What Did An XS1100LH Cost In 1981?

[smvreeland]

I was wondering what an XS1100LH cost when it was new.

[TopCatGr58]

Well, My 81SH was about $3,500.00....so it was somewhere around that value.
T.C.

[wingnut]

When I bought my first special from the dealer in 80 it cost me about 3600 with a king/queen seat and a sissy bar so that sounds about right.

[Montreux_Blue]

Originally posted by wingnut
When I bought my first special from the dealer in 80 it cost me about 3600 with a king/queen seat and a sissy bar so that sounds about right.

Just think, for $517 more dollars, you could have bought a 1980 Pinto Pony fastback 2 door sedan (body style 10)!
Price $4,117
Engine L4 140 cid
Bore x stroke 3.78 x 3.13
Bhp 88

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Montreaux,

When I was looking to get a new bike in 83, for $700 more than what I would have had to pay for a Harley I could have bought a Jeep CJ7!!! That's another reason why I bought my 81SH!
T.C.

[smvreeland]

Better Investment

In the long run I think the bike is a better investment than the pinto!! Even if you kept the pinto where would you get parts?

[mro]

originaly posted by smvreeland
Even if you kept the pinto where would you get parts?

maybe here?
http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php


mro

[wingnut]

Didn't need a Pinto, already had one. That was the most anemic vehicle I have ever owned. Didn't have enough power to fall out of a tree if you lifted up there. Was coming off of an ice patch once under what power it had and lost the rear end, first gear and the cluster gear all at once. Good thing was it only cost about $200 in parts to fix. That's less than I paid for the E3s that are on my bike now. Guess its all relative.

[Do Lee]

We sold the 1980LG new for $4,299.00 and the 1981LH went for $4,699.00 at the Yamaha shop I worked at. Don't know if that was the suggested price or not. The only time bikes were not marked up in price was when Yamaha sent out advertising stating sale prices on selected models.

[fredintoon]

But what was the minimum wage?

Do'Lee sez a 1981 LH retailed at $4,699.
This site:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:H..._increases.svg
Sez the 1981 U.S. Federal minimum wage was $3.10c. Thus a 1981 LG could be bought for ~1,500 hours of minimum wage work.
No such thing as a new XS11 so let's see how many hours we need to buy a new 1250 Bandit.
Bandit MSRP is $8,299. Fed Min is $5.20c. so the Bandit can be bought for ~1,600 hours of minimum wage work.
So the real cost of bikes today is about the same as it was in 1981

[BlkMage]

Re: But what was the minimum wage?

Originally posted by fredintoon
Do'Lee sez a 1981 LH retailed at $4,699.
This site:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:H..._increases.svg
Sez the 1981 U.S. Federal minimum wage was $3.10c. Thus a 1981 LG could be bought for ~1,500 hours of minimum wage work.
No such thing as a new XS11 so let's see how many hours we need to buy a new 1250 Bandit.
Bandit MSRP is $8,299. Fed Min is $5.20c. so the Bandit can be bought for ~1,600 hours of minimum wage work.
So the real cost of bikes today is about the same as it was in 1981

So then if my new Katana was MSRP at $6,500, and I make about $13 an hour...about 500 hours!

I love being a state "worker"

But seriously, cool numbers. Nice work digging all that up.

[fredintoon]

Hi Blkmage,
my mathbox says you been took.
Could you buy a Katana back in 1981?
Let's say an equivalent midsize bike would have cost $2,500.
Now let's say your State wage would have been (13 x 3.1 ÷ 5.2) = $7.75.
Back in 1981 you would have to work (2,500 ÷ 7.750) = 323 hours to buy that bike rather than the 500 hours the Katana cost you these days.
You need a raise!