Cafe Racer pricing in todays economy

Skitzo

Skitzo

New Member
What's everyone's take on custom built Cafe racers and the price they should be going for with the new craze going on?

I'm testing the water on mine currently and I'm getting mixed feedback saying it's way overpriced and then that it's a decent price and I should stick with it. So I'm just curious what do you all think?

I've been seeing some really not so well built one's going for 5k- 7k and some that are pretty well done for 3k. I know it depends on the model of bike and engine size, so I suppose we'll just talk averages here.

Anyway, from the few tire kickers that have come in to see mine they really like it, albeit not perfect in anyway (the bike is 30 years old and some parts can not be replaced with new). Therefore I'm curious on where cafe's stand with regards to the prices we see on Craigslist and eBay.
 
Looks nice and like you've modified it quite a bit, but it's still a CX. 5 grand is really high. Right now toys are cheap because of the economy. People are selling of there stuff to pay bills. Do take this the wrong way but that is maybe a 1500 to 2000 piece IMO.
 
It's hard to say on a CX, but prices are def inflated since you're in Cali. I'd look for similar bikes that have SOLD (not just listed) on eBay. (Advanced search -> completed auctions only)
 
Cali is it's own world, but here in NC, you'd be hard pressed to get more than about $2500 for it...
 
cyclhed said:
Looks nice and like you've modified it quite a bit, but it's still a CX. 5 grand is really high. Right now toys are cheap because of the economy. People are selling of there stuff to pay bills. Do take this the wrong way but that is maybe a 1500 to 2000 piece IMO.
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Not taken the wrong way at all, I understand completely what you're sayin'. Kinda why I wanted to get a feel for what those in the know think. Thanks for the input.

66replica said:
It's hard to say on a CX, but prices are def inflated since you're in Cali. I'd look for similar bikes that have SOLD (not just listed) on eBay. (Advanced search -> completed auctions only)
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That's exactly why I started it at 5k. One listing (in Australia) ended the day I listed this one and sold for 5k and I saw another on CL (forget what state) that was listed for 4500. In Cali, anything goes, some have money to burn here, but like Cyclhed wrote most are indeed selling their toys to pay bills.
 
Just to add my .02$, in Florida/Georgia, you have a lot, and I mean A LOT of overpriced bikes that are faaaaaaarrrrrrr worse off than yours is. It's looks very nicely done, paint looks good, I'm assuming it runs, brakes, turns, lights work, etc. Down here, for every 100 bikes listed, 80 of them are HD's that someones wife is making them sell because they bought it going through their mid-life crisis, 10-15 are crotch rockets that need to be sold because of speeding tickets/wrecks/blown engines, and 5-10 are vintage bikes. Out of that 5-10, half of them are complete basket cases parts missing etc. and if you're lucky 2-5 are complete, and 1 MIGHT run. That being said, about 80% of them, overall, are listed at about 150% of face value for the condition/miles/parts missing etc. Vintage jap bikes are still reasonable, british bikes, absolute max blue book no matter what, and if it says Harley-Davidson on the side, it'll be put up, and bought :( for a good 25-50% more than it's actually worth. Thank you Daytona/bike week/biketoberfest.

All that being said, that bike, here in Florida, would probably go about the 3-3500 range quickly. 4,000 might sell, but would take a few "tire kickers" until someone who really wants it for what it is comes along. At any rate, good luck selling it!
 
very cool input Jewwy ;) Thanks much and yep, she runs great and everything works 8) Fun to ride, by no means fast, but fun. Especially when everyone's rubber neckin and asking me what the hell it is, lol
 
5 grand? For fuck's sake, really? I mean no disrespect, but how much did you pay for it? And how much went into it? Now take how much it cost to mod it, divide by three and add to original price. I wouldn't pay more than $2000 if I were in the market. I loathe how every bike with clubmans and a 'cafe' seat is suddenly worth 10x what it cost these days.
 
Jewbacca, not sure what part of FL you're in but my area, Tampa Bay FL, is saturated with bikes and prices on the sold ones are great/cheap. Yea, you might see lots of them with big price tags but they're not selling. Harleys? Again, saturated with them. People that have actually sold bikes in this area have sold them cheap. No big bucks to be had down this way.
 
Ringo said:
5 grand? For fuck's sake, really? I mean no disrespect, but how much did you pay for it? And how much went into it? Now take how much it cost to mod it, divide by three and add to original price. I wouldn't pay more than $2000 if I were in the market. I loathe how every bike with clubmans and a 'cafe' seat is suddenly worth 10x what it cost these days.
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Firstly calm down bro, breathe, (jk). Like I said before, I'm feeling the market, hence this thread. Cafe's are selling at odd prices ever since the TV show came to being, so it's hard to judge where to start. There are some precedents that need to be made and that's what I'm getting at with this thread. I mean look at how much those ugly ass choppers were selling for when OCC and Jesse Douchbag started the craze. Not that cafe's (god forbid) are going to that extreme, but when someone sells a CB750 like you said with a pair of clubmans and a cafe seat and nothing else for 10k, something aint right.
Again that's why I ask is 5k ridiculous or the going rate? There are no precedents in the Cafe market.
I appreciate your opinion, brother :)
 
To my eyes 5k is way overpriced for a bike that needs a new paint job, tires, spokes, rims, drum brakes, tachometer, chrome exhaust, pair of rear shocks, proper swing arm etc. Checkered tape does not make a bike faster or handle better. I do not even know what type or year your bike is, but it looks rather modern.

