How Would YOU Sell This Bike?

[gixxerjasen]

1. Full disclosure with a low selling price. Make it desirable from a monetary perspective.

2. Try replacing the clutch, test ride and see if it's improved, then sell with full disclosure and advertise "Clutch just changed" on the ad. That gives a buyer some sense of ease even when looking at a 100K bike knowing that certain things re already done.

Clutches are so easy, even a six year old can change one.

 

[Fred W]

A first Gen with <100k still has a lot of potential life in it. The unfortunate thing for you is that there are a lot of 1st Gens on the market as us old geezers upgrade to the newer models.

If the bike were closer to me I would be tempted to do a resurrection on it. I'm sure there is an FJR enthusiast in your area willing to take a flyer on it for $1500 or so. For $3000 I'd expect a stock bike with a solid transmission, but maybe still have a few of the other little problems (ABS, etc.). If you can either exclude or confirm the transmission as a problem that will go a long way toward determining what the bike is worth.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Here's the problem right now as I see it. I love the idea that it's maybe less of a problem than I was fearing, and I'd sure love to get the bike into a condition that would let me get a little closer to Blue Book for it, and clear my conscience about selling it too, but I don't love the idea of spending MORE money on trying to correct a potential problem just to see if it helps. Also, I'm just not very interested in the nuts and bolts of motorcycle ownership--just doesn't do much for me, the whole idea of opening up the bike and getting all wrench-y. Good on all of you who are, and everything.

So the question is, is there a way to determine the cause of that slipping feeling I've gotten on hard acceleration that's easier than getting inside of the bike to see what's going on? (Keeping in mind that I wouldn't really know what the hell I was looking at anyway.) Or even replacing/rebuilding the clutch, and seeing if that helped after the fact? Could a knowledgeable rider (somebody around here would surely qualify--but not me, since I know I can't) give the bike a test ride and give me a fairly accurate diagnosis? If so, I'll start looking for that guy among my local riders. What does anybody think?

 

[Old Guy]

Give it a Viking's funeral.

Seems a waste of a good boat

I've always traded something in if I wasn't comfortable selling it. I've been truthful with the dealer, and he just wholesales it. But since that's apparently not an option, I'd list it and be honest about the problems.

 

[ionbeam]

I agree that an honest sale is a good idea but it may take a lloonngg time for the right buyer to find your right bike. You may also want to see if there is any interest or reasonable offers from motorcycle salvage parts businesses. They may be competitive or better than a donation value. The phrase "as shown, as is" is you best friend GLWTS!

 

[Fred W]

So the question is, is there a way to determine the cause of that slipping feeling I've gotten on hard acceleration that's easier than getting inside of the bike to see what's going on? (Keeping in mind that I wouldn't really know what the hell I was looking at anyway.) Or even replacing/rebuilding the clutch, and seeing if that helped after the fact? Could a knowledgeable rider (somebody around here would surely qualify--but not me, since I know I can't) give the bike a test ride and give me a fairly accurate diagnosis? If so, I'll start looking for that guy among my local riders. What does anybody think?

Give it to someone who has already experienced the FJR transmission gear dog slipping problem and let them test ride & reproduce the problem. That would seem the best way to find out, IMO.

Either that or have a knowledgeable mechanic / shop do the testing and give you their educated opinion.

 

[Kneedragger55]

Slipping at high rpm sounds more like clutch that tranny to me, but that's just MO. I've never had the "gear dog" issue on any bike so take that for what's it worth. For someone new to FJR's like me, the ABS is nice, but not a necessity. Like you said, you didn't really "need" it anyway. I'd buy an older FJR for less money just because the ABS wasn't working, simply because I've never known what ABS was like....so that's just money I could save. Tranny can be expensive to fix, as well as the motor. So at least you know the motor is sound, and for me that's half the battle of an older bike. I'll also say that finding an honest seller who discloses all info is hard to find nowadays. I'd even pay extra for that!

 

[ionbeam]

A very worn clutch can be provoked to slip in any gear but a clutch that's just beginning to go bad typically won't slip unless you are in the top gears. Bad gear dogs will typically be only one or two gears and the FJR favors 2nd and 4th gears. In 4th or 5th gear at around 4-5k rpm, pop the throttle wide open, if the clutch is bad it will start to slip and usually continue to slip until the throttle is reduced. If the gear/clutch issue happens in only one or two gears and it is a fairly fast POP or POP-POP-POP it's worn gear dogs and/or bent shift forks.

Just because any previous bike you've owned didn't have ABS doesn't reduce the value of ABS once you have a bike with it. The benefits of ABS vastly out weighs the perception that it's bad or only for people with no riding skills.

 

[SacramentoMike]

Well, I haven't heard any kind of pop-pop-popping sounds, so that's good. But I'll probably look elsewhere for an official diagnosis (not myself, I mean).

". . . I'll also say that finding an honest seller who discloses all info is hard to find nowadays. I'd even pay extra for that!"

How much? :lol:

 

[audiowize]

In my opinion, the willingness of buyers to purchase bikes with ~100,000 miles is pretty absent. Having said that, you might get $1000-2000 as is, but probably more like $2500 if the ABS is the only issue. If it's just a new clutch you need, then it may be worth the trouble.