Buying from Ryszard Chipala

Harry Fox · 22-09-2021 7:36am #1

Any one bought from this guy I’m looking to buy a bike from him

hes looking for a deposit before delivery

GBX · 22-09-2021 7:55am

Any other info? Is it a seller on Dondeal?

Jimmy Bottlehead · 22-09-2021 11:05am

He has about a million bikes for sale on Facebook, I believe he's always importing bikes from Europe and usually quite a few interesting ones.

D3V!L · 22-09-2021 11:11am

He may as well be anyone else selling bikes on Facebook. I doubt he's paying tax or providing any sort of warranty on the bikes. Likely coming in on many of the Polish trucks going back and forward.

nigeldaniel · 24-09-2021 5:40pm

Facebook! Got a bike from a similar seller on the FaceBook and never ever again!!!

D3V!L · 28-09-2021 11:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117934577#Comment_117934577

What happened ?

Henry Ford III · 30-09-2021 12:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117923267#Comment_117923267

That's a whole lot of guesswork in fairness.

doctorchopper · 01-11-2021 6:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058209895/buying-from-ryszard-chipala

I just bought a bike from him and everything worked out well. I was a but worried at first giving a deposit to someone without seeing the bike or even meeting him, but speaking to him on the phone he sounded like a decent guy so took a chance. It took about 2 weeks for the bike to arrive in Dublin from Germany. He kept me up to date with the shipping progress along with pictures of ferry tickets ect. Bike was as described and have no complaints there. All and all it was a very simple process and would recommend him for sure. Mine was a vintage bike so was always going to need some tidying and tlc, but the price was decent (about 500 cheaper than any of the ones i could find in ireland and thats on a 2500 euro bike). All the paperwork was present as well. PM me if you need any more details

Henry Ford III · 02-11-2021 11:26am

Does he actually keep any stock in Middleton?

doctorchopper · 02-11-2021 6:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106231#Comment_118106231

That I don't know for sure but all the pictures look like the bikes are in Poland in the background

serco · 27-04-2022 9:09pm

Not a frequent poster but I read this thread before buying a bike from this guy and decided to share my negative experience. Bike in question was circa 30 years old so needed some tidying, pictures showed the bike accurately etc.

Bike was received late one evening so checked it was running, no damage etc. Seemed fine.

Bike was stored in garage and ridden for the first time 2 weeks later to VRT it. The bike ran like a dog, misfiring, down on power, etc. On the way back the front brakes seized in traffic likely because his mechanic hadn’t bled them properly.

The bike was sold as fully serviced, plugs done, brakes pads, etc with good tyres. On further inspection nothing appeared serviced. Oil was old, plugs old, air filters old etc. Potentially the carbs were stripped and cleaned but the bike was diagnosed as only running on one cylinder recently and the seller confirmed the carbs weren’t balanced after being stripped. Tyres were also 10 and 12 years old but confirmed perfect when I purchased the bike.

I’d question a mechanic who wouldn’t rebalance carbs after a rebuild, it would have been obvious from the rebalance that it was only running on one cylinder. Issue with the brakes could have caused a serious accident also.

Zero effort from the seller to resolve anything here. I gave him an opportunity to make a reasonable contribution to the costs but a waste of time and effort.

Just providing some feedback to people in case they are thinking of using him. Obviously, some feedback in this thread is positive but I wouldn’t go near this guy again and would advise others to steer clear, nothing but problems. Had intended to possibly get another bike off him and made him aware of this but obviously repeat business isn’t important!

GavPJ · 13-05-2022 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118986006#Comment_118986006

What did you buy if you don't mind me asking. He has had a couple of bikes I have been tempted to buy.

Henry Ford III · 17-05-2022 9:28am

He has some great bikes for sale

galwaytt · 18-05-2022 9:26am

Someone I know is interested in one of the bikes he has listed, but if these aren't in the country yet - despite the ad saying Midleton - then going on mixed reviews I'd be wary. It's too easy for older bikes in particular to be camera-friendly and in real life have lots of pitting, gummed up carbs etc.

I'm also curious about some of these bikes are in PL anyway: one 'I' am looking at is early 1980s. Back then that was behind the Iron Curtain, so provenance is something I'd be curious about.

It would be easier to buy off a dealer in Germany or NL and ship it in, even if it was a bit dearer.

goblin59 · 18-05-2022 10:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079498#Comment_119079498

I'd be the same. Especially as modern fuel will eat through the rubber in the carbs and petcock if its just sitting up and then rust the tanks as well

Thinkingaboutit · 22-05-2022 12:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117923267#Comment_117923267

A Small Claims Court effort isn't too hard, as was the case for me with some dealer who pretended to be a private person. Sales of Goods and Supply of Services Act isn't a warranty but better than nothing. If someone has the volume of a dealer, they're a dealer.

newmember2 · 22-05-2022 1:52am

Anyone a link?

