On one thread I read a fellow opined that only routine maintenance and service will increase a bikes value. It got me thinking about modifications that are not cosmetic in nature. If we take for example a EVO or Twin-Cam up through say 2006 and made mechanical modifications that improved the function of the bike, would that increase the value?

Examples of possible mods:

1. Aftermarket 5 or 6 speed overdrive transmission for a 4 or 5 speed Evo Softail.
2. Increasing the cubes (engine) of an Evo or Twin-Cam
3. Aftermarket fans and oil coolers for better cooling
4. Aftermarket brakes like a 4 piston caliper or dual rotors on a currently single rotor bike
5. Good quality aftermarket suspension

Any other functional mods that come to mind

 

Functional mods to increase performance subliminally implies racing, abuse, burnouts and general hard riding. There is also no repair manual for performance mods.
I would avoid purchasing a "hot rod" motorcycle. Stock appeals to a greater pool of purchasers, modded bikes limits potential buyers and hurts value.
Mod only for you, not for the next owner or for equity increase reasons.

 

^this

 

I think it depends on what the buyer is searching for.

Everyone pretty much knows what model, year and color of bike that they want so it's pretty much condition, mileage and price at that point.
Purchasing a bike, then adding thousands of dollars in accessories and upgrades is NOT an investment, so when you do this, be prepared to lose a lot of your money.

If I'm looking for a used bike, I look at overall condition and if the bike looks like it has been taking care of. Someone who takes good care of their bike's appearance, chanced are that they have also taken good care of it mechanically.
Recent tires and battery are also good to see as that can add up to several hundred bucks.

When I sold my 2000 Ultra, it had 77,000 miles on it and it still looked pretty good (black of course) and I had lots of "add-on" chrome accessories but I think the "95" Big Bore Kit. the S/E Hyd Cam kit, and the Baker DD6 was really what the buyer was looking for.

 

I would care to say that there would really be no increase in dollars, just a possible change in how much faster/slower those mods, get the bike snatched up. In other words, if the mods are desirable, you'll sell it sooner with possibly less dickering on price. If the mods are likely to make someone think you raced or abused the bike, it'll be a slower sale for you with lots of people trying to haggle price.

 

Interesting post. Yes, I would automatically assume a lot of the money invested even in functional upgrades like I've listed would be lost. OTOH, I'm curious how much would be lost. I know it's difficult to know.

A different thing of the same principle would be a house. I think there are somewhat agreed upon percentages how much various modifications/upgrades done on a house will increase it's value. Ex: If you put in a pool and go to sell the house, you'll get back 50% of what you spent on the pool. Or if a new kitchen is built you'll get back 40%. I don't know what the percentages are. I just picked the out of the air to illustrate.

Any idea how much more you got for your bike with those functional mods (not including chrome, anything cosmetic) compared to if the bike wasn't given those functional mods?

Any one else as well wish to guess regards to 2AMGuy's bike?

 

This is how the real world see's your list...

 

Too many different types of buyers to put a definite dollar number on upgrades. Some will think engine work is worth it, others will think it's been abused because you wanted that extra power for something and will want a discount, and some won't even look at it if it's been upgraded too much. I know all upgrades are deducted from book value when I look at bikes, even if it's stuff that I want, but that's just me. The next guy might drool all over the bike and pay twice what it's worth. But generally, upgrades cost, they don't help...

 

I was looking at either kbb or nada motorcycle values, and it had a list of things that you could choose from of possible things that had been added that would increase value. Oil cooler was one of them. That's just the book value, so take that for what it's worth