selling a bike

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jcr

jcr

jcr

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wanting to downgrade to something smaller and more license friendly.
i have a Yamaha Thunderace in original condition. prob worth around £2000 privately?
its stupidly fast and beyond my skill level to really appreciate.

is it worth the hassle of trying to sell privately or would i be better off just part exchanging at a dealers?
where do people sell their bikes these days?
 
Always worth selling privately if it's worth £2k private you'll get pocket change trying to part ex it.

I've sold my last couple of bikes through Gumtree ads, you do get a fair bit of rubbish coming through but all 3 sold within a week or 2.

FB groups for your bike or local riding groups are another good place.
 
jcr said:
thanks for the info.
im just not sure i want to be dealing with time wasters. im a bit of a grumpy old git these days!
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It is mildly annoying but to be fair it's normally pretty obvious from the first message or 2 they send. I've sold 3 bikes, 2 of them the first people that didn't sound like complete clowns in their messages were given my address turned up when they said and bought the bikes.

The 3rd one I did have a bit of a weird timewaster he was an old school biker and just kept dragging it out with "I'll have it next week just need to sort a van", "Van man has the squits but I'll take it next week", etc. In the end I just ignored him stuck it up for sale again and again the first guy who could string a sentence together came with his trailer quick look over and handed over the cash.

It does seem to be all about judging a book by it's cover and knowing when to just ignore messages like "SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS! I'LL GIVE YOU 50% LESS THAN ASKING BUT CASH TODAY!!!!" How else do you think I want paying you plum :rolleyes:

I'm also generally very cagy about giving my exact address so I'll give them my street and me and the bike will be out waiting for them, that's probably just my paranoia though :D
 
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tom_e said:
It is mildly annoying but to be fair it's normally pretty obvious from the first message or 2 they send. I've sold 3 bikes, 2 of them the first people that didn't sound like complete clowns in their messages were given my address turned up when they said and bought the bikes.

The 3rd one I did have a bit of a weird timewaster he was an old school biker and just kept dragging it out with "I'll have it next week just need to sort a van", "Van man has the squits but I'll take it next week", etc. In the end I just ignored him stuck it up for sale again and again the first guy who could string a sentence together came with his trailer quick look over and handed over the cash.

It does seem to be all about judging a book by it's cover and knowing when to just ignore messages like "SEND ME YOUR ADDRESS! I'LL GIVE YOU 50% LESS THAN ASKING BUT CASH TODAY!!!!" How else do you think I want paying you plum :rolleyes:

I'm also generally very cagy about giving my exact address so I'll give them my street and me and the bike will be out waiting for them, that's probably just my paranoia though :D
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Are you saying you're waiting on the street corner with a bike? (teehee) :P

I'm similarly paranoid about giving my address to buyers, though I've yet to be murdered afaik! I have auctioned a couple of things lately, which does mean a bit more pot luck over what book cover starts talking at you.

I had about a dozen questions before the auction was even over from the eventual winner, such as "If I do win where abouts in Reading are you?" "If I do win when can I come and collect it?" "What's your lowest prise [sic] because I really nead [sic] this as my son's bike was stolen?" But he arrived and was decent enough. I'm selling some S1000RR levers next but I think I can probably manage to post those!

Good luck anyway, the Thunderace looks nice. What kind of bike are you looking at as a replacement?

Oh and strictly on topic reply: It's been about 15 years since I sold a bike privately so my experience there is useless :)
 
Griffo said:
Good luck anyway, the Thunderace looks nice. What kind of bike are you looking at as a replacement?
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thanks.
theres so much to choose from that im struggling to make up my mind. i think a few test rides when the weather picks up are needed.
im getting on in years now and i only have a 28 inch inseam which limits my choice massively. ive no desire to be dangling off bikes on one foot and weight is becoming a bigger consideration with each passing year too.

bikes that have caught my eye so far include Royal Enfield Super Meteor, Moto Guzzi V7,Honda Hornet 750, new Triumph speed 400.

the Ace is a lovely bike to ride, fast and comfortable. and fairly easy to maintain. i can sit on it for hours without any issues.
its just way to fast for my own good these days. time to slow down and enjoy the ride.

im looking for something that will be fun to ride on the B roads and country lanes at a leisurely pace.
i really like the Enfield Classic 350 but its just too slow unfortunately.
 
So far found trying to sell private a waste of time.
Largly getting the same old, "ill buy it off you tomorrow for half the listing price" or "Ill buy it next week when I have the van/money". etc.

That said you may have better luck so certainly give it a go.
 
I had success on Facebook Marketplace, although I was selling an 18 month old 125 scooter, not a 20 year old superbike. Should be worth a shot though, just gotta be patient. It took me about two weeks to flog it, listed it for £2250, then reduced to £2150 and when a kid asked what my lowest price is, gave it to him for £2k which is exactly what I was counting on.

It takes a bit of time sifting through all the crayon eaters, chancers, swop-4-xboxes, non responders and idiots but genuine buyers are on there.

Give it a shot, you might be surprised :)
 
Having had very recent experience, I can say that ebay is probably your best bet. I've had mine listed on Facebook (my wife's, I don't have it) for some time with mostly time waster and tyre kickers. I also tried gumtree and immediately delisted it due to being inundated with scammers. I also placed an ad on Autotrader with photo's and a video and had no response (dearest option at £60+). I then placed a classified ad on ebay (£19) and instantly had (ignoring the one scam attempt) 3 people contact me offering a deposit to come look and collect.
My bike is a 2008 Tuono in pretty good condition, so ymmv but some of the older bikes are starting to gain in popularity. I wish I had space to keep mine, because I do love it. But only have space for one bike unfortunately.
 
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