Time to sell - any advice?
 

First I'd like to thank all of the forum members. This site has been a huge resource in rebuilding my 2003 Hawk.

I bought this bike wrecked in November 2007 from the service manager of my local Honda dealer. The bike was bought new in April 2004, and was low-sided a couple weeks later at 550 miles, then sat in heated storage until I bought it. With Honda parts & dealer labor, the bike was totaled, but did not have any serious stuctural problems.

I installed a new Sharksins fairing & front fender, Zero Gravity Sport Touring windshield, and one new fork leg. I bought a used triple clamp & steering stem, and used Yoshimura exhaust from Superhawk members. I went with Superbling's superbike bar mod using a spare set of KTM bar clamps & Woods High ProTapers. The bike came together nicely, runs good, and rides like new. I had the bodywork painted Honda yellow.

It turns out at 50, that I'm not really a sport bike guy, though the Hawk is a blast to ride. My daughter's car just puked a cam chain, and the Hawk is not a viable winter option here in Montana...so, it's up for sale.

On the minus side, the bike has a salvage title. On the plus side, it only has 1875 actual miles. What's a fair price? I'm thinking of asking $5,000 - does that seem reasonable?

Any opinions will be appreciated, self-serving or otherwise. Thanks.

no.

I just paid 4500 for an 04 with 1100 miles. Showroom condition.
You're not gonna sniff 4k with a salvage title.
3k ish I would guess.

Price
 

I buy and sell a lot of bikes....so this is just my 2 cents worth......

2003 superhawk with a salvage title $2500 if very your lucky?.....take a look on the board here what you can buy for $3000....and those are asking prices.....asking price and selling price are two different things.
Also bike market sucks right now!....don't ask me how I know.
And take that from someone that likes superhawks (had three of them so far).....best of luck with your sale ......but asking $5000 is just plain crazy.

p.s Just so you know superhawks are real slow sellers.....as I'm sure a few of the board members will confirm.....

I agree with speedkelly. You are also at the end of your season with months of storage to come. If you were in the sunbelt I think you could do better money-wise but it would cost you a thousand bucks to get her here so that's not worth it. There's just too many good Superhawks and so few buyers around to consider yours. That said and I didn't intend for it to be mean just factual, look at other ways to make it through and store your jewel away for another day. It's just not worth selling it now. If you're under pressure and you consider the current economic circumstances - if you had to off it you could take as little as $1700.

If you're not in a hurry, why cut your own throat? Just sit on the price you want and come down as you need to in order to make the sale.

Agreed! I would not post a price on Craigslist of $1700. I would forget that I own it, through a blanket over it and get a night job. Do something but like is said, why cut your own throat?

To give you some idea of the current Superhawk market, last weekend I just purchased an 01 in near perfect condition with 5,000 mile on it for $4,100 here in the greater Seattle area and that's probably a little on the high side. The research I had done prior indicated that the average "asking" price for an 05 Superhawk in really good shape had been around $5,400 per www.cycletrader data. (dealer and private sellers). Ebay highest bid prices were lower.

To determine a reasonable sale price for your bike, I would figure a $500 per year depreciation. That's $1,000 from an 05 to an 03, as a starting point asking price figure of $4,500. Then take $1,000 off due to the salvage title. Now you're at $3,500. If you are far from a major metropolitan area and buyers have to drive a distance to see the bike, then drop the price down to $3,000. Then expect someone to offer maybe $2,500. If that happened, I would take it.

+1
$2.5k-$4K w/shark skinz & salvage; entirely depends on who really wants it that day.

um, wow. You guys paint a pretty bleak picture. Well, I'm not going to give it away, but it's clear $5k is out of the question. It's unfortunate it has a salvage title, as the damage was relatively superficial. I bought it cheap enough, but I've got a fair amount into it. Plan B is to sell my '02 520, and I've got a lead on it.

There you go, develope alternatives that will be more lucrative. You may have to change your avitar but good luck all the same!

On another note make sure you have your bases covered. Hit all the major cities around you that have Craigslist.com. You could take a pleasant two day drive to any of these markets - weather permitting - to deliver the bike. Just a thought.

Thanks, nuhawk. That's a good idea. And thanks Joe Kano and grasshoppermouse for your constructive comments.

I think I'll probably come out ok, just won't make money on the deal. Then again, I've never made money on a bike. What was I thinking?