn down the street. Is that too hipster? It's free, so the price is right.
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Snag it! We will get it running. I gots all the tools. That would be a fun one to get back up and running.
 
jdog said:
Just a matter of when..
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You are nutz for selling , how can you survive with only a bicycle ?
I love bikes but man I am without a DB now and it's killing me
I almost came back for the Hammer Run but couldn't get a bike ... I know you missed that ....I know I thought about it all weekend
 
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