| Author | Message | ||
     Bill0351 |
This year I bailed on my 2 harleys I couldn't afford and I'm looking for a Buell. My ride before the Sportster and Road King was an 1100 Katana. I want the sound of my HDs and a little of the performance of my old Kat. I looked all over this site, read reviews on Powersports Network, and have narrowed it down to the M2 Cyclone. I have located a 2002 with 7,000 miles on it for $4,000. It's in nice looking shape from the pictures, but it is a 5 hour drive away. There is also a 2001 with only 1,700 miles on it. They want $3,500 for it. It looks like a brand new bike, but it has a salvage title. There was a '99 with 15,000 miles on it for sale locally, and it sold for $4,000. It looks like the prices are all over the place that way. I guess I was wondering what you guys thought about buying a bike with a salvage title, super low miles and that look of brand new, or one that has more miles, a little wear, but looks like it was well cared for. It looks like the prices are in the range of pretty good deals, but I don't have much to compare them to since the bikes aren't all that common. I found an '03 XB9 for $4,000 and I know that is probably the common sense choice, but I like the way the Cyclone looks. I hope I posted this in the right section. It is my first actual post here. I know there is no right or wrong answer, but I was looking for input before I throw down the last scraps of my post-Iraq deployment cash. Bill | ||
| Nevrenuf |
bill, the prices are all over the place. i paid 5500 for mine because i wanted that color scheme really bad. on the other hand, i found one for my buddy that only had 2600 miles on it for 3500. both were 02's and his was a low model. i would offer the guy 3500 for the 02 because by that time, pretty much all the bugs were worked out of them. if you get a salvage title, you don't know what had happened. my bike had been laid down but i didn't know that until the shop went and changed the tire and noticed the axel all beat up(it had axel covers on it)either way always ask if the bike has been laid down. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
ps check the profile | ||
| Warlizard |
I would avoid the salvage title altogether. I agree w/ Nevr, go for the '02, by then the bikes were pretty reliable. I would also pass on the '03 XB, it was first year for them and I bet it has a lot of kinks. As far as asking if bike has been down, I doubt a seller w/ admit to it. Check grip ends and underframe for scrapes/damage. Be sure to run a title search. BTW I bought my X1 for the same reasons, wanted HD sound w/ handling and power. I traded in an '05 1200R and couldn't be happier. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I bought a wrecked Buell S3 with a salvage title ~3 years ago. The dude I bought it from was a used car dealer who bought vehicles at insurance auctions. Somebody had laid this bike down (with really minimal damage) and the insurance company had totaled it. I got the bike cheap, spent about $1000 on new replacement parts & new tires and had a nice, good running Buell that I've put over 15,000 miles on. I'd check what the laws are regarding salvage titles in Wisconsin. Some states I'm told will clear the salvage title once the bike is repaired and they inspect it. In SC, once a salvage title, always a salvage title. You can license the bike and ride it without problems, but you have the salvage title to explain when you go to sell the bike. In my own case, it's apparently made my bike very hard to sell. So, a salvage title can be a good way to get a nice bike for less money, but you may end up owning that bike forever. | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
I agree with the advice to avoid the salvage title and go with the latest model year. Does the 2002 have any of the "standard" modifications like exhaust and intake? I got mine for cheap as winter was coming, and it had some nice modifications and lots of extras (manuals, cover, stand, et cetera). Prices are all over the place (on eBay right now there's one with a salvage title and a BIN of $6500!). There are a bunch in my area with asking prices of $3-5k. Five hours isn't too far for a solid 2002 for under $4k. Maybe there's a BadWebber nearby who can check it out beforehand. | ||
| Warlizard |
Bill, I see u r not too far from Chicago. My local HD dealer has a "new" 2002 X1W for 7K, w/ 1 yr. warranty. By new, I mean it has never been sold/titled. It has been on display ( inside/climate controlled ) since '02. FYI | ||
| Nevrenuf |
i've only had one guy on the badweb rip me off when i was parting out the other m2 that got totaled. other than that i have never met a better bunch of people anywhere. if you go into the rider assistant network thread you might be able to find someone in the area that can either check out the bike or even knows the bike. just an option. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Like others said, there are probably badwebbers nearby that would be happy to go check it out for you. You can take a pre 2002 M2 and bring it up to 2002 reliability specs with less then $500 in parts and a few weekends easy work. The M2 is a great bike, it will just need a little TLC every now and then to stay happy. I had a wonderful 30,000 miles on one. Bought it for $5000, rode it for close to 30k miles, traded it in for $3000. Cheapest vehicle I have ever owned (per mile). Also look at some of these low milage XB9SX's showing up. An XB9SX with under 10k miles selling for $5000 or less is one *heck* of a bang for your motorcycle buck. | ||
| Brinnutz |
