I've got to bitch! I look at the Mpls, MN Craigslist for motorcycles, every day. I can't believe what I see there. Who are these people that list their motorcycles for sale? Do they even know anything about the bikes they're trying to sell?
Here's a few suggestions....
1. Use a spell-checker. Nothing says, "this bike was owned and maintained by an idiot", more than someone who can't spell. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but you could, at the very least, try to spell the MAKE of your motorcycle correctly. It's on the gas tank, copy it down!
2. Use pictures. I want to see what condition the bike is in, so post the allowed 4 pictures. Used clear, in-focus pictures, not some crappy cell phone camera pics!
3. Describe the bike. Year, make, model, mileage, condition, are a must, but you can even go further, and list specific things such as tires, accessories. Do your homework. If you don't know what year your bike is, it makes me wonder what else you don't know about, like changing the oil, or using a clutch.
4. Price, I don't want to see... "make an offer"....We all know what that means, you're just fishing, and you have no real intention to sell the bike. If you're not sure what the price should be, do a little research, look at similar listings on craigslist, use kbb. com, see what the dealers are selling it for. Don't think that just because you spent $4,000.00 on chrome that your price should be $4,000.00 more than someone else's identical bike!
5. Title, this is a huge gripe for me. If you're trying to sell a motorcycle that could be licensed and driven on the street, PLEASE have a title to go with the bike! At least this guy has a clue. This was taken from today's craigslist... I didn't change the punctuation or capitalization in the ad. They must think that the first word in every line should be capitalized. This is the way it was posted...
_____________________________________________________________________
"1993 FZR600R Parts Bike - $499"
"We dont have a Title for the Bike,It isnt in our name and dont know
Who its registered to We can write up a bill of sale.14,000 miles
Have the key dont know if it runs or drives.Looks like a honda tank
Is on the bike Thanks for looking And have a great day."
____________________________________________________________________
If you own the motorcycle, and you've lost your title, you can get a duplicate title from the state. If you try and sell a working street bike without a title, it looks as if you don't own it. A "bill of sale" will only get a person so far when they try to register a motorcycle that was purchased without a title.
Also, it would be nice to know if you still owe someone for the motorcycle you're selling. If you still owe a bank or lender money, and I buy your motorcycle, and you don't pay off your loan... I may never get a title and true ownership. Try to be honest about it.
6. Lets not forget, please don't use all capital letters like this clown did... I took out his phone number and web site url. All caps makes it hard to read.
_____________________________________________________________________________
"HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO GET THE STREET GLIDE OF YOUR DREAMS AT A SEASON BLOW OUT WITH ONLY 10,000 MILES!!! LOTS OF EXTRAS FROM CHROME FORKS, RHINEHARTS TRUE DUAL, K&N AIR INTAKE, POWER COMMANDER, DYNO TUNED, STAGE 1 KIT, CHROME CONTROL COVERS AND CHROME LEVERS, AFTERMARKET BLACK-CHROME SPOKE 21" WHEEL FRONT-18" REAR ($1,999) 2-WINDSHIELDS, HARLEY STORAGE COVER, LED ACCENT LIGHTS (BLUE) LEATHER HARD BAG COVERS, QUICK DETACH REAR BACK REST WITH LUGGAGE RACK ($350) CUSTOM HEADLIGHT BEZEL, ALL LIGHTS HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO CLEAR SMOKED, WITH INTEGRATED TURN SIGNALS IN REAR, HIDDEN ANTENNA, CHROME WINDSHIELD STRIP, TOO MANY EXTRAS TO LIST.....THIS BIKE HAS OVER $5,000 IN EXTRAS ADDED....CALL AND ASK FOR BRAD AT 612. WE HAVE FINANCING AND EXTENDED WARRANTIES AVAILABLE."
______________________________________________________________________________
Sorry, I just had to get this out in the open!
