One year later: Spurg's used motorcycle buying expedition of 2022

In my excitement for “New Bike Day," I hadn’t even bothered to check the weather forecast. My trip began before dawn, and while it was bitter cold in Philadelphia, there had been no indication of precipitation. Yet 30 minutes into my journey up the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the weather was taking a turn.

In early 2020, I had been fortunate enough to partner with Solid Performance, a “go fast” shop for pretty much everything Pierer Mobility owns (KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas, and WP Suspension), on the ultimate off-road ADV-bike test.

Solid Performance built a replica of the 790 Adventure R Rally that had just been introduced in extremely limited numbers. They then tossed me the keys and I got to spend a few weeks riding and testing that bike for some Common Tread articles. This included a comparison of a stock 790 Adventure R against my 2017 KTM 1090 Adventure R at the time, as well as a review of the Rally equivalent.

With bike sales being stagnant in the very early stages of the pandemic, I was given an opportunity to buy the bike once the testing concluded. Unfortunately, even a new “used” bike wasn’t in the cards for me at the time. But its memory stuck with me.

By the time I reached the Allentown exit, the snow was really starting to come down. The digital clock on my dash read 6:43 a.m. and the first light of day revealed a gray, threatening sky. My parents’ house wasn’t far from the Turnpike exit and 10 minutes later I found myself seated at their dining room table with a cup of hot coffee in front of me.

“You’re not still going to drive out there today, are you?” my Mom asked, peering out the kitchen window.

“Out there” referred to Kissell Motorsports, a dealership in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. For those of you not as familiar with your Pennsylvania geography as PA_Observer (one of our regular CT commenters on Disqus), it’s a little over 100 miles west of Harrisburg and is easily a three-hour drive from my parents’ house, on a bright, sunny day. And this was definitely not a bright, sunny day.

As the pandemic wore on, motorcycle sales picked up in a big way. As people were forced to cancel vacations and their regular Saturday night bar hangs, they looked for an outlet for their savings account surplus and many new riders found themselves on two wheels. The perfect storm of increased demand, coupled with the disrupted supply of new machines, drove used motorcycle prices through the roof.

At first, this was a trend I was able to benefit from. I sold both my KTM 1090 Adventure R and an old 1976 Honda CB550 for considerably fair prices. But the hot market proved to be a double-edged sword. While selling a motorcycle during the last two years was easy, buying the new one I wanted was not, and I found myself on an extended hiatus with no ADV bike in the garage.

Lacing up his boots, dad came to my defense. “It’s just a little flurry, Barbara,” he said to my mom.

“Besides,” I argued, “I’ve driven in conditions a lot worse than this, in vehicles far less equipped to handle it.”

Tami, my little 2013 Toyota Tacoma, was easily an improvement over the many beat-up vehicles that came before her when it comes to winter driving performance and she was freshly serviced, wearing a brand-new set of BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires. Even without four-wheel drive engaged, these tires barely balked at slippery conditions. Nothing short of a lake-effect blizzard was keeping me from picking up my new motorcycle.

After my initial ride on the 790 Adventure R, KTM updated the platform to an 890 version, along with a one-model-year-only 890 Adventure R Rally with upgraded WP Pro-Component suspension, taller seat, dirt-specific wheels, Akrapovič exhaust, and individualized styling. Of the 700 limited edition Rallys produced, only a reported 200 made it to North America and were so desirable they were sold via a lottery system. Reports from the time indicate that despite their premium price tag, the model sold out worldwide in under 48 hours.

Having not secured one of those limited-edition versions, I set my sights on the next best thing. In the summer of 2021, I began talking with Solid Performance  about purchasing an 890 Adventure R in stock trim and building it out to Rally spec, similar to the project we had tackled with the 790 Adventure R. But this time, it would be on my dime, for my garage.

Unfortunately, even stock 890 Adventure Rs were in limited supply in the summer of 2021, and after numerous delays I was told in January of 2022 that it would most likely be another four to five months of waiting before I’d be able to take possession of a new bike. Tired of waiting and “ready to ride” (see what I did there?), that conversation spurred a quick Cycle Trader search to see what was available on the used market.

