Fun & Games
Some motorcyclists still struggle through the winter months, a majority sit out the sheer nastiness of December and January. Many now consider these months the ideal time to go bike hunting. Memories are short, the horrors of ice, snow and rain encouraging bikes to go for the minimum of dosh. Even dealers, long famed for bunging on silly sticker prices, restrain themselves and are open to silly offers.
This doesn’t, alas, mean that the fabled one owner, low mileage CBR600 is going to turn up for the kind of money that’d buy an afternoon with a Mayfair hooker. The top tier of motorcycles manage to retain most of their value even in the desperation of a British winter. Just a question of supply and demand, plus the knowledge that generally they are tough old things, unlikely to expire a few minutes after purchase. All the kicks with few of the downsides, other than having to pay serious dosh to get into the game and, of course, to keep them on the road.
Move away from this top tier of machinery (CBR600/900, FZR’s, GSXR750, Bandits, ZXR’s, etc), though, and the possibility of winter bargains markedly increase. Found both in excess stocks of new bikes that haven't sold very well in '96 with some wicked discounts - and in loads of used machinery on the private market that owners are desperate to shift, for a variety of reasons. Also consider the private import game combined with a winter break or, better still, a tax deductible business trip.
New Bargains
Finding a cheap new bike is no more tedious than picking up a recent copy of Motorcycle News. There may well be an excess of magazines but this is still the only weekly source of elusive bargains. Flick through its dealer display ads and use the phone to find the bargains - as much as a third off bikes that haven't sold well this year and others that nave been in oversupply. The bargains change weekly, depending on what the importers want to off-load and what dealers find themselves left with. Margins on these deals are very slim so don't expect the guarantee to mean much, but usually free country wide delivery is thrown in, so don't limit yourself to just local dealers. Some dealers are as adamant as a Brussels bureaucrat that there’s no way they can sell below list price, even claiming the importers would strike them off - just laugh and look elsewhere.
Very few modern bikes are total dogs. Some have gained a bit of a bad reputation over the years but usually have been sorted by their manufacturers. Others just can't compete with the hot 600s but in terms of on the road experience they are more than enough for most people for most of the time, can be easily upgraded with some of the money saved on the deal.
Some motorcyclists still struggle through the winter months, a majority sit out the sheer nastiness of December and January. Many now consider these months the ideal time to go bike hunting. Memories are short, the horrors of ice, snow and rain encouraging bikes to go for the minimum of dosh. Even dealers, long famed for bunging on silly sticker prices, restrain themselves and are open to silly offers.
This doesn’t, alas, mean that the fabled one owner, low mileage CBR600 is going to turn up for the kind of money that’d buy an afternoon with a Mayfair hooker. The top tier of motorcycles manage to retain most of their value even in the desperation of a British winter. Just a question of supply and demand, plus the knowledge that generally they are tough old things, unlikely to expire a few minutes after purchase. All the kicks with few of the downsides, other than having to pay serious dosh to get into the game and, of course, to keep them on the road.
Move away from this top tier of machinery (CBR600/900, FZR’s, GSXR750, Bandits, ZXR’s, etc), though, and the possibility of winter bargains markedly increase. Found both in excess stocks of new bikes that haven't sold very well in '96 with some wicked discounts - and in loads of used machinery on the private market that owners are desperate to shift, for a variety of reasons. Also consider the private import game combined with a winter break or, better still, a tax deductible business trip.
New Bargains
Finding a cheap new bike is no more tedious than picking up a recent copy of Motorcycle News. There may well be an excess of magazines but this is still the only weekly source of elusive bargains. Flick through its dealer display ads and use the phone to find the bargains - as much as a third off bikes that haven't sold well this year and others that nave been in oversupply. The bargains change weekly, depending on what the importers want to off-load and what dealers find themselves left with. Margins on these deals are very slim so don't expect the guarantee to mean much, but usually free country wide delivery is thrown in, so don't limit yourself to just local dealers. Some dealers are as adamant as a Brussels bureaucrat that there’s no way they can sell below list price, even claiming the importers would strike them off - just laugh and look elsewhere.
