Rode my XS1100 for the last time...and a little rant

[neJeff]

Well I have had my XS1000 for sale for about a month and I think I am finally within a few days of selling it. I got it out last night for a "goodbye" ride and it was a great ride indeed! Bike is running great because of the help I have received on this forum so a thank you is in order! I am a "guest" and also a member on several other forums but this one is the best! I am letting the bike go because a GS850G that I had bought for re-sale actually fits my body much better, its not because I don't love the XS1100. I would just be better off with a Standard rather than the Special I have found and since the Suzuki is the better fit so one of the bikes had to go. Now for a little rant....

What happened to the value of these old UJM bikes? I am going to close a deal on my XS at $1200 which is very sad but its all I can seem to get. I wasn't even getting any interest at $1500 and had to lower it. I knew when I saw Crazy Steve's beautiful red XS that he rehabilitated sell for under $2500 IIRC last fall that something was wrong in the world. Since I have been back into bikes in the last year I have kind of gone full tilt and gotten into some resale and parts sales so I watch the papers and Craigslist daily and I see the same bikes posted today that I have been seeing for a year + on Craigs and come to the conclusion that hardly nothing ever actually sells, it just cycles and recycles through. My son who is now a rider loves the cool old bikes like I do but he often asks why we hardly ever see any old bikes actually on the road. All we ever see is V Twin's in Harley or other forms. I'm doing my best to sell good old UJM parts to people that need them but I fear the number of us UJM owners are dwindling.

Thanks again guys for all the help! I am not leaving the site, just the "owner" club. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a standard.

[CatatonicBug]

Sorry you have to let the bike go. Good to see you've found a bike that fits you though! Hopefully, the XS will fit it's new owner just as well.

As for the value, $1 per cc is pretty normal for these bikes, unless it's been really well-restored. I just sold an XS850 for $850 after I messed with title work and got it running after the PO had let it sit for years. The truth is, we are in a disposable society, and most people don't think about looking for "older" bikes. They want the new, shiny stuff that they can brag about how much they paid for it. These UJMs are a labor of love, and just need to find the right person to truly appreciate them. It requires someone who enjoys getting greasy and likes a bit of a challenge. That interest, however, is not often held by the younger generation (my own included).

[jetmechmarty]

IMHO, as the parts supply dwindles, the value goes down. Lets face it. Yamaha isn't making any money from you while you ride an XS11. The price of an XS650 holds pretty well. If I have a frame and part of an engine, I can put it together with new parts. I soon won't be able to buy an exhaust for the XS11, but for TC.

[jimbyjimb]

As far as value the best I can think is this;

Who's going to buy an old XS for 2k when there are Suzuki SV650's for that much? My generation doesn't value older stuff the same way yours does. I mean, there are plenty of hippie Gen Xer's in Seattle that don't give a crap about old stuff. Seems they've bred it into us Gen Yer's OR newer stuff that's newer looking and better on paper is available at such low prices why buy the old stuff? I don't think this way myself, just a athought.

Perception could be huge too as old vehicles have a stigma as being 'unsafe' from people who have no actual knowledge about anything. While modern equipment can most certainly be safer I've found it isn't in general because people still act like idiots. Yamaha can't fix stupid!

That being said, I'm going to step on my own foot some and say I see a whole lot of old bikes here. Could be your area. XS's still sell for cheap, but there is almost always one and often multiple 1100's on our local Craigslist at any given point. I also see them parked on the street or rolling down the road fairly regular. Not nearly as common as new bikes though, and really as it should be. Old Hondas are literally everywhere, but hardly any in what I'd call good shape.

I doubt if there are many bikes in the kind of shape mine is in around, and especially the kind of shape I can imagine Steve's would have been in.

This one is up right now, and looks very good!

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/mcy/3055659952.html

[jetmechmarty]

jimbyjimb makes a good point. As we get older and stop riding, the demand is going to go down. Look what happened to the price of a Model A Ford when the guys who drove them as kids died off. Most of those who desire these bikes had them or wanted them in their youth. See the average age thread. The overwhelming numbers of us are in our 50's or 60's.

[dpotter58]

and then you see this and scratch your head... Did it really sell or was it scammed?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649&item=110881289752&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

[tonyg-5386]

I'm selling mine too. So far no takers. It's a great old bike and needs nothing. I'll just keep it if there's no takers. I'm not going to give it away.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/mcy/3046372978.html

[dpotter58]

[QUOTE=tonyg-5386;376324]I'm selling mine too. So far no takers. It's a great old bike and needs nothing. I'll just keep it if there's no takers. I'm not going to give it away.