I picked up my 02 Cyclone Low model in May of this year for $4400. It had 4753 miles on it (pic in profile) and had everything stock aside from a WileyCo. slip-on. I got the stock muffler, service, factory parts, and owners manuals as well as that years brochures, oil, the rocker box gasket set, some long life taillight bulbs, Buell Leather jacket, Buell riding gloves. Basically anything Buell he had I took! Plus I'm the third owner. I wouldn't go salvage title STAY AWAY! Never know what happened. Frame could have been bent, blah, blah, blah. The Cyclone is one helluva ride. If you want the LOUD Harley sound, get the race header and the D&D race muffler. It'll wake up neighbors at least mine does! | ||
| Bill0351 |
Thanks for the dose of common sense. I think I will just pass on the salvage bike unless he is willing to go even lower on the price. BTW that bike I'm looking at is the one with the buy-it-now price of $6,500. He said he will sell for $3,500 and bring it to Green Bay for me. It's probably like you guys said. He has a really nice bike with a salvage title and he is having a hard time getting rid of it. If I buy it, I may have a really nice bike at a really nice price, but I will own it forever or take another financial hit to sell it. I just need to slow down and not make an impulse purchase just so I can be out on the road as soon as possible. Nevrenuf, yours is exactly like the bike in Northern WI. I love the color combo. Have you had any problem with that bright orange fading? I took a big hit on buying and selling my Harleys. Do you guys think that if I payed anything $4,000 and under for that '02 M2 I could probably bail on it for +/- the same price? It sounds like a reasonable assumption. "2002 buell m-2 cyclone excellent condition.good tires,vance&hines exhaust,forcewinder intake manifold,k&n air cleaner" That is the into to the ad. It also comes with the stock parts. I'm bummed that there isn't anybody really close to the location to inspect it. That was a really good idea. I stayed up WAY too late last night looking at pics of Badweather bikes. I didn't realize you could trim up the side covers to show more tube. that looked slick. This place reminds me of Sportster.org. That site kept my old Ironhead running and guided me through all the performance upgrades for my 883/1200. I'm stuck in the middle with my bike choice! All my high school buddies (class of '85) are riding touring bikes and the friends I made in Iraq (born in '85) all ride sportbikes. Either the Buell will make me accepted by all or make me hated by all! At this point I really don't care. I don't know why I started caring in the first place. I started riding because I loved to ride. I liked my Sportster, but it wasn't enough of the thing I like. The Road King just sucked the joy out of riding for me. It's time to get back to my roots and have some fun. Thanks again, Bill Green Bay | ||
| Lake_bueller |
Bill... Send me a PM. I live in GB and have been on the Buell scene since 1998. While I'm not an expert, I've seen almost everything regarding Buells as some point. I'd love to help you out. Dennis | ||
| Reepicheep |
$3500 could easily end up going down to $2000 when you try and sell it...especially if the title will make people nervous, but I doubt it will ever go much below that. I traded my 2000 M2 in with close to 30k miles on it, and it went for $3500, two years ago. So $3500, with a salvage title, still sounds a little rich (though not terrible if its a perfectly restored bike, which is very possible). Especially with decent XB's starting to flirt with $4000 prices. My M2 always felt at home around Harley or import folks. If people are that uptight about what you ride, they won't be much fun to be around anyway. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
everything is powdercoated so you don't have to worry about fading. and the cool thing about that color is, when erik signed the tank, he told me that was his favorite scheme that he ever came up with at the time. hopefully, it holds true to this day. once again, good luck what ever you decide. and as far as touring goes, it does quite well for the 5 to 600 mile trips. not real easy but very possible not to mention two up riding as you noticed. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
everything is powdercoated so you don't have to worry about fading. and the cool thing about that color is, when erik signed the tank, he told me that was his favorite scheme that he ever came up with at the time. hopefully, it holds true to this day. once again, good luck what ever you decide. and as far as touring goes, it does quite well for the 5 to 600 mile trips. not real easy but very possible not to mention two up riding as you noticed. | ||
| Mikej |
You should have bought the M2 from the guy up in Plymouth WI, sounds like it would have been right in your price range. You can buy mine but I'm in the process of removing add-ons to get it into market-price configuration (or to get it ready to modify it in a different direction if things go that way instead). There are quite a few nice looking M2's, S1's, S2's and such on the market right now, keep an eye open on the local craigslists in the area. I'm a couple hours or less south and a little east of you, Dennis/Lake isn't too far from you, there are others of us around as well in the region. There is no guarantee of what a bike will sell for in a few years, price may hold, drop, improve. Buy it to ride it, investment bikes aren't ridden much. | ||
| Bill0351 |
