86 VFR with 7000+ miles hitting $4000 on eBay

About 6 months ago, I advertised my 4000 mile perfect 86 VFR here for about $7,000 and took a lot of heat about it. Pundits said 86's are worth, say, $2400-3000 or so and I did not feel like arguing with people here I like well enough and know love their own 86 VFR's and post here so often. I have an 87 VFR700 and 94 as well, plus several other bikes. My point was that the 86's are very rare and in many ways best of breed. I like my 94 as well and its more comfortable and does a few things better, but I prefer the 86. As I said when I advertised mine here, 86's are rare and very nice ones are going to be worth over $7-8000 in a few years. eBay bidding on this one makes me feel vindicated, since its nowhere near as nice as mine. Check it out here:

Honda : Interceptor Honda : Interceptor | eBay


Gordon

 

I've seen nice ones go for 5K. If you want a nice one you have to pay... it will cost more than 5K to restore a junker to new condition. I sold my 1990 CBR1000F (18k miles) 7 years ago for $4400... ad was in 1 day, but it was really in showroom cond. and the buyer didn't haggle at all, but condition is everything.

 

I see the same type of thing on other bike forums. People over on the EX500 forums swear they can get them for $1500 all day long. I haven't seen any worth buying for that price. <shrug>

 

Agree. I find most forums and members who own bikes or cars on forums do not appreciate value of nicer ones. It took me years to ind my Moto Morini 3 1/2 in pristine condition or baby Guzzi and not cheap, but like said, it costs much more to restore than pay up unless you just want a driver.

Gordon

 

I think you're wrong. I think its people on the forums of whatever particular bike it is that are the ones who think they are worth more. Lets face it..you gotta be into these bikes..you gotta like Hondas, you gotta like old bikes..hell you gotta know what they are! Ask a kid about a 86 RWB vfr750 and he'll go "HUH??" Go to any bike night and ask a "biker" what he would pay for a 86 RWB vfr750 and he'd go "A WHAT??" These bikes are collectible to a select few and its all about love..not profit..love for old tired technology with many flaws and requires much attention and dedication just to make it thru one riding season still on the road. If you wanna pay $7k for a vfr750 and park it in your living room so be it..thats your choice. Personally I just dont see it and I own one.

 

It really depends on numerous factors. What something is worth to one person may not be worth something to another. If you post "X" bike for sale on ebay and there are 3 people with fond memories of the bike and they think it's worth the price they will bid. Post "X" bike 3 months later and no one is interested or has memories of the "X" bike or whatever and nobody bids.

I love VFR's of all shapes and sizes and appreciate them all. I am also cheap, married and have 3 kids so I look for the best deal. I would love an '86 VFR750 in pristine shape and would pay $5000 for a perfect example but......... I don't have money like that and the fact of the matter is I can find a good fuel injected bike with super low miles all day for that price. I also like aprilia's and Triumphs and Ducatis, etc., etc. and I can find a really nice bike for that price also.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Again, on every forum I'm on there are people on all sides of value and all with a host of reasons. Despite Obama's hatred of free markets, we can all agree that "the market" at any moment in time determines the immediate price ("spot price") of anything for sale. If there are only a portion of total market aware of a particular auction, their bidding and views and resources ($$$) will determine the spot price of the item. However, over time, prices move or trend according to the broad market's view of factors like desirability, condition, and rarity. Pristine Honda CB160's can fetch a surprisingly good price, because, though not really rare or ultra desirable, few are in pristine condition, so you can see prices for really good ones hit $3-4,000! 1968 Honda CB450 K1's are very rare and can hit almost $6,000 today in pristine condition. On and on. So, while value is in the eyes and pockets of beholders, there is intrinsic value in every item that can generally be assessed objectively. Right now, pristine low mile Ducati Paso's are moving up from $2000 a few years ago for a really nice one to $4,000+, because they are rare, beautiful -- Massimo Tamburioni-designed -- and perform well. I anticipate really nice ones will top $7,000 in a year or two. You get what I'm saying...

Gordon

 

I think the comments here are correct in the sense that the price range is dictated by a small group of people who know exactly what they're looking at during the specific time the bike is for sale. For example, just last week, there was a very nice 1985 VF1000R on eBay where the bidding was over $7K. It had a buy it now of $9K. Since I didn't "watch" the listing, I can't confirm, but I believe someone invoked the buy it now option at $9K because the listing disappeared before it was supposed to end. Prior to this listing, I've seen R's sell as high as $8K, but never higher. As time progresses, the bar is always being raised for pristine bikes. And again, most of these bikes are probably being bought by collectors who are NOT short on cash. If they find a perfect example of something that they want, I would imagine that they could care less whether they spent $7K or $9K for the bike.

