| Sell Your Bike |
Let's face it, we don't own Harley's. We own dirt bikes. They get dirty, beat up, broken, and worn out. Our
bikes depreciate rapidly, and anyone who's ever attempted to trade one in at a dealer probably laughed
upon first hearing the trade-in value, then experienced the same type of shock and disbelief that many felt
upon seeing Al Gore with facial hair. Below are my tips for improving the resale value of your dirt bike.
Make It Sparkle
A little soap, some water, a brush....sounds easy, right? Wrong. Your goal is to get every single piece of
foreign material removed from every possible square inch of surface area. Some things you get used to
looking at over the years, like the greasy dirt that collects around the engine cases, but that doesn't mean a
prospective buyer won't notice it. A flawlessly clean bike shows your buyer that you are anal about tending
to the appearance of your bike, and that's a good thing. This increases the odds that the buyer will think
you are also anal about maintaining your bike.
Start by taking off the plastic (including the gas tank) and getting it out of the way so you can focus on the
frame, engine cases, and other often-neglected areas. A spray bottle, a gallon of industrial degreaser, and
your wife's toothbrush will work well. The exhaust system hides a lot of crud and generally gets in the way,
so remove that also. Take off the wheels and clean every spoke, the hubs, and around the seals and
wheel spacers. The rear hub tends to collect a thick layer of grime (I haven't seen the gold color of my
Talon hub in years) and is awkward to clean, so that's where a coating of degreaser and a toothbrush will
make it easier. I find the engine cases to be the hardest to clean because the dirt and oil get baked on.
Again, degreaser helps, as does a small, stiff brush. Keep looking for dirt and don't stop until you've taken
it all off.
If possible, sand or grind off rusty spots on the frame and use touch-up paint to improve the appearance.
Some areas don't make sense to focus on if the only way to improve the appearance is high-dollar
expenditures, so concentrate on the areas where a little hard work makes your bike look almost-new.
Dress Her Up
If you could do it again, the day you bought your bike, you would have traded the original plastic for an
aftermarket set and on the day you sold the bike, put back on the still-shiny stock plastic. If you already did
that, give yourself a pat on the ass. But if your original set of plastic was scattered in bits and pieces over
many miles of trail or is now resting at the bottom of a landfill, and what's left on the bike is a hodge-podge
of mismatched, duct-taped, safety-wired plastic parts, then a new set of aftermarket plastic will definitely
help the appearance. Costs money, of course, but this is one of those places where you can generally get
your money back in the form of a higher resale value, and your bike will sell quicker. Remember, put
yourself in the buyer's shoes: would you rather buy a ratty-looking bike or a clean, mostly-shiny bike? This
is how my '99 300EXC looked before I sold it. This is how it looked when I put it up for sale.
Keep Records
I am anal. Every time I ride, I write down the date, approximate riding distance, number of hours, and any
maintenance that I perform afterwards. I started doing this because I was curious about how much I was
actually riding and how much it costs to keep a dirt bike running (yes, it is shocking). Not only is this a great
way to keep track of maintenance intervals, but it also shows a prospective buyer how meticulous you are
about details. Again, this is a good thing. However, it can be a very bad thing if your records show that the
last significant maintenance on your bike was a chain lube back in '98. If that's the case, then don't bother
keeping track. Just focus on making the bike look good.
Advertising - There's No Free Lunch
The internet offers many free classified ad services specific to motorcycles. My success with those
services has been marginal at best. Your ad will probably be read by more off-road enthusiasts than a
typical newspaper ad, but geography tends to limit who you can sell to. It's great if a guy in Vermont wants
exactly what you've got, but if you live in Utah, the transportation cost will probably make the bike too
expensive for your East Coast buyer. Plus, most people still like to see the bike in person, think over their
decision, and then come back and make the purchase.
The last time I sold a bike, I initially tried the freebie ads but got very little response. When I spent some
money and ran a newspaper ad, the bike sold on the very first day (for an acceptable price, too). The
newspaper ad cost me $20, but was worth every penny because my bike sold quickly. Choose the most
widely-circulated newspaper in your area and run an ad that includes the Sunday edition.
Pick the Season
Ever try to sell a dirt bike in the middle of winter? Would be easier getting Bill Clinton to drive by a Hooters
without stopping. Most off-season buyers are looking for that desperate soul who just bought next year's
new model and is cash-strapped with multiple bike ownership. Don't be "That Guy." Late-spring or
summer is best, when people are more likely to have motorcycles on their minds.
