The time has come for me to sell, seeking advice.

[Guth_imp]

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

 

[Cormanus]

As I started reading your post, I thought you were about to ring the death knoll on both your bikes. I was relieved the CB1100 will be staying in your garage. It's a sad decision, but a sensible one, I think. No use having toys that don't get used.

I can't offer advice on selling bikes, other than that, from reading this forum, the price people are getting for their CB1100s is disappointing.

Now ... what's the sports car?

 

[Nortoon_imp]

In the late 80s my wife was no longer interested in motorcycling and I was riding our Aspencade (Goldwing) less and less. Keeping the Wing was expensive because of the depreciation and insurance. As it was still in perfect condition I got a good price for it and the new owner was quite pleased.

After 23 years of motorcycling I thought I would miss the bike. But as I was busy with baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter, I really didn't think of it much.

A few years later an uncle sold me this 9 year old Rabbit convertible.

It was in great condition because it was never driven in the winter. I enjoyed driving it for 13 summers. When it began having mechanical problems I sold it.

In the fall of 2012 an friend talked me into going to an antique motorcycle show. The bike buzz came back. I was no longer playing hockey or baseball and did not have a second vehicle, so the next spring I bought a CB500XA for my 68th birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed riding it for 3 summers, and traded it in this year on my new CB1100 EX.

Fortunately I still enjoy could good health, probably because I played organized sports until I was 56. If my health fails or I get bored with biking however, I would not hesitate to sell the bike and buy another convertible. Might even convince Penny to take a few rides in it.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Sorry you arrived at the conclusion that the Hawk must go. I'm facing a similar predicament with one of my own. Only advice I would give is to advertise the bike as adult owned and in clean, stock condition. No need to volunteer the suspension changes -- I'm guessing most prospective buyers wouldn't know the difference anyway.

 

[Guth_imp]

I pretty much knew when we found the car that the Hawk would have to go. Honestly, I think I'm okay with that choice. As I keep toiling away in the garage, it just becomes that much more obvious there are additional reasons that it's time to move it along to someone else. Besides, when I have been riding, it's pretty much been on the CB anyway, which I'll still have.

If I find the right buyer, the suspension changes could fetch a few more dollars as I've got a Penske shock on the bike. I could play with the fork setup and see if I could get it to balance out with the stock shock. In which case I would have absolutely no problem selling the Penske on it's own. But that's more time/work so I'd have to think about it. The photos of the Hawk will be able to tell most of the story. It's good to go — the new owner won't need to do much more than put gas in it and enjoy it.

The thing is, I can't recall ever selling a vehicle of any sort on my own before. I sold my old Toyota truck to my brother years ago. My '67 Camaro was stolen. Every other vehicle that I've owned was traded in on something else. So I haven't had to deal with posting an advertisement and deal with strangers regarding an object that I'm rather fond of. Therefore my posting here. I'm sure that there are some general do's an don'ts when it comes to selling a bike.

As I started reading your post, I thought you were about to ring the death knoll on both your bikes. I was relieved the CB1100 will be staying in your garage. It's a sad decision, but a sensible one, I think. No use having toys that don't get used.

I can't offer advice on selling bikes, other than that, from reading this forum, the price people are getting for their CB1100s is disappointing.

Now ... what's the sports car?

 

[the Ferret]

Man you scared the crap out of me. I'm thinking CB? Forum?

Really pretty car. Must be a scrambler model. Why else would you take a pretty car like that in the dirt?

 

[Stichill]

Guth, aren't Hawk GT's rather collectible? If yours is as nice as it sounds, I would skip Craig's list and put it on eBay. Bikes often sell for stupid money on eBay. Sometimes they are bought by exporters who send them to Japan or Europe. The other thing about eBay is you won't have people calling you up and coming to your house (or, often as not, failing to show up).

There are different philosophies about how to operate the eBay auction. Some people set a reserve and then start the bidding at $100. This makes no sense to me. I would prefer to set the starting bid at the reserve level (absolute minimum I would take to part with the bike) and then let it run however long makes sense...7 days? They key to an auction of course is hoping for at least two bidders who both want the bike. The fact that it is riding season in North America is with you.

