3 Things You Need to Do Before Selling a Motorcycle

For over 130 years, motorcycles have been present on our roads and daily lives. As they have changed throughout time, so has our interest in them.

People buy and sell motorcycles to get bigger, more powerful ones. Changing the riding style happens often. Riders then buy motorcycles in different categories. Other times, people flip motorcycles to make extra money.

Regardless of the reason for selling a motorcycle, there are important things to do beforehand. The guide below details them to help make sure you can list and sell your motorcycle with success.

1. Get the Motorcycle Documents Handy

Selling property always requires paperwork. Having this paperwork handy and ready to pass on will greatly help the seller. Buyers will be more confident in their decision to purchase from you when all the details are put together and readily available.

The motorcycle documents are a great reminder of valuable information that could help to sell the bike. Information about how incredibly inexpensive it is to register, upgrades, and mods that have been done, all help in the selling process. This information could help your sale tremendously as potential buyers will be more confident in your bike:

Motor Vehicle Paperwork

Paperwork that is required by the local motor vehicle department and to register and insure the bike must be readily available. It can be difficult to sell a motorcycle without them. Only niched interest groups like track riders or off-road riding could be interested in buying motorcycles without them. Even then, preference is almost always given to motorcycles with the right documentation.

Search how to sell a motorcycle with the government office of your province what they require for the sale of a vehicle to make sure there are no surprises in the future as they could differ. Some areas require sellers to notify the motor vehicle department of the title transfer. Others recommend this notification but don’t require it. Be sure to have this information ready before selling a motorcycle.

A bill of sale is required when buying property from a private party. Having this printed out and ready to use makes for one less thing you need to do later. Buyers are also less likely to leave a deal when everything, especially the bill of sale is ready to go. It’s easy to fill out the information, sign the paper, and complete the sale.

If you financed your motorcycle, you could still be able to sell it privately. The process for this is different and the buyer must also be aware that there is a lienholder still. Be sure to call the lien holder to find out what they require for this process. Having this information and conveying it along with confidence is essential for selling a motorcycle.

Service Record

Performed motorcycle maintenance like oil changes or winter prep at a shop? Got the bike serviced at the dealer? The paperwork for these services could help you land the sale.

The service record of a motorcycle is very valuable. It tells prospective buyers the mechanical history and care of the bike. Service records also offer new buyers peace of mind. This peace of mind translates into a confident decision.

If there are any issues on the bike, the service records can indicate whether or not it showed signs of trouble in the past. Buyers also know who and where to call should any problems show up in the future. They could also bring the bike to the same locations for future work since the shop or dealership is familiar with it.

All of this helps to build buyer confidence with the sale. This is crucial for consumers that buy from private sellers. It will help make your bike stand out above the other listings and could help you sell your bike faster.

2. Keep It Clean

They say you can’t judge a book by looking at the cover. However, when it comes to buying motorcycles and cars, the cover is a big factor for its sale. That’s why it’s important to make sure it’s clean before you even list a motorcycle for sale.

Keeping a motorcycle clean means many things. There’s the literal clean, which you can do by hosing it down with soap and water. There’s also the cosmetically clean, which may need some more elbow grease and time to do. Both of these are important to do before selling a motorcycle:

Fix-It Up

Imagine scrolling through motorcycle listings and seeing a couple of the one bikes you’re interested in. There’s one that looks like it came from the dealership! Maybe a couple of scratches here and there from normal use but nothing major. The next one has a broken headlight, a dent in the tank, and the taillight is out. Which one would you like to see?

If it’s not broken, it’s less likely to need fixing. This is an important thought for consumers looking to make any big purchase. The same is true when buyers are looking for motorcycles.

The springtime is a great time to sell a motorcycle. There’s higher demand and often an increase in prices because of it. If you waited to sell your bike in the spring make sure it’s clean and ready to go.

Bikes that have been hibernating in garages all winter could have a dead battery or may require a carb cleaning before starting up. Take the time to look into these and take it out for a ride to get the engine roaring and the oil flowing throughout. Should any issues present themselves here, you have time to look into them before listing it.

Minor Upgrades Have Major Impact

Take the time to clean up any cosmetic issues you can. Try to get rid of dents, broken mirrors, headlights that are out, or ripped seats. These may seem small but make a huge difference when it comes to selling your motorcycle. When people try to flip motorcycles to make extra money, sometimes all that’s needed to increase appeal on the bike is cleaning up cosmetic damages.

