The fellas at whybike.com have written an article giving tips about buying your next bike at an auction. You can get a truly great deal IF you know what to look for and what to avoid.

Attend the pre-sale to go over the bike very well. Bikes sold at auction are as-is with zero refunds, and if you don’t know enough about motorcycles or what to look for, that price you pay could just be a down payment with further payments to be made to the mechanic to fix what was wrong.

Also, don’t forget that buyers usually have to pay a premium commision – usually 5% to 10% over the ‘hammer price’ – what the final bid is – that you need to figure for in your final price.