Bike shopping in Madagascar
 

Hi guys,

I've just recently relocated to Madagascar for a two year stint and am looking to get a bike so my girlfriend and I can both get around the capital and start moving beyond it in my off time. Being on an island, all prices on Japanese bikes are pretty inflated and while new bikes are naturally very expensive, used bikes don't depreciate much either. At this point, I've pretty much decided on a Honda XL 125S for its off-road capability, maneuverability on tight city streets, overall parts quality/reliability and the most comfortable seat I've found for two riders.

The only thing is, I don't really know enough about bikes in general to discern between whether a specific used bike is worth getting or just to spare the hassle and go new. A new one of these would be about $5500 here, while I've seen two year old used ones for about $3500. Most of these used ones, however, are formal rental dirt bikes and have probably been pretty beaten up and ridden in their lifetime (ie, 7-8k km on the odometer over 2 years). Even if a dealer is willing to replace a few pieces like the chains/sprockets is the price difference worth taking a chance on one of these? I feel like resale-wise buying used is definitely the best way to go but would love to hear any advice people have on buying bikes with questionable pasts.

Thanks and appreciate any info,

Kellen

Wow, these are some hefty prices for a small bike. Because it's a honda I would recommend buying second hand, 7 or 8000 km is not a lot, even if they had a hard life and you probably can sell it again with a very small loss. Labour for repairs is not going to cost too much either, I would expect.

ps would love to come to Madagascar, it's a shame I can't get my bike there for a reasonable price.:(