Despite having the largest and richest bunch of consumers in the world, the States has singularly failed to decline into the moribund state that so well defines much of Europe, where consumers are ripped off left, right and centre. Prices, despite some heady increases in recent years, for most things are laughably low in the USA - down to the size of the market and cut-throat competition.
The only good thing about the ridiculous cost of new motorcycles in the UK and the rest of Europe being that it has made it possible for European manufacturers to survive, and even thrive. In the States, they can't compete, the roads full of Japanese models and Harleys, with the very odd Triumph and Ducati making an appearance. Low end Harleys are competitively priced and in huge demand whilst the sheer sophistication of the Japanese bikes, cruisers and replicas both, makes it close to impossible for anyone else to compete.
To anyone interested in cheap bikes, the used market's even more appealing than the new one. Whereas in the UK a thousand quid buys a terrible old rat on its last legs, some serious iron can be purchased for a thousand bucks in the USA with loads of life left in it.
Most Yanks also run cages, biking more a leisure pursuit than anything else. Whereas cruisers are treated as a bit of a joke in the UK they are massively popular in the States. Their laid back riding, excellent low speed comfort and the relative straightness of most roads, make more sense in a country where speed limits are pathetically low and rigorously enforced.
Except for the recent (and ignored here) spate of race replicas (which take about 40% of the market), most bikes sport high bars, cushy seats and soft suspension. Almost by definition they lead an easy life; mileage usually moderate and condition rarely decimated (unlike our own combination of acid rain and salted roads...).
Demand for old bikes isn't that high, the populace having an effective purchasing power of about twice ours (they earn more money and pay less for most things). Often, old bikes are stashed in the back of garages, only to emerge half a decade, or more, later.
Like the UK, dealers come up with some silly sticker prices (and if you're interested in new stuff there are some large discounts available for cash) and try it on even when you wave cash at them. The private market's much more interesting, and open to silly offers if you turn up with the cash.
The major hassle's down to the sheer size of the States, deciding where to go. Both New York and California are out, already picked dry by our own importers. Much better to head somewhere like New Orleans, Texas or the Mid West. Bikes are all over the place, though, best to chose somewhere that you've always wanted to go for a holiday or where you have friends or relatives (for cheap accommodation). I prefer New Orleans as it has a heady mix of cheap booze, inexpensive accommodation, available babes and plenty of old bikes.
The best time to go is late Autumn, when even the hotter parts aren't too bad and the cold North hasn't yet been covered in snow and ice. Having said that, don't let the time of the year limit your ventures, just chose somewhere with reasonable weather when you want to visit. Don't laugh, some plonkers turn up in New York in January when it does a passable imitation of Siberia.
Where to find used bikes is usually down to the local papers. There are plenty of magazines devoted to used bikes - Motorcycle Shopper, Old Bike Journal, etc - but they are read by the hundreds of people involved in the import scene. Not just from the UK, also chaps from Europe and even the Third World. You can get there first and tie up the deal before they descend but they move on the bargains quite rapidly. Chances are it'll be hundreds of miles away and by the time you get there, someone else will have copped it. Some vendors don't like to sell to non-Americans, the idea of the bike being exported by profiteers turning them off.
Prices quoted throughout are what you'd pay in a private deal, which just to confuse things varies according to which bike you want to buy in which part of the country. It's best to be open minded about the particular machine required, no point going all that way and ignoring perfectly good tackle in favour of a narrow minded choice of bike.
If you don't want to go to the States, most of the bikes mentioned are available through the UK's grey importers - at over twice the prices quoted here. Given that you have to pay import tax and VAT, plus shipping and get them set up for UK roads, that ain't such a rip-off as it sounds. Although quite a few grey importers are doing disturbing things like straightening out crashed bikes and making dubious repairs to blown motors.
All the same checks on machinery apply as much in the States as they do in the UK. Bear in mind that something stored for years will have naff tyres and control cables, probably can't be ridden off into the distance. Hiring a pick-up's the cheapest way out of that quandary. Also remember that the States is a very violent place and it's not a good idea to wander around unknown areas on foot.
$500 to $1000...
There are loads of old bikes in this price range. The best way to look at things is to make sure that the engine's okay and not worry too much over the state of the chassis, as long as it's complete and not a total rust bucket. Avoid anything that's been rebuilt, as older Jap engines never really run well after being disturbed.