Very few modern bikes are total dogs. Some have gained a bit of a bad reputation over the years but usually have been sorted by their manufacturers. Others just can't compete with the hot 600s but in terms of on the road experience they are more than enough for most people for most of the time, can be easily upgraded with some of the money saved on the deal.
Nearly New
The prices on the above new deals are lower than what some dealers charge for recent second hand machines, but at this time of year you can hop along and try an offer 30% lower than on the sticker price of used stuff. Do it nicely (no point getting into a fight or shouting match) by saying you really like the machine in question but that’s all the dosh you have available. Deny having a fixed abode, cheque card or any other nonsense if HP’s offered - that’s just another way of being ripped off.
Incidentally, the spate of zero percent finance offers on bikes during '96 were all a big con - dealers were selling the bikes at full retail plus excessive on-the-road costs and giving poor trade-ins. If you turned up with the straight cash you could get 10 to 20% off the finance price. Such shoddy HP deals should be made illegal but, I suppose, we already have too many laws in this country and only a fool would encourage our mad government to enact any more.
Weird Moves
I know one chap who conned a new bike out of one of the importers at trade price by claiming to want to give it away in a charity draw - 25% off the retail price. Some time later he wrote them an apologetic letter, saying the charity fund raising hadn't worked but that he would dispose of the bike himself. Like hell, he’s still riding around on it to this very day! Crooked? Very probably, but then the biggest crooks are the dealers and importers who force up prices of new and used bikes to ridiculous heights, screw the rider every which way. It’s so bad these days that anything goes.
It's also possible to get a friendly dealer to order the machine of your dreams from an importer, agreeing to forgo the guarantee and doing the PDI yourself, with a 15 to 20% saving. They’re less likely to do this in the boom time of summer but when nothing much is going down in winter it’s worth a try. Obviously, you have to take a few months to get friendly with the dealer, buy him a few beers and bring in a couple of innocent customers - but beware, a large minority in the trade (as well as in the glossy magazine game) seem to be bum bandits and bargain hunting shouldn't be taken that far! Not unless you want a funny walk and dose of incurable diseases. Disbelieve this at your peril.
I once tried to get a cheap deal by admitting to being a regular contributor to the UMG. I’ve never been frogmarched so quickly out of a dealers in my life! Apparently, they’ve all grouped together to make sure the UMG gets no advertising support, nor any useful information. Luckily, the editor considers that a sincere form of flattery. Anyway, only wave the UMG at dealers when trying to get the price down, don’t admit to having anything to do with it. With thousands of contributors out there, this is a very useful bit of advice, believe me!
The prices on the above new deals are lower than what some dealers charge for recent second hand machines, but at this time of year you can hop along and try an offer 30% lower than on the sticker price of used stuff. Do it nicely (no point getting into a fight or shouting match) by saying you really like the machine in question but that’s all the dosh you have available. Deny having a fixed abode, cheque card or any other nonsense if HP’s offered - that’s just another way of being ripped off.
Incidentally, the spate of zero percent finance offers on bikes during '96 were all a big con - dealers were selling the bikes at full retail plus excessive on-the-road costs and giving poor trade-ins. If you turned up with the straight cash you could get 10 to 20% off the finance price. Such shoddy HP deals should be made illegal but, I suppose, we already have too many laws in this country and only a fool would encourage our mad government to enact any more.
Weird Moves
I know one chap who conned a new bike out of one of the importers at trade price by claiming to want to give it away in a charity draw - 25% off the retail price. Some time later he wrote them an apologetic letter, saying the charity fund raising hadn't worked but that he would dispose of the bike himself. Like hell, he’s still riding around on it to this very day! Crooked? Very probably, but then the biggest crooks are the dealers and importers who force up prices of new and used bikes to ridiculous heights, screw the rider every which way. It’s so bad these days that anything goes.
