Topic: Craigslist bike rant

[faux fiddy]

I was sent pics of  a bike described as "complete."  I finally got the files opened, then I saw this rant on CL that seemed pretty appropriate.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/rnr/1766911707.html

1) A street bike with no title is a parts bike and maybe hot. I view all street bikes with no titles with suspicion no matter what you tell me. (I don’t trust you.) Street bikes listed without a title drop the price of the bike (for me at least) $500. A title is not easy to get. It can be done but it is a pain in the ass and usually keeps me from even considering the bike. The title is important. Don't lose it!
2) Your old Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Triumph or BMW, with rare exception is NOT a collectable bike.
3) Your old 80s vintage beater with the rip in the seat and 60,000 miles on the clock is not worth the same as a 90s vintage bike or even a 2000 model bike. Unless you have a Vincent, a BSA Gold Star, an original Z1 Kawasaki or a sand cast CB750 then the chances of you owning something collectable is slim and none. Get over it. (see #2)
4) Don’t include “such observations as “won’t last long.” I don’t care.
5) Don’t threaten me with “if it doesn’t sell this week, I am going to part it out on EBay.” It’s your bike mate, do what you want but you might want to check out eBay and see if anyone actually wants parts for the bike your fixing to break up. (see #4)
6) According to every ad posted for bikes that don’t run they all "just need the carbs cleaned." This is true for a certain percentage of bikes but there was a reason the bike was parked in the first place. Many bikes in the 80s vintage have serious electrical problems that are very hard for the layman to diagnose.
7) When a bike is stuck in gear it is not an “east fix” as was proposed by an ad last week. It can be fixed and I guess it’s easy if you find pulling the engine, stripping the primary drive and clutch, flipping it over and removing the bottom to find the broken shift fork easy.
Bikes depreciate over time. It is 2010. Bikes that are 2000 models are not new they are ten years old. Price them accordingly.
9) The Blue Book retail price is for a pristine examples. Your bike is not pristine by a country mile.






He said he was about to sell the sissy bar off it, so I said great, take that off the asking price and we're getting closer.

[gmonkey]

Go look at a bike.  $500 but won't start from something relatively minor like fuel line problem or electrical.  Tell him, let me think about it, I'll call you back by tonight.  Get home, cellphone rings:  I found the problem, got it started, now it's $900.

[brandon]

Goodness gracious, if only people here in Hawaii would stop acting like their stuff was made of gold by the hands of virgin maidens from Shangri La somewhere up in the sky, then the world would be a better place (for me...in Hawaii ).  I'm not joking. It seems like everyone and their mother is trying to sell their motorcycle/moped/truck/car/surfboard...for 10-20% over book value, whilst said respective item is beat to hell and often times the title is 'lost' and the safety check & registration expired five years ago.

Off hand, Craigslist helped me recover my motorcycle after it 'walked' off for the second time

[MJL]

How hard is it to go to the license branch, pay $10, and get a replacement title?  Is it not worth a couple extra hundred?

[wannabridin]

it's not that easy.  usually with a lost title, you have to track down the last known owner, get their permission to sell it or release the title, and then you can go through the process.  some states are MUCH harder than others, and getting a title on a bike after a certain year is next to impossible...

[Gordon]

I think he's talking about if it's titled in your name and you're the one who lost it.  I can't even count how many times I've come across someone trying to sell a motorcycle that's registered to them (or at least they say it is ), but they lost the title and aren't willing to get a replacement before trying to sell it.  It's like the people who won't even go so far as to hose off a bike that's covered in dirt and bird #$%* before taking pictures of it for a classified ad.  

[Bob750]

How hard is it to go to the license branch, pay $10, and get a replacement title?  Is it not worth a couple extra hundred?

it's not that easy.  usually with a lost title, you have to track down the last known owner, get their permission to sell it or release the title, and then you can go through the process.  some states are MUCH harder than others, and getting a title on a bike after a certain year is next to impossible...

