How to price a Valk for sale

[lparrish]

Hello,

My husband passed away and I need to sell his bike. I have my own and I don't need them both. I've looked on Kelly Blue Book as well as ads online, and they are all over the map from $2,800 (which I don't get at all -- there were 2 bikes listed for that price and they both say they've never been crashed) all the way to over $11,000. All were Interstates, all were 2001, all had varying amounts of added chrome, seats, custom paint, etc. Mileage was anywhere from 5k - 45k and the price didn't seem to correlate to the # of miles. I saw no rhyme or reason for why one person would ask for so little vs so much. Can anybody help me make sense out of this and come up with a good price?

Thank you,
Lynn

[wiggydotcom]

First, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's passing. You're also correct that there can be a wide
range of pricing for Interstates based on what's been added.

If you had pictures of your husband's Interstate it would be helpful....or if he kept records of what he purchased. But there's enough of us on here that could pretty well give you a ballpark figure based on pics.

If the bike was in good condition, it should fetch from 6 to 8k. Depending on options like custom seats, exhausts, CB radio, etc, it could fetch up to 10k.

[Michvalk]

Most people list theirs for what they want for them, with no reguard for blue book or rhyme or reason. And you can be sure that people will pay with no rhyme or reason as well. I sold my 99 Interstate for 5000.00 last fall. It had 39,000 miles, a salvage title, and needed some TLC to make really nice. I think average for an Interstate has been about 7000.00 with no consideration for extras. Hard to judge price without looking at the bike, and knowing more about it. I would post more about the bike you have, and maybe some pictures would help. Also, maybe, If we had a clue as to where you live, someone could come and look and give some real advice.

[olddog1946]

First off, I am sorry for your loss. I would guess that you could start by checking the ads on Craigslist for your area to get a general idea of asking prices and compare the miles, accessories, etc. with what you have. Check out what dealers are asking, take an average and set your price maybe a grand under the dealer. That should get some interest. Get yourself a general idea of what you'd like to get, and what your bottom line is. Ask for more than you really want and be willing to dicker on the price. This time of year it's a buyer's market, then once the weather warms up prices will start back up. You might post it here in the VRCC classifieds as well, the boys/girls here know what a fine bike they are and while we all want the best deal we can get I believe that most are willing to pay a fair price.

[Dogg]

Very sorry for your loss. Judging by the local time on your profile, id say you were west coast somewhere. It seems west coast bikes get a few dollars more than east coast bikes. But then, thats just how i have been seeing it. Was your husband a member here? Did he do any rides with other valkyrie owners?

[SANDMAN5]

Sorry to hear that. I agree with the posts...7-8,000 is a good average.
Could go a little lower or a lot higher depending on details.

[Jabba]

I am also sorry for your loss.

I think that $7K is a little optimistic.  Just MY opinion.  Some people will sell them for that, and some people will pay that as well.  So it's not unreasonable.  But, if someone is patient, landing a pretty nice IS for between $5K and $6K is totally doable.

Jabba

[lparrish]

Thank you everybody for your responses so far.

Wiggy – I will take pictures and post them, but it may be a little while yet. I can tell you that he has pipes from Horseapple Ranch (met him at InZane IX), don’t remember what he paid for those. He also has a trailer hitch with a golf bag holder and an ice chest holder (I may keep the ice chest holder for myself), driver’s seat rest, a Valk chrome radiator cover (very little extra chrome other than that), and highway foot rests. He never got the custom paint job he wanted, so that’s pretty much it for customization. I’m afraid I don’t know the miles right now because our bikes were pretty much garaged and ignored for the last year and both our batteries are dead. I’ll estimate 30k, though. It’s always been garaged, never crashed or laid down, perfect condition.

MichValk -- I am in Arizona if that's any help. It’s very interesting that you got $5k for the bike you described… makes me hopeful that I can get more than Kelly Blue Book’s trade-in quote of $5,660.

Olddog -- it's already "spring" here and 70 degrees, so I'm wondering if this is actually the best time to sell in the desert. Do people actually sell their bikes on this website? I guess I figured that if you’re on this site, you already have one and have babied your own to the max and don’t want or need another one! P.S. I lived the first 3 years of my life right next door to Moses Lake (Ephrata). Later in life my husband and I lived in southern WA for 14 years. We traded in our kids for a couple of bikes (ok, so they grew up), then got mad at the rain and moved to a sunnier locale.

Dogg – We only went to InZane IX. Hard to say if anybody would remember us. My bike won 2nd place in the beauty contest, but that won’t help you with trying to remember my husband’s bike.

Sandman says 7-8, Jabba says 5-6… what to do… I wonder if I should start with 7k and see where it goes. I’m not looking to make a killing, not wanting to be unreasonable. Well, I will try to get pictures posted and go from there. Thanks again, everybody.

