Well it's a new year and after taking a long look at my toys I think I'm going to sell my bike. I used to be on these forums when I was riding a few years ago but I've been MIA for several years. Glad my login still works.

I originally bought it in California where the weather is almost always pleasant and lane splitting is legal, and I rode pretty regularly, including to work. However shortly after trading in my Buell and buying my RKC I moved to Texas, and given the change in weather and job situation, I pretty much stopped riding. Showing up in a sweat-soaked shirt and as one might expect one with a sweat-soaked shirt to smell doesn't cut it. Also I got married, and although my wife loves the bike and actually has been very much against me giving it up, she's a terrible flincher and riding with her is problematic, and since I like her I don't really want to go anywhere alone anymore.

As a result, I have a 2012 RKC with less than 200 miles on it that's just been sitting in the garage that I occasionally ride around the neighborhood just to keep the motor lubricated. It just doesn't make sense to have so much money tied up in something that just doesn't fit my life anymore.

I've never been in the used market for a bike so I thought I'd start by asking the forum

1) what's the best way to sell it? (I'm going to guess the answer is going to be "post it in the for sale section of the forum? and
2) what's a good price for it?

Here are the details:
2012 RKC w/ ABS
White Hot Pearl
WO508 handlebars
Rush True Duals and Rush mufflers
S&S stealth air cleaner
Progressive monotube front shocks (1" shorter)
Mean City Cycles seat mod (I'm 5'7" with 30" inseam and can flat-foot the bike)
HD Spedometer/Tach combo gauge

I have most of the original parts I removed. The bike has been garaged since purchase, moved from CA to TX by a professional motorcycle moving company. This thing is in showroom condition and I am NOT exaggerating. The bike has less than 200 miles on it. I always add Sta-Bil to the gas.

 

My personal take;

HDF Classifieds and Cycle Trader. I also watch FB Marketplace, but the prices are ridiculous on FB. CycleTrader is inundated with dealers; for a private seller, you would stand out there. Just be careful about how you agree to meet people and watch for counterfeit money and bad checks. A bank wire transfer is the best for both parties.

 

how is ebay these days for selling vehicles? I sold a used car through ebay and had a very good experience, but that was more than 10 years ago. Looks like a lot of dealers on there as well, but do private party sales still do ok there?

I don't want to meet a bunch of tire-kickers and expose myself to all sorts of people knowing where I live....at least with ebay the person I'm meeting has already agreed to buy it.

I'm assuming selling it thought the local dealer is a rip-off.

 

Talk with a dealer to see if they can put it on consignment, also as what their fee's are.

rk classic.

 

I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask - I've read that selling on consignment with H-D is a really bad deal and they take something close to half the selling price. Is that not the case?

 

It only takes a call to find out.

My take on E-Bay is from a buyer's standpoint. I'm not sure I'd spend that kind of coin on something that I didn't inspect in person. I'm not shopping on E-Bay. Plus, if you find one you want, you have to commit to buy it and then wait, wait, wait. What if another bike comes along at a better price? You're already committed. I"m not shopping E-Bay ...

 

what about pricing? All the price guides I've found assume about 16000 miles and don't let you adjust it for significantly less mileage. KBB says $14-$15k for a 2012 RKC/ABS with 16000 miles private party sale. Is that accurate?

 

Seems high to me. I'm looking at 14-16 SGS with 5-10K on the clock in that range.

 

I'm surprised no one mentioned Craigslist. I don't do "Fakebook", and to date have never tried ebay or cycletrader--rather buy/sell not too far from home. But I have both bought and sold bikes on Craigslist. Yeah, you may get a few idiots who just want to talk BS and see how low they can get you down on the phone, etc., etc., but Craigslist is free and you can update/change/remove/alter/ your ad any time you want.

And you can be more successful with Craigslist by anticipating most questions and answering them in your ad, such as "One owner, have service records, never down, not interested in trades, price is firm, NO TEST RIDES UNLESS YOU CONVINCE ME YOU CAN HANDLE A LARGE BIKE AND YOU PUT MY ASKING PRICE IN CASH IN MY HAND FIRST, only accept cash or certified check from a local bank and we go together to that bank before we transfer the bike. Etc., etc., etc.

And Craigslist says "only one ad in one location" but I routinely see the same bike in Craigslist ads in not only my city of Louisville but also in maybe Owensboro, Nashville, Cincinnati, Lexington, etc. I think if you change just one word in your listing title the Craigslist software apparently thinks it is a different ad.

So, try taking a few pics with your phone, write an ad and put it on Craigslist and see if you get any action. You can change or take down the ad at any time--nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time.

 

Good Advice. I've had great luck with Craigslist, especially when I take good close-ups of the product, and be up-front in describing ANY flaws as well as showing close-up pics of them. Honesty is king to a potential buyer. Also, if I don't want people tire-kicking forever, I price the merchandise to sell. It's worth a quick sale to me, anyway. I usually get things sold in less than a week.