Year: 2002
Make: Harley-Davidson
Model: XL883C Sportster 883 Custom
Model Type: Cruiser
Displacement: 883
Cylinders: 2
VIN: 1HD4CJM12
Finance Advance: $1,540
MSRP: $6,795
Avg Retail: $1,940
Auction Wholesale $1,420
Clean Trade: $1,415
Fair Trade: $1,145

1. Okay the above is the starting point for asking what is the bike worth. (Black Book Powersports)
2..From a banks point of view it is worth $1,540 with average retail being $1,940.
3. You customized it putting the touches you like on the bike (not necessarily what the buyer would want).
4. You will need to find someone who wants the kind of look you created.
5. So lets start at the $1,940 price point and say you have put $2,000 worth of parts and accessories into it and sold the parts you took off.
6. That puts the value of the parts and paint to $3,940.
7. Add in $1,000 for labor design and misc stuff gets you to $4,940.
8. List for $5,000 and take $4,500 - $4,250.
9. Add to all of this, there is no warranty and whoever buys it will need to know the maintenance/repair of any special parts put on it as they will not be listed in the H-D Service Manual or Parts listing. Hopefully a build sheet with all the specific part numbers and vendors used will be provided to whoever purchases the custom 883 Sportster.
10. The tank decal with your business name would be a no go for me if I was the buyer. Not that there is anything wrong with promoting your business on the bikes you build.

Good luck with your sale.

NOTE:
The above information, while credible, is worth what you paid for it and should not be considered gospel.
You will probably have many opinions and suggestions presented; make sure you research the person providing the helpful information as there are some who provide good information that is useful and some who speak out of other orifices with gibberish. You will figure out this quickly.

 

Modifications don't add value. They might reduce value, but they never add.

If your view is that 883 is worth over double what my 1200 was worth 14 years ago, I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news.

 

I appreciate the feedback. I have typically built older Honda & Yamaha thumpers. The subframe supports, the extra chrome bits, slim battery, super heavy wheels, and some misc bits brought the weight down. Here are a few more pics:

 

No bad news on this end. I have customized over a dozen bikes and always sold them for significantly more than I purchased them for. I'm not getting rich (more like breaking even), but to say "customization never adds value" might be true in your experience but is incorrect for what I've built.

 

This is on par. I paid 1800 for my 883.

But, this is a very nice looking bike you might just find the right hipster to buy it

 

Bike is super clean, really nice work.

Selling this will take time, people who can appreciate the details are likely to be building their own sporty. I’d try the hipster Triumph crowd, they have coin and don’t wrench (kidding but a buddy of mine fits that bill). Look for the chap in the beret.

I’d keep it.

 

Yep, it's a 3.5 gallon Legacy tank.

 

This is a nice bike but it is basically a stock sportster with taller shocks and a few modifications. I'm not knocking the bike but this is a bike with some bolt on parts and a cut rear fender. The OP's bike in question is a pretty nice frame up build. A lot of work has been done there and it looks like it is completely showroom new, so I don't think there is any real price comparison between the two. Personally I think keeping it an 883 and just taking weight off the bike was the right move for a scrambler if it's truely going to be seeing offroad use. I think this looks like an excellent build. My only objection is the wrapped pipes. Is there a reason the wrap is somewhat loose? Lowbrow customs has some cool heat shields that would look pretty sweet on this bike.

 

The bike will sell for what the market will bear and customs are tough. I saw a 60k gorgeous build sell for less than half at Mecum and they had an expected sell thru at 55 to 70k .. Its tough... For me, I see a chopped 20 year old old Sporty and would say 4000 to 4500. I know theres a ton into it, but Im just answering how the question was posed. If I saw this bike on the presale floor with a 9k tab on it, I would keep moving. Regardless, I hope you get everything you have into it, your labor at 100 bucks an hr and 20% premium back! GLWS and welcome to the forum..

 

Where you are located also plays a huge role in sale price. Where I live in Southern California, a bone stock rigid mount sportster in excellent condition usually sells for $4500 but I have seen those prices going up as with everything else in the last couple years.