Stuck in rainy England, and need to ride south to the sun … but you’re skint? If you want a motorcycle, but can’t afford to buy new, Yamaha is opening its Certified Pre-Owned sales program to UK customers. This should allow you to save some cash on your next bike, but still buy with peace of mind.

Yamaha says bikes in this program must undergo a mileage investigation, to make sure the odometer reading is correct. They also check to make sure there are no outstanding, unpaid loans on the machine, or other financial woes. The title must obviously be clean (bike theft is a massive problem in the UK). Yamaha’s webpage for the pre-owned program also says each bike is given a “painstakingly thorough examination,” which should hopefully eliminate any mechanical woes, as long as you trust the dealership’s wrenchers. All bikes come with a 12-month warranty and Yamaha Motor Roadside Assistance, in case something does go wrong.

Also, Yamaha’s UK website offersa handy one-stop shopping destination for the machines in this program. Enter your postcode at the site, the models you’re interested in, the distance you’re willing to travel to look at a bike, and the monthly payment you’re comfortable with, and then you can pick and choose from nearby dealerships’ offerings.

Sign of the times?

So dealerships are selling used bikes—big deal, right?

Dealerships have always sold second-hand machines, but it’s never been this organized before. Yamaha’s latest pre-owned program in the UK is the continuation of a program it started in Europe. Elsewhere, Triumph has run a similar program for a while, and Harley-Davidson is doing it as well (see our previous write-uphere).

Why the sudden interest in second-hand sales, instead of new machines? There are two big reasons. First, there’s a lot of easy money to be made in financing bikes. Why do you think the Yamaha used-sales website has an option for determining your loan payment, but not outright pricing?

Second, it’s getting harder for dealers to find new bikes for showrooms. If they can’t sell new machines, why not sell used ones? If there’s money to be made in the powersports industry, dealers obviously want in on that action.

No doubt there are other considerations as well, including access to financing options for the dealers themselves. Expect more of these arrangements in coming years, announced by more and more companies, unless the supply chain magically fixes itself.