The inherent problems with nearly all custom bikes is taste is subjective and what the seller thinks is great and original turns off most customers. Yes, you may have put scores of hours of labor in to it, bolted on fancy shiny parts, etc but if it is too personalized you have painted yourself into a corner and no one will want it.

There are countless precedents in the cafe market, they have been made and sold for the last 50 years.
 
For one, what do you value your work at? Two, anyone serious enough will consider that. But, unfortunately, demand is what sets the price. And when most are selling for half of your asking price, that's where you are forced to sell at.
 
Swan, I see what ya did there. ;) This bike is my take on a modern cafe, taking a bike you normally wouldn't see in this fashion. A "cafe fighter" as some have deemed them. By no means did I try and represent the cafe's of old with a 80's bike. I designed this bike with today's streetfighters and yesterdays cafe's in mind. Also, I'm talking about the precedents of the pricing we see in Cafe's, both modern and classics. I'm not talking about what makes a cafe racer, that's beating a dead horse as there are traditionalists and non conformists, to each his own as far as I'm concerned. I love them all.
 
Not for anything but i see a bike that is basically stock.
While im no CX expert that rear suspension is stock yes? as is the tank?
so all and all its a cruiser bike with paint and a seat.
Sure that there is time, money and effort that you put into it but you need to find that one guy that has exactly the same taste as you and wants the same bike, but has no time or skill...because if he did he would just build it.

also the odd ball ness of the CX is holding it back.
if it was a brit bike or a CB750 or one of the other "blue chip" bikes then people would be seaching out one of them to build or buy done.

For some reason people get all weird when it comes to bikes but the car world has already figured most of this out
if you wanted a road race car....cafe bikes are suppose to be road race bikes....or atleast look the part for some people....then you might be looking for a 911 or miata or some other PROVEN car in what ever style and price range that you have set.
but then you stumble across some random odd sedan that has been dressed up as a road racer. could it really be better then the other proven cars? sure....but then again maybe not. and whos going to take that risk?
see its just further limiting the market of people to buy your bike
 
The only other thing to say about pricing is the standard cliché that is really true

"its worth what someone is willing to pay"
and not a penny more.
can you find someone to pay $5000? sure that person is out there but you need to find him on a day he has the cash...
if you are asking then either you have been trying to sell for a while with no luck or you yourself think its crazy and in that case if you dont have the confidence in the value then you will never be able to convince the next guy to pay that much
 
MNBikerPup said:
For one, what do you value your work at? Two, anyone serious enough will consider that. But, unfortunately, demand is what sets the price. And when most are selling for half of your asking price, that's where you are forced to sell at.
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I certainly would never compare or value my work with the likes of today's top builders, but I do believe in my talents and the visions I have for junk bikes that need a new life with the funding I have to enjoy this work. I personally love the way this bike came out and I'm proud to put my name on it. As for the demand, you have a point. To sell in an open market place such as CL or eBay, we'd have to take that in to account.
 
surffly said:
Not for anything but i see a bike that is basically stock.
While im no CX expert that rear suspension is stock yes? as is the tank?
so all and all its a cruiser bike with paint and a seat.
Sure that there is time, money and effort that you put into it but you need to find that one guy that has exactly the same taste as you and wants the same bike, but has no time or skill...because if he did he would just build it.

also the odd ball ness of the CX is holding it back.
if it was a brit bike or a CB750 or one of the other "blue chip" bikes then people would be seaching out one of them to build or buy done.

For some reason people get all weird when it comes to bikes but the car world has already figured most of this out
if you wanted a road race car....cafe bikes are suppose to be road race bikes....or atleast look the part for some people....then you might be looking for a 911 or miata or some other PROVEN car in what ever style and price range that you have set.
but then you stumble across some random odd sedan that has been dressed up as a road racer. could it really be better then the other proven cars? sure....but then again maybe not. and whos going to take that risk?
see its just further limiting the market of people to buy your bike
Click to expand...

There is very little stock about the look of this bike. The tank is from a CB400f, with a lot of frame work going into it fitting, the subframe is non stock as well and the shock placement is original, but the shock is not. The original GL had an airshock.

I just listed this bike the other day for the first time, my only reason for this thread was to get opinions on the Cafe Racer market and the pricing of said bikes. I have had some email me with crude insults about my price and I have had some come by my shop and say they loved it and thought it was a fair price. I'm not looking for my bike to be picked apart as to the way it was built, I understand that everyone has their own opinion as to what a Cafe is.
 
Everyone wants to be a builder. There are lots of builders out there who think that building bikes is going to make them rich.

In order for your work to be worth anything more than a stock bike, it's got to perform like a similarly priced modern bike.

That's why Richard Pollack of Mule Motorcycles can stay in business. He builds race bred bikes that feature modern suspension, trick frames, upgraded motors, and monster brakes. He has all kinds of need tricks he does with the electrics, and a style that is just amazing. When you pay $15,000 for a Mule XS650, your getting a bike that is worth the money.

The problem with so many cafe racers is that if Joe Blow can build them, why can't I?

Aside from serious welding on frames, tanks, and millwork on fitting different wheels, most people can do anything thats on a bike.

And guess what? A Mule Motorcycle is %80 millwork, custom built frames, and original tanks.

The rest is just creativity. If I'm going to pay for creativity, it'd better look damn good.

Most home build cafe racers are like mine. Ugly, but cheap and reliable. Good enough for me.
 
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