Money to be made?
 

is there any money is buying bikes at the end of the season or mid winter and cleaning them up and not really putting much into them other detailing them out and then selling them at the start of riding season?

If so how much and which bikes are best suited to what im thinking of?

Some, but not huge money.. And you would be best sticking with the most popular bikes. That being GSXRs and Harleys.

Around here in Phx, it is Bike week that makes a difference, with people selling bikes "just in time for bike week."

Yes, it can be done. No it isn't likely to make you a millionaire.

ill pass on the harleys but the GSXR sounds like it would be fun to work with. are there any models or years that you think are better then others?

Most popular and lucrative gsxr to buy up and resell...
 

or so I hear. I would buy one if you had it. I am sure the squids would find it impressive.:cool:

I like to fix old bikes and sell them for a little cash. I don't make alot, but it is fun and allows me to take something that was dead and bring it back to life. The rewarding feeling is worth more than the money I make off of the bike. Any working motorcycle that isn't a rusting heap can get anywhere from a grand to 1500 dollars so when I look I try and find bikes for less than $500 that are complete and have a title.

Well said...I love to find running bikes for cheap. Since most people don't take care of stuff I'll give them a good going over, cleaning, tune up, etc. There's always a market for a cheap bike that's looks nice and runs well, and they sell fast.

Oh yes and while you won't get rich I've always made a few bucks on each one.

It can work. The biggest problem is the gap between what the owner thinks his old bike is worth, and what it's actually worth. The closer the bike is to stock, the better. Owners tend to way overvalue their brilliant mods.

This is also a great point. With the exception of maybe an exhaust or a few other very minor things, when it comes time to sell the closer something is to stock, the better.

You dont just have to wait till the end of the season either. Just find the guy thats desperate. I made money off a Busa pretty well. I also made a down right killing on an 04 sv that had been sitting for 3 years. kid wanted a grand, I give him a grand sell it for 4. Works out nicely. Just become obsessive over talking to bike people and watching craigs list. Ive seen 05 gsxrs that kids finally pay off that they sell legit for 3500 to get the cash in a weekend or something. I had a kid that had a 03 superhawk a couple years ago that didnt run (clogged carbs) he wanted like 5 i showed up with 3900 and he was more than happy to let it go. Ran perfect after. You may not make a killing but you get to ride nice bikes for a year then sell them again for the same or a little more.

Any money to be made is made when you buy. I do this with 2 to 3 bikes a year. Its fun to tinker with them and you get to ride for free. If I can make 500 bucks and ride for a season or two I'm satisfied. Current projects are 2000 K1200LT and 2004 Superhawk. The LT is on the road and the Superhawk in still under construction. I just bought a new Kawasaki Versys and I'll never get my money out of it. I wish I had looked around for an unhappy owner. It's a fun bike and I broke it in the way I like so no real complaints...just the most expensive way to own a bike.

I got one with original 6K miles on it. got it 3 years ago with 3200 miles, but i'm not selling it :D

how do you go about placing the value on a used bike? do you use something like kbb.com or another base rate adjuster?

i think i am going to learn a little more about bikes through my super hawk then look for one in a bit better shape then mine is and sell this one. i am already interested in a couple other hondas i have seen so far(rc51) (shadow maybe) i would like a different color hawk though. Indie Rockers bike is super clean and the color is pretty nice too.

I would think you'd have to get a great deal on the bike in the fall in order to compensate for any fix-up expenses incurred, insurance payments and the depreciation in value that occurs over time between one year to the next before selling in the spring.

I've been toying with the idea of doing what you're talking about, only with bikes that seem to be holding their value over time, (and may even go up in value), such as those nearing classic status such as a 1969 - 1975 Honda CB750, 1975 - 1977 Honda CB400, 1978 - 1982 Honda CBX1000, Kawasaki H! Mach III, Kawasaki Z1900, 1985 Yamaha V-Max, 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa or the 1977 - 1978 Harley Davidson XLCR.

I think its hard with relatively recent used bikes to actually make money - you can ride for almost free if you buy sell smart which is pretty nice. But to make money the resale isn't that great on bikes and there is a lot of sellers. I have a friend with a real 'midas touch' at finding older (70's vintage) bikes and turning them into a lot of money, without much work except simple reviving/cleaning or parting them out. Best example is somebody selling off their dad's old boxes of crap a couple years ago after he died. This guy just wanted the boxes gone along with this old engine. Turns out the old engine was a 'sandcast' type SOHC 750 and the boxes of junk were the same type parts - all for $150. Has turned it into thousands so far. Key is knowing what you are looking for and the market. That era japanese bikes you can get some in nice condition from long time owners who rarely use them and finally are unloading them verycheap because they don't realize somebody now wants them. The brown bomber (honda 500) is a great example - terrible bikes when new but now there is some 40-50 year olds who have to have them! Those looking to buy a nostalgia piece and paying a lot more for them - for instance cb400f bikes and parts, RD350/400 series, some early VFR, cb750 SOHC bike, a few DOHC. Anyway, key here is knowing what is valuable to some but not recognizable as valuable to those looking to unload them. Pays to become very expert in a few areas if you really hope to cash in.

To find the value of a bike is tough. its all what the market bears. Obviously we all know things like the superhawk have a relatively small market so setting a price on it is tough. sure its a great bike but you would be hard pressed to get over $4k for one. best thing to do is look at bikes on craigs list. look at 10 of the same bike and get an average where people are asking. throw out some of the ridiculous ones like $10k for a 07 600 with 5 miles. That guy is ony crack.

Buy low, fix up, detail it and sell for a fair upper price range. Be wiling to hold on to a bike if it doesn't sell quickly. Start with one bike and see how it goes from there. Don't quit your day job while doing this either. Some states require you to become a dealer if you sell more then 5 vehicles a year.

Where I live, it used to be a big deal to get a bike at the end of the season. You could normally get cheap enough that you could make $500-1000 come spring time. That was back in the 80's and 90's. Now, people realize that a bike has value. If it's worth $5000 in the spring people want $5000 in the fall too.

Unless you find a killer deal (regardless of the season) there is no money to be made in used bikes. As always, your results may differ...