If the winning bidder is out of state, they will have to arrange their own transport service. I would not get involved other than handing the bike over to the delivery driver.

There are some potential caveats with regards to getting paid and transferring title. I've heard people are even forging cashier's checks these days. Maybe some forum members have some good advice on how to handle the remote transaction other than the classic guy showing up with an envelope filled with wads of $100 bills. I have a couple of wheeler-dealer friends. I will ask them about it.

 

[the Ferret]

Btw S 2000's are awesome cars and becoming highly collectible on their own. That looks like a beauty which should replace some of the joy you are going to lose by selling the GT.

 

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

The hawk gt is a neat bike.

I kinda miss mine.. It's collectible, but its not gonna command big bucks.. What stuff does it have...

Mine had a supertrapp full exhaust, and dyna tuned.. Headlight fairing and came with a rear stand, and I sold it for $2600 about 10 years ago.. Friend in Chicago is selling one with 2bros exhaust 24k miles for $2k..

While they are cool, a stick sv650 will blow its doors off..

 

[Cormanus]

Nice car, Guth. That will be a blast.

 

[Guth_imp]

The S2000 is indeed a blast and I'm going to have fun getting to know it better. I have little doubt that I'll grow quite attached to it. Being able to hit the road for jaunts with my wife beside me is the icing on the cake (although it seems she gets a bit scared when the VTECH kicks in, lol).

The Hawk GT was simply lust at first site for me. (I still have the photo from the original brochure serving as my desktop image on my MacBook.) It's a cool bike, and I can enjoy it for short periods of time. But when it comes right down to it, I prefer the ergonomics of the CB1100 which is why I end up riding it most of the time. I've kept my Hawk stock with the exception of a Penske shock in the back and RaceTech springs with Gold Valve Emulators up front. I also added a stainless steel brake line up front. I actually acquired a full Supertrapp exhaust for it (found one for a great price), but I never ended up sticking it on the bike. I really liked the looks of the stock unit and was happy enough with the exhaust note that I just left well enough alone.

A problem for me right now is that there are currently seven Hawks for sale in the Portland and Seattle areas combined. That is a lot when you consider that typically there is just one or maybe two (if any) typically listed at any given time. Most guys around here are currently looking for $3500, and some looking for quite a bit more. I don't think that they'll end up getting that amount, but it wasn't more than a few years ago that most were listed somewhere around $2700 on average. As I was working on the garage this evening I was thinking that I might try to spread the word about my Hawk with folks i know locally before posting it up on Craigslist (or ebay for that matter). Sadly, I just don't have that many moto-buddies.

SV650s are great bikes, and yes they can outperform a Hawk, but they sure don't have nearly as much appeal to me as the Hawk does. So it goes.

 

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

The S2000 is indeed a blast and I'm going to have fun getting to know it better. I have little doubt that I'll grow quite attached to it. Being able to hit the road for jaunts with my wife beside me is the icing on the cake (although it seems she gets a bit scared when the VTECH kicks in, lol).

The Hawk GT was simply lust at first site for me. (I still have the photo from the original brochure serving as my desktop image on my MacBook.) It's a cool bike, and I can enjoy it for short periods of time. But when it comes right down to it, I prefer the ergonomics of the CB1100 which is why I end up riding it most of the time. I've kept my Hawk stock with the exception of a Penske shock in the back and RaceTech springs with Gold Valve Emulators up front. I also added a stainless steel brake line up front. I actually acquired a full Supertrapp exhaust for it (found one for a great price), but I never ended up sticking it on the bike. I really liked the looks of the stock unit and was happy enough with the exhaust note that I just left well enough alone.

A problem for me right now is that there are currently seven Hawks for sale in the Portland and Seattle areas combined. That is a lot when you consider that typically there is just one or maybe two (if any) typically listed at any given time. Most guys around here are currently looking for $3500, and some looking for quite a bit more. I don't think that they'll end up getting that amount, but it wasn't more than a few years ago that most were listed somewhere around $2700 on average. As I was working on the garage this evening I was thinking that I might try to spread the word about my Hawk with folks i know locally before posting it up on Craigslist (or ebay for that matter). Sadly, I just don't have that many moto-buddies.