[olddog1946]

Nice to run into someone that even knows where Moses Lake is, lol.

Just a note, There was an 01, Interstate , all original with all the factory goodies and only 5000 miles that sold in Hermiston last year for 7,000. If I'd have had any money I'd have bought it myself. Some fella from Kentucky or close to there  fly up and bought it, then had it shipped home. It was in January, so too cold to ride it back. It was an absolutely beautiful bike.

My daughter lives in Peoria, Az.  Wish I was there right now, as it is the best time of year in that area for some fine riding. I always seem to go in the summer, when it's hot enough to melt the glue off my grips. Makes it hard to rev'r up.

[john]

     30.000 miles ...      perfect condition ...        garage kept and pretty much stock     ???...
i would start at 8 grand                 

[Sourdough]

Why don't you post this on the AZ board. I'm sure one of the members
down there could help you out.

[9Ball]

agreed...start at $8000.  How much less than that is up to you...but I'd hold firm at $7500 cash.

Be careful about letting anyone test ride the bike.  If they are worried about the condition or problems, then tell them that if they pay for the Honda dealer to check/inspect the bike then you will deduct that amount from the final sales price.

Cash in hand before test rides is a good practice.

Good luck and sorry for your loss.  Was your husband a member here?  What was his VRCC handle?

[wiggydotcom]

Personally, if you would be happy with 7 grand, I think you could get that with no problem with what you described is on the bike. Good luck!

[lparrish]

Okay, I think everybody has given me a lot to go on. I just checked Craigslist (don't know why I didn't think of that before...), and there are a few Interstates out there for sale in the Phoenix area and Tucson, and they are all asking between $7-8k. I'm going to price it competitively because I'd really just like to sell it.

My husband wasn't a VRCC member -- he loved Valkyries but absolutely hated computers!

Thanks so much to all of you for your help. I didn't expect so many responses so quickly. I feel much more comfortable now putting it up for sale.

Lynn

[old2soon]

Sorry for your loss. ALWAYS leave yourself room to bargain. It will be 3 years this June i bought my I/S from a used car dealer for $5800.00 cash. $40000.00 cash WILL NOT buy mine at this point in time. As you are a member list here in these classifieds. And we have members that own multiple Valkyries and other M/Cs. Again-sorry for your loss.

[Willow]

Lynn, I'm assuming you are Lynn and Mike Parrish of Tucson.  Please tell us a little about Mike.  I'm sure there will be many who remember you two from InZane.

There are a lot of people looking for Valkyries, specifically Interstates, even second or third Interstates.  Unfortunately with the economy and such as it is, there are some available at very low prices.  I don't think that's just Valkyries.

In my opinion a lot of add-ons doesn't increase the value of a used Valkyrie with the exception of two.  A factory CB should be worth a $500 bump and a set of OEM bag rails should do about the same.  Without those two options an Interstate should sell rather quickly for $5000.  With a fair amount of applied patience that same Interstate may be able to fetch $7000.  If someone pays $10,000 for an Interstate in today's market he has the qualifications to label himself a philanthropist.

The addition of one or both the above mentioned options may add either money or speed to the transaction.

We have a good number of members in Arizona, specifically in the Phoenix area, but elsewhere as well.  I'm sure several of them would be pleased to assist you.

I wish you the best.

[Chiefy]

If it's been sitting a year, you may want to put a battery in it and start it up.  Draining the old gas and putting in fresh would be good, if you can manage.  The reason is because the carbs can gum up and make the bike run poorly.  Sometimes it can be an easy fix with the right gas additive.  Would hate for you to be hammered on the price for something that can sometimes be fixed for a few bucks.

[cookiedough]

Agree, get it running with a new battery and run the old gas out of it if sitting for 1 year or more.  I'd start at 8K and go down to 7500 and if really wanted to sell it should easily get 7 grand all day long.  I'd want for sure 7500 for my 2001 I/S with 27K miles and pretty much stock except for maybe 400-500 bucks in add ons is all. 

Good luck!

[lparrish]

Yes, Willow, we’re Mike & Lynn from Tucson. While I could speak volumes about the character of my husband, I don’t really know that I could say enough about us that would make someone remember us from InZane IX… we were InZane virgins, and we kinda just enjoyed the festivities and blended in with the crowd. My bike made more of a hit than we did – it won second place in the custom paint category – purple lightening if that jogs your memory. Six months later Mike was diagnosed with a cancer that 7 doctors between Tucson and the Phoenix Mayo Clinic as well as everything I read on the internet said wouldn’t end well. He lived twice as long as 75% of folks with this type of cancer statistically speaking, no doubt because he wanted to be a grampa more than anything in life. He was the best grampa on earth for 11 months.

