Will selling motorbikes be profitable? And/or Easy?

bballstar1297 · May 9, 2013

Hi! I just built my first bike, and I had the brilliant idea of building and selling motorized bicycles! dance1

I found the build pretty easy and quick, and everything runs well, so i figured why not do it again! But anyways, I bought a brand new Kent La Jolla from Walmart for $100 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/17206784?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem), and although some said it would be a difficult build (In previous threads), I did it with ease and it runs great! I figured I could buy a new/used bike for $100-$200, a motor for $150, and about $50 of accessories if necessary (brakes, offset intake manifold for carb, ect.), and sell it for $100-$200 more than what I have invested in it for a $100-$200. I'm just hoping that my bikes will sell if I do decide to get into motorized bicycle building because I have noticed Craigslist has a ton of motorized bicycles for sale which intimidates me I would really appreciate all and any opinions about my idea! Thanks guys! hope to hear from you soon. zpt

Desert Rat · May 9, 2013

bballstar1297 said:
Hi! I just built my first bike, and I had the brilliant idea of building and selling motorized bicycles! I found the build pretty easy and quick, and everything runs well, so i figured why not do it again! But anyways, I bought a brand new Kent La Jolla from Walmart for $100 (http://www.walmart.com/ip/17206784?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem), and although some said it would be a difficult build (In previous threads), I did it with ease and it runs great! I figured I could buy a new/used bike for $100-$200, a motor for $150, and about $50 of accessories if necessary (brakes, offset intake manifold for carb, ect.), and sell it for $100-$200 more than what I have invested in it for a $100-$200. I'm just hoping that my bikes will sell if I do decide to get into motorized bicycle building because I have noticed Craigslist has a ton of motorized bicycles for sale which intimidates me I would really appreciate all and any opinions about my idea! Thanks guys! hope to hear from you soon.

every newb that gets addicted has thought that at one time or another,
but if you have the start up capital give it a try.
But make sure you give them a bill of sale that states "as is"
don't want to lose everything cause some dumb**** decides to go jumping
and breaks his neck

Why buy one when I can build it!!!

bballstar1297 · May 9, 2013

Haha Thanks! I will hope for the best! Fortunately, time is not an issue, and I've got about $500 set aside for this so I'm thinking about making another bike and selling the new one I make and my previously made La Jolla!

dmb · May 9, 2013

like the old sayin wanna make a million dollars racing cars?.... spend 10 million dollars on racing them!

\./ · May 9, 2013

No, it's nearly impossible to sell a motorbike and still have a profit these days, unless of course you make state of the art bikes...

Venice Motor Bikes · May 10, 2013

The motorized bicycle game has become very 'cut throat'.
People think it's 'easy money'... So be prepared to lose some friends when they start copying your style (& bad mouthing you) just to sell their bikes first.

bigbutterbean · May 10, 2013

Desert Rat said:
every newb that gets addicted has thought that at one time or another,
but if you have the start up capital give it a try.
But make sure you give them a bill of sale that states "as is"
don't want to lose everything cause some dumb**** decides to go jumping
and breaks his neck

Why buy one when I can build it!!!

The way I see it, there is only one possible way to avoid liability when selling motorized bicycles. Print up a disclaimer that says that the bike you are selling is being sold as display art, and is not intended for on-road use, and should the buyer choose to operate the bike on any public roadway and become injured during the operation of the bike, that you will not be held responsible. Have the buyer and a witness sign a document stating that they have read, understand and agree with the disclaimer, and do not sell them the bike unless they sign it. Either that or do a cash-only deal with no sort of paperwork whatsoever. Unless you're going to purchase liability insurance, those are the only two ways to avoid liability. Of course, if you're going to advertise on craigslist, the second option won't do you much good, as it'll be easy to prove that its your email address. Even if you use a fake name and a fake email address, it can still be traced to you.

dmb · May 10, 2013

all the disclaimers you want. a gas motor in a bicycle frame for sale is a lawsuit waiting to happen. sorry to say. dennis

Desert Rat · May 10, 2013

when you buy a car or refrigerator as-is and it blows up who do you sue?
no one it was as-is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bigbutterbean · May 10, 2013

dmb said:
all the disclaimers you want. a gas motor in a bicycle frame for sale is a lawsuit waiting to happen. sorry to say. dennis

If you sell it as display art and have a disclaimer stating that its not intended for on-road operation, I don't see hw you can be liable. If you buy a product in the store and use it in a manner other than the stated intended uses and something bad happens, the company isn't liable for it. Think about it. You buy a can of Liquid Wrench. On the can, it states what it can be used for. It does not say it can be used as hairspray. If I use it as hairspray (I dont have any hair to spray anything on, just an example) and I get cancer, the manufacturer is not liable for that. If I sell someone a motorized bicycle with a disclaimer (and for the record, I've no interest in selling motorized bikes) stating that its being sold as display art ONLY, and the buyer signs a statement saying they agree with that, and they drive it on the road anyway, that's on them. Otherwise, any disclaimer you see on any product you ever buy is worthless. But if disclaimers were worthless, they wouldn't print them on the package.........