SV650s are great bikes, and yes they can outperform a Hawk, but they sure don't have nearly as much appeal to me as the Hawk does. So it goes.

I had both.. Sold the sv and had the gt for a long time. I prefer the gt. The only reason I mentioned it was that sv's can be had for same $ and offer more so unless you want a gt, most go sv.

So you have a full supertrapp ...... Hmmmmmmm. I need to go lie down and wait for this feeling to pass...

One of the reasons I like the cb1100 is it reminds me a lot of my gt.. Naked, small fairing, lot of fun in a great package. Kinda what you expect a motorcycle to be, just pure raw fun... Srsly I gotta go lie down now..

 

[curlyjoe]

Guth, the dealers around here will buy used bikes. It can't hurt to see how much they will give you and it's painless compared to selling it on your own.

The S2000 looks great!

 

[ride4now_imp]

Guth, it's been decades since I sold a bike outright... I've either kept them or traded them. Good luck to you on whatever way you do it. It sounds like our wives are similar... my wife, who rode with me when we were younger won't even think about it now. And I hope you have better luck with yours in the convertible. We had a Corvette and a Mustang convertible in years past and she wouldn't let me put the top down when we rode in it. Something about the wind, the sun, and her hair getting messed up. Good luck!

 

[Ole]

I have had very good luck selling bikes over on ADVrider flea market. 300,000 sets of motorcyclist eyeballs never hurts. Good luck with your sale Guth.

 

[jedd_imp]

I don't have much to offer in terms of selling the hawk gt,
but congrats on getting your son on off to college.
My oldest is in his 3rd yr at UT Austin, and my youngest is leaving us
come fall as he enters college.
So we too are about to experience that empty nest syndrome.

 

[COCB1100_imp]

I pretty much knew when we found the car that the Hawk would have to go. Honestly, I think I'm okay with that choice. As I keep toiling away in the garage, it just becomes that much more obvious there are additional reasons that it's time to move it along to someone else. Besides, when I have been riding, it's pretty much been on the CB anyway, which I'll still have.

If I find the right buyer, the suspension changes could fetch a few more dollars as I've got a Penske shock on the bike. I could play with the fork setup and see if I could get it to balance out with the stock shock. In which case I would have absolutely no problem selling the Penske on it's own. But that's more time/work so I'd have to think about it. The photos of the Hawk will be able to tell most of the story. It's good to go — the new owner won't need to do much more than put gas in it and enjoy it.

The thing is, I can't recall ever selling a vehicle of any sort on my own before. I sold my old Toyota truck to my brother years ago. My '67 Camaro was stolen. Every other vehicle that I've owned was traded in on something else. So I haven't had to deal with posting an advertisement and deal with strangers regarding an object that I'm rather fond of. Therefore my posting here. I'm sure that there are some general do's an don'ts when it comes to selling a bike.

As I started reading your post, I thought you were about to ring the death knoll on both your bikes. I was relieved the CB1100 will be staying in your garage. It's a sad decision, but a sensible one, I think. No use having toys that don't get used.

I can't offer advice on selling bikes, other than that, from reading this forum, the price people are getting for their CB1100s is disappointing.

Now ... what's the sports car?

Looking good in that S2K. Funny how your motorcycle (CB1100) is the more relaxed between your droptop and bike. It's not often that can be said.... Hahahaha. Those motors are amazing in terms of specific output and the revs they could reach, particularly the first generation before they bumped displacement and lowered the redline. No wonder your wife gets nervous when it's spinning at the speeds to get on the more lumpy VTEC cam, since it screams.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jonz_imp]

I hadn't sold a bike in 32 years when I let go of my Kawasaki and found my new love,CB1100. I looked on line "How to sell a motorcycle" (or something like that). Cash in my hand, proof of endorsment, and safety gear before a test ride. It went pretty well, I really miss the shaft drive though. Maybe you can get visitation or up-dates with pics of great rides.

Jon Z

 

[Guth_imp]

Thanks all. Did you list it on craigslist Jonz?

 

[nhawk7504_imp]

Looks awesome Guth!