Fair price 1500 Black out under 20K miles

[priest]

You can never have enough DRIFTERs!!!!

With great power comes great responsibility.

[pcarrell]

That turquoise can look kind of teal green in the right light,  http://www.kawasaki-customs.com/modeles-kawasaki/1500drifter-kawasaki-customs/1500drifter-2000-kawasaki-customs/bleue1-1500drifter-2000-kawasaki-customs/images/bleue1-1500drifter-2000-kawasaki-customs-6.jpg

[Troll]

Teal Green Blackout 1500 with under 20,000 miles in very good condition, I have been researching these and you can't go by the bluebook and the prices are all over the map, any opinions on what would be paying too much for this bike.

Thanks

Ok, let's get back on message. Teal green '99...no, they only came in deep Gooseberry. There was a turquoise  1500 in 2000, but Motorcycle Consumer News doesn't even list a 2000 1500 in their value guide, so there's probably not many around. Racemom91 had a green carbon fiber wrapped J model for sale, so it might be worth an email to her to see if she's still got it...

[pcarrell]

Man John, that's crazy!

We have programs like vanishing deductibles, where if you stay with the same company without a claim, your rate goes down and so does your deductible.  If you're with the same company for say, 10 years, and you have a claim all of a sudden, you could have a $0 deductible, so your repair is on the house!

[Troll]

Sounds to me like you should have a list of companies to apply to and change every year....

[John Hopkins]

Our insurance companies have a very different system, If you stay with the same company the price increases every year..there is a clause in all new policies that the company will use your credit or debit card number to automatically renew you insurance each year at an increased price unless you cancel it within seven days of the renewal notification..one problem the customer has is that during the year the insurance company will send several pages of advertising for other products such as house, contents, health, pet and other insurance products..at the time the renewal is due the notification is in with several other pages of advertising..Now because all insurance companies want new business they offer new customers discount instead of offering loyal customers discounts..

John.

[pcarrell]

That's rockin'!

[Troll]

They fluctuate slightly from year to year, but only slightly.  If you stay with the same company for a few years then the fluctuation will almost always be in a downward direction.  If you have your home or other vehicles through the same company, it gets even cheaper.  I think I paid just under $200USD for a year on my Drifter this year.

When I got my bill for this year's coverage, I was surprised to discover it had gone down about $20 from last year. Same coverage, the maximum I can get, with towing, and trip interruption, accessories, the whole thing, and no deductible this year...$185 to cover BOTH BIKES.......I've been waiting for them to send a "correction" notice, but it's been a couple of months, so I guess I'm good....

[pcarrell]

I don't know if you have the same problems in the USA as we do in Britain but our insurance companies change their prices each year, last year I insured three motorcycles for the price of one this year, so this year I only insured my drifter.. I love riding the Drifter but I need to ride the other bikes as well, so this year I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay whatever they ask..

John.

They fluctuate slightly from year to year, but only slightly.  If you stay with the same company for a few years then the fluctuation will almost always be in a downward direction.  If you have your home or other vehicles through the same company, it gets even cheaper.  I think I paid just under $200USD for a year on my Drifter this year.

[John Hopkins]

I don't know if you have the same problems in the USA as we do in Britain but our insurance companies change their prices each year, last year I insured three motorcycles for the price of one this year, so this year I only insured my drifter.. I love riding the Drifter but I need to ride the other bikes as well, so this year I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay whatever they ask..

John.

[Troll]

If I could get away with it, I'd add an 800 (Scout) to my 1500 (Chief) fleet, right along side my W-650 Cafe' and then I'd need a W-800...and maybe a 900 Ninja....and and and..

[greenbarn]

I'm actually thinking about selling my 900 classic in order to buy a second. Am I losing my mind?

Nope, Zig, just getting smarter....    Nothing wrong with 2 drifters....

[pcarrell]

I'm actually thinking about selling my 900 classic in order to buy a second. Am I losing my mind?

Gaining piece of mind I'd say!

[zig]

If I had the money and the room, I'd be buying them up like hotcakes.

I'm actually thinking about selling my 900 classic in order to buy a second. Am I losing my mind?

[DC]

If I had the money and the room, I'd be buying them up like hotcakes.

[John Hopkins]

I'm not even in your country  but I think this would be a great time to buy a 1500, the Polaris Indians are starting to sell and there will be trade ins, the Indian dealers will not want a trade in Drifter on the shop floor so they will off load them..I've seen the new Indians on the road and although they tweak my nostalgic feelings I think they would lose in an endurance ride against a Drifter..Shop around for the best deal and think about this, If the bike is for sale it is because the owner wants to get rid of it, so it is likely they will drop the price for a no hassle quick sale..

John.

[greenbarn]

Last fall when I bought my 1500, I had done lots of shopping on CL and Ebay, looking all over most of the US.  The great majority of bikes I saw at that time were listed (asking) for $4500-6000.  You'll see a few for less and quite a few for more.  I won't say that $6000 -8000 is too much for a Drifter - because if somebody thinks theirs is worth that, and they can get it, then that's great - but there are a lot (or at least there were) listed in the 45-6000 range.  Searchtempest.com is a good tool.

I was looking for a bike with as many of the "major" (expensive) accessories that I wanted on it - Corbin 2-up, Roadhouse exhaust, folding passenger boards, windshield, bags.    Found one 40 miles from me for a price at the bottom of the above-mentioned range, so I thought I had found a good deal.  And it had my "target" mileage - 20K.

Like PC said, consider how much you'll have to spend to add the stuff you want, when you figure the price.  The blacked out ones are harder to find, but not impossible. 

[zig]

You can check ebay and cycletrader to get an idea on prices. Like you said, prices are scattered. I've had my eye on one in Beaumont for 4500 but there's a 2003 in the Dallas craigslist for 6800.

[pcarrell]

First off, welcome to the forum!

The number of options is really important to the final $ figure.  Blackout bikes are getting REALLY hard to find optional parts for.  In fact, it's so hard that a lot of folks are buying chrome parts and having them stripped and powder coated in order to get their black parts.

So, you're looking at a teal colored one?  Is it the 2000 model then, or has this been custom painted?

I'll give you a starting point........I bought my 2001 1500 in 2008 with 18,000 miles on it.  Now that is a while ago, but the economy was already falling pretty fast by the end of November when I bought it.  My bike came with nice, though a bit tired looking saddle bags, the saddle bag struts and loops, a Nomad style windshield, Vance & Hines Longshot exhaust, the stock solo seat, and a Fire & Steel Corbin 2up seat with all the hardware to mount it (affectionately known as "the horseshoe").  I paid $5000 and I had to drive from Indianapolis, IN to Chicago, IL to get it.  The miles were a bit higher then what I was hoping for, but the extras made it well worth it!

[Jeff]

Teal Green Blackout 1500 with under 20,000 miles in very good condition, I have been researching these and you can't go by the bluebook and the prices are all over the map, any opinions on what would be paying too much for this bike.

Thanks