Resale

My two cents.

Motorcycles as investments (other than odd, rare bikes) seems to be more rationalization than anything. If you buy a bike for a good price (and it is past the time period when it wil be depreciating faster than corn through a goose) and take care of it you should be able to get your money back out of it. Abuse it or pay too much and you won't.

I'd like to think my bike may be worth more than I paid for it someday, but as long as I get enjoyment out of it I really don't care. Besides, you only get your money back when you sell it and who wants to do that?

m.

I can only go by my own experience.

I purchased a 1997 FXD brand new in Oct. 1996 as soon as the '97 models came out and sold it within a month at a $1k premium. That was during the Harley craze.....where production was intentionally limited....and everybody was caught up in what Alan Greenspan a few years later termed "irrational exuberance"....so I equate that era with the Beenie Baby thing.

I'm not sure any new factory built motorcycle today is going to appreciate in value.....ever....regardless of brand. Although resale prices still reflect H-D as losing the least amount of initial "investment". So "investing" in a new motorcycle, H-D or otherwise, would be considered a poor "investment" choice.

Now.....I feel like shooting myself when I see the values of dirt bikes I owned throughout the 1970s. My Hodaka Super Rat would have returned about 5 times it's initial cost.....same with the half dozen Husky's and Maico's I rode. Who woulda thunk it?

Ah, well I've never owned a new anything.

m

Originally written by ditch on 3/19/2008 11:46 AM

I can only go by my own experience.

I'm not sure any new factory built motorcycle today is going to appreciate in value.....ever....regardless of brand. Although resale prices still reflect H-D as losing the least amount of initial "investment". So "investing" in a new motorcycle, H-D or otherwise, would be considered a poor "investment" choice.

Now.....I feel like shooting myself when I see the values of dirt bikes I owned throughout the 1970s. My Hodaka Super Rat would have returned about 5 times it's initial cost.....same with the half dozen Husky's and Maico's I rode. Who woulda thunk it?

Your new Harley will appreciate in a value as will my Moto Guzzi, if we park them in dry heated storage and don't look at them for thirty years, providing of course that everybody else continues to ride and enjoy theirs. I think I'd rather be in the ride and enjoy group.

Originally written by ditch on 3/19/2008 1:46 PM

Now.....I feel like shooting myself when I see the values of dirt bikes I owned throughout the 1970s. My Hodaka Super Rat would have returned about 5 times it's initial cost.....same with the half dozen Husky's and Maico's I rode. Who woulda thunk it?

Well you have to consider that 1970s money was worth about 2.3 times the current currency (estimate 3% annual inflation over 30 years), the old bikes are only worth double what you paid in real terms 😉

Most of the bikes i have had i road into the ground...got em cheep, no real resale there. Although the best i ever did was in 1989 i bought a 1988 HD dresser(flhtc to be exact)i paid $8450 for it....fast forward to 2006....the bike bit the dust when a friend(who is no longer a friend..his choice not mine)decide to not secure it to the trailer he was pulling and it came off at around 50mpg. Not much left. 120k miles and only rebuilt the upper motor once. Insurance paid me 8550 for what was left so i guess for the money ...i came out alright. i fuigure it cost me about 4000 bucks over the life of the bike from tires,oil,seals, and the cost of redoing the top at 50k miles. not to bad spread over 18 years. not exactly "resale" but it was nice that the bike was still worth that much. just my .02 Ed.

Harleys used to keep value well, bit things hae changed. I own 4 so have some current basis for this opinion. Over the past few years, harley has literally flooded the market. There is no waiting time for any model (except perhaps a new model, or in an isolated area). Plus, the new models are vastly improved, larger engines, 6 speeds, etc. Although you will hear of isolated istances of high resale, it is pretty easy to buy a new one under MSRP. I recently bought an 2007 FXD (96" engine and 6 speed), with 3k miles for $9,995, from a dealer! I still see older FXDs advertised for higher amounts but I dont think they are selling. I took my 2002 RK to a dealer, curious what he would give me on trade (it is high mileage, but vry very nice, thousands in extras, etc). The indicated maybe $7-8k. I dont see motorcycles as a good financial investment, but they sure are fun.

The bikes I have had over the years were for one reason. To ride. I take decent care of my machines and overall have had very few problems with them. To me the invenstment is in being able to enjoy the ride. .
Over all probably the best bang for the buck all around bike I have had was an early Concours. I did not buy it new. It had over 124,000 on it when i sold it. The guy who bought it put another few thouseand on it and I just recently bought it back....lol.
Investment as far as money goes? Yep should have kept my panhead, the 650 matchless, the old triumph cub and some others but didn't. Regrets? None. In over 40 years of riding I have enjoyed the sport for the riding and not for the money.
I am still totally puzzled when some say that they would like to go for a ride but really don't want to rack the miles up on their bike due to resale concerns. That just does not register to me.
If I had to sit on the porch on a nice day due to that kind of thinking I would just quite riding all togehter.
Buy it, ride it and have enjoy the time spent in the saddle. THAT is the best payoff on the investment. But that is just my opinion and who cares...lol.

