1987 Sportster value? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

1987 Sportster value?

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blackcamaro said:
No argument the metrics are cheaper but how do you figure they are more dependable or provide a better riding experience? Especially the riding experience, any metric cruiser I've ridden is about as boring to ride or look at as watching paint dry.
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Better riding experience? No loctite required, you will feel your fingers most of the day, you can go 300km without fuel, and if you keep your bike maintained it should go past 80,000KM without replacing your stator, a few clutches, intakes, crank sensors, rocker cover gaskets... or major repairs.

All cruisers are boring to ride (VROD/VMAX/Diablo/M109 excepted). Midweights are 600lbs with 40HP, cushy suspension, 1 disk one drum, 5 gears, 30 degree lean angle... how do you make that exciting?
 
it certainly sounds do-able

I'll never understand guys who say their 250s are too small to take on any sort of touring

Pretty sure 50cc bikes have been used to go RTW
 
A guy rode a Grom to Alaska, and I listened to a podcast a few months back where a bunch of friends rode 250's across the USA and back, so yeah, you can certainly take a 250 past the nearest Tims.

Not saying it's necessarily ideal, but the bike itself can do it.
 
Hirky said:
I will have to show him the replies! I mentioned buying a wannabee sportster as one can be had really cheap but it didnt fly with him lol. My step father thought it was worth around 4k so I dont see him taking less the $3,500 min.. My son is no wrench either so dad would be stuck with that, maybe I can swing him too a metric???
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Have step dad take it to an auction and let your son bid on it. Or ebay.

An auctioneer was got a complaint from a bidder and retorted "It's worth what I get for it."

Paying $3500 for that one and refreshing it (Tires, battery, fluids, rubber bits) has got to blow by $5000. New 2018 Sportsters start at $11K.
 
Two trains of thought on this based on the fact the current relative seems to have a sentimental attachment to it.

1/ If the relative really honestly wanted to see it back on the road and returned to life, he/she should sell it to the other relative for less than the value for a 30 year old bike that's going to need work. If there's any question on how much that might end up being, ask him to take it to a shop first and get a list of what it needs and then negotiate a price based on that.

2/ Unfortunately, the reality with vehicles is often that the owner has a sentimental value that disregards real world factors such as age, repairs needed, or even the fact they may never ride/drive it again. At that point, there's a very slippery slope to a vehicle ending up costing the buyer far more than if he just walked away and bought something elsewhere.
 
bigpoppa said:
it certainly sounds do-able

I'll never understand guys who say their 250s are too small to take on any sort of touring

Pretty sure 50cc bikes have been used to go RTW
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I'm with you. I've done a fair amount of long distance on 250's, as long as your not pounding slabs all day, they are perfectly comfortable.

We might have better motorcyclists if our graduated system was based on displacement (like UK and AUS). Small, light motorcycles are easier to master and learn, more riders would learn that 250's can be very capable rides.

I crossed paths with a woman last year, she just completed 6000 miles in 6 days on a 2004 Ninja 250. I'll never again complain about doing miles on a small bike.
 
All depends on how loaded down you go. If you travel light enough, a 250 on the slab would do ok. And more importantly is the seat and riding position if you want to go long duration.
 
Riceburner said:
All depends on how loaded down you go. If you travel light enough, a 250 on the slab would do ok. And more importantly is the seat and riding position if you want to go long duration.
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Problem with a 250 on slab is speed. A sport tour setup (Ninja, R3) is OK up to 120, Light cruisers (Rebel, Vstar, Marauder) up to about 110. Riding the 401 is generally doable, running from Richmond Hill to Keswick on the 404 is daunting. Same goes for may States where the Interstate speeds are above the top speed of a 250.
 
bigpoppa said:
...
I'll never understand guys who say their 250s are too small to take on any sort of touring
...
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Something like a Ninja 250 for example, will struggle when loaded with luggage and carrying a ~ 200lbs+ rider. Narrow tires tend to track cracks in the pavement or wiggle on the tar snakes, and strong gusts of wind make the bike unstable. Forcing steep inclines can also be a challenge. For a smaller person it gets a bit better (aside from the side wind factor).
Therefore, not that you can't use it but it's just not an optimal long distance tool.

You can also eat a steak with a spoon if you want. Eventually you'll succeed.

The point is that you can do almost anything with anything.
 
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DemonPig said:
Something like a Ninja 250 for example, will struggle when loaded with luggage and carrying a ~ 200lbs+ rider. Narrow tires tend to track cracks in the pavement or wiggle on the tar snakes, and strong gusts of wind make the bike unstable. Forcing steep inclines can also be a challenge. For a smaller person it gets a bit better (aside from the side wind factor).
Therefore, not that you can't use it but it's just not an optimal long distance tool.

You can also eat a steak with a spoon if you want. Eventually you'll succeed.

The point is that you can do almost anything with anything.
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I'm 215lbs, no trouble touring on a Ninja 250. I wouldn't take it on a 401 slab ride to Montreal, I wouldn't hesitate looping superior or running to Ottawa off slab. These little bikes are setup like STs, you're not feeling snakes and wind like you would on a Dyna or Sporty.

You are correct about climbing hills -- that said 215lb me keeps up with 800CC cruisers climbing those hills, then kills them on the way down and again on the flats!
 
