1987 Suzuki Intruder Dilemma

[TheAxeman]

One of the bikes in the garage is a 1987 Suzuki 1400 Intruder with about 14K miles on it. Looks like this....

Overall, the bike is in cosmetically great shape. On a scale of 1-10 I would say probably a 7 or 8. The bike hasn't been ridden in probably 5 years and I had the carb rebuilt right before putting it into hibernation. The carb rebuild, a new set of tires, and some smaller items cost me about $600.00 as I remember. The reason it got put away in the first place was because the dealership had ****** up the rebuild and it didn't run right. Since I had other bikes sitting around and couldn't deal with the hassle of getting them to make it right, I kind of forgot about it.

Here is the dilemma. I know the bike needs a kickstand switch, needs work on the brakes and now I see that the fork seals are leaking. I don't feel like dumping any more money into it because the repairs will end up costing me more than the bike is actually worth. On the other hand, I probably won't be able to sell it "as is" if its not running. If I had the mechanical know-how or even the time to rip it down and repair it myself I would but I have to bring it to a mechanic. All its doing right now is sucking up valuable garage space that could be housing something I actually want to ride....So at what point do you just throw up your hands and send it off to EBAY and take the highest bid?

What would you guys do??

 

[twistedcricket]

Here is the dilemma. I know the bike needs a kickstand switch, needs work on the brakes and now I see that the fork seals are leaking. I don't feel like dumping any more money into it because the repairs will end up costing me more than the bike is actually worth. On the other hand, I probably won't be able to sell it "as is" if its not running. If I had the mechanical know-how or even the time to rip it down and repair it myself I would but I have to bring it to a mechanic. All its doing right now is sucking up valuable garage space that could be housing something I actually want to ride....So at what point do you just throw up your hands and send it off to EBAY and take the highest bid?
What would you guys do??

Is it enjoyable for you to ride? At all?

If not, then I'd say sell it. Let it go as-is. You aren't going to get what you pay to repair it plus book value. You have the option to refuse all offers. I wouldn't put it on ebay first. I'd put it on a local classified list (like Craigslist or something). If you aren't getting any solid or realistic offers for it then maybe post it here in the For Sale section? Maybe someone will want a nice older bike to futz around with.

 

[TheAxeman]

It is actually "fun" to ride in a strange, sick, twisted, kind of way. It has drag bars so it steers like a truck, has the acceleration of a Gremlin, the cornering ability of a Corvair, and the incredible *** appeal of a Harley. It reminds me of why I love the FJR and VFR so much.

 

[madmike2]

I hear a rumor that some forum member "gave" a bike to another member. Sure, the foundation was there but the bike needed a lot of TLC to bring it back to life. The new owner got a great project and posted pictures of the resurrected classic. The old owner got some needed garage space and the pleasure of watching another enjoy the project.

Your decision. I've always liked the old "stump puller" 1400 Intruder. They look like fun...in a "chopper-ish" way. Cool to cruise but not the tool for playing on winding roads.

 

[FJRay]

It's to bad you are on the wrong side of the country. I would offer to do the labor to get it on to a new home and take a small piece of the action after it's sold. I hate to see good stuff get on the back burner and not get used. The Intruder was never high on my list but they are still a good bike. Good luck.

 

[TheAxeman]

One thing I was seriously considering doing was having a fundraiser for my foundation Jordan's Initiative. I would hoist the bike up by its front wheel like a giant pinata and charge people $5.00 a whack with a sledgehammer. On a nice day with the amount of Harley Riders around here I could probably make a couple of thousand dollars that would help out our troops. :yahoo: I saw this done at a Harley dealership down in North Carolina a couple of years back and there was a line of about 20 people waiting to take a whack at an old Ninja. :blink: Nothing like promoting love within the motorcycling community....

 

[FJRay]

One thing I was seriously considering doing was having a fundraiser for my foundation Jordan's Initiative. I would hoist the bike up by its front wheel like a giant pinata and charge people $5.00 a whack with a sledgehammer. On a nice day with the amount of Harley Riders around here I could probably make a couple of thousand dollars that would help out our troops. :yahoo: I saw this done at a Harley dealership down in North Carolina a couple of years back and there was a line of about 20 people waiting to take a whack at an old Ninja. :blink: Nothing like promoting love within the motorcycling community....

If you go that route then a video is a must complete with sound. If it is going away that sound like a great way to do it. :clapping:

 

[twistedcricket]

I hear a rumor that some forum member "gave" a bike to another member. Sure, the foundation was there but the bike needed a lot of TLC to bring it back to life. The new owner got a great project and posted pictures of the resurrected classic. The old owner got some needed garage space and the pleasure of watching another enjoy the project.
Your decision. I've always liked the old "stump puller" 1400 Intruder. They look like fun...in a "chopper-ish" way. Cool to cruise but not the tool for playing on winding roads.

Along those lines...is there a Community College or Tech school nearby with a motorcycle repair class?? maybe they'd be willing to take it as a project bike???

 

[Fred W]

Hey Chris,

It sounds like your old bike is in too good of shape to become a Harley guy pinada. Yeah, it may be a little dicked up right now, but probably nothing that couldn't be sorted out with a little time and very few dollars in parts. Then you could sell the thing or even raffle it off for Jordan's Initiative. Sure seems better than destroying a perfectly good bike for kicks.

If your plan is to raffle it off, maybe you could approach one of the local dealerships and lay out your plan. Ask them if they'd be interested in doing the small amount of work as a form of donation to the initiative. What's in it for them is they can claim an (inflated) big repair bill donation as a tax write off, and maybe get some good press / free advertising out of it.

Just a thought.

 

[reecebike]

Life to short sell the **** basket!!