Is $3,200 for an '81 w/ 56k miles a good price?

[Jordan]

Hi all. Forgive me if this is in the wrong forum and mods please feel free to move it.

I've been looking for an older bike for awhile and recently saw an '81 R65 come up on my local Craigslist. The KBB dealer price for the bike is just under $2,000 but the seller wants $3,500 OBO (but I have no idea how accurate KBB is for motorcycles).

Here's what he said in reply to my query:

The bike has 56k miles on it.
I have personally serviced the bike for the last 10 years.
I am a retired BWM Mechanic.
New tires were installed at Gina's BMW here in town.
 
This motorcycle was fully serviced, valves adjusted, carbs synconized, oil and filter changed in the engine, new air filter, oil changed in transmission, rear drive and fork oil changed.  Bike has only been rode about 25 miles since service.  Ready to go. Brand new tires.

Comes with  a battery tender and a dust cover.  Comes with original owners manual and tool kit.

The bike is 100% original and in perfect condition.

Only selling it because we are about to have a second kid, motorcycle needs to go.

So he says it's "perfect" and that he's a retired BMW mechanic. I don't have any reason to disbelieve him. He also says the best offer he's gotten is $3,200 which he would take. I don't know if that's true or if he's just trying to get a better price out of me. I'm located in Iowa FWIW.

What do you think, experts? I'm going to test-ride it Friday so any pointers in the meantime would be appreciated. Thanks!

[montmil]

Welcome to the herd, Jordan. Glad to have you aboard. Resistance is futile.

Where are you located?

I have two R65s. One is a 1981 and the other is a 1983. I paid a flat $2000.00 for the 1981 which had considerably fewer miles. The '83 I scored for about $2100.00 if memory serves. So... $3500, IMHO, is too much money.

Here's how I have bought several motorcycles; take cash money when you visit the motorcycle. Ride it and if you think you might like it, do this:

Put your cash offer money in one pocket. Have some additional negotiating cash in a separate pocket. When you get down to the "lick log", pull your cash offer money and lay it on the seat. If the seller picks it up, you've scored. If he gives you some whiney static, pick up the cash, stuff it in your pocket and begin slowly walking away.

His prego wife will kick him in the shins and he'll call you back for a wee bit of negotiation. Do Not pay 3500 skins for a 1981 R65 unless it was just now pulled out of a time capsule.

Here on R65 dot org, we are ALL BMW mechanics. These bikes are farm implements.

This may or may not be the bike you're looking for. It's a buyers market right now and a poor time of the year to try and sell an overpriced BMW. Señor BMW mechanic is trying to pay the baby doctor's bills on your nickel.

Rant off. Let us know how the test ride and visit turns out. Cash money speaks loud these days. Good luck.

Monte

 

[Dave 2]

Rave on Monte, Don't hold back on your opinions now that you are retired 8-)

[nhmaf]

Welcome to the foru, Jordan!

I think that even if the seller is a very good and honest mechanic and kept the bike in great condition, the market for motorcycles these days is still very very soft - depending on your area, it may be a bit better or worse- but still a far cry from its peak 4 years ago or so.

Now, IF I decided that I did really trust the guy, and in spite of the fact that R65 bikes often don't demand as high a pricetag as the R80 or R100 or most /5 bikes, I'd still consider going as high as $3K on a R65 bike that could be ridden away in perfect state of tune and not in need of anything except perhaps a few minor cosmetics.   Most bikes that you will get for $2K require some amount of replacement, adjustment, tuneup, and cleaning.  IF you have the skills and time to do it yourself, you'll still have several hundreds of $ in parts, plus many hours of your time into it.   If the bike really was in very good-to-excellent condition I'd be willing to spend that extra $1K ($3K total) to not have to do that, if I wasn't looking to take on a project at the time and wanted to just get on it and ride.

In the present market conditions (and my economic conditions) I would not spend over $3K on this.  I bet the seller will think very hard if he was likely to get that amount-or somewhat close to it- in this market.

Request lots of good pics before you go over to see it.

[wilcom]

I agree with the rest too much $$$...... but if it was really pristine and you had to do nothing, (we're talking "AS NEW")  guaranteed, 3K might be a fair price.

 Seems like he would be older than "expecting your second child" if you worked on BMW's long enough to retire from the job. Sounds like salesman speak to me.

When my Real Estate friend says "at the end of a winding road", he really means it has a dirt driveway, and when he says, "high on a hill" means that water will run to the front of the property , nothing more.

[wilcom]

To give you a visual reference view this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCnVVscBpHI

I sold it this  Spring in Southern Ca. with great riding weather. Had the bike for sale forever at $2200(3 months)........ finally dropped it to $1700 to move it out. It had brand new tires (Macadam's) and a fresh battery, not perfect but a nice tight lil 1980 R65 bike with 40K miles on the clock. Things are very soft for sellers, make your seller suffer too, misery loves company LOL

[Jordan]

Thanks for the shared wisdom, all. Montmil, your advice re: bringing cash lines up with what I was thinking. An offer in cash right in front of a man (and, as nhmaf points out, his wife) can be a great motivator. I'm not a skilled negotiator but having more knowledge at my disposal is a confidence booster.

As for his age, well, the picture Rapportive shows in my Gmail makes him look mid-30s at most, but it may not be recent. Regardless I get the impression that by "retired" he really means "now doing something else for a living."

Well, thanks again for the advice. Any other replies are welcome and I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

[Bob_Roller]

Where are you located, if it's in the US, the west coast has the highest prices .

[Jordan]

Where are you located, if it's in the US, the west coast has the highest prices .

I'm in Iowa.

[Bob_Roller]

'81 model year R65's were the worst year for valve recession, my '81 had to have valve and seats replaced at around 45,000 miles .

Has a transmission input spline lube been done, if not there's an expensive repair lurking, if the splines are worn .

If it still has OEM brake lines, they are in need of replacement .

Look at where the brake handle goes into the master cylinder, not uncommon to fluid fluid there, due to corroded master cylinder bore .

Oil under the transmission on the engine case, may be the early signs of a rear main seal leaking .

Gear oil dripping out of the neutral switch is common, a pain to replace while the transmission is still installed .

Gear oil dripping out of the gap between the rear wheel and final drive, most likely brake camshaft o-rings leaking, could have oil contaminated rear brake shoes .

Do the rear shocks still have small adjustment handles, if they do, they are original, the shocks were not that great when they were new .

[Barry]

I can't comment on US prices but I agree with the principle of buying the best being the cheaper in the long term. No doubt there are plenty of bikes available for 2000$ or less but what condition are they in.  Even when lots of money is spent on them most will never be as good as a true cherished mint condition bike.  Whether this is that mint condition bike is another question. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to pay the equivalent of 3200$ for a perfect bike even if that exceeded it's current market value but I would want it to have lower mileage. Mine had only 6200 miles so it was reasonable to hope there was no mechanical  wear to be remotely concerned about for probably as long as I'm likely to own it.

At 56K you could expect that the engine on this bike is fine for the most part but if original the valves, seats and guides might be a concern before many years have passed if not sooner. Also if original the gearbox is likely to be at least halfway through the life of it's bearings and overhauls don't come cheap. Similar comments might be made about the clutch. Last but not least in expense terms if you are paying a high price you want the whole exhaust system to be near perfect.
  
However good it seems you should consider in your price deliberations whether it will it do another 20-30K without  money needing to be spent one way or another ?