900F market?

Twinstar Joined: Jul 14, 2003 Posts: 229 Location: Montana

Thinking hard about selling my 82 900F. I only have time, room and money for one bike and I really could use something that does two-up a little better with better weather protection. I love this bike, though, so I'm a little torn.

Anyway, if I decide to sell, what are these things worth now? I know it's all subjective but I never see them out here in God's country so I'm not sure where to start. I sold her a few years ago for $1500-ish, but then bought her back and I've done all kinds of work to her since then, and IMHO it's a way better machine now then it was then. Plus I've got a few small upgrades on the bike, extra parts, and extra bodywork.

So, any thoughts to help a brother out?

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:59 am

Steve,

A PHOTO or two would certainly help members provide more accurate input.

And you KNOW how we all like to see pix of our favorite bikes. Smile

.

Ricardo

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:33 am

Clean/clear title in hand?
Is it running well?

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:44 pm

Stock paint, decals, and OEM exhaust will heavily impact value. As Ricardo said, some pics will help a lot.

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:35 pm

We are going to find out, planning to list two for sale in the next week to focus on the 985/1100's in the garage. I'm thinking $3500 for the black one and $4200 for the silver one will be the initial Craigslist prices, on eBay start them at $3100 and $3800 with no reserve and see where the buyers are. I'll post links in For Sale when they go live somewhere but they are two very clean veterans of the NE rides (if you click on a picture you can see a full album of the hi-res photos).

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:18 pm

Good luck with the sale(s)!! Tom and I got great money for ours, and your asking a lot less than I got. I've seen both of these bikes and they are in really nice shape.

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:35 pm

tomk1960 wrote:

Stock paint, decals, and OEM exhaust will heavily impact value.

Collectors like them as close to original as possible and definitely want the big ticket items mentioned above. Small ticket items like original handlebars, turn signals, mirrors and the stock air box will also help in a sale.

Just my amateur opinion...

Twinstar Joined: Jul 14, 2003 Posts: 229 Location: Montana

I won't see the sun for a few days, so I took these at a gas station tonight after work.
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It's a little nerdy looking, yeah, but I commute on it so I get a lot of use out of the storage and the screen works pretty well. The exhaust discoloration is superficial. A few small nicks, the worst is on the tailpiece under the top box. The rack is a Hondaline but cracked in the same spot on both sides, so I put it together with some epoxy and Fiberfix until another is found. I do have the backrest for it, wihch is in very good shape. The Corbin also has a backrest. The tank emblem is a badge, not a decal, I know it's not correct but I think it looks nicer. 140mph speedo on it. Lots of other parts and a complete set of silver bodywork, too, needs paint but it's all straight and complete.

Suggestions?

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 11:20 am

Cannot give any estimate but I still think it is good looking.

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:57 pm

With the other bodywork and not knowing the mileage i would guesstimate $2750 would be a good Craigslist ask.

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 2:13 pm

Keep it.

A friend of mine is going to turn one million miles on his one-owner 1975 Goldwing.

He's thinking of repainting it since it's finally broken in.

Hawk Joined: Jul 21, 2015 Posts: 509 Location: Norway

i'd keep it as well. will it do any thing but rise in value if stored well?

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 4:17 pm

Honestly, the 900F is a decent bike but its not great by any means. Its never going to cross the block like a Indian 8-valve and its biggest problem is that they made the 1100F. I built the shit out of my 900F and my pretty much stock 1100F put it to shame. In great shape you have maybe a 5K bike and in the run of the mill shape most of these bikes are, 1-3K. You want to buy/collect a 1982 bike, check out the Ducati 900SS. I get that there seems to be some emotional attachment to these bikes for some or you guys, but these are not and never will be highly sought after collectors bikes.

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 6:36 pm

You couldn't give an Indian away in the 60s and 70s. I used to see them in the newspaper classifieds all the time back then. A 900f will not be worth much in our lifetime but someday they will be. They will not be a 120,000 dollar Indian board track racer but they will be in the teens somewhere. Till then, why sell it? It is a fun bike and handles great! Sell it and you've got 3 to 4,000 in your hand which will be spent quickly. I was at a large bike shop, Fox Powersports, yesterday and could not believe the price of cycles now. Some as high as 24,000. Nothing cheaper then 5,000 for a 250. I am glad I kept my 900 all these years. Great bike!!