When I was 17 I did a solo trip to Florida on my 1985 honda xl250r dual sport. Had a backpack on my back and another strapped to the seat for luggage. Brantford Ontario to Naples Florida and back in a week, spent 4 days in Naples at my mom's.
I could never cover that distance on that seat now.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Ahem, to get back on track - the bike is worth whatever you or someone else is willing to pay for it.
If you think the asking price is too high, or it needs too much work then don't buy it.
This isn't rocket surgery.
 
Hirky said:
I will have to show him the replies! I mentioned buying a wannabee sportster as one can be had really cheap but it didnt fly with him lol. My step father thought it was worth around 4k so I dont see him taking less the $3,500 min.. My son is no wrench either so dad would be stuck with that, maybe I can swing him too a metric???
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Depending on the condition, he may bet his price. He needs to put it on Kijiji for awhile to find out. Harley Davidsons are generally more coveted in the motorcycle world. Mainly because anything else is just a motorcycle.
 
Roadghost said:
Depending on the condition, he may bet his price. He needs to put it on Kijiji for awhile to find out. Harley Davidsons are generally more coveted in the motorcycle world. Mainly because anything else is just a motorcycle.
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$4000 for a ready to ride 87 sportster maybe. For one that's been sitting 18 years? Not a chance, it's not like it's rare.

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Roadghost said:
Depending on the condition, he may bet his price. He needs to put it on Kijiji for awhile to find out. Harley Davidsons are generally more coveted in the motorcycle world. Mainly because anything else is just a motorcycle.
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hate to break it to ya bud, harley is 'just a motorcycle' too. Unless they come with pancake makers from Milwaukee

Iceman said:
$4000 for a ready to ride 87 sportster maybe. For one that's been sitting 18 years? Not a chance, it's not like it's rare.

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I wouldn't pay 4k for a harley unless it was made in the last 10 years and was still on the road
 
Brian P said:
So you want to do an in-the-family transfer so that at least the bike will be on the road?

They're meant to be ridden, and it's better that, than sitting in the garage doing nothing!

Give the bike a gooooood overall check-over. Aside from making sure it starts and runs OK and that everything works, figure on replacing the tires at a minimum. Check EVERYthing that is made of rubber. Inspect the fuel lines and brake hoses. If it has a belt final drive (I know only enough about Harleys to know that SOME of them have a belt final drive, no idea if this one does ...) inspect the belt ... or perhaps just replace it no matter what. Flush the brake fluid ... watch out for Harley peculiarities, some of them use a special DOT 5.0 brake fluid that is incompatible with the rest of the world. Check ALL electrical switches. Anything that's prone to drying out, deteriorating, corroding, or seizing from age and disuse, needs to be checked.
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What he said.

Roadghost said:
I would say about $2000-2500. Sitting isn't a real problem if it was run each year, but the tires will likely be cracked and need replacement, plus a few other things.
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You must drink that HD purple drink.
 
Mad Mike said:
Problem with a 250 on slab is speed. A sport tour setup (Ninja, R3) is OK up to 120,
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Both the R3 and Ninja 300 will accelerate from 120 to 150 faster than majority of 4 wheeled vehicles on the road and even more so if geared down.
 
blackcamaro said:
Tell your father in law to give it to the kid, it's just been sitting for 18 years!!! But yeah running and rideable Harley's don't get much cheaper then about $2000 so I'd subtract some of the big needs the bike has from that number and if he takes it great if not there's a bunch of other stuff out there.
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Bare minimum, fork seals and fork oil replaced, brake calliper rebuild, new brake lines/pads, and new tires. Bearings may/may not be good depending on where it's been stored. Paying a shop to do all of that, with parts, will easily be over a grand.

Even if I did all that stuff myself, I still wouldn't pay for than $1000 for the bike as-is.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Yeah, sorry, but if there's one thing in the motorcycle world that irks me it's the overzealous off the charts brand loyalty thing, and anyone who dare ride anything else is "beneath you" and will be shunned.

I don't care if you're on a 250cc beginner bike or a $75,000 custom, we should all be treated the same. The "I won't even lower myself to talking to you because you're not on a my chosen brand or motorcycle" thing is silly.
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It's easy to say that PP, however it's a contradictory statement on this forum. Every last person here claims to not care about brand. But go ahead and post anything that even mentions HD and see what happens. Put on your helmet for all the bashing that's about to roll in. Or just read through the evidence in this thread alone. Can't even have a post about HD without pirate comments, and yes, that also includes this thread too. Now tell me again about people that look down on other riders for what they ride, because the members of this forum for the most part are more guilty of that behaviour than any group of Harley owners. I didn't hear anybody laughing at Honda riders in Dover...


For the OP, it doesn't matter what people here think it's worth. If your son wants to keep his grandpa's bike, then it's worth it to him. Regardless of what it's worth to the people here, or even what it's worth to you. My grandpa had a 1977 chevette scooter, it had rot, it was slow, it had 4 inch wide tires, and most people thought it was a piece of ****. But it was my grandpa's car, it had sentimental value to me. He wanted me to have it, and my parents scrapped it when he passed on. 20 years later, I'm still obviously slightly resentful. Make him work for it, but don't let your opinion of the bike get in his way, and sure as hell not the opinions of biased complete strangers.
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