 TITLE: Do You Need Good Credit to Finance a Motorcycle? CONTENT: How to Improve Your Score Before Applying for a Motorcycle Loan\n---------------------------------------------------------------\nSo, you've picked out the motorcycle you want to buy and you've settled on getting a loan to pay for it. What should you do before submitting the application? Here are four steps:\n1.  Check your credit report. Read your credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) to ensure that all the information there is accurate and up to date.\n2.  Look at your credit scores. If you know where your scores stand, you can take action to improve them and perhaps improve the odds of getting better loan terms.\n3.  Reduce the amount of debt you have. One of the key factors in computing your credit score is your credit utilization ratio. This takes the amount of credit card debt you have, divides it by your overall credit limit and multiplies it by 100 to get a percentage. Lenders usually want to see a credit utilization ratio of 30% or less.\n4.  Pay your bills on time. Lenders look closely at your payment history when assessing your loan application. They like to see a long record that's full of on-time payments and lacking red flags like bankruptcy or default. Your payment history is the most important factor in most scoring models and a spotless record can help lift your credit score. END