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 8:18 pm

If you're buying/riding these bikes with the expectation of making money, it's just not going to happen for the average guy. Someone like Darren is able to fill the "high end" niche (and kudos to him for doing so!), but even doing most of the work personally, you spend too much money on parts to be able to make a significant profit. The situation may change in the future, but that's the reality, currently.

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:24 pm

Greg, I haven't been in a bike shop for years, last one was Peter Stevens big Harley dealer here and I couldn't get my head around the $40/50,000 Harleys lined up in rows. Somebody must be buying them

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:34 am

People aren't buying them like they used to. (Harley) Sales are off about 15% with no recovery in sight, the factories are laying off their workers.

One of my best friends is trying to sell his 3 year old Road Glide Ultra, all he's getting is ridiculous lowball offers. He decided the Harley thing's not his bag after all (no shit Sherlock) but told me yesterday it's going to cost a lot to get out of this bike and into something else.

Side note: him and I were riding one day recently and ended up talking to some dude with a top-of the-line Harley trike ($50K or so). The thing was noticably lower on one side, as seen from the rear. A difference of about an inch. My friend mentioned it and the guy said he'd been to the dealer to get that looked at, they told him "don't worry about a thing, we measured it and it's within tolerance". Are you fucking kidding me?

To Michael's point, I wish I'd bought a few Ducati 900SS's (or similar) 20 years ago, they weren't bringing anything at the time. That train has officially left the station as far as I can tell. Prices are obscene on almost anything Ducati, and they're not even all that nice to ride.

Just my (possibly somewhat biased) 2 cents worth,

Toonces

Toonces

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:55 am

Well, you know, people can spend their own money on whatever they want and that makes the world go round. My bike and the upgrades over the years have kept a smile on my face. It has actually been pretty cheap fun for 36 years. I've always wanted an Indian board track racer and should have bought one in the early nineties when they were going for 20,000.

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:03 am

cliffiec wrote:

If you're buying/riding these bikes with the expectation of making money, it's just not going to happen for the average guy. Someone like Darren is able to fill the "high end" niche (and kudos to him for doing so!), but even doing most of the work personally, you spend too much money on parts to be able to make a significant profit. The situation may change in the future, but that's the reality, currently.

So true, you are going to pay $1500-$3000 for a decent running 900f, more for a bike with original paint and exhaust, less if not stock or needing paint. Mine are all ridden so they get the following maintenance before being placed in service:

$150 - TrueDisk brake rotor resurfacing
$225 - caliper/MC rebuild kits and new pads
$200 - stainless steel brake lines (I like vintage black from Spiegler for the OE look)
$200 - new sprockets and x-ring chain
$200 - new front/rear tires

These are the just the safety items so there is another US$1000 in parts expense just to make it an up-to-date safe ride, then you can add some items like an AGM battery, rebuilding the carbs, rebuilding the forks, new rear wheel dampers, ignition system upgrades and so on. Stay away from bikes not likely to run, have rusted fork tubes, or at least pay at low end of the price range, they are more likely to be a money pit than a bike that has been carefully maintained during the past 10 years.

I always get a chuckle over those that believe they can plunk down $1500 for a 900f (or $2500 for an 1100f) and think the spending is done, there is a cost to be paid to ride a 35 year old bike so you had better enjoy owning a classic ride that stands out from the crowd because then it is worth it.

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:32 pm

Your bikes are a deal Rick. I am sure you have them up to snuff and properly tuned, ready to go. I always feel that even some of these extreme low milage, almost new that are listed will need to be gone through at an extra grand or so.

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:47 pm

SteveM wrote:

Suggestions?

A very nice bike, I would remove the top case and sell it separately, on the bike it adds very little value to most buyers. I would start a bit higher, perhaps in the $3000-3300 range depending on the mileage.

Then there is that problem of your location, too bad bison and grizzlies don't ride.

Twinstar Joined: Jul 14, 2003 Posts: 229 Location: Montana

sillygoose wrote:

SteveM wrote:

Suggestions?

A very nice bike, I would remove the top case and sell it separately, on the bike it adds very little value to most buyers. I would start a bit higher, perhaps in the $3000-3300 range depending on the mileage.

Then there is that problem of your location, too bad bison and grizzlies don't ride.

LOL ... yeah, more animals here than people. Most of us like it that way, though. I'm keeping the box, so at some point if I decide to sell I'll just put the grab bars back on and put the attach the backrest for the Corbin. If I sell, that is. Still torn.