Dealership Red Flag(s)? Biker Girl seeks advice

Former motorcycle salesman here.

1. He's a chauvinistic douchebag and thinks he knows better than some girl.

Or

1. The bike you want is long gone and he desperately needs to flip you to a different bike.

Or

1. There is a bike on the floor that he has got more financial motivation to sell than the one you want.

Either way if this bike is the one you know you want no exceptions, walk in , test ride the bike you want, and tell him "this is the bike I want, sell it to me or I'm walking. " If he keeps pushing go to the sales manager and tell them the same thing. That usually works.

Alternatively, test ride both bikes, then tell him if he can match the price you will take it.

If you have any other questions dm me. I despise sales guys that play games with people.

Go to the shop and go directly to the bike and ask for a test ride? Without mentioning that you've talked about that specific bike.

Just skip the sales guy if he can't take a hint.

As a woman, there is a very real thing when going into these spaces where we're presumed to know less and talked down to. If that does happen, it's not in your head and fuck that person. Ask for another sales person or to another dealership.

Obviously dealerships want to upsale all customers, but the main predatory behavior isn't the upsale, it's bullshit hidden fees. Make sure you know exactly what the out the door cost and are aware of any weird fees the dealership throws on - things like freight charge, delivery charge, handling charge.

Fuck that noise. Find a reputable dealership; I go with smaller and more local based dealerships because I find them more honorable and less bullshit-y than massive warehouses where they don't care about retaining customers due to volume.

Get the bike you want.

I'd go in an do the test ride and even if you don't buy that bike because they won't make an easy sale happen, at least you got to test ride it and you can take your money to a different dealership. And hell, ride whatever bikes you want to get more experience in what you want.

As a women, you need to be pushy about what you want. The amount of fwits that thing they know better is insane, and we get it a lot.
Last time i went in to buy a bike the shop wouldnt let me even sit on it in case i scratched it (i had wittled it down to 2 bikes, and wanted to test for height and maybe a test ride)
I went over the road and dropped 22k on a different bike - even they kept trying to sell me shit i was not interested, and i had to maken it clear i wanted xxx cc, xxx hp, full fairing etc etc (they were trying to sell me low end ktm nakeds - because HE liked them)

Also additionally ive been in with my husband and they keep trying to talk to him about it, and he keeps saying 'i dunno, i dont know anything about motorbikes, ask her?' lol

Just go like "hello, I like this model, can I test drive?"

S: but check this out... You: No thanks, I want this model.

S: but what if...? You: thanks but no thanks, I want this model.

S: have you ever thought .. You: yes I have. That's why I like this model.

This is the reason I use a different email when reaching out to dealerships. The bike you saw online might not even be there anymore and priced to lure people in and upsell.

Write back and say, “I know what I want and you just lost yourself a sale with this pushy crap.” Publicly CC their manager and ask for a different salesperson

I would ask if they’d give you the 650 For the price of the 500 since they insist

Meh. Shut that dude down. You picked the bike you want. End. I agree it's a red flag. Not cool.

Tell him you do not want the bigger bike. A lot of people have a weird fixation with big bikes, that anything smaller than "as big as you can get" is trash but that doesn't mean you have to play his game.

If he keeps on you, find a different dealership. Then drop by to show him how happy you are with the bike you chose.

I don't think you really know a bike until you see it in person and sit on it. A test ride can tell you even more. Go look at the 500 and the 650. It is possible that the salesperson has dealt with the 500s and the 650s a lot and may actually know what he's talking about. If you don't feel comfortable there or you feel like you're being pushed, then just leave.

Stick to what you want but it never hurts if time allows to check out bikes on either side of your initial interest point if they have them in shop to handle.
Salespeople are there to up sell, however not all of them take the hint after the first "no thanks".

either go to another place because they' sound like just trying to upsell. or bring the no fucks given friend so they can just call everything out

Fun story...

I bought my first dealership motorcycle in 2021. It was a sv650 abs. I have been looking for a new motorcycle for a few years and when I figured out that that's when I wanted I did the research and I compared it to other similar bikes... I wanted that sb650 and I was going to do anything I could to get it. I have been working with one specific salesman and she made it seem like she was willing to cut me a deal. When I showed up the next day with my down payment the salesman give me paperwork with MSRP price. He tried to spindle me but I didn't let him. I left that day and I went to the same dealership but a different location across town. This time I made sure to take a man with me because I'm not dumb. Unfortunately it's necessary sometimes to have a male with you cuz for some reason they think that women don't know what they're talking about or what they want.

But I went to this dealership across town and I got that very same motorcycle for $1,500 less. They packed it up and shipped it to the other location where I bought it and I took it home.

Get another salesman or go to another location or purchase it online yourself if you want this bike get this bike and do nothing else.

Red flag for sure. Sleezeball vibes

Buy from another dealership and let that salesperson’s manager know he cost them a sale.

