Selling the 2008 FJR - I think

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

So, I am thinking of selling my 2008 FJR1300 A.

Searching for my next Steed, in a 2014 or newer model. Don't know how I feel about the 14' red, but like the steely looking 15'. don't like Blue color 16' and don't want to plunge for a 17' raven black. I digress.

Need some pricing help here.

I want to be very fair and very honest about the product.

When I laid down my 04', back in 2010. I found a great deal on a 2008 for $6250.00. Bike had 15k miles on ODO. Well, when I get to Beaumont, TX turned out it was a salvage title bike from Louisiana. Well, bought it cash and rode it home. Well after much inspection it was obvious the bike wasn't laid down, but it had ran into something head on. The fork tubes were mix-matched and the nose was bent.

Well, I spoke to the independent owner and he agreed to buy and ship two OEM front forks to the dealer in Conroe, TX and they installed them for me. Over the course of 3 months (while healing), I broke the bike down to it's speedometer and serviced it 100%. Put about 100 hrs into upgrades and such...(who hasn't?)

Bike has ran perfect, never let me down anywhere;and runs solid. Just showing it's age; mostly because in the first 5yrs of owning, I put 50k miles on it...all weather riding.

So, what's a fair price?

(yea yea, whatever anyone will pay.)

2008 FJR-A/ 70k miles/

Part of me thinks, it's better to keep it as a second bike.

 

[El Toro]

Fixed Salvage title takes it off the table for a lot of folks, except for those who are really looking for a steal.

I think that $3500 would move it. $4000 might move it. $5000 probably more than sane market would bear.

YMMV. It has to be tempting, or the best thing in the price range for salvaged '08 bikes.

FWIW, it's not free to keep it. Tires, batteries, insurance, routine time based maintenance all add up ... and every day you walk by it to go to the other bike, you scratch your head and wonder about how nice it would be to have that garage space back for something else.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I will counter El toro post in a nice way.

I kept my 08 and still ride it more than the 2015 at this time. I like the simplicity of it versus the 15 bike. I have been spending the last year farkling the 2015 without any worrys of interuptions since I could still ride the 08. If I were to sell it I would put it in the range of 3,500 to 4K. 92K current mileage on it. The boys don't seem to be interested in riding so I may let it go next year once I finalize the 2015 to where I want it. Plenty of time to figure that out down the road. Who knows maybe they will change there mind. There is a benefit to having an extra bike as long as you can swing it. As Fredw told me the maintenance isn't really that much difference since I am not using the other bike anyway that much. So there isn't that much to do. It adds up to mileage I guess and which bike is getting used the most.

Just my 2 centabo's,

Dave

 

[deagle]

I think I have to totally agree with everything El Toro says here.....assuming the bike is mostly just sitting and being ignored.

 

[Spud]

Nearly 10 year old bike, salvage title, known to have a prior wreck, high mileage, a model that's tough to move for any dealership. That's the way the market will see it. If you find someone looking specifically for an FJR (like on here) I think $3 to $3.5 would move it. BTW my '08 has 88K miles and I know it's not worth much either, but to me it's worth a great deal because it's still running great and does anything I want it to do.

 

[El Toro]

I've got a friend who subscribes to the Yankee cheapness doctrine ... he buys used and then rides to the point the bike is dust. We're old now. He has 5 useless lumps and two decent bikes.

It is a continuous point of argument with his spouse whenever he wants to buy a new bike.

She wants the stable shoveled out. He doesn't know where to unload these rattle traps for his view of a fare price. His idea of a fare price flops when he's buying.

Is he better off for hanging on? I dunno. Looks like a lot of aggravation to me. Better to sell them as you're done with them and take market value. They're not likely to be worth more next year, unless you've got some 70 year old Vincents, Indians, or Harleys.

 

[trimmantom]

As I've seen the market,it's flooded with a lot of gen 1 & gen 2 bikes for between 4-6 k. That being said the salvage title kinda knocks you down with the way the market is right now.
If you want to get maximium money out of the bike strip all farkles and sell them separately and sell the bike for a cheaper price as some have said. If you don't sell it in the next 30 days you'll be stting on it for god knows how long. Just my thoughts.

 

[RossKean]

If you have the time, inclination and patience it is worth more if you part it out and flog stuff on eBay. Otherwise, there are lots of $4000 bikes on the market you are trying to compete with. We know that a 50000+ mile FJR is not an issue but lots of people don't. Even so, the salvage title will hurt even more.

Engine

Plastics

Forks

Front and rear wheels

starter

exhaust

headlight bucket

instrument cluster

radiator

Even if you don't try to sell all the bits (just major stuff), it could easily bring more money than the direct sale.

(I couldn't do it - no patience and insufficient attention to detail)

 

[El Toro]

I used to part out the farkles. But on an old bike that's not selling well already, defarkling is a pita too.

When I got rid of the last batch of goodies for Gen 2, it took forever, I got less than 25% of the cost to acquire, and some stuff ended up becoming a good will offering to my local Yamaha dealer "for future considerations."

Defarkling may become necessary, but not defarkling will probably facilitate a quicker sale.

Really, the only way to see what you can get is to test the waters. Try an eBay auction with a $.99 starting bid request and a $3k reserve. You will certainly find out if there's interest and if more than one bidder would be interested in breaking the reserve.

 

[FJR-RemingtonRider]

Thanks guys for the honest opinions.

So, I dug out the title and since it was sold in Texas I guess it was titled without the "Salvage" actually being written on the title.

I suppose, since the accident happened in LA, coming to Texas fixed all that. I just knew he told me it was salvage, that's what the title said.

But, looking all over it, no mention. looks bluish just like my car titles.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't sell to anyone without telling them the entire story. And I totally agree with the comments on pricing. $3k-$4k is a great range.

Finding a nice deal on a 14' is hard, Found an ES in Dallas, by the time the salesman called me back, it was gone for $8600.00, w/less than 8k miles...geez.

15' A's are around for same price, less than $9k.

Still, I am torn on getting a A model or ES.

Anyways..Thanks for the feedback input.

 

[08FJR4ME]

If you like technology and playing with buttons get an ES.

If you like your life simple and just want to ride get the A. (Setup your suspension once and forget about the rest)

Nuff said,

Dave

 

[08FJR4ME]

Suggestion,

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/172392-2014-fjr-1300es-for-sale/?p=1371718

 

[VanHarlan]

"FWIW, it's not free to keep it. Tires, batteries, insurance, routine time based maintenance all add up ... and every day you walk by it to go to the other bike, you scratch your head and wonder about how nice it would be to have that garage space back for something else. "

Nope . . . it's not free to keep them . . . but I have 4 bikes currently: oil, tires, chains, sprockets, mileage based maintenance cost don't multiply by 4, well simply because they are "mileage based". So if I ride 20,000 a year split between 4 bikes it's still only 20,000 worth of rubber, oil, etc. Bike insurance is cheap. I got squeezed on garage space when I picked up the WR250R this year so I bought a nice shed.

Low mileage used bikes are dime a dozen and the best deals favor those who have patience to wait out the market: after 2 years of watching ads I picked up the previously mentioned 2015 WR250R from a guy who bought it, rode it home, racked up a whopping 134 miles and let it sit unused for another year . . . $2,000 cheaper than a new WR. My FJR is one of only two bikes I ever bought new in 30+ years.