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| Motorcycle Message Board - Motorcycle USA > MotorcycleUSA.com! > Newbies! > Things are going good. | Forum Quick Jump
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OldRelayer
Registered Member
      
Date Joined Sep 2009
Total Posts : 65
| Posted 11/2/2009 12:52 PM (GMT -8) |   | I have 160 miles on my license and on the bike. Adjusted the shifter so now my boot is able to fit and allow it to ratchet down. I think I have most of the tools one would need and I have a little pouch to carry such things.
Even though it didn't reach 50 today I went out for a good ride, stopped and bought a wrench and stopped at the Yamaha/Kawasaki dealer. I have never seen such laid back sales people, they seem not to care if they even talk to anyone, I don't know how they make a living. A 1996 Intruder caught my eye, obviously a trade, in good condition, a few scuffs but nothing to speak of, Chrome shines bright. It looks like an M50 to me, shaft drive but carburatored, I couldn't find the carbs but he said he could see a choke. They are asking $3500 which is way high according to Kelley. Not that I am going to be able to sell my wife on a newer bike, at least not yet. I was wondering what you guys thought. The 300 is already starting to feel small, although you can't beat how it handles.
Barry | | Back to Top | | |
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GAJ
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2007
Total Posts : 4763
| Posted 11/2/2009 3:11 PM (GMT -8) | | | Kelly Blue Book says that's about $1,000 too high for the '96 800cc Intruder. | | Back to Top | | |
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OldRelayer
Registered Member
Date Joined Sep 2009
Total Posts : 65
| Posted 11/2/2009 3:42 PM (GMT -8) | | Well I got the same result when booking it. The blue book didn't allow for mileage which I thought odd, it does have only 6600 miles. I don't think these guys really care if they sell something or not. Although if I could get this one for the $2500 that GAJ is suggesting, I think I would make the move on my wife to buy it. It may be a tad too much of a bike for me at the moment, but I am really....really careful, most of the time when I get myself into trouble it is because the road is bad and I don't want to go too fast on my little bike, but people have been pretty good about going around me. This would be an impulse buy which is never a good idea. Actually the two bikes I was more seriously considering were the 500 Kawasaki LTD and the Yamaha V-Star 650, both are suppose to be good for riders that are building their skills. I guess the 500 would be just a big brother to my 305, which I like quite a lot where the Yamaha would be more of a real cruiser. I am not really sure of the reliability of the Intruder, although I think it is more or less just an older M50 with the sport bike look. The problem is there are so many good choices.
Thanks guys,
Barry | | Back to Top | | |
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martinjmpr
08 Triumph Scrambler
 
Date Joined Jun 2003
Total Posts : 4196
| Posted 11/3/2009 9:37 AM (GMT -8) | | | Overall condition is more relevant than age, IMO. Does it look like it's been stored indoors and taken care of? Is the chrome still shiny and the paint still intact? Does it have any "extras" like a windshield, saddle bags, aftermarket seat, etc?
Blue book is much more relevant to cars than it is to motorcycles for two important reasons:
First of all, cars outnumber motorcycles by at least an order of magnitude if not more, so the sampling size is larger and that means the pricing data is more accurate.
Second, cars are neccessities and as such the "market value" is going to be fairly consistent. OTOH, motorcycles are toys which means their "value" will vary greatly depending on factors like the economy (in tough times, people get rid of luxuries and demand for them is lower, which floods the market, driving prices down), the weather (obviously in the snow belt there aren't a lot of people riding motorcycles in December), and even local demand (if there is only one motorcycle shop in town, they can get higher prices for their used bikes than they could if there were 5 competing dealers), etc.
So, I don't think $3500 is completely crazy for a 96 with only 6600 miles on it. I do think it's high, but then again, that's what negotiation is for. If I were in the market, I'd probably offer them $2500 out the door (plus tax, if applicable) and if they didn't take it I'd shrug my shoulders and walk away. I'm going to guess that most MC shops would at least try to dicker with you a little bit if they thought you were a serious buyer. If it's in decent shape and has a couple of "extras" as mentioned above, I think a $2800 - $3000 price would be fair, unless you can find a decent one for less on Craigslist. A dealer may also throw in some incentives like oil changes, helmet, jacket, etc, to sweeten the deal.
My wife got a 2001 Intruder 800 for $3100 last year with 7750 miles on the clock, a full windshield, nice saddlebags, aftermarket loud V&H pipes (which she loves  ), a gel seat and aftermarket grips (Kuryakin.) It was a bit of a steal, I think, but the guy wanted a new bike and it was the end of the riding season for him (early October.) At the time we looked at it, $3k - $3500 seemed to be the norm for Intruder 800's from 1994 to 2002 advertised on CL.
The thing to remember about depreciation is that it's not a straight line, it's a curve. At 14 years, the curve has gotten fairly flat (especially with low mileage like that one) so there won't be a whole lot of difference between the 1996 model and the 2002 model, all other things being equal.
Martin
Englewood, CO (Denver suburb)
UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) Fanatic
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OldRelayer
Registered Member
Date Joined Sep 2009
Total Posts : 65
| Posted 11/3/2009 1:57 PM (GMT -8) | | Thanks guys. No extras. It is in good shape looks like it was garaged, chrome is shinny only blemishes in the paint nothing I would consider serious and from a few feet away it looks perfect.