In this price range there are plenty of old seventies and eighties fours - things like Z550/750's, XJ650/750's, CB550/650's and GS550/750's. Mileage's usually around 30-40,000 miles and general condition's a bit stale - they really need the suspension fixed, flatter bars fitted and a respray. Though there are some examples that have been updated to a more useful spec at the upper end of the price range.
I recently came across a reasonable XJ750 Maxim for $995. The engine had done less than 20,000 miles, ran with a nice mechanical rustle and no smoke. The electrics had been a bit bodged around the rectifier - non-standard box, plus a mess of wiring. The tyres were bald, barely able to hold air. Rust and alloy corrosion ruled but it was all there. The guy accepted $700 and even agreed to deliver it to my house in his pick-up truck. I bought the bike for a friend coming over from the UK, who fixed it up nicely for a couple of hundred dollars. By the time he'd paid shipping, import taxes, etc., the total cost came to just over a grand (sterling). Given the mileage and the way the bike shined up, turned out to be a good deal that he could sell for around £1600.
Another friend bought a 1972 Honda CB500 four for two hundred dollars. The engine ran okay even with 45000 miles on the clock, but most of the chassis parts were blitzed with rust. He left the bike as it was until after it'd reached the UK - paid sod all in custom charges! Then fixed it up with miscellaneous bits from breakers. A reliable hack rather than prime meat, but with a total cost of less than 375 notes who's going to complain? By the way, he was just in the States for a holiday, but couldn't believe the low cost of bikes and had to grab a bargain.
Even if you don't want the hassle of pissing around with major repairs, nice bikes still turn up in this price range. I've seen perfectly acceptable CB550's, XJ550's and GS550's that could be ridden off and had years of life left in them - priced at $500 to $750.
Occasionally, really immaculate, low mileage examples of the above kind of machines turn up for a bit more money, $1000 to $1500, but there condition's so nice that it's surely worth paying a bit extra, although, as mentioned, these are the custom versions of the UK models and will need a little work to make them hustle on British roads.
Big twins, ranging from the seventies Honda CB450 and Yamaha XS650 through to the eighties Suzuki 650 Tempter, including such oddities as the Yamaha TX750 and Kawasaki Z750, are also available for well under a grand. The engines tend to turn a bit finicky at this age and things like the TX750 ain't very reliable (sharing the engine layout of the equally naff XS500), but the finish is often better than the fours, which says something about the way the Jap's design bikes.
It's still perfectly feasible to pick up an old XS650 or CB450K that has been stored away for a decade, or more, and find that the engine's still in fine fettle. Chassis and consumable rot being the biggest hassle to doing a cheap renovation. But the more elbow grease needed the cheaper the purchase price - it just depends on how much time and energy you have versus the amount of free dosh.
If you're going to buy something that's rare in the UK it's a very good idea to get a second, or even third, bike for spares - the more you export the cheaper the shipping charges per bike (I've been quoted from $250 to $600 out of New York, sometimes you get a cheap deal when a shipper just has a little space to fill, other times you get charged for more space than you actually take up). Often, if the bike's a non-runner and over 20 years old you can buy it for next to nothing. Prices can be unbelievably low!
Perhaps the weirdest buy in this price range's the 500 Magna. This used an early version of Honda's infamous vee-four engine with consequence breakdowns and blow-ups. Its reputation is reflected in prices as low as $700, although the odd dealer living in cloud-cuckoo land tries to palm the better ones off for as much as 3000 dollars. Actually, when they are in good fettle they go very well indeed; it's just that you never know when the engine's going to blow up. Resale prices in the UK are also low.
Equally as bad, or perhaps even worse, the XS750 Custom is another bike it's worth avoiding, though the later XS850 is a touch more tolerable. The defining experience of cruising on these old triples occurs when the gearbox explodes! Just as the Magna's cylinder heads can go down at any time, so can the XS's gearbox go into self destruct mode. Prices are consequently bargain basement and if you want to add a bit of spice, a slice of the unknown, to your riding, I suppose they could even be sound buys.
No, let's have none of that masochistic nonsense. The best deals in this price range are either XJ750's or Z750 Spectres. Both have marvellous four cylinder engines and chassis that response well to a bit of aftermarket kit. Having said that, there's loads of other stuff that no self respecting Yank biker would be seen dead on, and that their poor cousins in the UK would go wild over. Literally, bargains galore and you'd be a fool not to stock up on them!
$1000 to $2000
This is the most interesting price category of the lot. At the one end of the spectrum, there's a vast array of choice Japanese fours (XJ, CBX, GSX, Z, etc) and at the other end the lower range of recent Jap customs (Savage, 454Ltd, Radian, etc).
