Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi all,

The EOY review's in and a bike's still on the Agenda, hopefully before Christmas.

The best prices I can see for the rapidly dwindling stocks of mostly blue Z1000s are all interstate. Ros isn't going to allow me two bikes, she barely puts up with one, so the questions are:
1. Do I try and sell privately and buy a new bike sight-unseen from Sydney or Brisbane? If so the ZZR will need a service and a couple of new tyres (and a farking good clean). The rego also runs out in Feb. The longer it takes to sell, the less it'll be worth...
2. Do I trade-in and buy locally and leave the bike as-is - dirty/tyres/rego due and take the hit on the trade-in price? Is it worth spending the money to tart her up if it's going to a dealer?

Acording to Redbook:

KAWASAKI ZZ-R600 (ZX600)

E6 Cycle ROAD Manual 6sp 600cc
Trade in price guide* $3,300 - $3,900
National average price - private sale* $4,700 - $5,600
Price when new (RRP) $11,790

...she's not worth a great deal either way .

Definitely option one - it worked for me

Colette wrote:Definitely option one - it worked for me

If Option 4 wins I'm buying a Suzuki ...

...either that or I just won't tell anyone wtf I did buy .

So you say tyres, rego, a service and a good clean are what is needed to get it up to spec hey!!! Let's look at it mathematically and se wht it looks like???


Rego $500
Tyres $400
Service $180-$320 (depending on major or minor)
Advertising $100

Total $1180-$1320 depending on service.

Plus you need to calculate your time. (if your time is worth something to you?) Let's say 5 hours work for you with cleaning, transport time, ad writing, telephone call recieving time, procrastination time from the buyers, fuckaround time when they don't turn up etc., etc.,

I reckon they will probably pay you 2500 for it as it is! (I hope I havn't offended ya?) and with the spend that's needed on it, I reckon that's about right. Anything more than that and you're having a win. Add the reco costs to that, and you might save yourself $500 to $800 if you spent the time and money on it and traded it.

OTOH, if you tarted it and sold it privately, it might reach $4000-4250 for it if you get the right buyer, which would mean around $3000 real for it after the spend.

To my mind, I would give it a wash ( a clean bike always looks like a bit more money even to a trained buyer, they are human too), and trade the sucker in and just haggle the best deal you can from them.

Make sure you run around a bit before you sign, and see if someone doesn't make a mistake or just desperately need some cash to pay some wages!!!! Sometimes you can hit someone at an opportune time, when they are being hassled to pay a big bill, or are a bit cash poor and need some wages money!!!!!!!

I know at times in a motorcycle dealership I ran years ago, that the owner would sometimes let me know that certain bikes would be happily negotiated on. Especially if I wanted paying that week!!!!!

Ratmick wrote:

Colette wrote:Definitely option one - it worked for me

If Option 4 wins I'm buying a Suzuki ...

...either that or I just won't tell anyone wtf I did buy .

Don't try and sway the vote! Just buy a new bike you bastard

Pricing some insurance through Swann.

1998 ZZR600 (Category 3): Approx $300/year (slightly less if you pay it early).
2006 Z1000 (Category 3): Approx $640/year.
2006 SV1000 (Category 3): Approx $548/year.
2006 Z750 (Category 0): Approx $258/year.

Mick C wrote:Just buy a new bike you bastard

and dont go the want V need either.

I dont need a new bike but I F!@CKING well want one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trade it in and then you don't need to worry about staying home for dropkicks to show up and then think about it.

Apart from that just "buy a new bike ya bastard"


Bloody insurance is cheap , did you tell them you won't be riding it or something

Mick.... sell the topbox private and trade the rest as is ...

burkys_ninja wrote:Bloody insurance is cheap , did you tell them you won't be riding it or something

Umm, I told them it would only be ridden inside on yak hair carpet and only in a straight line. Once a month.

No, I'm 42, Rating 1 and live in a country area. The bike is locked in a shed as well...

nobby wrote:Mick.... sell the topbox private and trade the rest as is ...

Mate, the topbox is yours

I've sold bikes and traded them in. The thing is if money matters the most, selling it privately us worth the fecking about if you've the time to kill to wait for people to come by, look at it, and kick the tyres a bit. But you've also got the issue of wondering how long it'll take before the bike is actually sold, and if you ride it, worrying about binning it prior to sale (heard about that happening more than once on a "for old times sake" ride).

Trading it in is worth it if your busy/dont want to frig around with selling it yourself and just want yourself a new bike. Obviously you'll take a $ hit, but it seems proportional to how desperate you are to offload the old bike .

Really the choice is yours, but going on my past experience it was mostly worth the effort of selling it myself and taking my hard earned to buy a new bike*

*aside from the fact i managed to sell my old bike just after renewing rego, so lost money there, and had to re-register the new bike, so good bye to a grand there & then.

Ratmick wrote:Acording to Redbook:

KAWASAKI ZZ-R600 (ZX600)

E6 Cycle ROAD Manual 6sp 600cc
Trade in price guide* $3,300 - $3,900
National average price - private sale* $4,700 - $5,600
Price when new (RRP) $11,790

...she's not worth a great deal either way .

Exactly. You might as well keep it...

Just give it a really good tub, forget tyres and rego, bung a higher private sale price on it, then you have some 'leeway' to negotiate a lower price to a prospective seller ( who will think they are getting a *good deal* if you drop the price to what you want anyway ), and thats it. If you trade it in, expect about 1/2 of what you would get with a private sale.

Don't waste money trying to make money......its a dead end.

Good luck mate

At the risk of sounding VERY corny
Bikes are a decision made with your heart, not your head.
Dont wonder, do it...
Long after the bills have been paid you will still be stuck with a dunger you hate more everyday or the love of your life you scrimp to bling.