Seller Beware
You've probably heard the horror stories of someone who let a guy test-ride his bike and never saw it
again. Or the day after the test ride his garage was broken into and the bike stolen. The most basic rule of
selling a bike: In God We Trust; All Others Must Verify. If someone you don't know wants to test-ride your
bike, get some identification and hold on to their car keys. The guy who shows up with no car, claiming to
have been dropped off by a friend, is trouble, plain and simple. The guy who asks questions about how
and where you store your bike is also questionable. Meet with a potential buyer at a neutral location, if
possible, and politely explain why you need to see an I.D. Most people are understanding about
verification, which makes for a good test of the type of character you're dealing with. Be very cautious with
someone who gives you grief about producing a driver's license.
The Negotiation
For me, the least enjoyable part of selling a bike is haggling over the price. While it's tempting to take the
first offer you receive, don't settle for a price just to get the bike out of your garage. On the other hand, it
helps to be realistic about the true value of the motorcycle. For KTM owners, the majority of us are involved
in racing of some type. We do special things to our bikes to make them go fast. While those things add
value to us, the majority of the dirt biking population are trail riders who have no use for re-valved
suspension, don't want steering dampers, and could care less about aftermarket triple clamps. Because
of their race-oriented nature, European dirt bikes have a smaller audience than Japanese bikes and we
pay the price in the form of lower resale value. If you can find a racing buddy to buy your KTM/Husky/Gas
Gas/TM at the price you want, more power to you, but odds are your bike has more value to you than to the
general dirt biking community.
If a potential buyer is low-balling you with the "but it's been raced" excuse, that's when the maintenance log
can pay off. Show him/her how much you've done to the bike and, more importantly, how much you've spent
on the the bike to keep it in top condition. An educated buyer should not discount a bike because it's been
raced...at least I wouldn't, and I feel like I'm somewhat educated.
When you do settle on a price, always follow this rule:
Cash, cashiers check, or money order. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Very few buyers take cash with them the first time they look at a bike, but most will bring along enough to
put down a small deposit if they decide they want the bike. I usually ask for $100 and agree not to sell the
bike to anyone else until they come up with the rest of the money (usually 2-3 days later). In that time,
however, I'll still let someone else look at the bike as long as they understand that there's a "contract" on
the bike. Sometimes a buyer doesn't follow through, so it's important to keep your options open.
Overall, I've never been 100% satisfied with what I received for a used dirt bike, but that's to be expected.
Unless you find an uneducated buyer with a bunch of spare cash, you'll probably end up settling for a price
a bit lower than what you had hoped for. Go with your gut feeling, get the bike sold, and move on to the next
one!
bikes depreciate rapidly, and anyone who's ever attempted to trade one in at a dealer probably laughed
upon first hearing the trade-in value, then experienced the same type of shock and disbelief that many felt
upon seeing Al Gore with facial hair. Below are my tips for improving the resale value of your dirt bike.
Make It Sparkle
A little soap, some water, a brush....sounds easy, right? Wrong. Your goal is to get every single piece of
foreign material removed from every possible square inch of surface area. Some things you get used to
looking at over the years, like the greasy dirt that collects around the engine cases, but that doesn't mean a
prospective buyer won't notice it. A flawlessly clean bike shows your buyer that you are anal about tending
to the appearance of your bike, and that's a good thing. This increases the odds that the buyer will think
you are also anal about maintaining your bike.
Start by taking off the plastic (including the gas tank) and getting it out of the way so you can focus on the
frame, engine cases, and other often-neglected areas. A spray bottle, a gallon of industrial degreaser, and
your wife's toothbrush will work well. The exhaust system hides a lot of crud and generally gets in the way,
so remove that also. Take off the wheels and clean every spoke, the hubs, and around the seals and
wheel spacers. The rear hub tends to collect a thick layer of grime (I haven't seen the gold color of my
Talon hub in years) and is awkward to clean, so that's where a coating of degreaser and a toothbrush will
make it easier. I find the engine cases to be the hardest to clean because the dirt and oil get baked on.
Again, degreaser helps, as does a small, stiff brush. Keep looking for dirt and don't stop until you've taken
it all off.
If possible, sand or grind off rusty spots on the frame and use touch-up paint to improve the appearance.
Some areas don't make sense to focus on if the only way to improve the appearance is high-dollar
expenditures, so concentrate on the areas where a little hard work makes your bike look almost-new.
Dress Her Up
If you could do it again, the day you bought your bike, you would have traded the original plastic for an
aftermarket set and on the day you sold the bike, put back on the still-shiny stock plastic. If you already did
that, give yourself a pat on the ass. But if your original set of plastic was scattered in bits and pieces over
many miles of trail or is now resting at the bottom of a landfill, and what's left on the bike is a hodge-podge
of mismatched, duct-taped, safety-wired plastic parts, then a new set of aftermarket plastic will definitely
help the appearance. Costs money, of course, but this is one of those places where you can generally get
your money back in the form of a higher resale value, and your bike will sell quicker. Remember, put
yourself in the buyer's shoes: would you rather buy a ratty-looking bike or a clean, mostly-shiny bike? This
is how my '99 300EXC looked before I sold it. This is how it looked when I put it up for sale.
