Topic: A discussion of a bike’s value.

[kerryb]

I set out to build a cafe racer about five years ago because I wanted to have a cool bike.  I had no intention of selling it.  I worked on it for a few months and then took a rest (6 months) to ride & work on other bikes.  This pattern continued for about 5 years while the arthritis in my neck accumulated.  I realized I wouldn’t be able to ride this bike when finished, so I finished with the intent to sell it & move on.  But what’s it worth?  It was built with only a few modifications to the seat frame, a seat, and a tank from a ‘78k cb750.  Of course clipons, signals, grips & mirrors from ebay,  and lots & lots of hours.  The result is a 1982 cb650 in basic trim with nothing high tech like an m-unit or fancy wave rotors.  Even the shocks are original but cleaned up.  No powder coat, and a vintage tank with very nice vintage paint and a shiny interior.  The mechanics of the bike is where the effort went.  New starter clutch in an engine w 20k miles, rebuilt brakes, carbs, air intake, wiring harness brought back to correctness with new wires and vintage connections parts.

[kerryb]

I got this bike from my friend cheap because he didn’t want to do the starter clutch repair.  His son, who is becoming an auto technician (are they still called mechanics.) where I’ve had my car repaired for many years,  would love to buy the bike, but he has little money, so I’ve decided to sell it to him for what he can afford. The added benefit is I get to see someone enjoying my efforts.  This still doesn’t answer the question of what it might bring on the open market.  Of course they all say “whatever the market will bear”.  I don’t think I’ll find that out, so I’m asking your opinion of what you might pay for it, if it was for sale.  The money would be nice, but I don’t “need” it for another project.   There is a build thread on here if you want to see it. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,174985.0.html
(Just noticed the friend mentioned in the beginning is no longer around)
Thanks in advance for your consideration, I was going to ask $2500 for it.

[seanbarney41]

I think you are right on target with $2500.  In my area (SW Michigan) that is a good starting point for pretty much any solid, reliable, running riding bike.  Thankfully, the cafe racer trend has mostly died off around here...I still see plenty of unfinished projects that "ran before I took it apart for cafeing, just needs carbs synced even though I have no idea what that is or what a carb is supposed to do"  But I am sure yours is good to go so that is value in your favor.

[Don R]

 I'd hate to see you sell it too cheap and then the buyer sell at a good profit.

[kerryb]

Thank you both, for responding.  Selling a bike is stressful for me, so this is a bit of a cop out to avoid it.  Fortunately, the bike has already met its goals which included creating a seat from scratch and a custom intake to avoid pods, which worked better than expected.  If he keeps it for a season and then sells it, I’m ok with that. 

[BenelliSEI]

Kerry….. Several years ago, I sold a bike to my son’s best friend “for what he could afford”. He’s had a few bikes come and go since, but has kept the one he got from me as a favourite. Good for you!

[MauiK3]

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. One persons vision may or may not be good for another.
Best of luck

[kerryb]

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. One persons vision may or may not be good for another.
Best of luck

Very true, I’m lucky somebody else likes it too!

[Redline it]

I set out to build a cafe racer about five years ago because I wanted to have a cool bike.  I had no intention of selling it.  I worked on it for a few months and then took a rest (6 months) to ride & work on other bikes.  This pattern continued for about 5 years while the arthritis in my neck accumulated.  I realized I wouldn’t be able to ride this bike when finished, so I finished with the intent to sell it & move on.  But what’s it worth?  It was built with only a few modifications to the seat frame, a seat, and a tank from a ‘78k cb750.  Of course clipons, signals, grips & mirrors from ebay,  and lots & lots of hours.  The result is a 1982 cb650 in basic trim with nothing high tech like an m-unit or fancy wave rotors.  Even the shocks are original but cleaned up.  No powder coat, and a vintage tank with very nice vintage paint and a shiny interior.  The mechanics of the bike is where the effort went.  New starter clutch in an engine w 20k miles, rebuilt brakes, carbs, air intake, wiring harness brought back to correctness with new wires and vintage connections parts.

I'll tell you something, and this is a true short story, i had my eyes seriously focussed on a  triumph 650 bonnyville with less than than 500miles on it, my cousins husband died just after buying it, with a complete spare bike for parts, this was the steve mcqueen desert bike, licensed too, it is dusty, i offered 5,000. she said yeah but only the one bike, 2 weeks later she backed out, i offered 10,000. she said no, i went to 15k still no. she's giving it to her grand daughter that's 20yrs old and she's never met her, because the girl has a boyfriend that has a harley. so i couldn't wrap my brain around that. so i looked on craigs list and found a cb400f 1975 for 6500.00. it was rusted throughout, frame, stock pipes, front master cylinder was hanging so that fluid was dripping on the #4 pipe. it sat out side for 20 yrs, in the rain and sun. key features were it had 9500miles on it. i told the guy no. he calls me back couple weeks later with a price drop of 6k, and i really didn't want it to work on in the living room. so i lowballed him and said i wouldn't go a dollar over 5k, hoping he'd say good bye. he said ok. i lived about 5 miles from him, he charged me 100 dollars to haul it over to my house, it took a year in the front room painting the frame and getting this bike back on the road. so the moral of the story is start high, higher than high, there could be a loose nut out there, with some cash burning a hole in his loose nut. what do you got to loose, not time. with how much work i had to do to this 400f it was more worth 1500. not 5100.