Martin, what was your wife riding before? I would be going from a pretty small 300, I don't want to do something stupid, I don't think it is too much bike and I am extremely careful and take every tip I can get beyond the MSF course that I took. Frankly even the 300 really moves. But I would like something newer shiner and heavier for the open road. Even though we have all back roads, most speed limits are at least 50 and hitting the filled pot holes at 50 isn't exactly fun on my small bike. I think a bigger bike would do that better. Did your wife have an handling issues, this is a pretty good size bike with awesome power, I know some people think you need at least a 1200 but an 800 is probably plenty for almost anyone. I would never have a passenger, my wife doesn't want to ride and I offered to buy her a bike which I thought would be a whole lot of fun, but she didn't seem to think so.
This intruder really looks sharp, much like the M50. Which brings up another question for me. Where Suzuki financing is so good at 2%, the payments on the 1996 with a high interest and a short term would be much higher than on the new M50. I sat on a C50 and it felt good not too heavy but not the M50, I sure do like the looks of the Intruder.
Been able to push the riding season a bit, rode today tried to get a key for the bike, hard to do, they made a key but doesn't work. We spent the morning at the VA hospital and it was 52 on the way home, by the time I got my gear together the temp dropped to about 44 but still a really nice ride, dress for it and there isn't much problem. I may even break 200 miles before she goes away for the winter.
Thanks,
Barry | | Back to Top | | |
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martinjmpr
08 Triumph Scrambler
Date Joined Jun 2003
Total Posts : 4196
| Posted 11/4/2009 7:46 AM (GMT -8) | | | Barry: When my wife got her Intruder last year, she had been off motorcycles for about 4 years. Her previous bike was a Yamaha Virago 1100 and before that she had a mid-80's Honda 750 Shadow.
When we first met in 2005 she had sold her bike some months before. Then in December of 05, shortly after we started dating, she was on her bicycle and was attacked by a large dog that bit her calf very badly. After that, she was reluctant to get back on a motorcycle because her right leg felt very weak and she didn't think she'd be able to hold a motorcycle up.
For the next couple of years she would ride on the back of my motorcycle, but didn't really express much interest in getting another one. But then last year, all of a sudden, she started getting more and more interested in motorcycles (sometimes she would tell me that when she had a few spare moments at work she'd look at the motorcycles that were for sale on Craigslist.)
I still had my old 82 Spectre then, and one day she asked me if she could take it out for a short ride. I told her "of course!" and got it all ready for her to ride. She went out and rode it around for about a half hour and when she came back, she started telling me that she was seriously thinking about getting another bike and asked if I'd help her. I'd been trying to get her back on a motorcycle ever since we started dating, so I jumped at the chance to get her riding again, and a few weeks later we found her Intruder, which she paid cash for.
Anyway, she hasn't had any problems holding the bike upright or riding it. She is still a little reluctant to lean much in the curves, but I think she just needs to practice more. I think she's really into the social aspect of riding - she was active in Women on Wheels and still has a lot of friends from that group. I think to her the motorcycle is a way to connect with other people more than a source of fun and adventure by itself, but all I can say is I'm happy to see her riding again.
You mentioned the interest rates and payments on a new bike vs. a used bike. Honestly, I think that's a trap people use to talk themselves into getting a new bike. If it were me, I think I'd keep the 305 for the winter, and save up whatever money you can that you would otherwise put towards making payments, then by next year you should have enough to buy that used bike outright. Remember that if you finance a bike, it will depreciate like a rock leaving you "upside down" for most of the period of the loan.
Martin
Englewood, CO (Denver suburb)
UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle) Fanatic
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OldRelayer
Registered Member
Date Joined Sep 2009
Total Posts : 65
| Posted 11/4/2009 3:10 PM (GMT -8) | | Well, the bike went into the shed for the winter, the ramp I made worked good although I should have cleared a better path nearly killed myself trying not to ruin things or drop the bike. Snow predicted for the next couple of day but then close to 50, but I think I will leave well enough alone.
The more I think about that Intruder the more I would like to have it, this is not good could lead the a battle and we have had very few of those and I don't like them very much.
Pretty much this is what the bike looks like, when I first saw it I thought it was new and then realized they didn't sell new Suzuki's, there are a few scuffs, they may even rub out.
I can see me on this next year. I am thinking if they will take $2500, then I can fight the battle, no sense fighting a needless battle, I think I am pretty safe, this dealer doesn't have a reputation for offering deals, but they are close, they also have a bad reputation for any service after the sale, so why would I do business with them, good question.
Question, this bike is just about a 100 pounds heavier than the 305. At 440 pounds it seems almost a 100 pounds less than most 800, I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. It seems to be good for controlling the bike but I wonder about the integrity of the bike and how they may have trimmed it to get it so light. I also wonder if this bike would be affected by our terrible roads almost as badly as the 305, Although I passed a bigger bike an Electra-Glide I think going the other way, I waved and he was going fast and I could see he was having all he could handle to keep control of the bike. May be bad roads are just a fact of life for motorcycles? Yes I would like something shinny and a little more hp is appealing to me, but if that is all I get and no better ride, I am not sure I would buy anything and just work with what I have, which I generally like.
Another question. The manual says the engine develops I think 40 hp at 9,000 rpm(I am sure about the rpm). I don't hear all that well and the bike is pretty quiet and with the helmet I can't really tell by sound when to shift, but I use the tach which I like a lot. I generally wouldn't work it harder than 5 maybe 6000 rpms. Given the maximum hp is developed at 9000, what is acceptable on a daily basis and not over tax the engine. I am surprised how much power this bike does have for its unassuming 305cc rating.
BarryPost Edited (OldRelayer) : 11/5/2009 12:11:31 AM GMT | | Back to Top | | |
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