Buying a used oil-cooled fuel-injected bike: what to check

What you need

• A torch, a clean rag, and a friend or mechanic who knows bikes
• Your licence and helmet for the test ride

Steps

1. Ask for the papers before you even look at the bike: the BRTA registration certificate (smart card, or the older blue book), the tax token, the insurance paper and the seller's NID. Motorcycles do not need a fitness certificate, so that is not one to look for.
2. Match the name on the registration to the seller's NID. If the bike is in someone else's name, the registered owner must sign the ownership transfer with you. Without that signature BRTA will not move the bike into your name.
3. Read the chassis number (stamped on the frame, usually near the steering head) and the engine number (on the engine case). Both must match the registration exactly. Filed, re-stamped, painted-over or uneven digits are a reason to walk away.
4. The number plate should be the BRTA-issued digital (retro-reflective) plate with the same number as the papers. A hand-made or mismatched plate needs a clear explanation.
5. Check the tax token's expiry date. If it has lapsed, the arrears and fines usually land on whoever owns the bike next, so agree who pays before any money changes hands.
6. Ask whether the bike has pending traffic cases or e-fines, and check yourself on the official online service before paying (our e-fines guide shows how). Unpaid cases follow the bike.
7. Write a sale receipt with both NID numbers, the date, the price and the chassis and engine numbers, signed by both of you. Then do the ownership transfer at BRTA soon. Until it is done, the bike legally stays in the seller's name.
8. Before starting, check the oil with the engine cold and the bike upright, in the sight glass or on the dipstick. It should sit between the marks. Low oil on an oil-cooled engine means it has run hotter than it should.
9. Look at the oil colour. Fresh oil is amber and used oil darkens, which is normal. Milky or frothy oil means water got in (flood, or a careless wash); a burnt smell or glittering metal flakes are bad signs. Ask to see the receipt or service-book stamp for the last oil change.
10. Oil cooler and lines: most of these bikes have a small radiator-like oil cooler at the front, fed by hoses or metal pipes. Look for bent, crushed or mud-packed fins, and run a finger along the lines and joints. Oily wetness, fresh drips under the bike, or one joint wiped suspiciously clean needs an explanation. A dented cooler is also a sign of a fall.
11. Ask the seller not to start or ride the bike before you arrive, and touch the engine when you get there. It should be cold. A warm engine hides hard starting, smoke and noises.
12. Start it and watch the exhaust, then rev it a few times. Thin white vapour on a cool morning that clears in a minute is normal. Blue or grey smoke means it is burning oil (worn rings or valve seals). Black smoke means it is running too rich.
13. Listen at idle and as it warms. A light, even ticking is normal. Loud tapping from the top, knocking from the bottom, a rattle for the first seconds after start-up, or grinding are not. Look for oil seeping around the cylinder head and the base of the cylinder.
14. Hard starting together with weak pulling and blue smoke points to a tired top end (low compression). A mechanic can measure compression with a gauge in a few minutes.
15. These bikes are fuel-injected too: the FI light should come on briefly at key-on and go out after starting, the fuel pump should hum for a moment, and it should start without fuss when cold. The air-cooled FI guide has the full list.
16. Heat check after the test ride: let it idle for a few minutes. If it has a temperature gauge or light, it should stay normal. Losing power when hot, a strong hot-oil smell or a warning light points to low oil, the wrong grade or a blocked cooler.
17. Clutch slip test: in a high gear at low speed, open the throttle quickly. If the revs jump but the bike barely speeds up, the clutch plates are worn. It should also find neutral easily, and the lever should have a little free play.
18. Chain and sprockets: try to pull the chain backwards off the rear sprocket. If it lifts away and shows a big gap, the chain is stretched. Hooked or pointed teeth mean the chain and both sprockets are due.
19. Accident signs: scraped bar ends, levers, footpegs, mirrors or engine cover; dents in the tank; new panels that do not match the rest; welding or fresh paint on the frame. Stand in front and behind: both wheels should line up, and the handlebar should be straight when the front wheel is.
20. Forks and steering: look at the shiny fork tubes for oil, rust or pitting. Push down on the front a few times; it should rebound smoothly, without clunks. Turn the bar from lock to lock; it should move smoothly, not notchy or loose.
21. Flood damage, common after the monsoon: dried mud or silt where washing does not reach (under the seat, in the air box, around wiring plugs, behind the headlight), green or white crust on connectors, rust on bolts low on the bike, fog or a water line inside the headlight or meter, a musty smell, and milky engine oil.
22. Odometer: do not trust the number alone. Both mechanical and digital meters can be wound back. Compare it with the service book stamps and with wear on the grips, footpeg rubbers, gear lever, brake pedal, seat, tyres and chain. Very low kilometres with worn rubber and a stretched chain do not add up.
23. Test ride with your licence and a helmet on a quiet road. Use every gear up and down, brake firmly once from moderate speed, ride straight with a light grip to feel any pull to one side, and check the horn, lights, indicators, self-start and kick start if fitted.
24. Before paying, have a mechanic you trust look it over, not one the seller brings. If anything above worried you, use it to lower the price or walk away.

Common mistakes

• Jumping at a price far below the usual used price for that model and year. The common reasons are a stolen bike, flood or accident damage, or papers that are missing or cannot be transferred. Be extra careful, or walk away.
• Paying an advance to 'hold' the bike before you have seen the original papers and matched the numbers yourself.
• Buying on 'the papers will come later', or with only a photocopy of the registration.
• Inspecting at night, in the rain or right after a wash. Water hides leaks, and darkness hides dents and smoke.
• Trusting 'the oil was changed yesterday' with no receipt. Fresh oil can hide milky or metal-laced old oil, so ask why it was changed just before the sale.
• Confusing the oil cooler with a radiator. Oil-cooled bikes have no coolant; anyone who says they 'topped up the radiator with water' has done harm.

When to go to a mechanic

• Always, before you pay. A short inspection costs far less than buying the wrong bike.
• Blue smoke, knocking, clutch slip or a bike that pulls to one side: get a compression test or frame check and price the repair before you agree.
• Oil seeping at the cooler or its lines, or the oil level dropping between changes.

More guides

• Buying a used carburettor bike: what to check
• Buying a used air-cooled fuel-injected bike: what to check
• Buying a used liquid-cooled bike: what to check
• Checking and changing engine oil
• Monsoon riding and bike care
• What to do after a crash or breakdown