So how much do you want for it?

Miles, mods, etc...

 

2004 XLC. Formerly 883, currently 1200. Vance & Hines short shots and V&H air cleaner. Burly Slammer suspension kit and Licks Cycles 10" aped z bars. 7200 +\- miles. I'm willing to let her go for $3500.

 

WOW!!!! last12know's got a BOATAIL sporty!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's something you don't see every day. Very impressive (and rare).

As far as the other sporty goes, have you listed it right here on the HD forums site? How much you want for this little gem? Used Sportsters sometimes sell pretty cheap. However; 2004 was the first year for rubber mount motors so yours should be more desirable.

 

It is now listed in the motorcycles for sale section of this forum. And right now my rock bottom price is $3500. All in all, it's a he'll of a deal for that bike.

 

Find an indy shop who will let you put it in their showroom, and sell it on consignment. The worst that can happen is that it's out of your way this winter.

When you run a want ad, you only reach people who are looking to buy a motorcycle that day, and as you're finding out, there are lots of people looking to take advantage of folks who are hurting for money. Classified ads sell on price. If you're not the cheapest one listed, you're wasting your time.

Put it in a motorcycle shop somewhere and everybody who comes in will see it. They'll walk around it, look at it, and imagine themselves blasting down the highway. THAT's what will make your bike sell above the minimum. Suddenly your price doesn't have to be cheap--just reasonable. If your price is that much of a smokin deal, somebody who didn't plan on buying a motorcycle will become interested.

Work out a flat fee or a percentage with the shop owner that you pay him ONCE YOU GET PAID, and resist the temptation to be stingy. The more you pay him, the harder he will work for you. Give him a reasonable amount of time. And do NOT cut a side deal while it's in his shop. While he has it, any buyer must go through him.

A strategy that's worked well for me is to give the shop owner two figures--the price I want and the lowest I will take. He gets a flat fee for selling it, but if he gets me the price I want he makes a bonus. Sometimes they'll even cut a newbie a deal on helmets and other gear in his inventory just to close the deal and get the bonus that comes with the higher price. (Would you throw in a $50 MSRP helmet if it got you $100 cash? Hell yes you would.)

You know the old saying, "sportsters are easy to buy and hard to sell". Good luck.

 

Damn right it's a steal of a deal! When the motor in my '93 blew I had three choices:

1. Buy a used motor - $2500+

2. Rebuild the motor - $4000+

3. Buy another bike.

I chose #3, and bought a '02 Heritage.


You may have to wait till it warms up a bit, but at that price it will sell.

When it does sell, do NOT take any kind of check without going with the buyer to his bank to cash it!

 

You may not be getting very many bites due to it being winter time. If you could wait for spring you might get a better response. Not many people want to buy a bike just for it to sit all winter. Just my .02

 

Just a thought, if your local shop is an indy shop you might go talk to the guy and see if he will let it sit there. If it's a good indy shop there are people always looking towards those kind of places for a deal on bikes even though they don't sell.

You might have better luck than just a picture or a flyer hanging in his shop.

 

I went to buy a motorhome from a shop that was doing this. Let me tell you, the shop was not interested in selling me the one i was looking at. However they had many ohter models available that were theirs, and would be willing to bend over backwards to sell me one. I stopped dealing with places like that.

$3500 is a pretty good deal, however weeks away from major holidays, and the sudden freezing temps will turn many buyers away. Riding it home isn't to appealing when it's 25F out, no matter how short the distance. Wait until spring and you should be able to get another $1k easily. My 2 cents at least.

 

When my friend went to sell his Sportster 1200 a few years back, the bike was 2-3 yrs old, he had bought it new, and less than 2K miles.. He just went and sold it to the dealer; end of story, he got trade in for it, but no stress of letting sit unsold, etc...

I've done that myself, I rather trade it in and not deal with the bs of having to give it away