It's also possible to get a friendly dealer to order the machine of your dreams from an importer, agreeing to forgo the guarantee and doing the PDI yourself, with a 15 to 20% saving. They’re less likely to do this in the boom time of summer but when nothing much is going down in winter it’s worth a try. Obviously, you have to take a few months to get friendly with the dealer, buy him a few beers and bring in a couple of innocent customers - but beware, a large minority in the trade (as well as in the glossy magazine game) seem to be bum bandits and bargain hunting shouldn't be taken that far! Not unless you want a funny walk and dose of incurable diseases. Disbelieve this at your peril.
I once tried to get a cheap deal by admitting to being a regular contributor to the UMG. I’ve never been frogmarched so quickly out of a dealers in my life! Apparently, they’ve all grouped together to make sure the UMG gets no advertising support, nor any useful information. Luckily, the editor considers that a sincere form of flattery. Anyway, only wave the UMG at dealers when trying to get the price down, don’t admit to having anything to do with it. With thousands of contributors out there, this is a very useful bit of advice, believe me!
DIY Imports
Another angle I've tried is getting out of the country for the worst couple of months, especially when working as a DR in London for most of the year. In Italy I've bought a couple of really interesting Wop bikes for small money. Go for something a little bit weird - Benelli four or twin, Ducati single, military version of the Guzzi V50, a dog-eared Guzzi California... there’s loads of ratty stuff for a few hundred quid. Don’t bother with all the importing junk, just ride the thing home on Italian plates (customs are pretty lax, these days) and have a ball in London (no road tax, no way to trace the owner, etc). Then sell it on at a nice profit that will pay for a couple of months lounging around in Italy. That’s the theory, sometimes it works brilliantly, sometimes the bike blows up or you have a nasty accident. Don’t worry about it, that’s life. Just go with the flow.
I'm off to Spain this year, real cheap accommodation and the possibility of buying a Sanglas or Spanish manufactured Ducati single or just razzing around on some daft but highly tuned stroker. If you see some beer-bellied, lager lout in Union Jack shorts (and little else) trying to wheelie the length of the Costa, then that'll be me! Way to go!
Don't bother with Japan, the accommodation and flight costs will wipe out any possible gains and there are lots of serious nutters in the import/export game there consider yourself lucky if you escape with a mere knee-capping if you get in their way. There are lots of bargains but finding them’s very tough unless you know what you’re doing. One of the UMG contributors was thrown out when he upset the Japs' sensibilities, so be warned.
America has much greater possibilities but avoid New York and LA. Not just the violence, although that's bad enough, also the minor fact that they have been sucked dry of most bargains by greedy bastards from the UK trade. Texas is going the same way. None other than our own Johnny Malone reports that New Orleans and the surrounding area has turned out a goldmine for cheap, old British stuff — the bastard was last seeing doing a Hunter S Thompson in some monstrous Yank cage, with a beautiful blonde in tow and a boot full of armaments. Hmmm.
Don't go anywhere too cold in the States, they have really vicious winters over there, but there are still loads of bargains and shipping costs are low. Go for it if you can, especially if you want a cheap 883 Harley (the old ones go for as little as two thousand dollars!).
Street Savvy
No doubt, stalwart UMG readers are muttering about flash buggers and getting on with it - i.e. revealing how to buy a pristine CD250 for a tenner - it’s easy, you nick one and put a fake plate on it. Enjoy your stay in jail. OK, fun over, the main way of getting a winter bargain is, naturally, to go on the great hunt in that most irritating of arenas - the private motorcycle market!
The latter means many things to many people. Back street dealers believe they have a religious right to off-load dangerous junk (often sold to them by main dealers who've taken it in part-ex and can't bring themselves to con some innocent punter - so the bikes must be in a pretty desperate state). Genuine sellers see no reason why they shouldn't write a pile of lies in their adverts. Adverts mysteriously appear for bikes that have been sold months before (especially in the free-sheets).
Almost every winter bargain I've bought has involved a few hundred miles across country in the nastiest weather imaginable. A mate with a Transit becomes obligatory. Luckily, one of my best mates does up cars for a living. A low life of sorts, I guess, but at least he’s only ripping off cagers. You know the kind of stuff, two cars welded together which go pop at speed. You should see some of the stuff he gets away with - or maybe you shouldn't. Anyway, he usually comes up with some kind of van or trailer. I just have to provide the stimulants and the young women.