I think what MJL is saying is... "If you're the owner and have lost the title..." At least if you legitimately own it you can prove to the agency it's yours and get a duplicate title for whatever fee they charge. Then you can sell your bike with a title, increasing its sell price, and the confidence of the buyer.

[Bob750]

... It's like the people who won't even go so far as to hose off a bike that's covered in dirt and bird #$%* before taking pictures of it for a classified ad.  

I so love those ads. Sometimes you can SEE the hidden value under the crap, you know "hey that's good chrome under that protective crud..." you can sometimes come away having saved yourself some cash and haveing saved the seller the time needed to clean it up.  I mean, you're right that it's a silly thing to skip--a pre-sale wash--but for a savvy buyer ot can usually mean savings. Scratch off the dirt to find the serial number is 000000002? I'm gonna pay the low asking price ans haul ass with it in the back of a truck. I'll wash it later with proper technique... heh.

[wannabridin]

well if you're just the idiot that lost the title, then sure it's not too bad for getting a new one.   but otherwise, it's a b*%ch!!

hey bob, lets see some pics of the bike in your avatar!  looks good!!

[Bob750]

hey bob, lets see some pics of the bike in your avatar!  looks good!!

Um, Thanks!

The pic in my avatar was taken in about 1996 after new paint. (Original Owner in Upstate NY didn't like the Orange and Black it had when he bought it off the showroom floor! What a dummy. So HE had it painted candy apple red, which got sun faded on the top of the tank and upper section of side panels. After 2 years like that, I decided on a British Racing Green, and everyone who sees it likes it, so everyone's happy I guess.) Anyway, that pic also has the 4-4 pipes and original seat showing.

Nowadays, after some neglect, it has black, rusty (I call it blusty) Mac 4-1, an aftermarket over-cover for the seat which is torn up underneath (foam now crumbling all over battery and plastic fender), and it's not quite as shiny. And right now the front end is off for re-forking.

I'm restoring it, but it's gonna take some time. I left it out back in the sun and rain too long. I am an ass.

PS: I still have the 4-4 pipes--they just rusted out along the bottom seam on a couple pipes, what do I do? I'd love to have them on the bike, but  they need repair (replacement would be nice, but not for 800-1000 bucks). Is it possible to fix those old pipes?

[wannabridin]

lots of people weld them back up.  i'm sure with access to a welder and some equipment, you could hammer out some patch panels, weld em up and have the pipes re-plated!

[tortelvis]

I KNOW from personal experience just what a PITA it is to get a title!
I bought a seized 350F for $150 but the seat alone is like a new one and now I have a spare of most everything...except the title that the PO promised that he had and then mysteriously could not find. It varies from state to state and here in NC it is not easy. IMHO the only thing worse than over inflated prices is the "Naw, I could NEVER sell it; it's gonna be worth a fortune one day!" as it sits there quietly rusting away.

[333]

But back to the original post, just who does this punk think he is?

"Many bikes in the 80s vintage have serious electrical problems that are very hard for the layman to diagnose."

Maybe hard for him!  What an idiot.

[Retro Rocket]

But back to the original post, just who does this punk think he is?

"Many bikes in the 80s vintage have serious electrical problems that are very hard for the layman to diagnose."

Maybe hard for him!  What an idiot.

Not at all, i just think he's sick of going out and looking at #$%* box bikes that are NOT what has been advertised, it happens all the time and i can understand his rant completely....it pisses me off as well.

Mick

[Jordan]

my pet peeve is the ads that expect someone to even respond when every other word is spaled rong, nead too sale fast, or best sell on the net. Ijiots, at least learn proper sentence structure and spelling if you expect someone to consider buying your piece of garbage, so you can retire to your overstuffed on the porch.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Um, my 86 VFR750 is worth as much or more than a 90's CBR.

[Bob750]

But back to the original post, just who does this punk think he is?

"Many bikes in the 80s vintage have serious electrical problems that are very hard for the layman to diagnose."

Maybe hard for him!  What an idiot.

Not at all, i just think he's sick of going out and looking at #$%* box bikes that are NOT what has been advertised, it happens all the time and i can understand his rant completely....it pisses me off as well.

