Over here, most dealers will let you test ride a bike. Of course, you need to show that you are a licensed rider, and you need to sign a contract that you will pay for any damage to the bike if you drop it.
I test-drove a new car this week, and the process was the same. Show your license (usually they'll make a copy of it), sign a contract, and you're off. The contract for the car stated that I could drive 50km (30 miles), and each additional km would be charged about $0.10 per km. Of course, they didn't charge me, but they have this in their contracts to stop people from signing up for a "test drive" and then using the car to go pick up friends from an airport or something.
I wouldn't buy a bike if I couldn't test ride that model beforehand. How can I buy a bike if I don't know what I'm getting myself into? Would you really spend 2 or 3 months income for something you've never really tried? Sitting on a model in the showroom is not the same as taking that bike for an hour through some typical riding conditions - city streets, twisties and the highway.
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