Before leaving home, the vendor’s interrogated over the phone. The usual stuff that the UMG’s covered before. Start off vague to see if there’s more than one machine for sale (ie is he a dealer), then get into specifics. Name in the logbook, how long it’s been owned, any untoward engine noises or smoke, crash damage, state of the consumables, etc. Believe nothing that’s been written in the advert and little that’s said over the phone. Being cynical and a bit nasty the only way to go.
Sad but true!
It's important to emphasize that if after travelling hundreds of miles the bike described as immaculate turns out to be a right dog, then the vendor’s likely to get a slap. Also make sure that they are open to offers, there’s no point going all that way with pockets overflowing with dosh if he won't budge. And never deal with a friend or relation of the vendor over the phone, that’s just their excuse for coming out with a lot of crap.
Another angle I've tried is getting out of the country for the worst couple of months, especially when working as a DR in London for most of the year. In Italy I've bought a couple of really interesting Wop bikes for small money. Go for something a little bit weird - Benelli four or twin, Ducati single, military version of the Guzzi V50, a dog-eared Guzzi California... there’s loads of ratty stuff for a few hundred quid. Don’t bother with all the importing junk, just ride the thing home on Italian plates (customs are pretty lax, these days) and have a ball in London (no road tax, no way to trace the owner, etc). Then sell it on at a nice profit that will pay for a couple of months lounging around in Italy. That’s the theory, sometimes it works brilliantly, sometimes the bike blows up or you have a nasty accident. Don’t worry about it, that’s life. Just go with the flow.
I'm off to Spain this year, real cheap accommodation and the possibility of buying a Sanglas or Spanish manufactured Ducati single or just razzing around on some daft but highly tuned stroker. If you see some beer-bellied, lager lout in Union Jack shorts (and little else) trying to wheelie the length of the Costa, then that'll be me! Way to go!
Don't bother with Japan, the accommodation and flight costs will wipe out any possible gains and there are lots of serious nutters in the import/export game there consider yourself lucky if you escape with a mere knee-capping if you get in their way. There are lots of bargains but finding them’s very tough unless you know what you’re doing. One of the UMG contributors was thrown out when he upset the Japs' sensibilities, so be warned.
America has much greater possibilities but avoid New York and LA. Not just the violence, although that's bad enough, also the minor fact that they have been sucked dry of most bargains by greedy bastards from the UK trade. Texas is going the same way. None other than our own Johnny Malone reports that New Orleans and the surrounding area has turned out a goldmine for cheap, old British stuff — the bastard was last seeing doing a Hunter S Thompson in some monstrous Yank cage, with a beautiful blonde in tow and a boot full of armaments. Hmmm.
Don't go anywhere too cold in the States, they have really vicious winters over there, but there are still loads of bargains and shipping costs are low. Go for it if you can, especially if you want a cheap 883 Harley (the old ones go for as little as two thousand dollars!).
Street Savvy
No doubt, stalwart UMG readers are muttering about flash buggers and getting on with it - i.e. revealing how to buy a pristine CD250 for a tenner - it’s easy, you nick one and put a fake plate on it. Enjoy your stay in jail. OK, fun over, the main way of getting a winter bargain is, naturally, to go on the great hunt in that most irritating of arenas - the private motorcycle market!
The latter means many things to many people. Back street dealers believe they have a religious right to off-load dangerous junk (often sold to them by main dealers who've taken it in part-ex and can't bring themselves to con some innocent punter - so the bikes must be in a pretty desperate state). Genuine sellers see no reason why they shouldn't write a pile of lies in their adverts. Adverts mysteriously appear for bikes that have been sold months before (especially in the free-sheets).
