Vehicles & Servicing Motorcycle Type and Dealer

Looking for recomendations on what bike(s) I should be thinking about that are appropriate for the Phils and where to find the best/most honest/reliable dealer.

I'm closer to 250 than I would like, experienced rider (last bike was a 1500 Vulcan), want to be comfortable riding in town as well as mid-range distances, no off-road, under p100,000. Based on zero practical knowledge of local riding I am flipping a coin between the Rouser 180 and 200NS. Also, should I stick with buying new or hold out for a repo deal?

 

I don't think you could go far wrong with the Rouser 180 for the use you described. 75k at Emcor (online) but they are usually high, but still a good place to get ideas of prices. A rouser 200 would be an upgrade (not just engine) but I don't know where you could get one as I'm not there at the moment and Emcor isn't listing them (no stock sir!) and I presume it would use all or virtually all of your stated budget.

If you don't like the R 180 you could probably get 90% of your money back after riding it for 1 year. I have heard two people say that the Rouser is not nimble (turning radius), but I think they were comparing them to Yamaha 125G in one case and Honda XRM in the other, apples to oranges. Since you just got off a Vulcan, I doubt you would think that.

 

As incredible as it seems motor bike and car price tags do not drop off very quickly. I have not seen very many good deals on used bikes/cars.
A 10% drop in price would be a bad buy considering the bike will be needing new tires and a chain plus the wear and tear it encountered and lack of warranty.
With a repossessed bike the finance company will want at least the outstanding principal which cold be quite high as the loan terms are often close to 30% interest over 5 years.
Any body good at math know what the percentage would be?

 

Sounds like the savings gained by buying a repo (p75,000 - 15,000 down? - 12 payments @30% interest = about p54,000) is offset by probably needing immediate maintenance plus unknowns based on how it was treated.

Any input as to whether the upgrades of the 200 are worthwhile spending an extra p20,000 for way I expect to ride?

Is there a dealer in town I should (or one I should not) go to?

Sounds like there isn't much room to negotiate on a new bike as they hold their value so well?

 

My friend passed away last month and his widow is selling his bike. Here's a pic

I know he told me that he bought the bike for 95,000 pesos about 8 months ago and he was only able to ride it for a couple of months so I doubt its got more than 3,000 km on it. She is asking 84,000 and I have seen similar bikes sell for 80,000 so the price seems fair. He liked it because he said it felt like a miniature Harley and he was a Harley rider for a lot of his life.

If you are interested then contact me and I will privately message the widow's number. Its a popular bike so it won't be available log.

EDIT: Because he has passed away I am not sure if you will be able to transfer ownership to your name but that is not uncommon here. You just keep it in his name forever.

EDIT 2: Here is a link to the facebook page where the widow's friend is trying to sell it for her.
If you are interested, let me give you the widow's phone number and try to contact her directly. It will ensure that fewer 'fingers are in the pie'

 

Dang, you're throwing me a curve ball as I have just about decided on a Rouser 200. The Avenger is the exact style bike I like, but its missing a couple of the Rouser 200 upgrades. I'm also still new enough the title issue worries me for when I sell it. hmmm

 

I refuse to do business without good documents. If title can not be changed to me it drastically reduces the value. I saw an advert online of an expat wanting to sell a multicab: It's like this, I don't have any papers because the 3 previous owners didn't have any, you just register it in the name of the last owner with good registration. That stuff may work for Filipinos but I'm not Filipino. If you move to a different zone I doubt you will be able to register it there as they will give the paperwork a rectal exam. I know someone who took a vehicle to a different zone and tried to register it again in the zone it came from but they wouldn't accept the smoke test from a different zone. The vehicle would have to be registered in the new zone requiring complete paperwork, or you have to take it back to the zone it came from to register it. I sympathize with the widow that Dave mentioned but I saw an advert for an awesome jeep on Cebu, someone had probably spent 200k on getting it fixed up nice but they only wanted 40k for it because of no papers. I would have bought it for parts but I didn't know if I would have trouble getting it back to Negros. before I left I had POA drawn up so my jeep could be legally transferred to a new buyer because there are enough b@st@rd vehicles with no papers.

 

Gained some experience in the last couple weeks so can ask a better question. I rented a Honda XRM 125 which is great for going around Dumaguete, heading up to Valencia is ok but start noticing lack of power as the incline increases and I end up in 2nd gear poking along. An hour ride starts getting uncomfortable, 2 hours is about all I can stand.

So... I would like to ride to Don Salvador Benedicto from Duma, a 200km, 5+ hour ride up the coast and mountain. Seems foolish to try on a XRM 125, what would be a good bike for this type of ride but still good in the city? (as a minimum to stay at low of a price point as possible). I rode a Kawasaki Avenger 220 (the seating position on this bike was great as I have nerve damage in my back and can't stand the leaning forward pocket rocket position) which seems good for the trip but it turns like the Titanic so I feel I would be risking safety in city riding.

I would love to get the Kawasaki Vulcan S (650cc) but think it would feel like a tank in the city. Would the Yamaha Sniper 150 be a good compromise? or would it not be good for longer trips either?

 

I don't think you are going to have much luck under 100k. Little enough luck around 200k. You might try looking for an XR200 Honda. Maybe it would suit your needs.

There was an extremely popular engine mod for the XR200 in the US (back shortly after dinosaurs stopped walking the earth) for scrambler racing, +6mm crank and a 3mm bore shim. About 20% more torque. Pushrod engine so no worry about the cam chain being tight. Uses the same amount of fuel as before so it is not going to run any hotter. I don't know anyone in Dumaguete I would trust to do the work though.