Buy a bike now or hang on for a bit?

[boundy]

I've recently sold the S1000R and I now have some cash burning a Street Triple shaped hole in my pocket.

I've seen a few, they seem to float between £6k-£7k for a 2017 RS. But I don't know if it's worth trying to find something now and hopefully getting a decent deal, as I'm sure dealers a feeling the pain at the moment or hang on until spring when there might be a alot more choice but also more buyers.

If I get something now, it's probably not going to move for the next 2 months.

[ThunderGuts]

Probably six of one and half a dozen of the other. Right now buyers are rare, combination of cold-ish weather and state controls. If that puts you in a better bargaining position, not sure - I get the impression the profit margins on bikes aren't massive and if all dealers are adopting a similar stance then you might not got anywhere. Then again, you might! Whatever you buy is going to sit in your garage depreciating, although not a huge amount in a few months (other than the transfer of ownership drop in value).

Not sure about choice increasing; possibly more turnover but at any given point in time the availability is probably going to be similar, maybe less.

If I were you, I'd be looking now and if I saw the right bike, liked it and could get it for a price I'm happy with I'd do that. I then would have a few months to go over it with a fine tooth comb, make any minor tweaks I wanted etc. so when we're allowed out again, it's pristine and good to go (as opposed to getting it and itching to ride it straight away). I don't have the luxury of being able to pop to a dealers whenever I want, so when the market picks up I wouldn't want the stress of seeing a bike on Tuesday, booking a test ride for Saturday then it gets sold on Thursday.
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TG.

[doggone]

It could be harder to find anything decent by March April when restrictions ease and everyone has cabin fever more than usual.
On the other hand more trade ins are coming in all the time, not sure if there is a peak period to buy a new bike but it's likely to be in the spring and summer.

There's probably a better chance finding a nice road bike bargain at the end of the 'season' but if you want a winter hack or green laner that's a bad time to look.

[Keithy]

MCN had 8 pages of ‘new for 2021’ bikes - 57 in total, including the new Trident. So if that, combined with months of lockdown, and nothing to spend your cash on (for those lucky enough to keep their job!) and the rise in bike use post Covid doesn’t get the trade ins flooding in I don’t know what will.

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Always found it's better to sell in spring and buy autumn/winter. YMMV.
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DILLIGAF

[Robby]

From what I've heard, sales are slow but mainly dealers are struggling to get stock of used bikes. So prices for used bikes aren't dropping as much as you would think.

I would be tempted to wait until the market gets a bit more normal. Plenty of people have still been working, but haven't had the opportunity to ride or spend any money for a year. That could lead a lot of people splurging their covid savings on a new bike come summer, and trading in their old one.

[GSTEEL32]

Is there such a thing as a "cheap" motorbike anymore ?

To many, they are little more than a toy, so there are very few "distressed sellers" out there. Its not uncommon to find people on here owning more than 1 bike. To compound matters, people are calling anything over 8 years old "classics" and are now holding onto everything in the (self perpetuating) belief it'll increase in price.*

They're also not cheap to buy new, so I would think it fair to assume most bike owners probably earn more than average, are higher skilled than average, and are therefore weathering the COVID storm from home. I think we have a surprisingly large amount of Technology-type bods on here. All of whom can work from home, in their pants, eating a dry bowl of Weetos, tugging themselves off silly to the receptionist who once, by mistake, said "hi" one morning, 7 years ago.....

I suspect most are already planning what to do with all the additional time they will invariably have over the summer, until all this sorts itself out.

My best 2 bike purchases ever, were made in January when it was snowing. You can't come across as a "keen as mustard" ride-it-away-immediately type buyer, if you've fallen over twice between the bus stop and the dealers showroom ...

If your bikes priced between 7 and 8 bags, and you get it at the lower end, you've had a result. You're talking about a cracking bike anyway, so I doubt you'll be in a rush to get rid. Everyone, give or take, probably has a variant of that engine somewhere on their bucket list ......


*May I say at this point, with some embarrassment, I also fall into this category.

[Keithy]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[boundy]

I'm just keeping an eye on what's about and I'll jump on it if I see something that catches my eye.

After making a few enquiries about a few bikes, I'm finding a worrying amount of bikes that at only 2-4 years old are missing services. Why do people drop £10k on a bike and not bother getting it serviced.

[doggone]

[Robby]

[boundy]

Nail on the head

[atsmurat]

I prefer to sell in spring and buy autumn/winter.

[boundy]

Found a bike that's just about to hit its 3rd birthday but it's already had 3 owners. Not sure how I feel about that many owners in a short space of time.

[Robby]

Normal for a 125. Not abnormal for something A2-complaint and popular with the youth. Otherwise, it means that 3 people didn't like it enough to keep it for more than a year.

[boundy]

What do you mean A2 compliant?

I was thinking along the lines of pre-reg, first owner kept of 2 years, next owner didn't get on with it so changed.

[RhynoCZ]

I wonder what importing a motorcycle from the EU to the UK is like now. Any info on that?
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Shaft]

[stevo123]

For me life is short. If you find the right bike for you that ticks all the boxes get it bought. Even if it is too cold for a month or 2 you can use that time to service it and titivate anything you need. Just my 2p worth

[boundy]

Got 1

https://i.ibb.co/kD3MYfW/163009-7f6fcdd0fe60410aa0ba83e8a0291c02-1200x600.jpg

[garth]

Nice!

Those UK spec arrow cans aren't loud, but the US spec ones have a removal baffle if that's your thing. Just picked up a full system for mine.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[boundy]

[Shaft]

[Calite]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around bike prices at the mo', the under £5k market in particular seems bonkers, plenty of dealers seem to be trying to pretend year 1 & 2 depreciation aren't a thing, it's almost making buying new seem appealing.