Mick

OOOOhh..  That takes me back, Mick.

\\ Begin Thread Hijack:
Once, I parked in a metered street parking spot (after pay hours) alongside a couple newish Sportster and Fat Boy Harleys. All three of our shiny bikes looked pretty sitting there in the sun.

When I got off work several hours later--10 PM. There was a note stuck between my tank and seat. It said, and I quote, "Why don't you park your #$%* BOX somewhere else." I looked around, no one in sight, no more Harleys (Spot was in front of a bar...) and, although I was a bit perturbed, I started my bike, and as I was about to let out the clutch, I noticed my steering was stiff... Huh?  I got off and looked at the front tire.

It was Flat!! I was so enraged I probably would have kicked over... never mind, but I would have WANTED to...

Rode home slowly on the flippity-floppity flat (not far). At home, tire wouldn't stay inflated. Pulled the wheel and took it to the shop: Ice picked through the sidewall! New tube and tire (it was nearing end of tread life anyway, but damn!)

Nowadays I wait to see if a Harley rider waves at me before I'll ever wave at a Harley Rider. Just Uncool, to think because you ride Leaky American Iron that my bike is somehow deserving of vandalism. It's a hate crime, too, when you think if it.,, There's "special circumstances" charges in court for people like that.

// End Hijack and rant.

[Jordan]

Yup, years ago, when I used to imbibe adult beverages to excess, I came out of my haunt (raven&the rose) used to call it the raisin up yer nose, but I digress in my short hijack, Anywho, I must have ticked someone off, as trying to get on my 350f I kept falling off,(4x's according to the experts listed below) until I realized in my fog that both tires were flat, turned on headlamp and coasted home a few blocks, the PD stopped me in my drive way and had a good laugh, as they were across from the bar watching the whole time. Nice enough not to arrest me so it was all good, except for the expense of new tires and tubes.

[gmonkey]

I like this one here:

91 Hurricane $5000 or bo
91 CBR 1000. 15,020 miles. One of a kind bike, rear bike, turns heads! Needs little body work and carb cleaning. Screams, 200 plus mph bike! And I have extra parts + tire. I love this bike, just time to give it up and buy family toys.

Or am I just ignorant of what a gem this thing really is?

[dave500]

yeah bob750,what the hell is that?man cant people even park without manufacturer racism?next time a ford parks next to my holden(the holden/ford war is an australian pastime)i might let his tyres down and leave a note,do these guys own that bar?sheez.and mick,i went far and wide when finding my 500 to look at badly weathered bikes with engines in pieces with too high a price,when i offered a price i got told no thats the price!these dills picture it as a restored bike already!

[elquenada]

i like this bike ad:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/mcy/1776071160.html

its completely apart and he's asking $3000; in fact its not even a complete bike.  Now I realize that its a pricy item when assembled but would you pay that much for such a project?

[Nikkisixx]

Back when advertising sellers had to pay for every word in the paper, there was a certain economy in the wording of classified ads.  (eg: 1972 Honda CB750 K, gold, new tires, 15k miles, $500) Now with free on-line ads the seller goes on about the wife and kids and family dog and why the neighbor caught a cold last week, and now everyone has rare, collectible, and vintage motorcycles.  Damn interweb with its goolerizers. 

[Retro Rocket]

yeah bob750,what the hell is that?man cant people even park without manufacturer racism?next time a ford parks next to my holden(the holden/ford war is an australian pastime)i might let his tyres down and leave a note,do these guys own that bar?sheez.and mick,i went far and wide when finding my 500 to look at badly weathered bikes with engines in pieces with too high a price,when i offered a price i got told no thats the price!these dills picture it as a restored bike already!

I'll tell you something else that stinks, i found out yesterday that a friend of a friend tossed out 2 750's in parts to the bloody dump.... . He's had them in his shed for 15-20 years and has been into Hardly Desirables for the last 10, so he thought they weren't worth much and just cluttering up his shed so he dumped them......oh #$%*......i feel sick......

Mick