Almost every winter bargain I've bought has involved a few hundred miles across country in the nastiest weather imaginable. A mate with a Transit becomes obligatory. Luckily, one of my best mates does up cars for a living. A low life of sorts, I guess, but at least he’s only ripping off cagers. You know the kind of stuff, two cars welded together which go pop at speed. You should see some of the stuff he gets away with - or maybe you shouldn't. Anyway, he usually comes up with some kind of van or trailer. I just have to provide the stimulants and the young women.
Before leaving home, the vendor’s interrogated over the phone. The usual stuff that the UMG’s covered before. Start off vague to see if there’s more than one machine for sale (ie is he a dealer), then get into specifics. Name in the logbook, how long it’s been owned, any untoward engine noises or smoke, crash damage, state of the consumables, etc. Believe nothing that’s been written in the advert and little that’s said over the phone. Being cynical and a bit nasty the only way to go.
Sad but true!
It's important to emphasize that if after travelling hundreds of miles the bike described as immaculate turns out to be a right dog, then the vendor’s likely to get a slap. Also make sure that they are open to offers, there’s no point going all that way with pockets overflowing with dosh if he won't budge. And never deal with a friend or relation of the vendor over the phone, that’s just their excuse for coming out with a lot of crap.
Bike Sources
There are loads of places to find potential machines. The most obvious is Motorcycle News’ classified adverts. Packed full of bikes, both cheap and expensive, the real bargains sell fast because of the 130000 people who buy the newspaper every week even in winter - some newsagents will sell you a copy on Tuesday night rather than on Wednesday.
Whilst the bargains sell fast, there will be a lot of bikes unsold a couple of weeks down the road. It's always worth phoning up and making a silly offer once the vendor gets a bit desperate. I prefer this to running around like a rabid dog, trying to get across town before the next punter.
This applies equally to other periodicals that advertise bikes. The best deals turn up in the ones where the adverts are free rather than the hard-core trader mags which seem infested with dealers. Loot turns up loads of bargains. A lot of motorcycle magazines have free-ad sections inside, sometimes the bikes are cheap, other times it's the old back street dealer merry-go-round. Whatever, come winter the chances of finding a bargain increase greatly.
Other sources include shop windows, motorcycle accessory store windows, knocking on doors of houses with abandoned motorcycles outside, pestering friends or relatives, and turning the whole advertising hassle around by placing your own advert - preferably where it’s free or extremely cheap.
Breakers are another obvious source of bikes and bits, though over winter their prices don’t drop that much. I went off them a bit when I bought a GS450E with a wrecked front end for what I thought was a bargain price. Turned out the frame was bent beyond repair and the motor was on its last legs - the breaker had clocked the thing. He wouldn't give me my money back, threatened to let some huge Doberman off its leash. You meet some really nice chaps in this game.
Cheap & Cheerful
When bargain hunting it pays to be easy going as regards to the kind of machine you're willing to buy. Even if it’s not the bike of your dreams, it’s always possible to buy cheap and sell at a nice profit to fund something better further along the line. I’ve suffered dogs like CB250G5, B120 and XS250 just because they cost next to nothing to buy and could be fixed up cheaply and rapidly. I try to avoid the: Iron Curtain stuff, though, because I once had an MZ 251 that snapped its frame and threw me down the road with some nasty gravel rash. MZs are so-called bargains all year round, rather than just in the winter, so best ignored here.
I've done some desperate things in the past. Like buy a smoking SB200 for £70, sell its engine for £50 and then fit a CG125 mill for £40 - looked a bit weird but turned out ultra economical, cost hardly anything to run and | even managed to sell it for two hundred notes. OK, it vibrated like a jack-hammer as it was only held in by two engine bolts, handled like a tea-trolley with a leg missing and had suicidal brakes but I had a bit of exotica for the serious stuff, the rat was just for when the weather turned dirty and desperate.
Another hustle was the time I bought a C90 for ten pounds that was a rusty non-runner, wire brushed the thing down, coated in Hammerite and combined two other dead engines with the original one to get a runner... too much hassle? Well, the damn thing ran for four years as my winter hack/second bike and was then offloaded for £75. That's what known as budget biking.
