book values going UP

[Bigfoot]

XJ's seem to be even worse. An excellent XJ for $1300? Guess next time I see one for sale I can use this info to try and get it cheap.

[MAXIMAN]

Of course these are just guidelines.

I' ve never seen a really slick Eleven go for more than 3000 or 3200. So these numbers would be a "right person, right time, right place" scenario.

For instance...I've always wanted a very slick low mileage XJ1100. When I started looking for one about 3 years ago it took a while to find it but I did in California.

It was near pristine...original owner. The owners was a LADY! She had bought it new in 1984 left over stock in a dealers ware house. She rode it two seasons...put 5800 miles on it and parked it in her garage. It was as near new as I could find. I paid...at the time ...what I felt was premium of $2500. But I love this bike and will never sell it. They'll bury this thing with me.

The reason the XJs don't have the value is two fold. The Maxim is truly an 80's bike with 80's styling and simply doesn't have the same "vibe" as the Eleven.

The Eleven is a true 70's Superbike ripe with 70's styling and the respected name XS Eleven. I had bikers ask what bikes I have in my stable. When I say a Maxim 1100 they have a puzzled look. When I say ZRX some know and some don't. BUT When I say I have a '79F XS1100 they almost always get this starry look in their eyes and say "WOW I remember that BIKE!"

It's kinda like the Z1 and the CBX. The Eleven made history. I'm just a little bewildered that it has not yet acheived super star status.

However I believe in the not too distant future the Eleven will gradually gain value because the baby boomers that die for Z1s will be moving onto the nursing home on their Goldwings. Then the "Lost Generation" (those of us that are to young to be baby boomers and too young to be Gen-X) will be hitting our peak earning potential and looking for toys.

ANd speaking of toys The Z1 was a little before my street riding days and has never really appealed to me. But the Monster Eleven was unleashed upon the masses the year I graduate from High School and dominated the big bike scene for a couple years.

Another bike that will have value to this "lost generation" I think will be the venerable Suzuki GS1100E.

[79XS11F]

Values will have to go up a lot more then they are currently at if I am to ever recover my investment even if only on paper because I do not see myself selling mine. I wonder how they come to their conclusions on values? In my mind for a "perfect" XS1100 to be valued that low there must be a lot of them out there .. but that does not seen to be the case.
How many on this board have a "spec" 78 - 79 XS1100 that is next to mint condition. I think I will post a poll so check it out.
Rob

[MAXIMAN]

It's a matter of market demand. They watch what these bikes sell for and that is how they determine values. It's pretty much empirical.

Of course there is no way I'd ever recover a fraction of the 12 grand I've pumped into Zilla. But then I don't care. I did not build Zilla for an investment. I built him to RIDE. Like I said they'll bury this bike with me.

I think my '79F is close to "mint" condition...at least as close as an all original 29 year old bike with 11,000 miles could be.