Would a dealer let you test ride a motorcycle with little experience?

Question

I have taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course, and since I was going to do some browsing around in some dealerships, I was wondering if anyone here with experience could tell me if the dealers would allow me to test ride the motorcycle. Most probably a Kawasaki Ninja 650r, but nothing more serious. MSRP of that bike is 6.5K.

What do you think?

Answer 1

The answer is NO.  I would check with the manufacturer. Some of them have demo trucks that tour the country,

Answer 2

Probably not. Most dealers are out of the test ride business.  Consider a Suzuki SV 650 but be careful it has 71 hp.

Answer 3

A friend of mine was buying a bike recently and she said she only got to test drive it at the very last stages of the buying process.

The simple fact is that if you drop or crash the bike on a test drive then the dealer is left with a headache.

If you crash it once you have bought it, the worst that happens is that they loose a possible repeat customer.

Answer 4

I am not aware of any dealer that offers test rides. Check with the local dealers to see if any of the manufacturers are offering a "demo days" type of event where you can ride most all of their models. I know KTM does that a few times a year, not sure about other companies. The 690 Duke may be worth a look, it would make a great beginners bike.

http://www.ktmusa.com/690-Duke.47.20.htm...

Answer 5

As long as you have a motorcycle endorsement on your drivers license, I don't see why not

Answer 6

Most dealers do NOT allow test rides because of insurance and liability issues. Buel would be the exception.

Answer 7

They don't even let experienced drivers test drive all the time.  All you can do is ask though.