There’s a whole host of cheap stuff, mostly 100 to 125cc Jap commuters that have designs going back to the sixties. I favour the Suzuki GP100 and Yamaha YB100, as the ones I've owned have run and run with little more than the odd decoke. There’s nothing wrong with other bikes in this category, although CG125 riders usually end up having local louts throwing bricks at them. There’s not much point paying more than a hundred notes for something that’s tatty but running.
The step-thrus and mopeds are pretty desperate stuff, but they’ll get you across town in one piece, even if it means hopping up on to the pavement to avoid being knocked off by irate cagers. Most commuters become well pissed off in the ice and rain - I’ve seen really nice C90s go for less than a hundred notes in December, probably the best buy in this sector, though some of the modern Wop scooters look the business they rarely go for less than a grand.
Such is the diversity of age, mileage and condition of the low end of the motorcycle market, that it’s really just a case of keeping an eye and ear open for potential bargains. The more time spent looking the more likely a bargain will turn up.
There are loads of places to find potential machines. The most obvious is Motorcycle News’ classified adverts. Packed full of bikes, both cheap and expensive, the real bargains sell fast because of the 130000 people who buy the newspaper every week even in winter - some newsagents will sell you a copy on Tuesday night rather than on Wednesday.
Whilst the bargains sell fast, there will be a lot of bikes unsold a couple of weeks down the road. It's always worth phoning up and making a silly offer once the vendor gets a bit desperate. I prefer this to running around like a rabid dog, trying to get across town before the next punter.
This applies equally to other periodicals that advertise bikes. The best deals turn up in the ones where the adverts are free rather than the hard-core trader mags which seem infested with dealers. Loot turns up loads of bargains. A lot of motorcycle magazines have free-ad sections inside, sometimes the bikes are cheap, other times it's the old back street dealer merry-go-round. Whatever, come winter the chances of finding a bargain increase greatly.
Other sources include shop windows, motorcycle accessory store windows, knocking on doors of houses with abandoned motorcycles outside, pestering friends or relatives, and turning the whole advertising hassle around by placing your own advert - preferably where it’s free or extremely cheap.
Breakers are another obvious source of bikes and bits, though over winter their prices don’t drop that much. I went off them a bit when I bought a GS450E with a wrecked front end for what I thought was a bargain price. Turned out the frame was bent beyond repair and the motor was on its last legs - the breaker had clocked the thing. He wouldn't give me my money back, threatened to let some huge Doberman off its leash. You meet some really nice chaps in this game.
Cheap & Cheerful
When bargain hunting it pays to be easy going as regards to the kind of machine you're willing to buy. Even if it’s not the bike of your dreams, it’s always possible to buy cheap and sell at a nice profit to fund something better further along the line. I’ve suffered dogs like CB250G5, B120 and XS250 just because they cost next to nothing to buy and could be fixed up cheaply and rapidly. I try to avoid the: Iron Curtain stuff, though, because I once had an MZ 251 that snapped its frame and threw me down the road with some nasty gravel rash. MZs are so-called bargains all year round, rather than just in the winter, so best ignored here.
I've done some desperate things in the past. Like buy a smoking SB200 for £70, sell its engine for £50 and then fit a CG125 mill for £40 - looked a bit weird but turned out ultra economical, cost hardly anything to run and | even managed to sell it for two hundred notes. OK, it vibrated like a jack-hammer as it was only held in by two engine bolts, handled like a tea-trolley with a leg missing and had suicidal brakes but I had a bit of exotica for the serious stuff, the rat was just for when the weather turned dirty and desperate.
Another hustle was the time I bought a C90 for ten pounds that was a rusty non-runner, wire brushed the thing down, coated in Hammerite and combined two other dead engines with the original one to get a runner... too much hassle? Well, the damn thing ran for four years as my winter hack/second bike and was then offloaded for £75. That's what known as budget biking.
There’s a whole host of cheap stuff, mostly 100 to 125cc Jap commuters that have designs going back to the sixties. I favour the Suzuki GP100 and Yamaha YB100, as the ones I've owned have run and run with little more than the odd decoke. There’s nothing wrong with other bikes in this category, although CG125 riders usually end up having local louts throwing bricks at them. There’s not much point paying more than a hundred notes for something that’s tatty but running.