D3V!L · 22-05-2022 8:01am

Is this guy offering warranty?

jeremyr62 · 23-10-2024 2:41pm

Oldish thread but was wondering if anyone else has had good or bad experiences with this guy? He does have some nice examples of very hard to find bikes. He advertises on FB Marketplace and Donedeal. From the ads you would think the bikes are in Ireland but when you make contact it's clear they are not, and are in Poland. They are priced competitively and if you view it as just an EU trader offering bikes you might not be able to get anywhere else, then it could be worth the risk. It does appear he wants a deposit before he will bring it in to Ireland. One risk is he walks away with your deposit, which is unlikely regarding his Marketplace and Donedeal presence, and the other is the bike is pile of **** when you take delivery. Pretty sure I could sort the latter with pictures and close up videos, assuming then the bike that's delivered is the same as the bike you get the pictures for. Anyway be good to hear from anyone with more recent experience.

johnml · 24-10-2024 3:42am

Some of the bikes are in Ireland. I went to look at one last year and it was very original and in exceptional condition. I didn't buy because the inside of the tank was in a bad state from petrol probably sitting in it too long but it was fixable. I think you can assume there's no warranty and it's sold as seen despite what he might tell you.

He will only give you information by phone call by the way. He won't commit anything in writing via Whatsapp etc. Make your own mind up on that!!

jeremyr62 · 24-10-2024 7:20am

Thanks. He did ring me, but it was like stream of consciousness stuff and I couldn't really understand what he was saying unfortunately. The no warranty thing doesn't bother me. The bike I'm interested in is in Poland so no chance of viewing it. I suppose it boils down to do I feel lucky..

Anyway its not an expensive bike so I will see where it goes.

GBX · 24-10-2024 12:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122756729#Comment_122756729

You could ask will whoever he has looking after the bike do a video for you. Specify what in particular you'd like to see. Surely it won't be too big a deal for him if he wants the sale.

jeremyr62 · 25-10-2024 2:19pm

He seems OK to deal with. He has a big presence on Marketplace so he is legit as far as I can tell. I've dealt with worse. Photos and videos just not the same as viewing the bike in the flesh though. The only reason I am considering it is because it is not a lot of money.

Widows Son · 26-10-2024 8:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122762710#Comment_122762710

You are essentially buying off a dealer who is offering you none of the usual services or priveliges associated with a dealer. No warranty, no comeback, have to VRT it yourself, Cant really view or test ride beforehand. Seems to me the deck is always stacked in his favour. You'll only know if it was cheap after owning it a while. If a dealer can sell a bike cheap after shipping it from europe and still have a profit margin on it, how cheap was it to begin with…. and why?

Shellfishfcuker · 26-10-2024 6:07pm

I went to see a DR800 he had for sale. It was at a bungalow out in the middle of nowhere in deepest darkest Meath/Cavan. All dealings done over the phone, you don't actually meet the guy, very cloak 'n dagger stuff. Was shown the bike by a couple of non-communicative Polish lads in a shed (he could have been one of them, who knows), and I was allowed to take it up the road for a spin. It was a great bike in fairness, immaculate and ran well, it was just a tad expensive at the time.

jeremyr62 · 26-10-2024 7:35pm

I think his business model is to supply cheap oldish bikes into a place where we now no longer have access to the place we all used to buy from. There were plenty of private individuals doing this here before Brexit. I don't expect a warranty or comeback. What kills it for me is not being able to inspect the bike. I doubt the bikes are stolen or anything like that. I don't know the ins and out of the European bike markets but I suspect you can pick up old decent bikes cheaply over there. German bikes for example tend not to be used in winter so they are bound to be in much better condition. I got the impression he has stopped bring the bikes in because people would haggle after seeing the bike and demand more money off even though it was already cheap. Anyway, I won't be going ahead, but only because I don't think you can judge an old bike from videos and photos.

mgbgt1978 · 30-10-2024 4:56pm

My Son bought an '88 VFR 750 from him about 3 years ago. Bike was great value at the time (at least a Grand less than anything here).

He was lucky enough in that the Bike was as described and still runs perfectly.

We found that particular Bike was up for sale on theparking-motorcycle.eu before he agreed to buy it and it appears that Ryszard is adding around €200 to the "local" price….which is around the same that Slampi, etc are charging to bring a Bike back from the Continent.

Having said that I wouldn't be in a rush to buy anything unless you are fairly confident that you can repair/replace stuff that will have perished or worn over the years……especially with Carb'ed Bikes.

Buying from Ryszard Chipala

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