Anyway…. I appreciate the one who suggested I drain the tanks of old gas and put in new batteries. I was feeling really guilty about neglecting our bikes over this last year, but I had priorities. So I need to ask – I’m not a mechanic… I can ride the bike, I can put gas in it, I can change the oil and spark plugs, but that’s it. I thought maybe I could put a trickle charger on it to revive the battery… should I just bag that idea and get new batteries for both bikes? I have friends here who can help me figure out how to drain the old gas.

Also, I wasn’t planning on allowing anyone to test ride the bike. The guy I bought my Valk from didn’t allow me to test ride because he really got burned (crashed) once. I figure people who want Valkyries know what they want and why, and that’s good enough.

[Jabba]

I want to qualify my post about $5 to $6 K too.  I have only been a Valk BUYER.  Not a SELLER.  Stuff is worth less when you're buying and more when you're selling.

No wait... I forgot about the 97 I had.  I sold it.  For $4700.   

Jabba

[Chiefy]

I wouldn't bet on the trickle charger after a year.  But if you want one for your bike anyway, it couldn't hurt to try.

[DLSSOJC]

Condition, mileage, and extras are the big three factors IMO. If I was buying another Interstate these things mean the most to me. If a bike has the right accessories on it, I do consider that in the price I am willing to give, and I would give considerably more for a bike that meets those qualifications. There are some high dollar accessories on some of these Valks due to availability and rarity. Just from the description without pics, it sounds like you might be in the 7K-8K range.

[Willow]

Anyway…. I appreciate the one who suggested I drain the tanks of old gas and put in new batteries. I was feeling really guilty about neglecting our bikes over this last year, but I had priorities. So I need to ask – I’m not a mechanic… I can ride the bike, I can put gas in it, I can change the oil and spark plugs, but that’s it. I thought maybe I could put a trickle charger on it to revive the battery… should I just bag that idea and get new batteries for both bikes? I have friends here who can help me figure out how to drain the old gas.

Bring the battery to full charge with whatever method you use.  If it will start pour a bottle of Techron fuel injector cleaner into the tank and ride it  until it's near empty then fill it with fresh fuel.  You may need to repeat the carb cleaner for a few tanks.

If it won't start then you can worry about draining the old gas.

[cookiedough]

Can't hurt to try trickle charging with preferably 1-1.5  amp, at most 2 amp battery charger and leave on for 10-12 hours or so.  If it doesn't start, then unfortunately going to have to buy a brand new battery costing 60 bucks on up.  Yes, if it starts on somewhat old battery,  run it with techron or seafoam, etc. whole can in full tank or 1/2 can if 1/2 tank of gas and run all the old gas out of it as much as possible and fill er up with fresh gas and then sell it.  If going to sell it and old battery fires it up, I wouldn't waste my money on a new battery and just tell new owner battery is nearing it's useful life maybe 1-2 years more tops. 

My I/S with only 14K mileage before bought had been sitting a few years not running much the past 1-2 years and ran poorly until I ran the old gas out of it and drove it like I stole it with tons of seafoam in several tankfuls of gas.  Ran much better after adjusting idle speed and changing spark plugs as well. 

[Tailgate Tommy]

Hi Lynn,
I'm so very sorry for the loss of your husband Mike.  I have relatives in AZ and will be there April-May time frame if you still have it then I may be interested in your Interstate..  I'm not to worried about the battery or clogged carbs just the condition of the bike, accessories, mileage, color, etc. I can trailer it or ship it home and I have cash. Currently I have an Interstate and a standard, so I won't need a test drive. When you are able please PM me pictures and any details you have.
Again I am so sorry for your loss.
Tom (tkylli)

[lparrish]

Well, I know we have 2 trickle chargers around here somewhere, but darned if I can find them. I think I'll just buy a battery before I drive myself crazy. And I will get the Techron as you suggested.

Tom... wow... I will most definitely send you pics when I can get the bike out of the garage, and, assuming it's not sold by the time you make it to AZ, it WILL not have a dead battery or clogged whatchamacallits.

Willow, thanks for posting a pic of my bike!!!

Thank you all... really. What a warm community this is.

Lynn

[Willow]

Well, I know we have 2 trickle chargers around here somewhere, but darned if I can find them. I think I'll just buy a battery before I drive myself crazy. And I will get the Techron as you suggested.

Find one of those chargers and use it or buy one.  It's quite possible that even with a new battery it may be difficult to start that bike after sitting for so long.  You may run down even a new battery and need to charge it. 

Some, if not most, new batteries these days need to be charged before use.

[czuch]

I too, am sorry for your loss.
Its a Honda. It will start and run just fine. 

[lparrish]

Thanks again, everybody. I am going to see if I can borrow somebody's charger... I'm just done looking for ours right now. Right now I'm sick and need to hunker down and rest.  Lynn