The step-thrus and mopeds are pretty desperate stuff, but they’ll get you across town in one piece, even if it means hopping up on to the pavement to avoid being knocked off by irate cagers. Most commuters become well pissed off in the ice and rain - I’ve seen really nice C90s go for less than a hundred notes in December, probably the best buy in this sector, though some of the modern Wop scooters look the business they rarely go for less than a grand.
Such is the diversity of age, mileage and condition of the low end of the motorcycle market, that it’s really just a case of keeping an eye and ear open for potential bargains. The more time spent looking the more likely a bargain will turn up.
Sensible Stuff
The limitations of the lower end of the market, mainly commuters being restricted in line with silly learner laws, means that for serious motorcycling they don’t usually make the grade. Those strokers that have an easy upgrade path from 12 to 30hp are almost invariably nasty replicas or fundamentally lacking in reliability — about the only notable exception, the old Yamaha RD125LC.
Droves of old seventies and early eighties 250s have their uses - cheap in line with their generally worn state, and just able to hit 90mph without immediately exploding. Honda twins better than most, as long as you can get along with their nasty gearboxes. Under £500, using the devious measures previously described, will buy something with plenty of life and potential.
Beyond that, the whole fleet of Universal Japanese Motorcycles beckon - anything from old Z500s, XJ550s, CB500s to more recent bolides such as GS550’s, XJ600’s and GT550’s. Some have minor faults, such as poor camchain tensioners or self-igniting electrics, but by now they will have been sorted using later parts - probably! Prices range from £500 to £2000, depending on age and condition, but there’s plenty of these worthy fours with around fifty thou on the clock that go for less than a grand.
More off the beaten track, older V-twins such as the CX500, XZ550 and VT500 often turn up as near rats but still running strongly for £500 to £750. Not the kind of device to impress the general populace, perhaps, but offering the possibilities of ultra cheap running... they usually come with a garage full of spares! Many were wasted by DRs but the resurrection shuffle can revive some pretty nasty horrors.
The limitations of the lower end of the market, mainly commuters being restricted in line with silly learner laws, means that for serious motorcycling they don’t usually make the grade. Those strokers that have an easy upgrade path from 12 to 30hp are almost invariably nasty replicas or fundamentally lacking in reliability — about the only notable exception, the old Yamaha RD125LC.
Droves of old seventies and early eighties 250s have their uses - cheap in line with their generally worn state, and just able to hit 90mph without immediately exploding. Honda twins better than most, as long as you can get along with their nasty gearboxes. Under £500, using the devious measures previously described, will buy something with plenty of life and potential.
Beyond that, the whole fleet of Universal Japanese Motorcycles beckon - anything from old Z500s, XJ550s, CB500s to more recent bolides such as GS550’s, XJ600’s and GT550’s. Some have minor faults, such as poor camchain tensioners or self-igniting electrics, but by now they will have been sorted using later parts - probably! Prices range from £500 to £2000, depending on age and condition, but there’s plenty of these worthy fours with around fifty thou on the clock that go for less than a grand.
More off the beaten track, older V-twins such as the CX500, XZ550 and VT500 often turn up as near rats but still running strongly for £500 to £750. Not the kind of device to impress the general populace, perhaps, but offering the possibilities of ultra cheap running... they usually come with a garage full of spares! Many were wasted by DRs but the resurrection shuffle can revive some pretty nasty horrors.
Import Buys
The import market tends to go a little dead over winter, some shops even close down. Prices are muted rather than bargain basement, the more popular replicas retaining most of their value.
The cheaper bikes are the lower end of the Yank imports - XS650, Z750, CB650, GS550L, CBS500T, XS500, etc. Stuff with engines that at least seem to run OK but have chassis that need an excess of elbow grease to get them into shape. Sticker prices are usually in the £750 to £1500 range but during the winter recess they'll go out of the door for £500 to £1000. Make a silly offer, in other words.