Investing in a quick headlight upgrade could make a huge difference as well. A simple head and taillight restorer could help brighten up the lights and make them look new. Consider switching the lights to LED bulbs for increased brightness and more visibility. Not only will there be buyer confidence but this could give riders more confidence on the road with the bike.

Pay attention to any other remaining visible damage on the bike during this time. They may go unnoticed during the day-to-day but rust, tar stains, and cracked rims will stand out to buyers. It’s important to either inform them upfront of these, remember what caused it should they ask, or try to get fix these issues beforehand.

Make It Shine

After you’ve fixed the cosmetic issues, clean it up! Get out the hose, buckets, soap, and water, to give it a good cleaning. If there is an accumulation of dead bugs, mud, or salt on the bike, you may need to invest in a cleaning product to loosen up the grime.

These cleaners soak into the debris to loosen them up. This helps lessen the need for scrubbing as this could end up scratching the bike. Be sure to use gentle sponges or microfiber cloths for this process.

Spend the extra time cleaning into the nooks and crannies to make it shine. Getting into the wheels, engine parts, and the tank will make your bike look showroom-ready. After it’s soaped, soaked, and rinsed, be sure to dry off the bike so there are no water stains.

Once the whole process is complete your bike will look as good as new! You’ll even hear the sparkle when you look at it. Be sure to take pictures afterward. These can be used when you list the bike for sale or if buyers ask for more photos of the bike, you’ll have them ready.

Consumers love instant gratification. Having a clean bike, in every sense of the word, that’s ready to go is very appealing. Buyers will only need to turn the key, twist the throttle, and enjoy the road on their new bike.

Off-Road Motorcycles Too

Dirt bikes and dual-sport bikes often see more mud, sticks, and gravel than bikes in other categories. Despite the beating they take, these bikes often have a higher resale value used than others. It’s important to follow these steps with them as well and make sure they’re clean and prepped before listing your used dirt bike.

Dirt bikes may not benefit so much from the drying process. The graphics and stickers on the body help to obscure water stains. Despite this, they are perhaps the ones that need the most care in washing as dirt, mud, and rocks could get inside due to how they’re ridden.

Look into what people look for in dirt bikes, or any category of bike you’re selling. Give special attention to those areas and interest points as buyers could be looking at those areas specifically.

3. Know Its Value

This is where you’ll need to have an honest conversation with yourself before selling the bike. Sometimes a bike is more valuable to the owner than its actual current resale value. Two major resources can help with this.

Kelly Blue Book is the most popular guide for market prices. So popular in fact, that the term “blue book value” comes from this. Searching for the year, make, and model of your motorcycle on the KBB website will give you an accurate figure to start.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, or NADA, also provides comprehensive and accurate pricing guides. Here you’ll find market values of popular and vintage motorcycles, boats and personal watercraft, ATVs, RV’s, and cars. Even electric motorcycles are on NADA and they’re fairly new to the market!

Aside from these, you should look at other listings of the same bike, or one in its category, on classifieds and online marketplaces. Cross-referencing the KBB or NADA figures with actual listings should give you an idea of what to price it at:

The Right Price Matters

Listing your bike at an appropriate range is crucial for generating interest. Listing it too high might deter buyers from even inquiring about it. Listing it too low and buyers might think there is something seriously wrong with the bike.

Remember all that paperwork you put together for the bike? Any aftermarket part or modification could factor into the price as well. Keep in mind that aftermarket parts are often less valuable than factory parts on the bike. Just because that exhaust mod was valuable to you, doesn’t mean it’s valuable to most buyers.

It’s good to have these figures handy though. There can be a lot of back and forth when negotiating the sale of the bike. Buyers will usually try to talk to you down from your listed sale price by a couple of figures. Knowing how much each part and job was worth could help you get closer to your sale price.

Selling a Motorcycle Today

Selling a motorcycle doesn’t have to be an unending chore. The silence from buyers, no-show appointments, and repeated information can dissuade sellers from listing their bikes.

All of that can be gone. By following this guide and having the paperwork handy, making sure it’s clean and ready to ride, and listing it at a good value, you won’t have the listing sit there for months.

In fact, with all of this, you may sell it even more quickly than anticipated! Nothing beats confidence and by following these steps, buyers will feel confident purchasing a bike from you. Contact us if you have interest or more questions about selling a motorcycle today!