Topic: What Should I Pay For This? Went to Look at it Today...!

[Terry in Australia]

The paint is wrong, I give a rats ass, Uncle Terry.  Reduces value. 

Ahhh, the "Closet Collector" has finally outted himself! I don't give a rats arse Steve because I buy my bikes to ride...

C'mon Terry, it's not about being a "Closet Collector", you just make that up? Ha!
 So if you were considering buying this particular bike, you wouldn't use the "improper color" as a bargaining tool to get a better deal? 

Nope, I don't give a rats about the colour Steve, because I'm colour blind, so if the paint looks nice, that's good enough for me, because I'm gonna ride it, not hide it in my wine cellar with all my other "investments".

Also, I'm crap at "bargaining", I usually just pay what the seller asks, my experience is that the seller's are usually only asking for a fraction of what it actually cost them to restore their bikes, (there's no money in restoring bikes to sell for those sort of numbers) so I think that it's kind of insulting to try to bargain them down further? Cheers, Terry.

[Stev-o]

The paint is wrong, I give a rats ass, Uncle Terry.  Reduces value. 

Ahhh, the "Closet Collector" has finally outted himself! I don't give a rats arse Steve because I buy my bikes to ride...

C'mon Terry, it's not about being a "Closet Collector", you just make that up? Ha!
 So if you were considering buying this particular bike, you wouldn't use the "improper color" as a bargaining tool to get a better deal? 

Nope, I don't give a rats about the colour Steve, because I'm colour blind, so if the paint looks nice, that's good enough for me, because I'm gonna ride it, not hide it in my wine cellar with all my other "investments".

Also, I'm crap at "bargaining", I usually just pay what the seller asks, my experience is that the seller's are usually only asking for a fraction of what it actually cost them to restore their bikes, (there's no money in restoring bikes to sell for those sort of numbers) so I think that it's kind of insulting to try to bargain them down further? Cheers, Terry.

I don't think it's insulting if done n a respectful way, I think of it as negotiating. Maybe it's differant here, but even new car sales can be negotiated. I usually add a couple hundred to the sales price of a bike I'm selling and will come down to make the sale if a lower offer is made.
Glad I got that effin F model out of my wine cellar with my vintage wine collection and other investments.....ha!

[ekpent]

I think most people here in the U.S. jack the price up a little to come down. Its just kind of an unspoken code that their will be some friendly haggling. Heck a lot of bike adds usually have the price with the infamous OBO at the end which just invites a little haggle.

[Stev-o]

I think most people here in the U.S. jack the price up a little to come down. Its just kind of an unspoken code that their will be some friendly haggling. Heck a lot of bike adds usually have the price with the infamous OBO at the end which just invites a little haggle.

Definitely. I love to see that OBO. Bet Eric is a good bike haggler.
Probably saved enough money on those 40 purchases to buy one or two...

[ekpent]

I think most people here in the U.S. jack the price up a little to come down. Its just kind of an unspoken code that their will be some friendly haggling. Heck a lot of bike adds usually have the price with the infamous OBO at the end which just invites a little haggle.

Definitely. I love to see that OBO. Bet Eric is a good bike haggler.
Probably saved enough money on those 40 purchases to buy one or two...

Growing up in the antique business with my folks I can hardly fill up at the gas station without wanting to haggle just a little bit.   

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, I can understand what you guys are saying, and if it's "OBO", then fair enough, but I get pissed with lowball offers. When I sold my BMW K1100LT I'd just bought the Triumph Rocket III, so I put the BMW on eBay and I got some stupid offers, and messages from one "pensioner" pretty much asking me to just give it to him, so I cancelled the auction and decided to just keep it.

As soon as I did, I got a flurry of phone calls from guys who were watching the auction and basically waiting until the last minute to bid, hoping to get it for next to nothing. One guy from Adelaide offered to fly over and pay me the "Buy it now" price I asked for, so I was happy with that.

When he arrived though, he then tried to lowball me! I told him to either pay me my asking price, or get off my lawn, so he reluctantly paid me, and #$%*ed all the way out of my driveway. He rode the bike back to Adelaide, and I never heard from him again. Good, I hope he fell off. Lowballers piss me off! Ooops, wrong thread..........

[ekpent]

I do not like to lowball, usually just asking "is that the best you can do ?" or something of that sort is enough to either make or get a deal going or lets you know that things are looking pretty firm. Internet offers I am sure are a whole other thing when they do not have to make any real face to face contact.

[Tews19]

I do not like to lowball, usually just asking "is that the best you can do ?" or something of that sort is enough to either make or get a deal going or lets you know that things are looking pretty firm. Internet offers I am sure are a whole other thing when they do not have to make any real face to face contact.

plus 100

Love when I list something on CL and I do not get any questions of any kind.. Simply a number they are willing to pay... Even more funny when they include, " I have a bike to look at so if you do not take the offer I will buy the one I am going to look at "............

[Terry in Australia]

I think that's why I like eBay so much. The winning bid is what I'm gonna get, (or pay, if I'm buying) and there's no room for negotiation afterwards. I did have one guy try it on when I sold my (horrible) CB900F many years ago, and I just said that if he wasn't prepared to pay the winning bid, I'd sell it to the next highest bidder, so he shut up and paid up. A deal is a deal, and both parties should respect that. Cheers, Terry.

[Stev-o]

I don't like low ballers either, I just reply "NO".

When I'm buying, I try to be respectful and use the line "Would you consider...".
If your serious about buying an item, the last thing you want to do is piss the seller off.
I rarely let a buyer come to my house, I prefer to meet them at a public place.

OK, where'd Imaogo go? Did you make a deal after all this dumb buying advice??!!

