| Author | Message | ||
     Mtkawboy |
Found a nice 95 S2, new Pirellis front & rear, tank bag, fairing bags, garage kept, owned 8 years by present owner, 19,800 miles, white. Is it worth $37-3800, asking $4000 ? Need to know by morning if possable, NADA book only shows $2800. Bought an 06 XB12Ss, & hated it & sold it, always wanted a 95 like I rode at Daytona with a carb | ||
| Essmjay |
I payed 4200 for mine 2 years ago, equivalent condition except stage two engine (thunderstormed). NADA is irrelevant, all that matters is what the two of you agree on. If you want it, 37-38 is a good price. | ||
| Easy_rider |
Just bought a '95 for $3300. Bags aren't there,turns out there's a chunk out of the belt, and there's some Mickey Mouse things here and there. After riding an 1125 it seems top heavy and slow. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse but at the end of the day it had the signature items that were important to me and the color I wanted. Decide what's important to you and move forward accordingly. | ||
| Zenbiker |
A poorly maintained or neglected bike will need a lot of time, effort and parts to bring back. The dollars will add up and as you fix one thing, another will fail, until you have everything gone through. If you are looking for a hobby, then this is right up your alley. These bikes are 17 years old after all. A low mileage bike will most likely have dried seals, gaskets, corroded internals (5th gear inner bearings, etc). Although there are nuances (due to years and other things), the S2 is very durable and so the real question should be not miles, but condition and intended use. If you want a museum piece, then a low mileage, non recalled bike is what you want, just don't think of driving it. If you want a bike you can customize and/or chop (please don't) then the cheaper the better. If you want a classy, yet daily drivable bike, then a bike with the right updates (i.e. Don Casto, X1 Files, and BW forum banter) is what you are looking for and mileage does not mean much. Granted, the bike vibrates, so 20-40k miles of vibration can take their toll, if the bike was was not maintained properly. Unlike most makes, some small improvements here and there can make a huge difference in the durability, longevity and ride quality of the bike (S2, but tubers in general). My personal opinion is that these bikes were designed to be ridden (a view shared by others, I am sure). I would jump (and I mean jump) on any clean, low mileage (0-30k) bike under $4,000 and would pay a few more for a very clean example, if it is what I wanted. That being, one that is clean and has all the right 'updates'. I would also seriously consider a higher mileage bike if it had what I wanted (as I knew that it worked for all those miles). Look at it this way, if it is clean and you like it, then add in a year of insurance, maintenance, etc. so, what is the difference between a couple hundred on the sale?? Now I am not saying you should buy the bike you are looking at or just blindly offer up asking price. The choice is your to make dependent on your situation. Just to put this into perspective, I own two S2s, each I paid over $4k for, pretty much without haggling on price. The reason being is that a couple of hundred dollars was not going to get in the way of what I wanted, as they are both extremely clean. I was fine with updating the bikes, but did not want to deal with the problems associated with a bike that was rode hard and put away wet, as they say. Good luck, Zen | ||
| Jvv |
Zen..............I totally agree........well said!! Mtkawboy .......In the "long" haul a few $100 shouldn't matter if, like you said, it is "nice". Ride safe......Jack | ||
| Greg_cifu |
Why do you specifically want an S2 over other Buells? Or why do you want a Buell at all? I don't think anybody has asked this question and I'm going by your profile (you own one Harley and no other bikes). It's not a Harley, the riding experience shares nothing with a Harley and if you're a Harley guy (rather than a 'motorcycle guy'), you probably won't like it. I see lots of Buells for sale where the guy is looking to trade for a Harley of some sort. It says volumes about what they probably thought they were getting into. At the core, it's still a sportbike or at least a sport-tourer. The riding experience could best be compared to a John Player Special Norton (I once owned a 75 Commando Roadster). It's very old-school and classic feeling and you get the sensation that it's a hand-crafted bike that was lovingly painted and assembled. Those sensation aren't as obvious on the S3, which feels much more 'productionized'. The reason I typed all that is: condition is the biggest price driver. These bikes are all over the map because of differences in maintenance, upkeep and modifications, as well as unrealistic owners. My S2 cost close to what he's asking for that bike (I know which bike you're asking about). In my opinion, cosmetic condition is everything and actually higher priority than mechanical condition. I think the care in selecting and applying those factory finishes is part of what makes the S2 so special. The white pearl is absolutely gorgeous in sunlight. I would imagine most of the other colors are equally as stunning. A bike with few (or zero) stress cracks and a clean, original paint job really is worth more to me than a perfect engine with bad paint & bodywork. Mine is pretty clean but, it has a few chips that were carefully touched up. It's not perfect but, it still looks good in a parking lot.  | ||
| Essmjay |
I would take the perfect motor any day, because I like to load up and do really long camping rides. Doing long rides the chances are the bodywork is going to take it's lumps and scratches. | ||
| Essmjay |
For an example- My front fairing had a left hand scar when I bought it, from a low speed dump it looked like. I was okay with that, it matched the scuffing on the clutch lever so it was pretty clear what happened to cause it. At the S2 roundup in the Rockies I acquired a pristine replacement. Next summer while my wife and I were hightailing it down into Hells Canyon ( I had lost my rear brake pressure so I only had a front brake) I had to move off the road at speed and come to a quick stop in soft gravel. You can guess, the front end washed out and down I went, fully loaded with camping gear and saddle bags. All that gear saved most of the bike from damage, but guess what, the fairing came away damaged in exactly the same spot, and remains the same to this day. I haven't repaired it other than some non-matching yellow paint because I think it was a sign. So, poor looks due to neglect or storage outside, etc. I would not look kindly on, the inevitable cuts and bruises of use would not turn me off. | ||
| Rubbinisracin |
$4000 sounds pretty good to me. I get quite a bit of attention with the S2, I think most folks appreciate someone riding something a little out of the norm. I was at a local Harley dealership this past weekend just killin' time. A sales guy saw me checking out some Electra glide or something, and asked me what I rode. He looked like the die hard Harley kinda guy but to my surprise, he was real interested and knowledgeable about the S2 and said man I'd hang on to that bike. Course, I'm not trying to get rid of it or anything but it was cool to hear that. One thing I think is cool about the S2 is the lack of plastic. It really does feel unique and "hand built". I've had some issues, none that can't be fixed, but the more I ride it the more I love it. I just rode on a longer trip as well, and it did great for that. Just be careful with the soft saddle bags, they seem a little rough on the bodywork. | ||
| Mtkawboy |
Actually I own a Harley Fatboy and 10 other bikes, ranging from a big bore Suzuki, cammed & ported to a 48 Whizzer Schwinn motorized bicycle. I bought the bike for $3500. It is identical to the one pictured above but has a black seat. I wanted a first year bike because it has the better parts on it and Ive been looking for one for ages. Its actually better then it looked in his ad and I wanted a carbed tuber S2, 95 or 96. Thanks for all the advice | ||
| Essmjay |
Welcome to the tribe! I could have gotten one for that price when I bought mine, but by the time I got it home it would have been more than I paid for the one I bought local. You know, the 4th annual S2 Roundup is in Arkansas next month... still room for you, you could ride out with Jack... just saying... its not too late. | ||
| Greg_cifu |
Ahhh...well, you're a motorcycle guy then. Good score on that bike. If it had been yellow, black or one of the blues, I probably would have beat you to it (yes, I want another). I reluctantly went to look at mine yet, it immediately became one of my favorites out of a pretty varied stable. You won't be sorry. | ||
| Mtkawboy |
My back isnt up to a ride that far, old age sucks. Besides Ive got 2 nerve blocks scheduled in that time line |
