vaara
Well-known member
Disclaimer: Despite the title, this post is about a motorcycle, not a semi-detached Edwardian in a suburb of Leeds.
Mods: If this belongs somewhere else, e.g. the Garage, please move it.
Caution: Long post.
Trigger warning: Motorcycle abuse.
tl;dr: My bike would cost more to repair than it's worth. Do I fix it up, or do I get rid of it? If so, how?
Full version:
In 2015 I bought a 2012 Tiger 800 "roadie" (i.e. non-XC) from a friend. At the time it had about 31K miles on it. It had a known history of idle speed and starting issues, and had spent a long time in the shop, but the friend assured me that it had all been handled. Besides, the bike came with an extended (until mid-2018) service warranty, under which I got a free replacement starter, among other things.
Now it has 53K miles on it and more issues than National Geographic. I won't bore you with the specifics, but just to bring it up to date on scheduled maintenance and make it reasonably rideable would cost about $4000, per an estimate I got a few months ago. And although KBB "low retail" is about $5K, the reality is that it's a British bike with 53K miles on it, and the probability that something else will go wrong with it is considerable.
I'm aware of Moto Guild, but the cost of parts is still an issue, unless there's someplace to buy used brake rotors (which somehow doesn't seem like the greatest idea, but maybe that's just me). I took it to MotoJava, and they flat-out said they're not interested. I haven't tried any of the dealerships yet, but if they do give me anything for it as a trade-in, it's bound to be miserly.
As for selling it private-party, I'm struggling with the ethics of selling a potentially dangerous bike. I would, of course, fully disclose all the known issues - the unknown issues are what I'm most concerned about. Because of the brakes, or lack thereof, I would refuse to offer test rides, so whoever buys it would need a truck, mechanical skillz, and a willingness to gamble some smallish - but not unsubstantial - amount of money that the bike still has another few years left in it.
It's my only motorcycle, and my only transportation. I hate the thought of being bikeless, but unfortunately it would take me a few months to save up enough cash to buy a new or lightly used JAPANESE bike. And financing is for idiots, of which I am one (see above), but that's a whole other topic.
And now, the questions:
1. If this were your bike, would you fix it or nix it? ("Not buying it in the first place" is not an option, sadly.)
2. Are those "we buy motorcycles" people a bunch of scam artists?
3. Am I correct in thinking that listing a "mechanic's special" like this on BARF or ADVRider would be seriously uncool?
And a final note: I'm not a n00b, but in 28 years of riding I've only bought and sold 8 bikes, so this is really not my area of expertise. If I were made of money and if I itemized my taxes, I'd just donate it to charity and buy a nice new bike, but I'm not, and I don't.
Mods: If this belongs somewhere else, e.g. the Garage, please move it.
Caution: Long post.
Trigger warning: Motorcycle abuse.
tl;dr: My bike would cost more to repair than it's worth. Do I fix it up, or do I get rid of it? If so, how?
Full version:
In 2015 I bought a 2012 Tiger 800 "roadie" (i.e. non-XC) from a friend. At the time it had about 31K miles on it. It had a known history of idle speed and starting issues, and had spent a long time in the shop, but the friend assured me that it had all been handled. Besides, the bike came with an extended (until mid-2018) service warranty, under which I got a free replacement starter, among other things.
Now it has 53K miles on it and more issues than National Geographic. I won't bore you with the specifics, but just to bring it up to date on scheduled maintenance and make it reasonably rideable would cost about $4000, per an estimate I got a few months ago. And although KBB "low retail" is about $5K, the reality is that it's a British bike with 53K miles on it, and the probability that something else will go wrong with it is considerable.
I'm aware of Moto Guild, but the cost of parts is still an issue, unless there's someplace to buy used brake rotors (which somehow doesn't seem like the greatest idea, but maybe that's just me). I took it to MotoJava, and they flat-out said they're not interested. I haven't tried any of the dealerships yet, but if they do give me anything for it as a trade-in, it's bound to be miserly.
As for selling it private-party, I'm struggling with the ethics of selling a potentially dangerous bike. I would, of course, fully disclose all the known issues - the unknown issues are what I'm most concerned about. Because of the brakes, or lack thereof, I would refuse to offer test rides, so whoever buys it would need a truck, mechanical skillz, and a willingness to gamble some smallish - but not unsubstantial - amount of money that the bike still has another few years left in it.
It's my only motorcycle, and my only transportation. I hate the thought of being bikeless, but unfortunately it would take me a few months to save up enough cash to buy a new or lightly used JAPANESE bike. And financing is for idiots, of which I am one (see above), but that's a whole other topic.
And now, the questions:
1. If this were your bike, would you fix it or nix it? ("Not buying it in the first place" is not an option, sadly.)
2. Are those "we buy motorcycles" people a bunch of scam artists?
3. Am I correct in thinking that listing a "mechanic's special" like this on BARF or ADVRider would be seriously uncool?
And a final note: I'm not a n00b, but in 28 years of riding I've only bought and sold 8 bikes, so this is really not my area of expertise. If I were made of money and if I itemized my taxes, I'd just donate it to charity and buy a nice new bike, but I'm not, and I don't.