Keep Records
I am anal. Every time I ride, I write down the date, approximate riding distance, number of hours, and any
maintenance that I perform afterwards. I started doing this because I was curious about how much I was
actually riding and how much it costs to keep a dirt bike running (yes, it is shocking). Not only is this a great
way to keep track of maintenance intervals, but it also shows a prospective buyer how meticulous you are
about details. Again, this is a good thing. However, it can be a very bad thing if your records show that the
last significant maintenance on your bike was a chain lube back in '98. If that's the case, then don't bother
keeping track. Just focus on making the bike look good.
Advertising - There's No Free Lunch
The internet offers many free classified ad services specific to motorcycles. My success with those
services has been marginal at best. Your ad will probably be read by more off-road enthusiasts than a
typical newspaper ad, but geography tends to limit who you can sell to. It's great if a guy in Vermont wants
exactly what you've got, but if you live in Utah, the transportation cost will probably make the bike too
expensive for your East Coast buyer. Plus, most people still like to see the bike in person, think over their
decision, and then come back and make the purchase.
The last time I sold a bike, I initially tried the freebie ads but got very little response. When I spent some
money and ran a newspaper ad, the bike sold on the very first day (for an acceptable price, too). The
newspaper ad cost me $20, but was worth every penny because my bike sold quickly. Choose the most
widely-circulated newspaper in your area and run an ad that includes the Sunday edition.
Pick the Season
Ever try to sell a dirt bike in the middle of winter? Would be easier getting Bill Clinton to drive by a Hooters
without stopping. Most off-season buyers are looking for that desperate soul who just bought next year's
new model and is cash-strapped with multiple bike ownership. Don't be "That Guy." Late-spring or
summer is best, when people are more likely to have motorcycles on their minds.
Seller Beware
You've probably heard the horror stories of someone who let a guy test-ride his bike and never saw it
again. Or the day after the test ride his garage was broken into and the bike stolen. The most basic rule of
selling a bike: In God We Trust; All Others Must Verify. If someone you don't know wants to test-ride your
bike, get some identification and hold on to their car keys. The guy who shows up with no car, claiming to
have been dropped off by a friend, is trouble, plain and simple. The guy who asks questions about how
and where you store your bike is also questionable. Meet with a potential buyer at a neutral location, if
possible, and politely explain why you need to see an I.D. Most people are understanding about
verification, which makes for a good test of the type of character you're dealing with. Be very cautious with
someone who gives you grief about producing a driver's license.
The Negotiation
For me, the least enjoyable part of selling a bike is haggling over the price. While it's tempting to take the
first offer you receive, don't settle for a price just to get the bike out of your garage. On the other hand, it
helps to be realistic about the true value of the motorcycle. For KTM owners, the majority of us are involved
in racing of some type. We do special things to our bikes to make them go fast. While those things add
value to us, the majority of the dirt biking population are trail riders who have no use for re-valved
suspension, don't want steering dampers, and could care less about aftermarket triple clamps. Because
of their race-oriented nature, European dirt bikes have a smaller audience than Japanese bikes and we
pay the price in the form of lower resale value. If you can find a racing buddy to buy your KTM/Husky/Gas
Gas/TM at the price you want, more power to you, but odds are your bike has more value to you than to the
general dirt biking community.
If a potential buyer is low-balling you with the "but it's been raced" excuse, that's when the maintenance log
can pay off. Show him/her how much you've done to the bike and, more importantly, how much you've spent
on the the bike to keep it in top condition. An educated buyer should not discount a bike because it's been
raced...at least I wouldn't, and I feel like I'm somewhat educated.
When you do settle on a price, always follow this rule:
Cash, cashiers check, or money order. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Very few buyers take cash with them the first time they look at a bike, but most will bring along enough to
put down a small deposit if they decide they want the bike. I usually ask for $100 and agree not to sell the
bike to anyone else until they come up with the rest of the money (usually 2-3 days later). In that time,
however, I'll still let someone else look at the bike as long as they understand that there's a "contract" on
the bike. Sometimes a buyer doesn't follow through, so it's important to keep your options open.
Overall, I've never been 100% satisfied with what I received for a used dirt bike, but that's to be expected.
Unless you find an uneducated buyer with a bunch of spare cash, you'll probably end up settling for a price
a bit lower than what you had hoped for. Go with your gut feeling, get the bike sold, and move on to the next
one!