Sought after bikes in France

[CharlesMeechan]

Hi,

To flesh out my recession hit income in the UK I'm thinking of bringing a bike or two over to sell, having done it once with my own Laverda Jota. Beats exchanging sterling too. So hopefully can sell a popular bike at a decent price over here and turn a little profit.

Question is what bike would anyone say is sought after over here: top ten figures for Jan-Mar 08 sales I found in France (excluding scooters) were:

2. Kawasaki Z 750 1,729

3. Kawasaki ER-6 1,464

4. Suzuki Bandit 650 1,392

5. Honda Hornet 650 1,392

6. Yamaha Fazer 600 1,127

So looks as if these bikes probably are all under 107bhp which would make a C of C easier.

However if I went post 2002 BMW sales in that same period show a +13.2% rise; Ducati +19.6% and Triumph a whopping +44.8%.

Any interesting views or experience on what sells welcomed... I'm angling towards a BM, but only cos I've had several and know them well. Charlie

[Sunday Driver]

[url=http://www.moto85.com/particuliers/statistiques-de-l-occasion/]MOTO85[/url] is one of France's most popular websites for advertising used bikes.  I've sold two bikes through them - they are good value at 9€ for an ad with up to twelve pictures without time limit.

They also offer some useful statistics on sales which might help you.

 

 

[Dog]

Had same though myself.

The French like their naked bikes but it's probably just because they are cheaper.

Ancient leggy Goldwings go for big money here and also Valkyries.

Local bike shop has two old V max's both over 8000 euros!

Last week I saw for sale in UK a 3 year old Ducati Monster 600 - 3 years old, 4000 miles - not a model I'd want but it was £1000 - that has to turn a profit here.

Good luck let us know how you get on.

I did wonder what dounes might say if you come over with a van full of bikes... But they never seem to worried about anything.

[CharlesMeechan]

Thanks for the help so far. Moto85 is an interesting site. Shame they don't break down bike sales by model as well as marque, but still a good indicator. Anyway BM looks like a solid (though higher end, few customers) option. R1200RT versus R100GS anyone? I'm going to check out their French sales figures, trialies are very popular in, say, Paris.

Agree about naked bikes, can't get too interested in them to be honest. But older would be up my street – amazing Goldwings might fetch those prices. And Triumph sales taking off? Call me old fashioned (yes) but they are close to the naked bike market now rather than the traditional item they once were. Have ridden several including a 675 and though impressive... the soul's gone??

Anyway hope this post doesn't come across as a mercenary post – I'm as interested in what makes different bikes popular between the UK and France.

And it won't be a van – part of the fun is riding a decent bike in a leisurely fashion all the way to the Alps where I am. Main sales areas round here will be Lyon or Annecy, but who knows where a buyer might come from.

Cheers, Charlie

P.S. Anyone have experience of GasGas? They are pure trai bikes, no seat, just pegs. Have a friend who brought one over here. No licence needed in UK, since no indicators etc – purely for off-road and illegal on-road. That's popular here, but when he tried to sell it... the French buyers reckoned it needed a Carte Grise depsite not being road legal. Any feedback on why that's the case?Any bike that was just an 'object' rather than a re-registration exercise would be an interesting option.

[Zim]

There seems to be a big price difference on most of the Ducati range, that's what I'd go for!

(I have bought an S4 in the UK and sold here for a couple of grand difference) 

[Dog]

Gas-gas are not necessarily illegal in UK. If they were trials would be at an end. I have various off road bikes all registered in UK as were used on public roads at times.

As all route rural are public roads all off road bikes must be registered in France just as in UK if used in public places. Field bikes do not need to be registered.

Trail, trials and enduro bikes are also worth bringing in for resale but I don't think you'd want to ride one to the south of France.

I see nothing mercenary in making money.

[DerekJ]

My son had a Gas Gas TXT125 that he rode trials on from about the age of 13. That wasn't road registered. However, I had a Beta Techno (250) trials bike which was road registered when I bought it second hand. I never rode it on  the road and SORN'd it. We've still got another Beta trials bike that isn't road registered.

[CharlesMeechan]

Thanks, GasGas could be interesting but it would be a van job.

Increasingly tempted by a BMW – R1200RT is 110bhp while R1200GS is 100bhp and therefore presumably no hint of insurance hassle if imported.

I'd change headlight over here and ideally speedometer to Km's as well. Anyone have experience of doing that 'neatly' i.e. using correct mileage from old speedo and somehow making it correct Km's on new speedometer to match paperwork. I know it's not essential but would make for a happier buyer. Perhaps something that a BMW dealer could help with?