Buy what YOU want, not what he has had sitting around that no-one else wants and he’s getting hassled about.

yep red flag, find another dealership. even better, bring a pal along, to help bring you back to earth, in case you get too excited. test ride, then walk away, tell them you'll think about it. if they are a good dealer, they won't bug you endlessly to keep you there, and no 'what would it take for you buy now' bs

It might be me, but if the suggested bike ticks all of your other boxes, why not just take it for a spin? At least then, you then have a point of comparison, and you can make your own mind up after that. Go in with the intention of a test ride and nothing more. Take a trusted mate with you so they can also test ride the bikes, and you can discuss the differences between the bikes later and get a more unbiased opinion.

If the sales guy is thinking more about his paycheck than your own best interests, it'll show the minute you say, "Let me sleep on it." If that's the case, and you really don't like the bloke, then just go find your chosen bike elsewhere.

Good luck with it.

Not sure your location, but there's like 10 dealerships within 100 mile radius of me.

If one isn't good vibes, go to the next.

I'm not emailing or calling anyone either. Walk in the door stand next to the bike you want, and wait on the salesperson to walk over.

To help give a baseline on advice, what do you ride now? What were your other two bikes?

Whether a guy or girl asks me, it doesn’t matter, I’d encourage them to test ride multiple options, especially a 650 vs the 500.

If you’re looking at the Honda 500, it’s a relatively meek step up from the 300. I don’t know anyone who kept theirs, everyone wound up upgrading. Part of that is that I haven’t met anyone who’s formed an affectionate connection to a 500.

A 650 isn’t likely going to cost much more to insure, but it’ll be far more comfortable at highway speeds, and make smoother power. In contrast to the 500s, I know dozens of riders who love their 650/700s. A girl I ride with a couple times each month upgraded from a CBR500 to an MT-07 and couldn’t be happier.

Without more background on attitude from the dealer employee, it’s hard to tell if he’s trying to look out for you, or hard sell something that’s better for him. If I was in his shoes, I’d be pushing you to at least try the 650 to make sure you’ve had the option to make an informed choice.

Assuming this bike isn't something crazy rare or hard to come by, I would just go to a different dealer. Plenty of folks who will respect you that also want your money

Honestly it really depends on the bikes here because, for example, a cbr500r vs the cbr650r is, imo, a no contest win for the 650 (my mate who went from the 500 to the 650 would agree, too. Hell our whole group still mocks him for going with the 500 over the 650 at first)

As for the sales guy saying to actually go to the dealership? Yeah that’s not a red flag. Really you should be sitting on the bikes, test riding them etc just so you actually get to know what you’re dropping all that cash on.

Online reviews and product images can only get you so far, they wont tell you how it feels to ride, how it feels to sit on etc. a reviewer can say a bike is “comfortable” but for whom? A grom is fine for my 5’5” manlet ass but my 6’7” friend who is 90% leg is gonna cramp up in 3 seconds, you know?

Once at the dealership, if they’re really pressuring into closing a sale when you yourself are still unsure, now that is a red flag imo.

What bikes are you looking at ?? This makes a MASSIVE difference.

Remember, a new bike will depreciate as soon as you hit the pavement. Search around the used market in your area to have that for a reference. Have insurance quotes figured out beforehand as well. Sometimes, insurance can cost as much as the bike itself. Coworker got a new Ninja and was quoted like 4k a year for insurance. He had no idea before purchasing that it could be that ridiculous.

You said you have a good chunk for a down payment to finance a brand new bike with incentives. This really only helps depending on the term and interest rate through the dealer/kawasaki financing. Like $500 off financing. Test ride both. Torque feel in the gearing might be significant from 451cc to 649cc. I can't comment on it since idk first hand. But it looks like that costs about 3k difference. I loved my Honda cb300f and moved on to a Harley. Cruisers vs sport bikes cc's have nothing to do with ergonomics and functionality.

Have them do a financing quote for the 500cc without the down payment. Take note how they handle the "quote." Are they upfront with all the fees and msrp. They're going to add 1k of bs as dealer fees to start. (There goes that $500 incentive.) Negotiate financing and term from there. Perfect credit vs poor will sway a interest rate from 8% to 22%. Kawi seems to offer a 12 month interest free plan then it probably jumps to some high interest rate. You want to understand all the numbers before you let emotions take over and feel like signing just to get the bike out the door. Would they accept cash $5300 out the door? No. They want that finance charge, interest, and dealer fees to get a check cut to them for $7200 on your loan term you signed. My 2 cents, you can walk at any point in the negotiations, best get a quote if you do have another dealer to visit. Don't let your emotions get the best of you. Unfortunately, you might not have any other dealership options and hence the supply/demand dictates the rates.

Sometimes communicating thru email is not as effective as face to face. I say go in and work it out with the salesperson.

FYI multiple comments here are talking about test rides. A lot of dealers do not allow this so do not be surprised if that is the case. Stinks but what you gonna do.

Aloha!

I've been on a test ride and got back to find the bike I rode is now 2k more expensive. Just walk if they start playing games.

This sounds to me like a bait and switch situation but I might be wrong. They might not have the bike you wanted anymore and are just trying to sell you something.

If you want the 500 get the 500. I've ridden 500s and 650s and honestly, They're both perfectly fine. He just wants to make more commission on the sale.

I would recommend to go to a different dealer. It’s your decision what you want and his job is to help to get the bike that fits you and not his provision demands.

