First bike...so close...must...sell...car

[monkeywright]

This is killing me. I need to sell my car before I can get my first bike, and scouring Craigslist, I'm seeing a lot of good stuff out there...Dammit.

Anyway, the main question (aside from "anyone in SoCal wanna buy a nice '06 Matrix?") is this 85 Honda Shadow:
a little older, but fully decked out, good price...any thoughts from the veterans out there?
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/790893257.html

[Thumper]

Kinda big for a first bike... but other than that, they're asking far more than the retail blue book on the bike, which is only about $2300. Sure, they've farkled it, but those things tend to not count much in resale.

I for sure wouldn't pay more than $2900...and only that much inconsideration for the extras.

Check the tires...if the bike has been sitting for that long, they might not be road worthy even if they don't have many miles on them. Looks like the son got the bike back into running order, but I would take a very close look at the tires befre riding it.

[jonnythan]

That's kind of a lot of bike for a newbie. Big heavy bike with a big engine.

Skip it and get something smaller.

[Johnj]

* Looks and Sounds like a "Harley", with a nice exhaust "rumble".
(Many people, including Harley riders, mistake this bike for a "Harley")