Suzuki's LS650 Savage, for instance, is a cheap entry-level bike in the States, with the tatty stuff coming in at around a grand, whilst two grand will buy a near immaculate one. The engine's a relatively simple thumper with an excess of torque; a unique combination of custom style, minimal mass and easy riding. They are popular with beginners but soon traded in for the bigger stuff or sold off once the rider gets a handle on riding motorcycles.
The other small custom of note's the Kawasaki 454Ltd. Even in the States its appearance is a bit off-putting, but it's one of the most reliable customs around, even if the handling's often just an excuse to pass the sick bucket when it's ridden with some right wrist twitchiness. There's no need to pay more than $1500 for a really good one, though they are advertised at $1200 to $2500; it's almost impossible to sell them for more than $2000. As they are quite cheap in the UK, only worth going for if you find a low mileage one for less than $1500.
I know one guy who came over, bought a 454Ltd in New York, rode the thing all around the States in six months of self indulgence. Did about 40,000 miles, putting 53000 miles on the clock. The bike cost $1250. By the time he imported it into the UK, the total cost was still under a grand. He sold it for £1750, which meant he'd had most of his holiday for nothing. A good crack if you can get it together.
For more serious riding, there are devices like the CBX700/750 and 600 Radian available. These are the normal Jap straight fours in the mildest of custom chassis. They can actually be swung through the bends without paying out for any modifications. Power is just in the arm wrenching, tear jerking, territory, so plenty of kicks available. The Yamaha Radian is the far more modern of two, with its wacky styling and excellent finish.
Luckily, the CBX engine had evolved into a tough, reliable device that in Yank hands runs to at least 50,000 miles before any worries over its cylinder head turns up. The Radian's mill is based on the strong XJ600 motor, so, again, no worries there.
In both cases, there's often a great difference between paying $1250 for a cheap and tatty one, and $1500 to £1750 for an excellent example of the breed. Paying that extra little bit of dosh can result in a hell of a lot better motorcycle for the money - certainly worth thinking about if you intend to ride one in the States before shipping it over to the UK.
There are lots of larger fours - 1000's and 1100's - but they tend to have a mixture of explosive power and rotten chassis that will have you off at the first corner. Top grade GS1000's for $1000 to $1500 are always worth a look, of course, but my favourite of this bunch's the Z1100 Spectre, its engine based on the ultra tough Z900. Maximum blood and guts in a mildly custom chassis that gets all wound up in the corners, not in the least helped by a funky shaft drive. $1500 to $2000 will get you a piece of the action, though I've seen them for twice that in the dealers. If you want to use them in anger, though, take out extra life insurance! If I was in the market for a big four, this is the one I'd go for!
Far more sensible's the DOHC version of Honda's 650 Nighthawk. The really nice ones fetch $1500, though you can find them for half that! A nice balance of speed, reliability and even handling. A lot of people have toured right around the States on them, the high mileage explaining why some of them are so cheap.
Lots of bargains in this price range, then, with a wide disparity of machinery and plenty of pleasant times to be had.
$2000 to $3000...
In this price range there's a huge number of customs, all of them in good condition, most with a minimum of miles on the clock - it really is quite hard to go wrong as long as you don't expect the handling to be brilliant. Even so, most modern Japanese customs work well on the wide, smooth, American roads - it's only when they are thrashed down British back lanes that they begin to lose their panache. Unlike the straight fours, these vee-twin customs sport more radical steering geometry that can't easily be upgraded. Bear this in mind!
Perhaps the best buy in this category is the Suzuki Intruder, in 700, 750 or 800cc flavours. Despite the watercooling, it has by far the most attractive engine of the Jap customs, and luckily is also a very tough piece of engineering. Not that this really matters as the vast majority of machines, some even over ten years old, haven't done more than 25000 miles. Because the Yanks tend to favour Harleys above all else, despite the Intruder being one of the more popular Jap imitators, the prices of the old ones hover around the two grand mark - though the alloy and chrome may be a bit tarnished, there isn't really much work needed, just a bit of elbow grease. Even low milers in near immaculate trim don't fetch more than $3500, and it's even possible to pick one up for around $2500 if you persist and come on with some hard bargaining.
Less popular, despite being made in the good old US of A, the Kawasaki 700/750 Vulcan is a serious rival but lacks most of the Suzuki's style. Strangely, newish ones are more expensive, at up to four grand, but the mid-eighties examples come in at around half that. They are bit scarcer on the ground than the Intruders and, perhaps, not quite so tough.