QUOTE]

That's where I'm at with mine. I have too many but where I'm at there is no market. I'd like to sell a couple but they don't take up too much room in the garage

[neJeff]

I'm selling mine too. So far no takers. It's a great old bike and needs nothing. I'll just keep it if there's no takers. I'm not going to give it away.


http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/mcy/3046372978.html

Damn! Nice bike. It's a shame isn't it you can't find a good home for it. Most of the parts bikes I get out of garages & old barns are bikes that people couldn't get what they wanted and just parked them. When I get them they haven't seen any maintenance for years and have issues. I can't be a guy who keeps if I can't find a buyer ( don't have the space) and I don't think parting it out is the way to go either. This bike is what got me back into cycles and I want it to have a good home. I'm going to list on ebay also I think

[neJeff]

jimbyjimb makes a good point. As we get older and stop riding, the demand is going to go down. Look what happened to the price of a Model A Ford when the guys who drove them as kids died off. Most of those who desire these bikes had them or wanted them in their youth. See the average age thread. The overwhelming numbers of us are in our 50's or 60's.

Agreed...Got an email from a guy a little bit ago that's coming over tomorrow. He had an XS1100 back in 79'...the point is made. I sure hope he likes it...

[crazy steve]

...I knew when I saw Crazy Steve's beautiful red XS that he rehabilitated sell for under $2500 IIRC last fall that something was wrong in the world...

It's at least about the parts supply like Marty said, as well as the age of the bikes; who's going to buy a 30 year old bike when for a bit more you can get a much newer one? That's much less likely to need work, minor or otherwise?

I didn't expect to get more for that SG I rebuilt and sold; it would have been nice, but I doubt very much if I would have gotten it. I watch the local used bike market to see what prices are, and used UJMs fall into three catagories pretty much; the extremely rare, looks new or close to it, needs-nothing ones that can bring a premium price from the right buyer, the 'average' runners that are showing their age (typically advertised as 'needs some TLC' and does), and the 'project' bikes (most of them) that may or may not run, but will need a serious time investment before they're ready to ride. The latter two can be hard sells, as few buyers are looking for projects; they want something to ride, not wrench on.

Japanese bikes have a known reputation for poor parts availability with age, so for most buyers that has to be reflected in the price; they'll take a chance on one if their overall investment isn't too high.

I found that locally there's a 'gap' in liter-class bike prices; that's what allows me to rebuild/sell these and 'make' money on them (although my labor rate works out to about $2 per hour.. ; hardly a money maker...). If you have $3K or more to spend, there's lots of bikes available, some of them pretty new. Next stop down is the $1 to 1.5K bikes, that may or may not be 'good' runners but will all need at least some cosmetic help and are generally in need of at least some maintenance. So in the 1.5 to 3K range, the 'right' bike (seen as a very good value) will sell. But to get that money (particularly the upper end of the range), the bike needs to be near-flawless, not something easily accomplished these days given the difficulty with finding good OEM parts. If you do mods, they need to appear OEM; nothing kills value like obviously-modified bits.

And remember, these bikes sold new in the $3 to 4K range, so expecting the 'average' bike to retain 75% or more of their value 30 years later is a bit unrealistic...

One other thing to think about; everyone here is a bit of an 'enthusiast' for these, so our judgement is colored; to most people these are just an old bike, with little perceived difference from any other old bike. A minor glitch in the bike's performance to us can be expected, but for the average rider/buyer it can be a major issue. We're willing to put the time in for fixing these bikes, but as we all know, if you're paying somebody to do repairs it can get horribly expensive very quickly. I see the same thing in one of my other 'hobbies' (or I refer to it, the monkey on my back: Jaguar cars); really great cars when everything is right, but repair costs are so outrageous to have done that the cars value has plummeted to nearly nothing unless it's a near-perfect example. 'Project' cars can be bought for literally pennies on the dollar....

These bikes are a love affair, not a business....

[Irukandji]

Its a shame that you can strip the bike down to bare bones, put drag bars.open headers.and a cafe seat and sell it for more than a good looking original

[DGXSER]

I'll add to what Steve said that part of the lure of these bikes is how easy they are to work on. Really, even the carbs are very simplistic. So it is attractive to the shadetree mechanic. However, shadetree mechanics like to buy cheap and do some work, not buy the perfect / ready to ride machines for market prices. IMO, the better part of our membership falls into the first category. I found at XSEast that most of the old members there no longer own or ride an XS11. They still like them, they just rather have a turn the key and ride every time bike.

As to being worht more as a modified bike, well, only if you find that nitch market of folks who want a bike just like you made it. the more you "perosnalize" it, the narrower that field gets.

[crazy steve]

I'll add to what Steve said that part of the lure of these bikes is how easy they are to work on. Really, even the carbs are very simplistic..

I'll at least partially disagree with this; yes, compared to newer four-cylinder bikes or nearly any water-cooled bike, these are relatively easy to work on. But compared to most air-cooled V-twins (especially the pushrod variety), the XS11 needs a lot of rather complicated maintenance. My Harleys don't need carb syncs or valve adjustments and what they do need is very minimal and seldom. Granted, if you bite the bullet and spend the time to get everything 'right' on a XS, it will reward you with many miles of trouble-free use, but doing a valve shim on one is not on my list of favorite things to do...

[jetmechmarty]

If you posess the skills to build a custom (cafe racer) from a UJM, and get proffessional results, you might be able to get a premium price. You have to capture a trending market. It helps to have a reputation.




The above bike was built from a XV920 "Virago" cruiser that nobody wants.