Added, 1-31-2011... OK, Here's another example of how not to list your motorcycle on Craigslist.... cut and pasted direct from Craigslist. ______________________________________________________________________________
05 suzki 800 - $800
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Date: 2011-01-29, 4:48PM EST
Reply to: sale-77rbe-2187197727@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
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05 suzki run good and it a lt 80 and it gotlots of new parts call or tex 937 725 9345 _______________________________________________________________________________
Unbelieveable!!!!! suzki???
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Non-motorcycle trip to the North Woods....
I'm pretty sure the riding season is over, but I still want to add to the blog. Yesterday, 11-20-10, Nancy and I decided to take a road trip up north. She has been looking at real estate in northern WI, so we thought we'd drive up to see a few houses. 4 hours later we stopped in Cornucopia, WI to check out this place..
It's a very nice, but there is no garage or basement, and it's kind of at the higher end of my price range.
We toured the town a little, grabbed a cup of coffee. and stopped to look at Lake Superior.
After Cornucopia, we headed for Washburn, then towards Ashland, and down towards Hayward. I wanted to drive by another place that is for sale. This one is more affordable, and has a 2 car garage, with room on the lot for another garage if needed, but still no basement.
My sister, Kathy, had told me that she was planning to be at her cabin this weekend, so we thought we'd stop in and say hello. We got there around 4:30, just as she was unpacking the car. We helped her unpack and then went to Karibalis' Restaurant in Hayward. After a nice meal and a long chat, we went back to the cabin and I started a fire in the wood stove for her.
We should have been home about 2 and a half hours after we left Hayward, but things didn't work out so well. About the time we got to Roberts, WI on I-94, it was sleeting. The road was a sheet of ice. We got to sit in traffic for a while in Hudson and stare at this jack-knifed semi. It was blocking all 3 lanes of traffic, and was right at the start of the exit ramp we needed to take.
There is a car under the semi trailer, just to the right of the fireman. The EMS crew took a person out of the car and put them in an ambulance. I hope they're ok!
It took us until 1:15 to get home. I had to drive the back roads at 15 mph.
It's a very nice, but there is no garage or basement, and it's kind of at the higher end of my price range.
We toured the town a little, grabbed a cup of coffee. and stopped to look at Lake Superior.
After Cornucopia, we headed for Washburn, then towards Ashland, and down towards Hayward. I wanted to drive by another place that is for sale. This one is more affordable, and has a 2 car garage, with room on the lot for another garage if needed, but still no basement.
My sister, Kathy, had told me that she was planning to be at her cabin this weekend, so we thought we'd stop in and say hello. We got there around 4:30, just as she was unpacking the car. We helped her unpack and then went to Karibalis' Restaurant in Hayward. After a nice meal and a long chat, we went back to the cabin and I started a fire in the wood stove for her.
We should have been home about 2 and a half hours after we left Hayward, but things didn't work out so well. About the time we got to Roberts, WI on I-94, it was sleeting. The road was a sheet of ice. We got to sit in traffic for a while in Hudson and stare at this jack-knifed semi. It was blocking all 3 lanes of traffic, and was right at the start of the exit ramp we needed to take.
There is a car under the semi trailer, just to the right of the fireman. The EMS crew took a person out of the car and put them in an ambulance. I hope they're ok!
It took us until 1:15 to get home. I had to drive the back roads at 15 mph.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
End of the Year Mileage
I didn't record the yearly starting or ending mileages in my blogs, so the mileage is based on service records.
Mileage for the year.
Zx-14 = 10,000 with 8586 miles on the PR2's
FJR = 1,750 with 1805 miles on the Roadsmarts
Ending mileage for the 2010 season.
2009 Zx-14.....16,788
2006 FJR........25,145
2001 Sherpa.....7,077
I have to think about selling the FJR in the spring. I just don't put the milage on it like I used too. I can't justify keeping it. It's too bad, the cost of the insurance is so much less on the FJR compaired to the Zx-14.
The first time I rode the Zx on a longer ride, I thought that if it had hard bags It wold be the perfect long distance, sport-touring machine. Hard bags are available for it. They can even have a color matched insert on them. This bag is shown on a Kawasaki Versys, but it's the same bag I could mount on the Zx-14. Maybe if I get a tax refund this year......