A smattering of sensible Jap imports are also available, stuff like the GB250/400, CB-1, SRX250, GPz400, XJ400S. Ranging from low mileage recent stuff for around two grand to older, higher mileage hacks for £750 to £1000. Prices don’t go down much over winter, margins not being that high (which is why there’s so many replicas), but the better examples represent good bargains in their own right.
On a good day, you might get lucky and slice 10% off the price of one of the recent import replicas - to do that you need to turn up with a pocketful of cash and know what you're about. A minority of the bikes are crashed and repaired, though they look very nice they hide some fairly desperate repairs to the frames, forks and wheels beware, especially, of importers who are also breakers!
The import market tends to go a little dead over winter, some shops even close down. Prices are muted rather than bargain basement, the more popular replicas retaining most of their value.
The cheaper bikes are the lower end of the Yank imports - XS650, Z750, CB650, GS550L, CBS500T, XS500, etc. Stuff with engines that at least seem to run OK but have chassis that need an excess of elbow grease to get them into shape. Sticker prices are usually in the £750 to £1500 range but during the winter recess they'll go out of the door for £500 to £1000. Make a silly offer, in other words.
A smattering of sensible Jap imports are also available, stuff like the GB250/400, CB-1, SRX250, GPz400, XJ400S. Ranging from low mileage recent stuff for around two grand to older, higher mileage hacks for £750 to £1000. Prices don’t go down much over winter, margins not being that high (which is why there’s so many replicas), but the better examples represent good bargains in their own right.
On a good day, you might get lucky and slice 10% off the price of one of the recent import replicas - to do that you need to turn up with a pocketful of cash and know what you're about. A minority of the bikes are crashed and repaired, though they look very nice they hide some fairly desperate repairs to the frames, forks and wheels beware, especially, of importers who are also breakers!
Fast Favours
Winter and the upper end of the market don't mix at all well. Wild power, excess mass, poor feedback and icy roads being a combination that usually leads to a long stay in hospital. Thus some deep discounts can be found on bikes like the XS1100, CBR1000, Z1100 and GSX1100 - and many, many others - where the owner suddenly finds he needs the dosh. The only downside is insurance is expensive unless the bike's over 15 years old, when cheap classic insurance applies, but that in turns helps some seventies brute retain its value.
Most of the bargains in this category can be found in the private sales in MCN. Dealers tend to hold on to them for the spring season, when they can con some poor punter that a litre bike would be much more useful than the 550 he was looking for. Private deals for a good 1000cc multi, with say 30,000 miles on the clock, range from £1000 to £2000...again, make a silly offer! Make sure, though, that the high cost of consumables has been factored in, though fuel economy's often not much worse than the smaller fours.
Winter and the upper end of the market don't mix at all well. Wild power, excess mass, poor feedback and icy roads being a combination that usually leads to a long stay in hospital. Thus some deep discounts can be found on bikes like the XS1100, CBR1000, Z1100 and GSX1100 - and many, many others - where the owner suddenly finds he needs the dosh. The only downside is insurance is expensive unless the bike's over 15 years old, when cheap classic insurance applies, but that in turns helps some seventies brute retain its value.
Most of the bargains in this category can be found in the private sales in MCN. Dealers tend to hold on to them for the spring season, when they can con some poor punter that a litre bike would be much more useful than the 550 he was looking for. Private deals for a good 1000cc multi, with say 30,000 miles on the clock, range from £1000 to £2000...again, make a silly offer! Make sure, though, that the high cost of consumables has been factored in, though fuel economy's often not much worse than the smaller fours.
End Note
Winter's definitely bargain time for used motorcycles and it’s worth braving the ice, snow and rain to find a good deal for the rest of the year. It even makes sense to buy a rat in December and spend the next couple of months doing it up. The possibilities are almost endless. Good luck.
Dick Lewis
Winter's definitely bargain time for used motorcycles and it’s worth braving the ice, snow and rain to find a good deal for the rest of the year. It even makes sense to buy a rat in December and spend the next couple of months doing it up. The possibilities are almost endless. Good luck.
Dick Lewis