Someone wants to buy my bike

[craigs23]

...only problem it's not for sale.

A Ducati S4R rider was all over the bike when I went up to Box Hill today, and recognised me when I stopped off at Newlands Corner. Had a chat with him before he commented that he was looking for a track day/fun bike.

Anyway after asking a lot about the bike, what I had done, what I had cleaned, how I'd kept it, etc, he asked if it was for sale.

"Nope, sorry mate"

Asked again, rather 'if there was any possible way I'd sell it and if there was a price for it'

"Nope, sorry; only just polished the frame; can't imagine owning anything else for a year or so...............how much would you offer for it?"

"4250, 4 and a half"

Nope, still not for sale. Said he'd probably see me up at Box again and try and persuade me.

It's bugging me though, I like my bike too much to sell it (and have spent so much time/money getting it to how it is), but his offer is bugging me (can't stop thinking of what I could get for that kind of money).

[VFR400UK]

Tell him he can have mine instead

[G]

Work out how much you've actually paid for every little bit, then decide if you really want to sell it based on that - or price accordingly .

[Raffles_Gentleman Thug]

Or, look at it as a compliment, you've made a bike that much more special that someone else now can't live without it, just think what that #4500 could buy you, look at some bikes, and you'll see one and fall for it the way this guy has done with yours, and you'll never think twice! Biking is passion, not logical thought.
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"Is sir addressing me or is he masticating on a house brick? Because either way sir loses his teeth."

[craigs23]

A quick check on Biketrader revealed:

1994 Blade 28k £2300 (the bike that made me get into biking in the first place) 2003 SV1000 15k £3600 - 2001 R6 13k £3695 - 2001 GSXR1000 11k £3800 - 1994 916 16k £3800 - 2000 RSV1000 £3900 - 1998 748SPS 20k £4295 - 2004 ZX636R 2.8k £4300 - 2000 ZX12R 8k £4400....

That just made the dilemma 'interesting'. I've got a thing about rare/non-mainstream bikes though.

[Dom_]

If he's offering more than the bikes worth, or would sell for if you wanted to, then do it.

[TOM M]

What bike is it youve got????
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Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[craigs23]

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/rvf5.jpg

Far from standard (not just looks)

[TOM M]

That is one nice bike, a tough decision you gotta make there.
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Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[R6jonny]

[craigs23]

Special about RVFs, or my RVF?

[Spike_R]

is it a 400 or 750, the 750's are reallly pricey.. the 400's are about 3 grand i think good price there, i'd take it and buy a supermoto lol
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Derbi supermoto with cr500 engine, niceee

[Type_Mo]

I was down box hill today aswell But i was offerd money for my bike closer to home
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- Typhoon ?0 - Yamaha DT125R - Aprilia SR125 - Yamaha DT125R - Honda Hornet 600 -

[R6jonny]

[craigs23]

400 sportsbikes are fantastic on the road. They teach you so much about riding because you don't have the speed down the straighter stretches of road to cover up poor motorcycling control/cornering techniques. I personally have learnt so much riding 400s for the past 5 or so years (everything from a 1978 400/4 to the RVF I own today). Riding one it also a win-win situation. If you're slow on one; it's the bike - it's only 400cc's afterall. If you're fast; it's you - you're making a 400cc bike go that fast? It's all about carrying corner speed/momentum through country lane complexes - seamlessly linking wiggles of tarmac together in perfect bike/biker harmony. Keep them ticking over at 10,000rpm plus (gotta do it just for the noise) and they're as fast as anything. I prefer to work for my speed (and speed is a result of good riding), rather than it being handed to me from the flick of the right hand volume control.

They're handling is about the same as say, a modern day 600 - despite being over 10 years old. They're scaled down 2/3rds replicas of bigger 750 Isle of Man/WSB Homogation specials - so everything is there, just in minature. Especially with the V4 Hondas (NC30 and RVF) you feel like you're riding in the Isle of Man, everytime you find a decent stretch of road. Because they only offer 60 odd bhp, you can use almost all of what they've got - and carrying corner speed/getting your line perfect through a corner/applying the throttle to the stop halfway through makes you feel like some road-racing hero - plus it's good bloody fun hunting down much larger/more capable bikes ridden badly down the twisties.

But all this fun is usually sub 100/120 mph (but the closer this gets to an average speed, the better) - which means you're less likely to get in trouble with the law (although if they saw what I did on certain 'private/closed roads' they wouldn't take too kindly) and also can't get you into much trouble if you get it wrong.

They really do offer a fantastic biking experience, and not just about their performance specs. They're also about the looks/sound/attention you get from riding them - my bike is a '94 L - that's nearly 12 years old - yet it seems to get more attention than many other modern day bikes wherever I go on it. Upgrading/maintaining/cleaning/servicing is all part of the deal as well (for me), it's taught me a lot about keeping my bikes tip top (both mechanically and cosmetically). Everything you see on the bike, every of the more 'trick' parts has been researched and then either made or imported - there's no thumbing through Demon Tweaks for addons.

As for my RVF, it is far from standard - although to the untrained eye, it doesn't look as if it is (just appears as a pretty, 'tarty' bike.

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/chickenfront.jpg

GPR70 front tyre, sans-chicken strips (I'm quite confident on it), SP2 front callipers, Nissin sintered pads, powdercoated front wheel (white, naturally), Goodridge braided hoses, Honda stainless valve caps (detailing is paramount).