I've also been thinking of selling the 2001 Super Sherpa. I don't drive on gravel as much as I'd like to. But I'm not sure. It's cheap to insure and a blast to ride even on the asphalt! It doesn't take up much space and runs really good...... Maybe I should keep it.
Mileage for the year.
Zx-14 = 10,000 with 8586 miles on the PR2's
FJR = 1,750 with 1805 miles on the Roadsmarts
Ending mileage for the 2010 season.
2009 Zx-14.....16,788
2006 FJR........25,145
2001 Sherpa.....7,077
I have to think about selling the FJR in the spring. I just don't put the milage on it like I used too. I can't justify keeping it. It's too bad, the cost of the insurance is so much less on the FJR compaired to the Zx-14.
The first time I rode the Zx on a longer ride, I thought that if it had hard bags It wold be the perfect long distance, sport-touring machine. Hard bags are available for it. They can even have a color matched insert on them. This bag is shown on a Kawasaki Versys, but it's the same bag I could mount on the Zx-14. Maybe if I get a tax refund this year......
I've also been thinking of selling the 2001 Super Sherpa. I don't drive on gravel as much as I'd like to. But I'm not sure. It's cheap to insure and a blast to ride even on the asphalt! It doesn't take up much space and runs really good...... Maybe I should keep it.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Look at this Stuff!!!!!!
Since Thursday, the TV weather man has been talking snow, like end of the world, snow of Biblical proportions kinda of thing... Today, Saturday, 11-13-10, I woke up to this...
The city has even thought to drop a load of salt-sand down the street. It's only 33 degrees out. It will melt.
I think I hear Frank Sinatra singing, "and now, the end is near..."
The city has even thought to drop a load of salt-sand down the street. It's only 33 degrees out. It will melt.
I think I hear Frank Sinatra singing, "and now, the end is near..."
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Late Season Ride
Today, I took the Zx-14 out for what may turn out to be the last ride of the season. I went out on Sunday, the 7th, with John. It was nearly 70 degrees that day. I even got a 90 mile ride in on the Super Sherpa on Monday. The weather forecast for the next 7 days is for highs around 40 degrees.
My 2001 Kawasaki Super Sherpa KL-250 G-5.
I rode out to Plum City on Hwy. 10, then took county roads, U, S, and D, and smaller township roads, such as Holden, Sunny Brook, and Vosker. I put on a total of 115 miles today.
In Plum City, the Christmas decorations are already up at the trout pond.
I stopped on county road D. Now that the corn is gone, you can see a long way into the valley below.
I stopped along Holden road to look down in the deep ravine, just beyond where I took this picture....
some animals have done a nice job of cleaning up a road kill deer.
There were a lot of deer out today. At 3 different locations I had them run across the road just a ways ahead of me.
I hope I can still get a few more rides in before the snow comes. I have put Sta-bil in the gas and topped off the gas tanks. I've wired each bike with a lead for the Battery-Tender, and put a new battery in the Super Sherpa. If I had to stop riding, the bikes would be ready for winter. I would just need to change oil in them first though.
My 2001 Kawasaki Super Sherpa KL-250 G-5.
I rode out to Plum City on Hwy. 10, then took county roads, U, S, and D, and smaller township roads, such as Holden, Sunny Brook, and Vosker. I put on a total of 115 miles today.
In Plum City, the Christmas decorations are already up at the trout pond.
I stopped on county road D. Now that the corn is gone, you can see a long way into the valley below.
I stopped along Holden road to look down in the deep ravine, just beyond where I took this picture....
some animals have done a nice job of cleaning up a road kill deer.
There were a lot of deer out today. At 3 different locations I had them run across the road just a ways ahead of me.
I hope I can still get a few more rides in before the snow comes. I have put Sta-bil in the gas and topped off the gas tanks. I've wired each bike with a lead for the Battery-Tender, and put a new battery in the Super Sherpa. If I had to stop riding, the bikes would be ready for winter. I would just need to change oil in them first though.
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