[HondaMan]

I once did something similar with an old KZ650. I got it dirt cheap ($300?) because it didn't run, no battery, bad gas in tank (not much rust, though!).
I got it running with $100 in new valve shims and $25 for the new gasket under that cover, and lots of elbow grease. In 2007 I sold it for $1500 and the kid who bought it rode thru his college years sold it to a classmate afterward for twice that much(!).

It was also painted in Emerald Green flake, because I had it left over from something else: it actually looked pretty good!

[carnivorous chicken]

so the moral of the story is start high, higher than high, there could be a loose nut out there, with some cash burning a hole in his loose nut.

This. If you're selling start higher than you normally would -- you don't have to be ridiculous, sky high, but reasonable on the high end. It will also leave you a little wiggle room when someone tried to haggle. You can lower a little and both will be happy.

[madsundaysurvivor]

Allow me to tell you my story from Spain.
 I have owned, restored and repaired more than 25 motorcycles. Due to space in my workshop, I can't have more than 5 at a time and after a few years I end up selling them.
 I have always chosen the motorcycles that I like, without taking into account fashions and when I sold them, after a lot of love and work, I have barely been able to recover the investment.
 Over the years I have learned that the best sales price is the one that allows me to start a new dream/project.
Everything I enjoy working/learning with the new bike cannot be paid for with money

[kerryb]

Kerry….. Several years ago, I sold a bike to my son’s best friend “for what he could afford”. He’s had a few bikes come and go since, but has kept the one he got from me as a favourite. Good for you!

If I got a bike from your shop, I’d still have it too!

[69cb750]

Allow me to tell you my story from Spain.
 I have owned, restored and repaired more than 25 motorcycles. Due to space in my workshop, I can't have more than 5 at a time and after a few years I end up selling them.
 I have always chosen the motorcycles that I like, without taking into account fashions and when I sold them, after a lot of love and work, I have barely been able to recover the investment.
 Over the years I have learned that the best sales price is the one that allows me to start a new dream/project.
Everything I enjoy working/learning with the new bike cannot be paid for with money

Mad Sunday,
Same for me.

[kerryb]

If you are reading this without reading the entire post (it is obvious), let me explain.  I’m giving this bike to a kid I’ve known since he was 5.  The reasons for this are stress reduction, I don’t have to worry about getting taken, I’m selfish, I want to hear about him enjoying it, and I won’t have any complaints…he’ll just bring it over and we’ll fix it together, that’s a win, win, win!  But getting back to the original question, what do you think a realistic selling price might be?  I put it up for sale locally for 3 weeks without any response, but I attribute that to being late fall and a niche market bike that we see few of.  I set the price then at $2500 which would leave room to haggle a little.  Think of it as a poll.  Give us your opinion of what a realistic selling price might have been.  Here’s a pic of my no-pods open triangle.

[Flyin900]

Kerry,

I think your $2500.00 is a fair price for the bike if it runs and rides and stops well. Once you get into $3K plus on a modified bike its a crap shoot of who you will get that is interested.
What your doing makes the most sense IMO, since as you noted it stays within the "family". Where you can assist if needed and still see it possibly on occasion.
I have bought and restored and sold most of my Honda bikes of every size and variation, other than dirt bikes or 2 strokes. In the end I am meticulous in my restorations, so money can never be the end goal. The challenge and the enjoyment of the restoration and learning about the intricacies of the bike was/is the payoff for me.

Here's an example that I would need $12000.00 US to break even just on the bike purchase and parts in the build and not counting the 500+ hours of build time. It took 1 full year to acquire the parts worldwide and chrome plating, plus the work. Never going to get anything close to that price.
It sure looks good in the family room though and I get to see it year round. 

[HondaMan]

Kerry,

I think your $2500.00 is a fair price for the bike if it runs and rides and stops well. Once you get into $3K plus on a modified bike its a crap shoot of who you will get that is interested.
Doing what you doing makes the most sense IMO, since as you noted it stays within the "family". Where you can assist if needed and still see it possibly on occasion.
I have bought and restored and sold most of my Honda bikes of every size and variation, other than dirt bikes or 2 strokes. In the end I am meticulous in my restorations, so money can never be the end goal. The challenge and the enjoyment of the restoration and learning about the intricacies of the bike was/is the payoff for me.

Here's an example that I would need $12000.00 US to break even on the parts in the build along with the 500+ hours of build time taking 1 full year to acquire the parts worldwide and chrome plating. Never going to get anything close to that price.
It sure looks good in the family room though and I get to see it year round. 

Boy, does THAT bring back memories!

[jlh3rd]

THAT...IS A NICE BIKE. beautiful.