I know one American guy who's owned a 700 version from new and has done over 95000 miles so far - but he's had two top end rebuilds along the way (quite expensive as there are two separate cylinder heads to sort). And the finish went off after a few years - he had to have a complete respray. Similar era 700 Intruders last better, though no doubt Kawasaki improved the engine by the time it reached the 750cc version.
I've had a brief blast on both bikes, much preferred the Suzuki, both in terms of the ease with which it put down its vee-twin power and its superior stability - it's one of the few customs you can leap aboard and feel relatively at home upon straight away. Mind you, Vulcan owners tend to be as fanatical as Star Trek fans! No accounting for some people's taste.
Another contender in this price range is the Honda 750 Magna. Yet another incarnation of Honda's dreaded vee-four technology. Despite such a reputation, though, the bigger Magna's popular on the back of its straight line blood and guts - 80 horses worth of vee-four fury sure gets the pulse going! The big problem comes when you have to throw the massive heap through the bends, an interesting suicide trip if you want to ride with any verve. The other bit of unhappiness is that the engine turns finicky with high mileages, mostly around the valvegear, though later models are much improved. You get a lot of technology and metal for the money, $2000 to $3500, but I still wouldn't put it on my buying list unless I was really desperate.
Much plainer's Yamaha's XV750 Virago. Somewhat lacking in style compared to the other customs but an almost practical set of wheels despite its aged, aircooled vee-twin engine. As much as $5000 for really recent ones, the bargains are found amongst the mid eighties' bikes, often for less than two grand. There are plenty of spares back in the UK to sort out the rough ones. Under mild use reliability is good but those ridden from coast to coast sometimes have top end hassles after 50,000 miles.
Prices for the bigger version, the XV1100 Virago, are similar, a lot of Yanks bask in their extra torque though they can be pigs to handle through the more zany bends. They are otherwise quite practical customs that are capable of touring right around the States a couple of times. There are some good bargains in the $2000 to $3000 price range.
It's even possible to buy an 1100 Magna for that kind of dosh, though $3000 up is more normal for the better examples. This isn't a model to buy if the mileage is high, the same old top end hassles with the old ones - either expensive servicing or an even more costly full rebuild. Nevertheless, the sheer excess of power and torque make them kind of compulsive in the cruiser world. Espec-ially if you've been brought up on Z1's, and the like, when the totally out of control handling will grab you in a haze of nostalgia just before you ride off the road. A little bit of an exaggeration for roads in the States but all too true about real world riding back in the nasty old UK.
Most of Honda's custom experience has now, anyway, been distilled into the vee twin Shadow, all 1100cc's of it. The recent Mark 2 version no doubt making Harley a bit nervous. Earlier ones are just as good, if not quite so flash. Although radically styled the Shadow does manage to run along without most of the weaving of the Magna, though it doesn't have the same wild power. The Shadow majors in excessive torque rather than outright power, would probably out-stomp an elephant. Engine reliability's as good as any other bike in this class. Because of the new model recent ones go for a reasonable $5000, whilst the late eighties examples fetch as little as $2300 - this for machines still in good overall shape with less than 30,000 miles on the clock. Something of a bargain given their stomp and general finesse.
Although this price bracket's largely dominated by vee twin and vee four cruisers, there are a few straight fours that are also of interest. The latest CB750 is identical to the UK model, the major difference being the cost of used ones. Really good ones for less than $2000, certainly no need to pay more than three grand even if you're in a hurry to buy one. Ultra tough motor and all the performance you're ever going to need if you don't want to go over the ton.
Much more focused on the traffic light GP, Kawasaki's 750 Eliminator goes down a storm in a straight line but has a fit when thrown at the harder bends. Plenty of low milers in the $2500 to $3000 price range, but stay clear of the cheap bikes, as they usually combine high mileage with a thrashed engine.
No such hassles with the rather odd looking FZX750 Yamaha. This poor man's Vee-Max, sports an excellent four cylinder engine derived from the well regarded FZ750, in a chassis set up for straight line drags but still able to cope with spirited cornering. The Yanks much preferred the massive Vee-Max, leaving loads of bargain priced FZX's on the used market.
I actually bought one for $1800 that though a few years old was in generally excellent nick. I've seen worse examples on offer for three grand. I only kept mine for five weeks because a friend from England insisted on giving me $2500, which went towards a dalliance with a Vee-Max.
