bike values

[jwhughes3]

The memories are Priceless.....


John

[RS Thornton]

they don't drop either!!!!!

The good news is that you can buy one of these awesome bikes in turnkey condition for around $1250. If you buy a new FJR1300 or FZ or one of the STAR cruisers you are going to lose that much in depreciation pretty quickly. While on the XS you can put 100,000 miles on and as long as you maintained it still get all your money back out of it. Thought you might want the glass half full version

As a comparison on bike value I have always looked at these like the CB750's. While you see some pristine museum quality bikes go for big $$$'s that is not typical. Like the XS they were common and there are still many of them out there, barn finds are also just as likely to get parted out on ebay as to get fixed up to roadworthiness.

Scott

[oldyam80sg]

You will never get what you put into it that's how i think.I was going to sell it years ago but got a very low offer and said to myself i guess people don't want good running bikes.If they think they are a cheap investment they are wrong.Got to be willing to do work yourself and not run to a dealer to fix simple things.That is why they have these forums.

[crazy steve]

You will never get what you put into it that's how i think..

Oh, that's not entirely true. Depending on what you pay for the bike and how much repair it needs, you can get your money back if you watch costs carefully and do your own work. But don't expect to recover more than a small fraction of your labor, and don't go nuts and order a whole bunch of new parts for the rebuild. Big-ticket items like rebuilt motors and professionally-done paint will add far more costs that you'll recover...

[oldyam80sg]

Steve-if you go and sell your bike and want a certain amount for it,there's a good chance you wont get it.People only want to pay what they think its worth.

[crazy steve]

You just have to be realistic in what you ask. Sure, if you buy a $1500 bike and sink another $1K or more into it, chances are poor you'll get all your money back. But it can be done....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33841

Paid $250 for this one, put about 500 hours into it, total $ investment of about $900. Sold for $2100, I probably could have gotten a bit more if I sold in the spring instead of the end of summer. I've got an XJ I'm in the process of redoing now, same initial price, should have about the same into it, expect about the same sale price.

One thing I noticed locally, there aren't many big-bore Jap multis in the $2-3K range for sale. Get near $3K, and the bike (if it's the age of these) needs to be nearly flawless, but typically they're 'survivors' with major or minor issues and will only fetch $1200-1500 at best. The SG wasn't perfect (and the XJ won't be either) but was issue-free and looked very good. I didn't even attempt doing a 'restoration' with all correct parts, as that will force you into spending big $$ for sometimes hard-to-find parts. You also have to be careful about 'personal' mods; doing anything 'odd' will hurt value also. That metallic pink paint you loved may not be a turn-on to a potential buyer...

Getting a premium price is all about the details; new paint and tires will help, but if the frame has chipped paint and there's still a few rusty pieces of hardware, it's just a 'nice old bike' and won't bring big $$$...

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Museume MNS

The good news is that you can buy one of these awesome bikes in turnkey condition for around $1250. If you buy a new FJR1300 or FZ or one of the STAR cruisers you are going to lose that much in depreciation pretty quickly. While on the XS you can put 100,000 miles on and as long as you maintained it still get all your money back out of it. Thought you might want the glass half full version

As a comparison on bike value I have always looked at these like the CB750's. While you see some pristine museum quality bikes go for big $$$'s that is not typical. Like the XS they were common and there are still many of them out there, barn finds are also just as likely to get parted out on ebay as to get fixed up to roadworthiness.

Scott

I bid $4000.00 on this XS1100 MNS a couple years ago. It was from a museum and sold on Ebay for just over my bid It was shiped across the pond They come up once in a while

[Rasputin]

Biggest thing I have seen is that if you have to have a running bike with all the pretty parts washed up you will get as much as if you rebuilt every single part. New owners do not care if you spent a bunch on brake rebuild stuff etc, they just want to know it will stop. If you can not fire it up and ride it for whatever reason...you will get half of what you are asking for at best.
We all have heard the famous PO line that it "worked when I parked it" line, but nothing says sale like a turn the key and it runs bike. If you want more money then make it work right before the sale. Cheaper to do it that way than give it away because of some simple thing. As was said earlier do not expect to get paid for labour as that is something most buyers of these bikes will never take into account. If they did they would be off to the dealer for a new one in a flash.