Just found an '01 Lightning in Minneapolis for $3,000.00. I asked another member to take a look at it for me. We will see. It's kind a haul for me but it sounds like a decent deal. If I knew it was solid I would head out in a minute. If I can't get it looked at, someone local should look for themselves. It was on the Minneapolis Craigslist. That white tank, blue frame looks sharp. Thanks again for the help and advice. I now have several possibilities and each looks better than the last. That salvage title is looking like a worse deal every minute. Bill | ||
| Brinnutz |
If you want a comfy ride..LOL...go with an 02 Cyclone, its got like twice the seating area as the Lightning's. Plus if you have a rider, that big back seat is nice.  Least my woman likes it, rode 240 miles one day just cruising around the state and it wasn't bad. | ||
| Bill0351 |
Got scooped on the one in Minneapolis but that is probably a good thing. I really wanted the Cyclone for 2-up riding with my girlfriend. I hope whoever got it is happy with it. It was a great deal compared to what I have been seeing around. Just made a solid offer to a guy on an '02 Cyclone. If he accepts I will be updating my profile within a week. If not, the search goes on. Now if everything works out, I just need to figure out how to get an '02 Cyclone into the back of my car. Right now I am wishing I didn't sell my van. Bill | ||
| Guell |
How about your girlfriend drives and you ride the bike back? | ||
| Brinnutz |
Exactly what I was thinking.. Hey Bill, if you want, I got a 97 Chevy Silverado I'm selling..LOL, my 02 Cyclone fits just fine and dandy..=) BTW, what color and such is the bike you might get? What aftermarket parts does it have? Give us details man...I get all excited when I hear someone getting a Buell, especially tube frame, and even more so getting an 02 Cyclone!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO | ||
| Bill0351 |
Hey Brinnutz, This was the ad for the bike. I just closed the deal a little while ago. I drive up to do the final inspection and fork over the cash next Saturday. The guy took a bunch of high resolution pics of the bike for me and from what I can see it looks really well maintained. The price was right about where everyone here told me to offer. ------------------------------------------ 2002 buell m-2 cyclone excellent condition.7,000 miles. Good tires, vance & Hines exhaust,forcewinder intake, k&n air cleaner. Comes with stock exhaust. Gray with Harley Orange frame. I am throwing in a buell touring seat, bike cover and a set of buell saddlebags. Any questions feel free to call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX ------------------------------------------ I am totally impatient to get the bike and start riding. When I got my Road King I got this sick feeling from spending big money on a bike I wasn't sure I could live with. It turned out that I should have listened to my instincts. I don't get the feeling from this purchase at all. I hope this brings me back to what I loved about riding. I loved my Sportsters, and I loved my sport-bike. If this mixes the two then it will be perfect. With the bags the bike comes with, it will even have the only thing that I really liked about my Road King too. This site has been a big help. I read tons of archived posts and looked at pages of pics. This place is a great resource. } Bill } | ||
| Brinnutz |
Bill, look at my profile, it's all I gotta say!! Erm...let me know if you are gonna need that extra seat..I may be interested..=) BTW, post some of them pics!! (Message edited by brinnutz on September 10, 2007) | ||
| Nevrenuf |
that's awesome bill. congratulations on the deal. i gurarntee that you won't have no regrets. as far as standing out, you will stand out above the rest. you will love everything the bike has to offer. i am so jonesing right now not knowing when i'll get the m2 back. brin, i have to say i'm a little bias with that bike. although i wouldn't change out the wheels for the pm's. but nice reguardless. | ||
| Brinnutz |
I like the PM's on it...I've seen the orange wheels, I think it's too much orange. BTW, what was Erik's favorite color scheme anyways on these bikes..was it in here someone mentioned it? | ||
| Rotzaruck |
Brinnutz Check Nevr's profile pic, thats the favorite color scheme--it may be eerily familiar | ||
| Mikej |
Bill, I finally checked my email.  | ||
| Bill0351 |
That salvage title bike I was considering is now for sale in the classified section. I think it's priced at $5,200. I don't want to waste the guys time, but I would really like to see the condition. I would also like to know exactly how a bike with only a few hundred miles ended up being a salvage bike. For all I know it was a theft recovery with the bodywork stolen. Or, it could have been run over by a steam-roller... or anything in between. His eBay ad said he had no idea. It would only be for curiosity though. I have a truck set up and I am leaving Saturday to pick up the M2 I bought. I have friends going to the ride in Tomahawk, so I may unload there for a day before packing back up to go home. Either way, I plan a lot of riding... real riding! FUN RIDING! Not the Road King riding I have been doing all summer Bill | ||
| Brinnutz |
So, Bill, does it have the PM's or the Orange wheels? Wow, there's 3 of us here so far with that paint jobbie..I love it, it's so unique and TURNS HEADS like mad! | ||
| Nevrenuf |
yea it does turn heads and for me it was a total change as to how i looked at life when i got that bike. having more that one ride is nice but there is nothing that give's me more pleasure than the m2 when it comes to riding and i hope it does the same for you guys. hope to run across either one of you at one time or another just to see another orange/grey along side of it. i know a guy in orlando that had the same one too but his got totalled so another one bit the dust. |