Back on the highway, now with Spurgeon Senior riding shotgun, we headed westbound on Interstate 78 towards Harrisburg. The snow continued to fall, but the plow trucks had done a good job and conditions were holding steady. My dad and I passed the miles by talking about motorcycles and guitars, reliving previous motorcycle trips, laughing while trying to get the details right, and in general, just dreaming of warmer days. This is a pastime that most motorcycle enthusiasts residing in “four-season states” can relate to.

Reaching Harrisburg, we abandoned the interstate and headed north on State Route 322, a stretch of road that snakes its way through Bald Eagle and Rothrock State Forests. I’ve traveled the stretch of tarmac many times on two wheels. In the summer, the highway’s twists and turns and elevation changes make for a fun stretch of fast-moving pavement. In the winter, it’s a treacherous corridor littered with jack-knifed tractor trailers and white-knuckled drivers. My dad and I passed multiple wrecks and stranded vehicles as we made our way off of Route 322 and onto Interstate 99 for the home stretch into Tyrone.

Holding my phone, my finger hovered over the third bike in the Cycle Trader search results: a used, 2021 KTM 890 Adventure R Rally. I’d seen this trick before from dealers. Shops would post a stock photo of an 890 Rally to intrigue potential buyers and then try to sell them a standard 890 at an inflated price. Twice before I had been baited, but never switched.

However, this ad looked different. The photos weren’t stock. This bike clearly had aftermarket parts on it and there was a walk-around video talking about the details. According to Cycle Trader, the ad was less than a week old. The dealership, Kissell Motorsports, was a familiar name because my group of friends and I had bought parts from them before while riding in central Pennsylvania. I looked at the clock. 7:54 p.m. They were closed. I wouldn’t be able to call until the morning.

The bike wasn’t cheap. In fact, while I felt the asking price was fair, given the rarity of the machine and the condition it was in (only 2,198 miles on the odometer), it was nearly double what I had ever spent on a motorcycle before. I spent the night running numbers and making phone calls to close friends to see if I could get them to help me rationalize the purchase.

I pleaded my case to Lance Oliver and Jeff Kiniery. I lawyered them with facts and figures around the increase in MSRP coming for new 890 Adventure R models and how much I would have to spend just to build out the difference in suspension mods, and even then, I wouldn’t have a truly limited-edition Rally model. By the time I was done, both Lance and Jeff had agreed I’d be better off buying this bike. 

Thank God for friends like this. I hope you have your own Lance and Jeff in your corner.

After a night of restless sleep worrying that the bike had already sold and that someone had just forgotten to remove the ad, I called Kissell Motorsports at 8:30 a.m., 30 minutes before they were scheduled to open. After two rings, I was greeted cheerfully by Josh Nolten, the owner and general manager. He confirmed that despite the fact that he had two interested parties, neither of them could reach an agreement with Josh on the price they were willing to pay. The bike was still up for grabs.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this was the easiest sale he’s ever had to make. Upon hearing the bike wasn’t still unclaimed, I offered up my credit card for the deposit and had financing secured by the end of the day.

Pulling into Kissell’s parking lot, it was clear that most customers had the better mind to stay home. Despite the fact that they had been open for a little over an hour by the time we arrived, there wasn’t another shopper on the floor. Just me and my dad, from halfway across the state, handing over a cashier's check while the service team wheeled the bike outside for me.

On the drive home, I kept one eye on my new bike in the bed of my truck, and one eye on the road. Conditions continued to worsen and by 3 p.m. it was dark as night. We pulled into the driveway shortly after 7 p.m. with a warm reception waiting. Mom was making a big celebratory dinner and Uncle Bob and Aunt AnnMarie had come over to help us commemorate the occasion.

We take motorcycle purchases seriously in this family.

This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of Sally the Rally’s homecoming to my garage. A lot has changed in the economic climate and as we’ve reported on, motorcycle prices have started to drop. Someone asked me recently if I regret buying a motorcycle at the height of pandemic prices, and the answer is “No.”

I bought a bike I really wanted, for the riding I like to partake in, for a price that I thought was fair. And every time I get on it to ride, or look at it in the garage, I smile knowing that there is no other bike out there that I would rather have.

I hope that everyone reading this gets to have this feeling at least once in their motorcycling lifetime. Here’s to a great year of moto adventures awaiting us in 2023.