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Buying a used Harley or V-twin: the inspection that matters
Before you look at the bike
Run the registration through the government's free MOT history service and a paid HPI-style check for finance, theft and write-off records. Ask the seller for the V5C logbook in advance and confirm the name and address match who you're meeting. A seller who hesitates at any of these has already told you something.
The walk-round
- Frame and VIN: VIN on the frame must match the V5C exactly. Look for paint cracks, ground welds or straightening marks around the steering head and swingarm.
- Fork seals: run a finger down each fork leg — oily film means seals.
- Tyres: tread depth, perishing, and the DOT date code — a five-year-old tyre with good tread is still an old tyre.
- Brakes: disc thickness and scoring, pad depth, lever feel.
- Drive: belt teeth for cracks/hooking, or chain for kinks and rust.
- Service evidence: stamps or invoices at roughly the schedule intervals — gaps are normal, silence isn't.
- Cold start: insist the engine is cold when you arrive. Watch the start, the idle, and any smoke after warm-up.
The questions
- "Who has serviced it, and can I see the receipts?"
- "What has been modified from standard?" — then verify against the insurance and MOT record.
- "What would you fix if you kept it?" — good sellers answer this straight.
Turn the checklist into a score
Our used-bike inspection tool walks the same checks as tick-boxes, grades the bike from your answers, and produces a copyable report you can take to a workshop for a second opinion — try one of the independent specialists in the directory before you commit.