Starting Your Vintage Bike Search Part 1 - eBay

I'm not a huge fan of eBay mostly because bidding takes you out of the person to person negotiation and into a war with bidding strangers. Seems like that drives prices above what you see in classifieds from private sellers. Here are some points of note and help:

1.    There are always vintage motorcycles on eBay, and I’d recommend against spending money on anything that’s far enough away to involve shipping costs. If you’re looking – like I was – for something that needed me (I mean needed work) it’s a cheap bike that may not run and shipping eats into the budget. I’d rather shop locally and spend the extra money on the project than whizzing it away on shipping. Obviously you can limit your eBay searches to local items – or local enough that you can go and look at them before the auction close, or close enough that you can more easily pick them up with a truck or cargo van or whatever.
2.    I don’t like that you’re sometimes bidding against phantoms on eBay. In the past I have ‘finished second’ on a couple of auctions and was contacted by the buyer since the winning bidder was a flake. Well, the winning bidder pushed up the price with no apparent intention of buying. Could that have been a co-conspirator of the seller i.e. a “shill bidder” that just bid up the price to help out a friend? Bottom line, I think that pricing of dusty old non-functional bikes is often higher on eBay for whatever reason; I prefer finding somebody selling locally. Maybe you’ll prove me wrong and find a really good deal.
3.    Search advice for eBay – If you do want to pursue the eBay route, do factor in any added costs like shipping. Beyond that, it pays to set up a standard search and have eBay mail to let you know something should be on your radar. Here’s an example of a “Saved Search” process that will get you an e-mail every time a Yamaha XS750 gets listed on eBay:
•    Got to eBay Motors at http://www.motors.ebay.com/
•    Type in which motorcycle you’re looking for in the main search box at the top, and make sure to hit the drop down box to the right and change the default from “All of ebay motors” to “Motorcycles”.
•    Here’s a good search hint to keep you from having to do repeated searches. Let’s say you’re interested in a Yamaha XS750 or XS850. You don’t get to type “I want this or this” in the search box BUT you CAN tell eBay OR like this in the search box:
•    Yamaha XS (750,850)
•    When you put the parentheses around these two items – 750 and 850 – and separate them with a comma you get an OR search. (750,850) = 750 or 850  -- (650,750,850) = 650 or 750 or 850

•    Once you get your search results page, you can add other things to your search like “no more than x miles from zip” to keep the distance manageable.
•    “Refine” search will also keep out the results that are out of your price range. So if some nut job thinks they have a 30 year old XS850 that’s worth $5k, you don’t need to hear about it.
•    After you get your search the way you like it, click the “Save this Search” link to sign up for regular e-mail letting you know that your dream bike has arrived!

Happy searching on eBay. Next time my personal favorite - craigslist - with some excellent search tips and tools.

Knockout! Here's an Important Lesson for the Garage Jockey

Now I haven’t gotten to one of the really important parts of owning a vintage motorcycle. Let me start by saying that the weekend after I bought mine, I mowed the lawn, planted 5 new rose bushes (double knockouts), transplanted the hydrangeas, and put up some garage shelving.

You should be getting the message by now; don’t neglect the other important things in your life – like your significant other if you are so blessed. Or your family or friends. The bike will still be in the garage tomorrow and the next day, but relationships need attention to keep them going. I'm definitely guilty of getting a bit obsessed about a fun project vs the others things that are necessary, but not so fun. I guess the key word that we hear a lot these days is balance. It really does seem like most things work better in moderation.

That’s probably enough on that topic. Next time let’s plan to talk about the hunt for the perfect motorcycle – or at least something close enough to it to make you happy!

Resources and Research - Before the Yamaha XS Buy

I truly believe that the single greatest thing about the Internet is it's ability to bring communities from around the world together for some common good. (Too bad it works for evil, too.) In this case, the common good is your prospective good old motorcycle! Before I went to look at the Yamaha XS750, I scoured the web for forums devoted to:

• Vintage Japanese motorcycles
• Forums specific to Yamaha motorcycles
• And most importantly, forums specific to the motorcycle you're going to look at/buy!

It's easy enough to do, and so worth signing up to gain decades of advice from people who ride and wrench on these old motorcycles. I can't begin to tell you the number of things that these folks have experienced first hand and are all too happy to share with you on your vintage journey. Some of my favorites for the Yamaha XS750 and XS850 are:

1. The Yamaha Triples Web Community -Awesome resources and great group of folks here.
2. The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Owners Group - More general, but still useful
3. Simon's XS750E Rebuild Site - Simon rebuilt his XS from the ground up and documents it here
4. Marshall Ringler's XS100 Site - Marshall has been kind enough to post non-1100 related service manuals and owner's manuals that can otherwise be hard to find our outrageously expensive.

 

You can certainly look for more. One personal peeve - the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club looks interesting but you have to fork over $30 a year if you want to be a member. Heck, I only paid $400 for the bike, man! I'd like if they'd at least offer something less expensive for web only access - and skip the magazine.  I think that's enough for today. Go do some Google searching!

Things To Think About First - Before You Buy Something

I did get some really great advice from a friend - let's call him Master Julian. While Julian is clearly not 100% upstairs, you do recognize wisdom when you hear it spoken so plainly. Master Julian say, "if you're going to go look at motorcycle, you're probably going to buy it. So do your homework and understand the likely trouble-spots." Brilliant! So take this to heart! 

Those old Yamaha XS750s have a notoriously funny second gear! It's all over the web! And they have a problem with those vacuum actuated gas tank valves (petcocks). And if the old bike is missing body parts like side covers or fenders - well - old bike parts can be challenging to find. And since MANY old bikes will be, "the project I don't have time to finish" - parts may be scattered and not all there. 

So even if you do end up buying the bike, know the places where you'll be able to look for bargaining points. Of course I'm leaving out all the standard mechanical advice that anyone should be thinking about, but that I'm not smart enough to recount here.