I just looked at the post
AND THERE IS NOT A COLD CHANCE IN HELL that bike is worth $6500! You can pick up a Trailblazer in that vintage for for $7500 completely restored. For reference, $7000 is what I'd sell
MY Trailblazer for (and I'm sure you've seen what I ride). This is a classic case of someone
thinking they own the most desirable bike around and because it's old it must be worth a fortune regardless of what condition it's in. This is not true and don't let him tell you otherwise. If he won't budge on the price, just kindly tell him that if the bike is still for sale in a few months (which it will be) you will contact him again to see if he's changed his mind about negotiating the price. And this is even more puzzling. He has the bike listed on David Blasco's website as well for $6500. Hmmmmm.....
Like I mentioned yesterday, the only true way you are going to find out what the bike is really worth is to take a ride and go look at it in person. You can talk to the current owner on the phone all day and still not know anything about the bike.
These are the things you need to look for. Write or Print this out and take it with you when you look at the bike:
CONDITION OF CHROME: Is it just dirty or is it pitted? If the chrome is pitted it either needs to be replaced or re-chromed and will cost roughly $500-$800 to have a large box of parts re-chromed. Another $400-$800 if you need to rebuild the wheels. Even if the chrome is just dirty and not pitted, you'll have about a 2-3 week job trying to get all the chrome polished up again. Take a good quality chrome polish like Mother's or Nevr-Dull and a clean rag and see if it cleans up.
CONDITION OF PAINT: Is it dirty and have years of filth and just need a wash n wax or is the paint breaking down, losing it's color and deteriorating? What year was it repainted (that's NOT the original color)? If it needs repainting plan about $1800-$3000 for paint (if you send the parts to me I can hook you up, and anyone else on this forum
).
COMPLETENESS: IS EVERYTHING THERE? If not, what's missing? Is it a replaceable part or does it need to be found used and restore it? To me it looks like everything is there. So I wouldn't worry to much this part, but still take a look and see if you see any "empty holes" in the chassis.
DISTRIBUTOR: What model is it? SR2 or K2F? Does it look to be functioning properly? What condition are the points in? Take a new NGK BH6S plug with you. Can you get a spark out of a new plug hooked to a plug wire? How about the other wire? be sure to check both plug wires. My mags problem was it had enough juice to fire cylinder 1 but no spark to cylinder 2. Is it manual cable advance timing or automatic advance inside the timing cover? If you have no spark it is very possible the magneto has failed and this caused the bike to stop running, but this isn't always the case. If the mag has failed, it will cost you no less than $300 to address that problem.
CONDITION OF MOTOR: Pull the dipstick and look into the oil tank. Is there still oil in there? How old does it look? Does the motor even turn over freely? If the motor does turn freely, is there oil pumping out of the return tube inside of the dipdtick tube? If there's no oil coming out while kicking the motor over, there is an oiling problem which could have caused engine damage. Also, when oil gets old and breaks down it starts to lose it's corrosion prevention characteristics. If it is extremely old or completely gone, there is a good possibility for internal corrosion. If this is the case the motor will probably require a complete tear down. If the motor is seized and will not move all with the kick starter or trying to roll the bike in gear you will DEFINITELY need a complete rebuild. It's also important to know if the motor was ever rebuilt in the past. If it was, what caused the failure and parts were replaced? A complete rebuild on these motors will cost you about $3500 if you do the assembly yourself. This would include the new style connecting rods Ace was talking about.
CONDITION OF BEARINGS AND MOVING PARTS: How does the bike roll around in neutral? Does it roll freely or does it feel stiff and not want to move? How freely does the headset move with the steering damper loose? Do you hear any squealing, popping or cracking? If so what bearing is it coming from? Plan on about $200-$300 for replacing all the bearings.
LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, ELECTRICAL: What kind of shape are the wires in? How much rotting and cracking do see? Are there any burnt wires? Is the ignition switch and other switches there? What does the rectifier look like? Is the battery good? Does it even have a battery? Has the electrical been converted to 12V?
As you can see, if you just jump into a project like this it can really bite you in the ass if you don't thoroughly inspect the bike for what problems it has and what parts are missing. Do your homework before you go to look at it. Listen to what the owner has to say, but if it sounds like BS, it probably is. Regardless, unless the bike is next to Pristine, it is NOT worth $6500. Just off the top of my head, looking at the pics, and the complete lack of description by the owner, I'd say that bike isn't worth more than $3500. If the bike ran like a top and someone actually took care of it, as opposed to leaving it sit uncovered in a garage for god knows how long, I'd say it's worth
close to $6K.
Scottie