Every bike rider told me (35 male) a 125cc isn’t fun and fast enough and I should get at least a 600cc.

Lower cc bikes can be a lot of fun to ride.

Yeah every bike and every car can pass me easily on highways. But I usually don’t ride high ways. I do ride in my city and on landside roads, where the max speed limit is 100kph. So I’m having loads of fun.

So get the bike you want, not the bike everyone wants to make believe you need.

I bought my current bike a few months ago, and I mentioned to the sales person it wasn’t my first and Id been riding for half a decade but he still thought it was necessary to explain to me how to turn the bike on and what the check engine light was. Id done everything before that via email and most cant tell by just my first name that Im a chick (which I use on purpose for this exact reason) so he talked to me pretty differently once he saw me.

Get what you want. No reason to get a 650 unless you are on the fence with the 500. Sometimes the upsale is a good idea, other times it is not. It all depends onnwhat you want and what your expectations are.

DoNot Buy the bike! Take it for a test ride and go home. Do a bunch of test rides! Sleep on it. There is a chance you may like something else better. There is a great chance they will try and talk you into buying now and for too much. After a night's sleep, go back and bargain or test ride again! Don't let them talk you into something you didn't go there for. Have a price in mind and drop a few $k. Negotiate for that price. If you come close, you still win.

Might depend on where you live. 500cc is plenty in a city. 650cc+ with a faring is more appropriate if you live in Texas and have to ride on 70-80mph highway for awhile to get anywhere. This is assuming average hp/torque numbers. A 650cc KLR might still not be enough to feel like you have comfortable power on the highway while a 600cc sport bike would be more than enough.

I would do my research and only go test drive the one I want, after buying 2 brand new cars and 1 bike from dealership I have learned to say no to any and everything. If they ask me if I want water I say no

I bought a 500 last year after a few years off. I figured it was ‘big enough’ to get back on as I was a little nervous. The salesman kept showing me 650s but I was adamant I wanted the 500. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great bike (CBR500X) but I’m already finding it a bit underpowered on overtakes, I kinda regret not going for the 650 Hornet now. Don’t tell my wife she was right though!

It's basic upsellling, doesn't matter your sex, the sales people will always try to sell you something more expensive where they obviously make a bigger profit.

The moment they smell uncertainty or hesitation they pounce.

Since you didn't state the bike or the kind of use, he may also have a point about engines. Some engines are just not good or fun and the bigger one might actually make more sense depending on the situations.

If you did your homework and know what you want just ignore the upsellling.

Just go to the dealership in person, preferably with another person, look around, no one is forcing you to buy on the spot.

salespeople job is to get you in the dealership, try out the different bikes, most places don't even let you test ride.

emailing is annoying to the salesperson, they'd much rather show and tell, along with this time of year there's likely multiple people looking at the very same bike. Unless you are looking at a 30k motorcycle the commission is pretty much the same for the salesperson if you buy a 500 or a 650, new or used.. they sell volume with an occasional high margin sale which are few and far between

Salesmen are gonna act like salesmen, especially to women, as you well know. That said, you’re almost definitely gonna get bored with that 500 within your first season.

I’m willing to bet the bike you want isn’t there. Bait and switch.

The best bike/car is the one on the floor. Always.

I’d keep looking.

I’d say yellow flag. Seems like he’s trying to upsell you. On the other hand, he’s not patronizing you saying “you’re a girl, you can’t handle more power.”

Maybe there’s some chauvinism, but as a man (beard, balls, the whole deal) I had one salesman try to upsell me on a bike with double the power of the one I brought in for service.

I also had a salesman actually talk me into a bike with less power and I’m glad he did.

“Come on down and we will find you the right bike” sounds fine to me on its face, unless you get there and he doesn’t listen.

Do not let this asshole talk you into a bigger more expensive motorcycle that is beyond your capabilities.

It sounds like you're making the right decision.

Many dealerships are required to carry certain bikes according to the manufacturer contract. If they have it on their website, there’s a 50% chance of them actually having it in stock. Call back and ask to speak to a different salesman, and ask if that 500 is in stock.

Get the bike you want. Keeping it under 500 to save on insurance is a smart move

Him trying to sell you something bigger, more expensive is not a red flag per se. It's normal... Just don't let him talk you into anything. It's your 3rd bike ... You know what you want and why you want it.

Shop different dealers, compare brands, ask about rebates/cash back/free gear promos, and most of all walk if they put the hard sell on you.

Old adage: cash talks, bullshit walks.

Just try to up sale you. Be firm tell him the 500 is what you want. If he’s pushy after that walk out and go somewhere else.

Go to the dealership and make a deal on what you choose. Online and phone sales are a joke. Need face to face to make it worth while

They call them stealerships for a reason.

You know what bike you want, get that. In the real world, a modern 500 is more than enough power for normal riding (5-6 second 0-60 and it will easily cruise at 70mph and have a lot left) and it's not like you've never ridden before and don't know what to expect.

Depends the bike but the salesman might have a point. You aren't a new rider and the 500 is slow. Buy what you want but I'm sure this guy has seen a ton of 500s traded in for 650s by people buying their second bike.