(06-24-2017, 06:35 AM)Guth_imp Wrote: Well, I've gotten myself into a bittersweet situation. I imagine that when it comes to selling off motorcycles I would have a hard time finding a more knowledgeable group of people than you guys. So I'm turning to you for advice.

My son just graduated high school and will be heading off to college this coming fall. He is our only child, so my wife and I will joining the ranks of other empty nesters — soon to experience all of the trials and tribulations that this phase of life will be bringing our way. It will be a sizable change for us as we've been a pretty tight knit family. But change, as I like to say, is the only constant in life. So change it is then...

My wife does not really care all that much for motorcycles but she has tolerated, and even encouraged at times, my fascination with them. She knows that a ride is a great way to improve my mood. Still, there is no way she is going to be joining me for a ride (ever). So for quite a while now we've been thinking about a sports car as a fun way to go enjoy the open road together. This week we evolved from the "thinking about it" phase to the "doing it" phase. Which leads to this post.

I've started to rearrange the garage, making way for our newly acquired car. (I'm currently in the middle of a lunch break.) I've been riding far less this past year and now that I've started on the garage it is more than apparent that I'm going to need to sell a bike. It's going pain me to do so, but it looks like the time has come for me to sell my Hawk GT. I've now owned it for a full decade. It was my "dream bike" and the machine responsible for getting me back into motorcycling as an adult. I've gotten a great deal of pleasure out of my ownership experience over the years. But the truth is, I just don't rack up many miles on my bikes. Even when I was riding a majority of the year for my commute to work and back, I still was only racking up a few thousand miles every year. These days the Hawk more or less just sits in the garage looking beautiful. I'd probably hang on to it forever if I had the space, but I don't and it doesn't make sense keep up with insurance on a bike that isn't being used. It's time for someone else to enjoy the bike.

I'm guessing that collectively speaking, more than a few lessons have been learned when it comes to selling bikes amongst this group (heck, probably more than a few lessons amongst just individuals in many cases). So, I'm asking anyone who might care to share their wisdom: what things should I keep in mind when it comes to selling my Hawk? I understand that I'll lose the most money on any aftermarket parts that I leave on the bike. Fortunately for me, my Hawk is pretty much bone stock with the exception of upgraded suspension components, which I'll probably be leaving on the bike since I had to alter the damper rods in the forks to install the gold valve emulators and I can't easily return the forks to stock spec. Other than that, I'm guessing that there are bound to be a few things that I'd overlook. so please share what you know.

(Now it's back to garage.)

Much appreciated,
Guth