Huffydavidson · May 10, 2013

Venice you're right you're going to lose friends . here in St Louis there's a couple guys to Got shops are doing it on Craigslist . I to so thought about this venture and had a banker with my landlord .we were going to get a dozen and I range to deal with Jack at bike berry and dealer cost, then go to Walmart and buy a dozen huffies for 98 bucks . Then these guys popped up around town on Craigslist selling for $375.00 and $410.00 delivered . So needless to say my venture died . but like yourself it seems like a good idea . And I will work for free as long as its on my bike !!!!LOL

Huffydavidson · May 10, 2013

And for as the comment about it being a potential lawsuit for a bicycle with a motor is exactly why when you going to a bicycle shop you cannot tell them what you're doing because they are likely to refuse to sell you parts because of the Libility. especially the brakes

Toadmund · May 10, 2013

bigbutterbean said:
The way I see it, there is only one possible way to avoid liability when selling motorized bicycles. Print up a disclaimer that says that the bike you are selling is being sold as display art, and is not intended for on-road use,

Could you also sell it as 'for parts', not in the ad, but in the signed waiver?

2door · May 10, 2013

A hungry and desperate lawyer, and there are a lot of them, will walk all over your 'disclaimers'. How do you think people win law suits like getting hurt on a trampoline that they fell off of after they broke into a gym of a closed high school? The school district and the trampoline manufacturer were found liable.

The only two ways to protect yourself is have gobs of liability insurance, or don't sell motorbikes to anyone. My advice every time this subject comes up is to consult with a lawyer before you invest time and money into a venture that might come to haunt you.

Tom

CoolCruiser · May 10, 2013

Desert Rat said:
when you buy a car or refrigerator as-is and it blows up who do you sue?
no one it was as-is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This would only cover you from any implied warranty on the bike. It won't prorect you if the buyer gets in a accident and they come after you for building/selling a unsafe vechicle. When I was thinking of selling bikes, I thought that if I left the chain off it and wrote up some disclaimer that it was sold as for "parts only and not ridable" or something that would protect me. But I don't think it would help much at all.

Investing $350 and your time to make 100-200 doesn't seem so good to me. There are many easier and cheaper ways to make as much. If you like to build using quality bikes and parts it gets even tougher to make a profit or even recoup your costs.

Toadmund · May 10, 2013

If this hobby grows the real money may be in helping the less mechanically inclined fix their bikes, Like the guy in Toronto that offered to pay for help.

2door · May 10, 2013

Toadmund said:
If this hobby grows the real money may be in helping the less mechanically inclined fix their bikes, Like the guy in Toronto that offered to pay for help.

Now there's an idea. Advertise yourself as a 'Motorized Bicycle Service Facility'.
That way you didn't build it or sell it to the guy. Hmmmmm!

Would you pick up and deliver or have them bring it to you?

Cool idea, Toad. I might have to give that some thought.

Tom

bigbutterbean · May 11, 2013

If you take your car to a garage to have the brakes serviced, and you have an accident on the way home from picking it up because the garage did something wrong when they "fixed" your brakes, they're liable. Just cause you didn't build it, liability still applies if you serviced it. Didn't someone make a comment earlier about hungry and desparate lawyers? Yeah, you can still get sued.

BigBlue · May 11, 2013

Look at the automotive owner's manual and see how many pages that deal with warnings. My brother works for Chrysler and they get sued all the time for stupid stuff that owners do with their automobiles. Then Chrysler has to add more warnings to the owners manual.

Look at the t.v. commercials for lawyers suing motorcycle companies. They get sued all the time due to the stupidity of the riders.

It's a known fact that attorneys can litigate anything. Hiring an attorney to defend a nuisance case is going to cost you more than it's worth.

Good Luck,

Chris
AKA: BigBlue

Desert Rat · May 11, 2013

I just posted a disclaimer for you all since you seem to think it necessary
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=47145
Tell me what you think or how do you want to change it

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