Triumphrat

02-13-2007

Hello, all! I do hope I'm not being a bother, but a lovely black '95 Triumph Tiger has gone up for sale in my town, and I am sorely tempted to make an offer.

There are 42,000 miles on it, and it's described as "a 900cc liquid cooled, GIVI top box", and it also includes a baja side lamp.

However, being very new at this (would be my first bike; I only recently completed my licensing), I honestly have no idea what a fair opening offer is to make. The add simply says, "Best offer."

A friend with a blue book suggested $5000. Is this in the ballpark?

Any suggestions/advice would be great. Thank you all very much!

Tess

TriDucBMWnut · 02-13-2007

Quote:

On 2007-02-13 08:22, Tess wrote:
Hello, all! I do hope I'm not being a bother, but a lovely black '95 Triumph Tiger has gone up for sale in my town, and I am sorely tempted to make an offer.

There are 42,000 miles on it, and it's described as "a 900cc liquid cooled, GIVI top box", and it also includes a baja side lamp.

However, being very new at this (would be my first bike; I only recently completed my licensing), I honestly have no idea what a fair opening offer is to make. The add simply says, "Best offer."

A friend with a blue book suggested $5000. Is this in the ballpark?

Any suggestions/advice would be great. Thank you all very much!

Tess

Hey Tess.

I'm relatively new to the Triumph brand myself....

But, I did just buy an 06 "used" Tiger with 1350 miles..
and paid only $7500 for it (with a year of full warranty left).
So, my first impression is the bike of which you speak is overpriced.... I would definitely shop around and compare.

Also, your first ride? The Tiger is a pretty big/heavy bike for a first time rider? Do you have any riding experience at all? Have you taken motorcycle riding/safety course?

[ This message was edited by: TriDucBMWnut on 2007-02-13 09:15 ]

speedjunkie · 02-13-2007

NADA for around here says high retail of $2500. KBB says about $3750. I normally average between the 2 and get pretty close. I certainly wouldn't pay 5K for a 12 year old bike with 42K on the clock, but 3K is, IMO, more realistic. Good luck!

Mike

TriDucBMWnut · 02-13-2007

Quote:

On 2007-02-13 08:22, Tess wrote:
a lovely black '95 Triumph Tiger has gone up for sale in my town, and I am sorely tempted to make an offer.

There are 42,000 miles on it, and it's described as "a 900cc liquid cooled, GIVI top box", and it also includes a baja side lamp.

A friend with a blue book suggested $5000. Is this in the ballpark?

Any suggestions/advice would be great. Thank you all very much!

Tess

Hey Tess.

I did a quick search of the "classified" section of this forum. There are (or have been) a number of 01 Tigers or newer with at least 1/2 the miles of the one you are looking at....

the asking price on a number of these bikes is below $6000 ...

Again, first impression... the '95 with over 40k miles is way overpriced!

My suggestion. Keep looking. Take your time. You're in the middle of winter. Keep searching. Even if you find one out of town, any good bike is worth a plane/bus ticket to go get her and ride her home...

02-13-2007

Wow, thanks for the info!

Yeah, he isn't asking $5000, that was just someone's guess but it sounded awfully high to me. Things usually go a little cheaper around here, so offering between $2500 and $3000 would sound like a fair place to start.

I'm through my safety classes and have some experience on a little '88 Honda bike, which has been very forgiving. The Tiger is probably just a pipe dream at this point, but I wanted to consider it as I really adore Triumphs and have never been on one I didn't like (although, I wasn't driving!).

As for middle of winter...so true! Soon, soon...

Thanks again!

TucsonBill · 02-13-2007

$2500, not a penny more.......
Check the fit before you put the money down! For a novice rider, the height of a Tiger will be someting to get used to. Saving a fall by putting a foot down - I'm talking slow manuvering - can be a bit of a challenge! And when it's down, it's a heck of a thing to lift up! It is an amazing machine, girly or steamer, that has a character all it's own. If it's in need of a new chain and sprockets or tires, figure those into the price, too.
Go for it!

02-13-2007

I paid $5000 for an "03" w/5000 miles in perfect shape last fall here in Minnesota. Not trying to talk you out of a Tiger but not sure I would want one as my first bike. That being said I love mine and right now there are very few bikes I would trade it for at any price.

Mudhen · 02-14-2007

I paid $3500 for my '96 a couple years ago...22k miles and looked like it had just come off the showroom floor.

But I 'had' to have a Steamer...and there aren't a lot of them for sale at any one time.

Before you buy, search around on 'sprag clutch' and 'DAR'. And you may want to have at least a little mechanical ability. But I'm assuming you do if you're looking at older bikes.

Good luck!

hobie · 02-22-2007

One year ago, I paid US$4299 for a '98 with 10K miles. It has 3 Givi bags, centre stand and Corbin seat. I had to drive from Toronto to Chicago to pick it up, but it was still cheaper than Canadian rates (there was a similar one here for CDN$6495).