[Geeto67]

FWIW, here in the states I haven't seen someone who wasn't trying to "flip for profit" a cb750 in over a year now. Apparently TV shows like American Pickers and such have made everyone think they have "rusty gold". They are all 20 somethings too. For some reason, these "kids" got it in their head that making money on the bike is part of the hobby.

I negotiate with everyone, just because. I know when I walk up whether I am willing to pay the asking price or not and that depends on how nice the thing is. If the seller hasn't oversold it I might at least ask because it never hurts to ask. If it looks dodgy, I'll negotiate harder. If it was way oversold I'll just leave. I've told sellers before "you flat out lied ot me, why would I want to do business with you?", but it has to be pretty obvious and a pretty big misrepresentation.

[Imago]

OK, where'd Imaogo go? Did you make a deal after all this dumb buying advice??!!

I'm off tomorrow to check it out... stay tuned!

Any thoughts about what I should look for regarding originality? I've been advised about the carb boot clamps being too wide on this unit, for example, but what else should you look for on a '71?

[Bankerdanny]

I had to replace my wife's car last week and so I put her old one (2004 VW Jetta 1.8T) on Craigslist yesterday afternoon. I literally sold it within 2 hours of placing the ad, it was kind of surreal.

I figured I would get $3,500, so I asked $4,200 OBO. The first caller offered $3k, I said no, $3,500 was my bottom line, he said $3,300 and again I said no, $3,500 was the price. I had another guy already setting up an appointment and it had only been listed a couple hours so I had no need to fire sale. He said he would get back to me. He texted me about 30 minutes later to say he would take it for $3,500, but by that point someone had offered $3,600 and it was gone.

It was a nice car, but I am still really suprised at the reaction it got. I listed my MG yesterday, it will be interesting to see what it gets.

[ekpent]

OK, where'd Imaogo go? Did you make a deal after all this dumb buying advice??!!

I'm off tomorrow to check it out... stay tuned!

Any thoughts about what I should look for regarding originality? I've been advised about the carb boot clamps being too wide on this unit, for example, but what else should you look for on a '71?

The bike has been restored pretty nicely. The back shocks are not original as they had a black inner body but they wore out fast anyways. At this point write down what the proper range for for the frame and engine vin numbers should be and check those to make sure a later engine was not plugged into it. Numbers will not match each other so don't worry about that but would be nice to be within a few hundred. Mufflers should be HM300's and their the best and the chain guard should be plastic,the last year for that. Here is a chart to get your numbers,I keep one in my truck on buying trips.  http://www.hondachopper.com/engine/engine_timeline/timeline.html

[Terry in Australia]

OK, where'd Imaogo go? Did you make a deal after all this dumb buying advice??!!

I'm off tomorrow to check it out... stay tuned!

Any thoughts about what I should look for regarding originality? I've been advised about the carb boot clamps being too wide on this unit, for example, but what else should you look for on a '71?

Good luck mate, and sorry for the threadjack. That bike looks nice, as long as the numbers are within range, it's got the correct speedo and tach, HM300 pipes etc, it should be fine. Don't worry about nitpicking crap like the width of the band clamps when you know that it's been bored to 836cc and painted the wrong color, for $4500 it won't be perfectly original, nor should you expect it to be. Cheers, Terry.  

[ekpent]

Those carbs clamps are usually one of the first things to go on my bikes anyways. Got a box full. Combination of the old rubber shrinking, the cheesy tin metal of the clamp stretching and the fact they have a 'stop' built in to only tighten so far are a combination for a manifold leak. When I go and try to get the big trophy at Pebble Beach I will throw the stockers back on    

[RSchaefer]

There are narrow clamps readily available, the wider clamps contribute to air leaks.

[ekpent]

I have never had an air leak with the wide ones and I have them on many 750's. Did you have an air leak with them ?  Thinner probably would be better though.

[RSchaefer]

I did not have an air leak, kinda wish I did, means the engine would be running.  I'm in my 3rd year of a '75, CB750F restoration as I'm still working for a living, but getting real close :-)  I had just heard comments from others and the reference in HM's book.

[Terry in Australia]

I have never had an air leak with the wide ones and I have them on many 750's. Did you have an air leak with them ?  Thinner probably would be better though.

Me either Eric, and I've owned over 20 CB750's over the last 35 years. (yeah, I know you've got more than 20 in your garage now, you bloody capitalist.........) There's a lot of bullschidt out there, and quite often, bullschidt becomes doctrine on these forums.

What can cause air leaks though, is folks over-tightening non OEM band clamps and distorting the rubbers. In extreme cases, I've seen damaged carbs where turkeys have kept cranking down on industrial strength hose clamps, and damaging the soft zinc/alloy carb bodies. Some folks shouldn't be allowed to own tools...........

[ekpent]

One last pointer and I will go back to my leaky manifolds but there are different clamps a guy can purchase. The ones I buy are stainless and I trim them down to fit. Once they are trimmed the majority of the clamp is nice smooth stainless strap and very little serrations are left to disturb the rubber. I put some light grease on the clamp before I tighten which may still be warm from my heat gun upon carb install so there is no damage or dig in.
   If you are using the clamps that are totally serrated around the whole band than you may be asking for trouble .

[seanbarney41]

...or just use the stockers

[Terry in Australia]

...or just use the stockers

Or buy new rubbers and OEM clamps and they'll be good for many years to come. The ones on my bike are 5 or 6 years old now, and still nice and soft. Cheers, Terry.

[ekpent]

...or just use the stockers

Many times I have removed the carbs on a new bike project and even with the stock bands tightened to the max I can rock and rotate the old hard rubber manifolds that are still connected to the head. Not good. Someday if my ship comes in it will be new rubbers for everybody.

[RSchaefer]

Have you ever tried the Wintergreen trick on the hard boots?