Anyway, the FZX, in its own right, was a serious piece of kit that almost took the top of my head off until I got used to the rate of acceleration. It wasn't so much any weakness in the chassis that let its handling down, but the way the front tyre kept trying to claw the air when accelerating out of bends! Worth having a test ride before excluding it from your shopping list.
$3000 up
Americans love excess, the more cubes and the more mass the better. Anything under a 1000cc an object of ridicule in certain circles. It's easy to get taken in by such extravagance, with such long, straight roads that are often nearly deserted if you go off the beaten track. For a while I had a dalliance with a Vee-Max. These are all over the place in the States, considered brilliant drag artists and maximum craziness. It doesn't take much effort to get 150 horses from the watercooled, vee-four engine. Which is all thoroughly thrilling and mad, tests your skills to extremes.
Vee-Max's are slowly gaining popularity in the UK where they are much more expensive than in the States. A lot of hustling can get one for around three grand but usually the $5000 mark is more normal. Despite all the power they make, the engines are pretty tough and most bikes in the States are low mileage; a useful combination. Their excessive mass, like other bikes in this category, does up the shipping charges!
They are addictive, to the extent that I found myself riding at insane velocities even for someone notoriously addicted to speeding. Put it this way, I had to do some wacky riding to avoid a few police road blocks! After the Vee-Max, the vast majority of Japanese tackle comes across as very tame - the only way out for me, other than death from overindulgence in highway kicks, was to go back to the charms of British bikes in the UK. British bikes aren't that cheap in the States, these days, unless you look beyond the usual BSA, Norton and Triumph twins.
The most likely areas of trouble on old Vee-Max's are shot chassis bearings that make the bike almost unrideable (they can go down in less than 10,000 miles) and can fail without any warning; also the finish can become overwhelmed by white alloy rot and rust, which nothing less than blasting can remove. Beneath the corrosion, though, the bike still runs as well as ever.
Another invention suited much more to the American mind rather than the European, Honda's ST1100 is a plastic fantastic creation that has another vee-four engine for motive power, but a wholly civilised device whose sole function in life is to relentlessly eat up the highway miles. Excessive mass and odd handling never stopped BMW's selling in their thousands, so it's odd that the Honda failed to gain many sales in the UK. The engine bears no relation to the awful VF series, being set out like a Moto Guzzi vee, doesn't suffer any chronic mechanical problems. It's hard to find one for $4000, the nearly new stuff going for twice that. As they are hard to sell in the UK, not one for those in search of a quick profit.
Honda's ubiquitous Gold Wing still manages to rule the roads, as far as full dress cruisers go. The flat six cylinder, 1500cc engine has no serious rivals but the rolling armchair's an acquired taste - to say the least. Some of them have clocked up extravagant mileages, even gone around the clock, but the six cylinder engine's as tough as they come - and given the excessive mass and sedate handling, almost impossible to use in a way that's anything other than mild.
So even high milers can be a good buy, around the $6000 mark for something that still has plenty of life left it in - that's cheap compared to UK prices. To get something recent with less than 20,000 miles on the clock, you'll have to pay at least ten grand. Only for the total addicts who can't contemplate anything less outlandish
Older Wings, in 1000, 1100 and 1200cc flavours are much cheaper as their fans have moved en masse to the 1500. Down to as little as a thousand notes for the old 1000's, $3000 to $4000 will buy a really good GL1200. Bear in mind that even the GL1000 is over the top for UK roads, but fine for cheap touring in the States.
Both Suzuki's 1400 Intruder and Kawasaki's 1500 Vulcan are also over the top, with the former rather more popular in the States. Both bikes are relatively expensive as they are seen as viable alternatives to the smaller Harleys. Hard to find anything worthy for below $4000, at least five thousand dollars needed for some useful kicks.
Of course, being in the States, means Harleys are available in vast abundance. Prices have been slowly creeping up over the past few years and you won't find anything, even a worn out 883, for less than $3000. The latter normally fetches $4000 to $5000, but they can be cheaply upgraded to 1200cc and there's loads of tuning kit available.
The 1340's, in all their gross varieties, offer the occasional bargain at around $6000, usually in need of some minor engine work - there's a lot that can go wrong with them, from primary drives to shagged pistons, but, again, spares are cheap and tuning parts readily available. There are very nicely modded Glides for around $10,000, that have most of the essential mod's done to them.
Whatever you want to buy, a trip to the States is well worth the effort. It's even worth it just to clock the babes...
Johnny Malone