FS: 79 Special $3800 - Brooklyn, NY

[smuscarella]

Hey guys. I'm selling my 79. It's a 9/10 as far as these bikes go in my opinion. Starts every time. Everything works except speedometer backlight. New tires. 30k. It was a restoration project by a machinist who has been restoring Yamahas for 30 years. It's just too nice for me to keep on the street. I need more of a beater.



All photos here: http://imgur.com/a/gw8nx#0

[IanDMacDonald]

Nice bike, but $4k for a non-original bike seems kinda high in my opinion. But hey, maybe someone will bite that has too much money and a sense of nostalgia.

[jetmechmarty]

I really like the color!

[Gallaecus]

the bars and the paint may not be original but seems to be an improvement and would add value in my opinion. nice bike.

[Rasputin]

I have to agree with Ian on this. At 4K I need almost new original. I can change paint and bars etc to what I like on any bike, but at that price a buyer would have to absolutely agree with all mods. Such buyers are few and far between.

[smuscarella]

Thanks for the feedback guys. What would you all think is a good asking price?

[jjz28]

It is a beautiful bike though!

[smuscarella]

How about $3200?

[DCII]

It is a nice looking paint job on the bike however given the time of the year your price may be a bit on the high side.

[Rasputin]

Keeping in mind that we are so very far apart I will tell you what my experiences are. Up here you could ask for $3,000 but $2,800 would be even a bit steep. In the end you would be lucky to get $2,500 out of it and that would be prime time selling.
There are a few differences that must be noted...
In this area XS11's are common as the cold it seems. There are always a couple for sale within 200 miles any time of year. The bikes up here get very little use for about half the year so they have both low mileage and most times are in pretty fair shape (depending on the PO, of course). One can buy a completely rideable XS here for $700 to $1,000. It would need tires and assorted stuff like setting carbs, but you could ride it home.
I have bought parts bikes here that I can make run in less than an hour for $150, just too many parts needed to make it feasible. I have had people give me exhaust systems and vetter's, forks etc just to get them out of the garage.
Now it looks to me that you have a pretty nice looking ride so I would have to ask what they are going for in your part of the world. Are comparable sales on par with yours or are they rusted junk? If you do a little homework you should be able to figure out your local market.
You could always box it up and send it to Australia or Europe where you could make money beyond belief compared to what we spend here. I really feel for those guys.

[smuscarella]

Thanks Rasputin.

Your message strikes a chord - I have a masters in economics. Timing is really bad for selling a bike in Brooklyn. I'm trying to schlepp winter storage onto someone else. And this bike is too nice not to keep in heated storage. Market-wise, I think if I can find an XS11 lover in NYC, it will be an easy sell. I had a devil of a time finding this bike. There are a lot of beater bikes around, but not too many in this condition. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep riding it, so how bad can that be?

[Rasputin]

If cold storage is cheaper that works just fine. Mine have seen many a day or weeks in a row where the temp never gets above -30C. I just cover them and they sit relaxed and ready to go when I need them in the spring. I just charge the battery and top up the fuel tank to help with any rusting.
Since all we have is ethanol fuel I have been playing with different stabilizers the past couple of years but so far nothing beats just shutting off the petcocks and running the bike till it runs out of gas.
Heated storage for 9 bikes every winter would soon equate to a new one every spring in this area.