Hello all- Looking to by my first Monster but need some of your input first!!!

[QuietConfidence]

Hello all- I am looking at a 2007 695 with 13,000 miles. It has a smal dent in the tank and one small dent on the exhaust pipe. It seems to be a clean bike other than that. KBB has it valued at $4400 in excellent condition. My questions are:

1. Is KBB a good judge of value?

2. What is considered "high mileage" for a bike?

3. What is your ball park best guess as to value of this bike?


Thanks in advance to everyone that chimes in here. I am looking forward to geting my first bike!

-QC

[tripod]

Look at some bikes for sale on this site to get an idea?

did you see this one? same $ but only 5,000 miles

http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/...95-2007-a.html

[QuietConfidence]

Originally Posted by tripod

Look at some bikes for sale on this site to get an idea?

did you see this one? same $ but only 5,000 miles

http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/...95-2007-a.html

I have been all over Ebay, Cycle Trader and I have looked at the classifieds. I have seen this listing but I quickly ruled it out because he does not have a clear title.
With this post I was trying to get an idea on is 13k miles considered high mileage(and if not what is) for a bike and if Kelly Blue Book was an accepted judge of value.

[Ducati 23]

Just be patient. You'll find the right bike for you. 13k is on the high side for mileage. Plus there are plenty of Monsters out there. Try www.searchtempest.com, it allows you search all the craigslist sites across the country. That's how I found mine.

[QuietConfidence]

Originally Posted by Ducati 23

Just be patient. You'll find the right bike for you. 13k is on the high side for mileage. Plus there are plenty of Monsters out there. Try www.searchtempest.com, it allows you search all the craigslist sites across the country. That's how I found mine.

Awesome! Thanks for the point in the right direction.

QC

[AdmiralKit]

I've found that KBB is good for getting you in the general vicinity of where the price should be, but shouldn't be used as an end-all be-all pricing solution. If you don't have a clue as to what your specific market is that you're buying from, it'll get you into the ballpark so you don't get completely taken to the cleaners.

For instance, my dad sold an older Harley so he could get his V-Rod. Don't remember the mileage or year or how much chrome he had added on (it was in really good condition, though), but it was roughly a decade old in the early aughts when he sold it. KBB put it at some value, which is what he decided to ask for it when he put it at the end of the driveway with a For Sale sign on it. An hour later he'd sold it to the first person who had called him, no haggling at all. The lesson he picked up over the years since then was that the brand was still going through its value through scarcity phase, and he probably could have marked it up 30-40% over blue book and gotten that with little difficulty. There are also lots of ratty ass bikes out there that aren't worth nearly blue book value, too, so it swings in both directions.

[QuietConfidence]

Originally Posted by AdmiralKit

I've found that KBB is good for getting you in the general vicinity of where the price should be, but shouldn't be used as an end-all be-all pricing solution. If you don't have a clue as to what your specific market is that you're buying from, it'll get you into the ballpark so you don't get completely taken to the cleaners.

For instance, my dad sold an older Harley so he could get his V-Rod. Don't remember the mileage or year or how much chrome he had added on (it was in really good condition, though), but it was roughly a decade old in the early aughts when he sold it. KBB put it at some value, which is what he decided to ask for it when he put it at the end of the driveway with a For Sale sign on it. An hour later he'd sold it to the first person who had called him, no haggling at all. The lesson he picked up over the years since then was that the brand was still going through its value through scarcity phase, and he probably could have marked it up 30-40% over blue book and gotten that with little difficulty. There are also lots of ratty ass bikes out there that aren't worth nearly blue book value, too, so it swings in both directions.

Excellent feed back! Thank you.

QC

[QuietConfidence]

Originally Posted by Ducati 23

Just be patient. You'll find the right bike for you. 13k is on the high side for mileage. Plus there are plenty of Monsters out there. Try www.searchtempest.com, it allows you search all the craigslist sites across the country. That's how I found mine.

Forgot to ask...so what is the "sweet spot" range as far as mileage for a first bike? I am trying to stay around the 3k to 4k range. Thanks!

QC

[philb]

If the bike has maintenance records that show it has been cared for close to the schedule, and if it hasn't been stunted or abused, I'd call anything under 60K low mileage. People worry WAY too much about mileage, mostly because 99% of the bikes in this country are toys and never see high mileage, so it looks unusual to have any.

On my Monster, I had to do a few minor things at 60K (clutch plates, valve guide seals, new seat), and a few more at around 120K (clutch plates again, clutch basket, valve guide seals again, brake disks, cush drive, piston rings, bearing in alternator, another seat). At about 180K, new carburetors, rear shock, clutch plates, clutch actuation system, starting system.

I've had four different bikes over 80K each. One of those is a scooter (1960 Heinkel). The others were a 1979 BMW R65, a 1989 Honda CBR600, and my Monster.

13K is not a thing to worry about in real life.

PhilB

[65218]

+1 on not worrying about the mileage. I picked p a 09 696 with 77k miles- other than the fact that he lost a belt on it and trashed the verticle cylinder- I took the engine apart and found all the internal were in excelent condition. In general the US market uses bikes for toys, while the rest of the world uses them for regular transportation. Just think- why would people ever spend that much on an aircooled low hp bike if it fell apart after 10k miles? You could get a honda for 2/3 the price and everyone know how well their products hold up to the test of time.

Again, blue book means squat- the market on bikes fluctuates so much between regions and weather that it's not so cut and dry. Sell a bike in january in michigan and you'll lose money, wait till spring and it goes up >20%.

Finally- titles and salvage are the diference of a peice of paper. I've seen plenty of clean title vehicles that have been horribly wrecked and hastily repaired, and plenty of salvage vehicles that needed minor cosmetic corrections to be mint. If it had full coverage insurance- the companies don't like to repair bikes and just total them out even with minor damage. If it had liability only- people have been known to slap them back together with horrendous damage and sell them off, leaving you on a death trap. paper is not truth.

I got a salvaged S2r with bent forks- I measured out the rest of the frame and it is as straight as anything else ducati sent off the assembly line. $400 on e bay and It's got new forks and clamps. The rest of the bike is solid after I did all the maintainence. S even a wrecked salvage has potenial to be a great bike.

On anything used- if the owner doesn't hand you the service reciepts, figure in a valve adjustment and belts, oil/filter, brake and clutch flush.

Now for an 07 695. It should have a plastic tank that will not repair all that well, but, like the exhaust, stack parts are readily found on e bay and craigs list. In my opinion having riden an S2r and a 696, the newer chassis is lighter, with a tighter turning radius, and much more responsive. The older feels like someone put the pegs too far back on a harley, and the new one feels like a comfortable sport bike. So you might want to try a few out to see which version you like better before you dive into the money pit.