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My wife and I have been trying to sell a bike for the past 15 months - a 1990 HD Sportster 883. It FINALLY sold today........ of course, for MUCH LESS than I paid for it back in 2011. Very hard bike to move, not sure why. There was nothing wrong with it besides being 23 years old, it ran fine and looked OK for its age. I've bumped into several other people who are having trouble selling used bikes.... still a bad economy, I guess.

I'm very surprised! I thought Harleys were easy to sell; especially the inexpensive 883s.

What did you sell it for? $3,195 is top dollar round here. Too many people expect to get what they paid for it. Those days are over.

Well, if it helps any, we still have two brand new 2009 scooters on the showroom floor that nobody wants. We just sold a 2010 scooter yesterday, that was a long time coming. And we still have two leftover 2012 Royal Enfields.

Bike sales are in a slump all over Canada, both new and used. Part of the problem IMO is the car dealers offering 0% financing for 84 months; a lot of people are showing up at my shop with brand new cars, looking for killer deals on used bikes. We don't have any used bikes, partly because people are asking inflated prices for them (like Johnj said) but mostly because we have no room on the floor due to all the new bikes sitting there.

The only thing keeping our small shop open is the custom sidecar installations and the scheduled maintenance appointments (oil changes, etc). Not a good year to be in the bike business otherwise.

Johnj wrote:What did you sell it for? $3,195 is top dollar round here. Too many people expect to get what they paid for it. Those days are over.

I had it listed at $2,200, and took $2,000 even for it. I bought it in 2011 for $3,000 which seemed like a fair price according to KBB and comparable bikes on local Craigslist. The bike was in better shape now than when I bought it - all deferred maintenance brought up to snuff, cosmetically cleaned up, and a few useful goodies added. I had it at $2,600 last summer, and no bites. Dropped it to $2,200 last fall: a couple nibbles, but no sale until now. The buyer got a great deal - the bike is a solid runner and doesn't look bad at all.

Maybe it was just at an "awkward age" A '90 isn't old enough to be an Ironhead, but isn't really a modern Sportie either - it's chain final drive and a 4 speed box.

Wow - that seems super cheap. If I had room in the garage....

High_Side wrote:Wow - that seems super cheap. If I had room in the garage....

You could always move that other family members bike outside... But then I guess you be single again like me... Nope, I think you're right, no room...

Oh man, I'm getting ready to sell my bike. I don't want to hear that it's taking anyone a long time to sell...

Took me a couple months. I got what I wanted for it at least.

Gummiente wrote:Well, if it helps any, we still have two brand new 2009 scooters on the showroom floor that nobody wants. We just sold a 2010 scooter yesterday, that was a long time coming. And we still have two leftover 2012 Royal Enfields.

Bike sales are in a slump all over Canada, both new and used. Part of the problem IMO is the car dealers offering 0% financing for 84 months; a lot of people are showing up at my shop with brand new cars, looking for killer deals on used bikes. We don't have any used bikes, partly because people are asking inflated prices for them (like Johnj said) but mostly because we have no room on the floor due to all the new bikes sitting there.

The only thing keeping our small shop open is the custom sidecar installations and the scheduled maintenance appointments (oil changes, etc). Not a good year to be in the bike business otherwise.

I thought you became a trucker. You work in a shop as well?