HAYABUSA IN THE HOUSE

So finally I was able to go and find a great deal on a used Hayabusa. Decided to give some pointers about dealing with bike sellers on craigslist.

1. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions
   Do not wait until you meet up to ask questions. The heat of the moment can cloud your mind. On this buy, I took the bike on a test ride, asked about why he was selling (newborn baby), and any quirks on the bike itself. After seeing everything to my satisfaction, we signed the titles and exchanged money. I saw that his wife was on the title and there was a woman with a baby that followed him to the sell site. I assumed she was the one to sign it and I signed and paid for the bike. WELLLL, the next day I am in PA and about to title this bike in my name. Thing is, since the bike had PA plates, we were supposed to get the signatures certified. I call the guy and tell him to tell his wife to meet at a notary to get this done. He say, "Oh that is my 2nd wife, my X wife signed the title over to me before she left back to Venezuela!!!! You can only imagine the hoops I had to jump through to get this title done. It took a week!

2. Meet in a safe location
   When dealing with craigslist, I never travel to the persons location, and I dont expect the person to travel to mine. I personally use police stations. Yep, I find the nearest police department to the person and meet them inside. I know that we are being filmed, or at least its assumed, and we make the exchange in front of the building. I have never had an issue with this and in fact, I have had people back out of deals because of this! No sweat off my back, if you can't do this simple thing then you were probably up to some no good anyways.
   

3. Make sure you get the seller's information. Get their ID and current address which you can ensure by having them bring a notorized letter/bill of sale. This is a useful document and was actually required by PA. I verified the person by having him show me his ID and comparing to the bill of sale. You can have him/her make sure they write in the letter something like "I Joe Shmoe, PA DL# A123456, am selling a 2015 Suzuki Hayabusa, VIN#09876543 for the amount of ......etc" This covers the bike also, in case you get pulled over on the way home, you have the bill of sale to cover you also.
   

4. I personally got the guy to send me his facebook before we did all this.
   In this way I can see how he was treating the bike. Are there pictures of drag racing, wheelies, crashes, etc. Did he have a picture of him recovering in a hospital from road rash? Did he build up the bike himself? There is so much you can learn from social media and a little research. I also did a VIN check with some police contacts I have.

Even after taking every step, there is always a chance of something foul happening. What you want to do is minimize all the possible problems. Also, If you both have the time, go to a mechanic and have them look over the bike. Stay in touch with the seller and never do a transaction online on the promise of something. Always have a tangible product in hand when exchanging and always try to bring a buddy with you. Please be safe out there and hope that you guys can add more tips to this post in the comments!!