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/DSC00585.jpg

Imported (Japan via Oz) TSR stainless steel half system, custom made carbon fibre can (with Termignoni detailing), Tyga stainless steel exhaust hanger, NSW carbon fibre hugger, Goodridge braided hoses grabbing standard calliper housing Vesrah sintered pads, Renthal RS3 goldline chain with hardoned alloy sprockets, GPR80 rear tyre (for durability - I use my bike daily)

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/DSC00584.jpg

Every polished item (and literally everything's been polished) has been done by me, by hand (wet'n'dry and Autosol). Engine/mechanics have been vigorously maintained for the mileage that I do.

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/DSC00582.jpg

Austrian hand-made carbon fibre one off air ducts, HRC brake res. cover, preload adjusters, polished Honda wing plaque, carbon fibre dash cover, Motrax speedo covertor/deretrictor, Renthal hard compound grips, stainless bar ends, light tint double bubble screen.

I could go on, but this post is getting ridiculously long. Items not pictured: Motrax carbon fibre woven tank pad,Pyramid single seat cowl: colour matched to original paint (by me), 112.5 jets to suit the system, air holes drilled to 2.5mm, HRC Cdi, HRC Replica Air Tray, HRC fuel tap mod.

Looking back at that spec, I just don't know. But I am running out of things to do with the bike - is it time to start on something different?

[lilredmachine]

You strike me as the sort of guy that has to mod as well as ride. There is a bloke down here who owns a 1967 Buick Skylark, he pulled it out of the back of a bike shop and 5 years later it was back to standard, with most of a 206 in the body panels. Then he started modding, Cragar ss rims, custom made scoop, built and blueprinted 455 (7.5 litre) putting out 600 horsepower and god knows how much torque, a custom spray job, by him, in his shed, with 126 aerosol cans (a fantastic job), a custom back end, 3 different custom exhaust systems have been on it (the second had to be removed after it shattered one the windows in his house).

Now he has finished it, and is bored with it. He isn't looking to sell (yet) but he might soon... Next year he is looking at 19/20 inch rims and a purple flip/chromatic paintjob.
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Bikes: too many, too much for one man to maintain anyway.

[Valver]

I'd give you 4 and a half for it mate but if i were you i'd be keeping it. Its all the bike you'll ever need!

[cbrbiker]

Craig, that's lovely mate. But thing is, if you're planning to sell it in a year anyway, what's the diff? You'll only end up getting less for it in a year's time...
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My Bikepics page
www.trackdaypix.com

[Adam_P]

[craigs23]

Taken this morning (note freshly polished frame - the final mod?).

https://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/whers84/DSC00025.jpg

Thanks for all the opinions so far; but they are somewhat diverse - as is my attempted decision on what to do.

CBRBiker has struck a cord as well - when do I stop? I am unlikely to get the amount of money back/the time and effort I have taken to get the bike into this kind of condition - but the guy's offer was well over the book price of a similar vintage RVF. I guess I have to decide what my price is - if I decide to go on and part company with it.

One thing I have enjoyed with the bike is getting it into the condition it is now - irrespective of price. Now that it is how it is, I often look at it and think - what's next? But for what reason - think I've run out of bits to do on it - time for a new project?

I could get a lot of bike for the money I could potentially get for my RVF - but one thing's for certain - I couldn't buy anything mainstream.

The list has been widdled down to an RS250, NSR250 MC28, an original/urban tiger Blade, and a Speed Triple....all can be bought for much less than the sale of my bike - which gives me a lot of money to modify/restore/maintain to my liking.

Can anyone think of another bike that I have missed out from the potential list? (most 600s are out as they're too popular).

Or can I really put a price on my bike?

[cbrbiker]

I'm swapping my CBR for a same year Ninja in a couple of weeks. The reason the guy wants to swap is that he's done as much as he can to the Ninja and now he wants a CBR to play with. The Ninja has a list of mods as long as yer chain, so I'm happy with the deal!

Personally, I can't be dealing with sitting in the garage for hours on end tweaking things and tuning bits. I'd rather be out riding it. But if that's your bag baby, then move on to another project! Who knows, if you do enough, people might start paying you to "pimp up their ride"!
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My Bikepics page
www.trackdaypix.com

[Valver]

Nope! Keep it mate! Why get a new bike when you've done so much to the baby V4?

[bigdazz]

Hi craig dont spose you fancy polishing my Fireblade for me?
i am right by Newlands.

[craigs23]

lol, might have my own to polish in the near future, depending on what I decide to do of course.

After a bit of thought, if I was to part with the RVF, the only bikes I'd likely to go and look for would be an original Fireblade (and restore to concors/near enough concours condition), or a nice black and shiney Speed Triple which should give a good base for further modification.

I reckon I'd spend about £2.5k on a decent example of each (maybe a little more on the Triple), that should leave me a couple of grand to play with.

A quick online insurance quote gave me £410 for the Blade and £360 for the Triple - not bad, as I'm currently paying £230ish for the RVF.

[Robby]

Its only a 400, whats the big deal.

If someone's offering 4.5k for it bite their hand off, you could spend that cash on a decent bike. Very little chance of ever getting offered anywhere near that when you come to sell.