I think the worst thing I usually do is to add stuff to the bike. Chrome, seat, saddlebags, lights, Ohlin shocks, etc, depends on the bike. The problen is, it doesnt seem to add anything to resale. the smart thing is perhaps to just leave the bike completely stock (I know I can never do this though).

Originally written by gregbenner on 3/21/2008 7:38 PM

I think the worst thing I usually do is to add stuff to the bike. Chrome, seat, saddlebags, lights, Ohlin shocks, etc, depends on the bike. The problen is, it doesnt seem to add anything to resale. the smart thing is perhaps to just leave the bike completely stock (I know I can never do this though).

When I bought my Valkyrie the dealer tried and tried to sell me a white Goldwing with Native American Hunter Graphics painted on it. It was a beautiful bike, but I wasn't really wanting another dresser at the time. He said the graphics and chrome turn people off, because every buyer has his or her own idea of what they want. He said when they take one in on trade, they usually deduct from it's trade in price what it will cost to repaint it a solid color and that most of the bolt on added chrome goes straight to the dumpster.

If you buy a motorcycle for an investment then better not ride it very much, better not alter it in any way, and better pick something like a fully restored Vincent or Indian Four.

Even then, those collectables are not real easy to sell - how many are out there with an extra $40,000 or so for one of the above? They seem to be easier to buy than to sell.

Like many, I add a bunch of stuff to my bikes. I found that putting the original items back on the motorcycle and selling off the extras on eBay at least gets some money back. In my experience a motorcycle with a lot of accessories isn't really worth more than stock.

My understanding stops at using the words "investment" and "motor vehicle" in the same sentence.

In High School I owned a 1948 Ford 2 door sedan. That was 1965. Today I could get a nice price for it but I would have wagged it around behind me for 42 years. In that time I'd have spent thousands on storage, towing and preservation. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

Without mentioning brands, It's my opinion that some solo motorcycles have a decent resale and can be sold relatively quickly. Sidecars and dedicated rigs, on the other hand, are easy to buy and tough to sell. In order to sell one, you need a motivated buyer, one who actually wants to try such a rig. Those are few and far between. Did you ever notice how many rigs you see on the road? Not too many, at least in my neck of the woods. LEt's face it. love them as we do, they just aren't that popular.

Lots of the rigs of all brands on eBay close without either meeting reserve or getting bids. Not all, but a high percentage of them.

If one is honest about motorcycles and sidecar rigs, one will not consider them to be an "investment" but rather a pleasurable "expense, somethng that one "wants" as opposed to something that one "needs."

To solve the problem, I intend to keep the sidecar rig that I have and let it go at that. It's about all I want or need. If someone jumps all over me sometime and tries to induce me to sell it with a ridiculous offer of too much cash, fine, but I'm not holding my breath.

Now, did you all notice that I got through that without mentioning any specific brands? That's because all of them are pretty much the same: Fun and easy to buy and hard to sell.

That's my story and I';m stickn' to it!

Originally written by gregbenner on 3/21/2008 9:38 PM

I think the worst thing I usually do is to add stuff to the bike. Chrome, seat, saddlebags, lights, Ohlin shocks, etc, depends on the bike. The problen is, it doesnt seem to add anything to resale. the smart thing is perhaps to just leave the bike completely stock (I know I can never do this though).

From my experience adding 'stuff' whether if be chrome doo dads or funtional things does not really inhance the resale dollar of the bike but it may help it to sell. To get th emoney back out of accessories is tough unless they are sold seperately and then they will usually go at a loss anyhow.

I like GMN's outlook. But the thing to ride. If someone comes up and wants to drain his bamnk account on you take it and start the cycle (no pun intended) all over again.

If you want to ad stuff to make it more yours fine. If you want to add stuff to make it worth more at resale time you may be kidding yourself....although it could convince the better half that a certain coveted part is worthwhile when purchasing it.

Some bikes have been known to hold their value very well. Harleys being probably the most prominent. Sadly for many it seems like those who were riding that wave are just about to shore today though compared to a few years ago.

Gues I have drifted off topic here a little. Tough decision as far as bikes or rig sgo if someone is concerned abou ta good investemnt. For those who are willing to get a bike to ride and can focus on the RIDING as their payoff then no problem.