 

Good comment. Saw same VF1000R go. Watching the mid-80's V4's. Agree entirely. I track a lot of bike auctions and see what they bring. I like lighter, smaller bikes more these days -- Honda CB350F's, VF500's, etc -- and check out all Honda's and Ducati's and other makes every day. Watching 1st gen MV Augusta 750's, also a Massimo design, as a slightly bigger bike I like a lot and think will not go down in value. Actually, VFR is heaviest bike I own out of 8 bikes. My Ducati's are all in low 400 pound range and it goes down from there... (At 63 I want to avoid "my Harley" falling over on me...)

Gordon

 

I dont know what vf1000r auctions you guys have been watching but Ive seen several lately and they were in the 3500 range..very nice bikes. All I know is my past experience is you ask a guy on here how much for a vfr750 its $2500..you find one someone set aside, could care less and its $300. In the past year ive personally bought 1 vfr750, 4 vfr700, 2 87 vfr700f2..thats 7 bikes for a total of $4500 so on average im paying a lil over $600 a bike. They're not near as rare as you think they are..i run across them all the time.

 

Yes, a good condition R will go in that price range. What we're talking about are the pristine, low mileage, showroom condition ones that show up only a handful of times a year. These bikes routinely go between $6K - $8K, most likely to collectors. The one from last week had bidding over $7K, but since the listing dropped off, I'm assuming that someone invoked the "Buy It Now" option which was set at $9K.

 

I think you'll find the word (rare) means different things, like a 1970 350 Honda was in no way rare, we had 30 in our small town in the 70s, they were one of Honda's biggest sellers. But book on a excellent cond. one is about $1600, try to buy a pristine one for that, $3 to $4K is average. I would think rare means more about condition for the age, rather than they only made a few. Truly rare (limited production) bikes would be like a NR750, RC30 and so on and prices reflect that.

 

If the auction ended with the buy it now option it would show it that way. The auction was pulled for one reason or another.

 

for the one that you posted the link to.. there are some things that would be deal breakers for me... the scuffs in the stickers ans well as the chips in the paint (if I was going to pay top dollar for one.. Also, there is a problem with the front end... the front fender looks "off" the seller doesn't give a head on picture of it and the angle that it is at the fender looks wrong.. top dollar bike? nah, I don't think so ... oh and the 86 wasn't a sport touring bike.... that comes later...

 

These bikes are not rare. A clean one is a bit difficult to find but it can be done. As far as asking top dollar or wanting top dollar you must have the sale in an auction to fetch it or you just look foolish.

 

Ah, while I love Pelosi comment and you have some nice VFR's, you seem to have no idea what "rare" means... It's okay as an opinion, but, assuming you are a conservative, it's somewhat embarrassing said as if your saying it makes it true.

My opinion, which is only based on my age (63) and many years of collecting bikes and cars and other things, combined with a lot of reading and study, and a career in finance, is that the 86 is rare.

At least we can agree on Pelosi!

Gordon

 

Not counting the one in my garage there are two others within a mile of my home. Needs to be closer to two in the county or two in the state for me to start thinking rare is the word to describe them.

 

Again, I apologize for teaching you, because I hate being pedantic. Arbitrary observations about there being 2 or more near you mean nothing whatsoever. Rather like mistaken assumptions about tossing a coin. You can toss it 10 times and have heads each time, but that does not mean probability is not even odds. Around 2-3000 86 VFR's were made. I forget exact number. So, they are quite rare in production numbers. Other rarities being solved cam drive issues via gears, most sport-oriented VFR, more horsepower than next several generations. Relationship to RC30 as road version, and on and on. However, I get bored easily. You may continue your observations and I hope they make you feel comfortably right in these being so common, ordinary, and not rare, certainly.

Gordon

 

I could tell for sure if I added it to my watch list, but it fell off the normal listing. Is there a way to pull up a listing after it has expired if you don't save it?

 

hmmm so the bike in question goes for $5k. Im sorry but that bike had an awful lot of wear on it for a 7k bike..im saying I can dial my speedo to say whatever. If I were a bettin man my money says that bike looks worse in person than it does in the pics..always does..its like online dating, they never look as good in person as they do online. IMO you just paid $5k for a polished $1500 bike.
Im with Toe..theres several in my town running around and several close by..some in salvage yards..they pop up pretty regular on CL for sale..I see motors on CL and daBay regular..they're around if you look hard enough. I agree the rarity is in condition but why have something you cant ride..$5k just proves theres a sucker born everyday.