[dr_leakey]

Hello everyone,
Though I've come lurking about this site in the past I believe this may be only the second time I've posted here.
Right now I'm thinking of selling my '95 S3 but I'm having difficulty finding a realistic sales figure for it.
One that isn't typically inflated but where I won't walk away at a typical loss either.

It's at around 28,000 mi. and very clean with a number of upgrades.
The bad is that it will need new front rotors which I may or may not choose to tackle soon.

Any ideas?

KBB suggests it's worth something like 2600.00 US
That seems kinda low but I really don't know...

Photos:

http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/showphoto.php/photo/20856/size/big/cat/


http://www.triumphrat.net/memberalbums/showphoto.php/photo/20856


Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Bike Whisperer]

I bought mine a few years back. A 96 with 17k miles and some upgrades: Sebring 3 into 1like yours, Alcons, high compression pistons, the hot cam, and the head ported and polished. It came with the LSL superbike bar kit as well as clip ons, two spare spockets, Seat cowl, manuals sales brouchures, and all the original work orders and invoices. I paid $4700 CDN which at the time was around $4500 US. Oh and the guy had to deliver it from about 90 miles away. I have seen two others that were near mint not sell for $5000 Cdn. which now is about the same as US.

Prices in Canada are usually at least 10% higher than the US, so I guess you try work it out from there. Your friends estimate may be a little low, but not too much. A lot depends on how fast you want to sell it. Given enough time you will find someone who really wants one, and will pay your price.

I hope that helps.

 

[KitNYC]

NADA says $700-$3000. Knock $600 off of that for new rotors... The T3 Speed Triples seem to be on the upswing, price-wise, in England, but I think their value is still near rock bottom here in the US. Give it 10 more years and you might have a real collector's item, and you may as well hang onto it for what you'll get for it now.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[dr_leakey]

Thank you Kit and Whisperer.
I've been looking around the net and there seems to be no end of disparate pricing for these things, It's all over a very crumpled map. Not all of these represented the actual sale price.
I think my initial surprise came from the usual owner inflated value system.

I do like the bike and Triumph in general though I personally think the older models certainly have a bit more panache in the styling dept. than many of their recent efforts.
Just another effect of the aging process I suppose.

 

[KitNYC]

FYI, in the last year or so I've seen Speed Triples in Central Texas actually sell for $1700-2500, all in what I would call excellent condition. Looking on craigslist right now, I see a Trident the owner wants $3150 for and two 955 Sprints for $2000 (cracked fairing) and $2800 (good shape). I'm thinking that Trident is gonna stay right where it is for quite a while.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[Legman]

The 94-96 Speed Triple is becoming collectible now in Australia. Prices have remained constant for the last 10 years. About $8000 AUD for a very good one. Guy recently was advertising a mint 94 with about 5000 miles for $10K. I thought he was dreaming, but 3 weeks later the ad was gone. Don't know if it sold though. They were about $15K AUD when new.

 

[dr_leakey]

Understood.

And not wishing to get off topic but after perusing through Interchangable Parts for these models I've not found anything covering rotors from another source... Shame.

Triumph-Online will ship a pair to my postal code for 392.00 US
Sprint Manufacturing will ship a pair with the required set of replacement bolts for 486.50 US (the bolts themselves... about 32.00 US)

Going by respective web photo's the items from these two are close copies of the original Nissin items though purportedly manufactured in England. They may even share the source though the drilling patterns are different.

A set of EBC's have been quoted to me as 285.00 US ea. by a local shop.

Any experience/input as to the better choice for whatever reason?

Thanks again...

 

[dr_leakey]

Thanks for your post Legman.

Krikey! 10-15,000.00 AUS!
I was in the Solomon's this past Nov. for work. Didn't quite happen then but actually may at some future date and would prove to be not just a bit interesting if it did.

I've only been to Brisbane once but would like to see more of Australia.

Attaching a hull and a propeller to an S3 would certainly add to the adventure.
Salt water might diminish the value some.

 

[KitNYC]

EBCs are perfectly fine rotors; there may even be something to their square bobbin thingy. No need to pay extra for Triumphs unless you're sure you're selling to a collector. (And I believe Sunstar was the OEM for the rotors, though Nissin did the calipers and cylinders.)

I'd wager that most of us who have changed rotors haven't bothered with new bolts, and that the reason Triumph specs replacement is that they come with thread lock from the factory, but obviously it's your choice if you decide to listen to some guy on the Internet instead of your factory manual...

It seems Triumph used red Loctite on most of the T3 rotors, so heating the bolts up a bit with a blowtorch is a good idea, as is using an impact wrench. I ended up running 5 bolts per rotor on my Trident after shearing off two bolts, then breaking off extractors in both of them.

There are collectors from Australia and NZ who pay premium prices for bikes here, then ship them back home. Probably worth looking into, but I wouldn't know where to start myself.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[dr_leakey]

Kit,
I'm always a little surprised at how the collectible world works and how money within that world takes on a somewhat mysterious character.
I might look into the Australian market just out of curiosity.

Thanks for the heads up about the mounting bolts. Good to know.
I was doubting the absolute need for replacement. We'll see how it goes.

Legman. Should you return to this thread have you any ideas on this sort of marketing angle?
Again, just curious.

 

[Legman]

You'd probably have a bit of trouble selling it in Australia. Australian Design Rules adopted in the 80's mean that any motor cycle made after 1983 or thereabouts, needs to be made compliant before it can be registered in Australia, and when I looked into this a couple of years ago, the redtape and bureaucratic bullsh*t associated with this made it untenable for just one bike. Costs associated with the process can get into tens of thousands. I kid you not.

 

[KitNYC]

The collectors I mentioned were filling shipping containers, and it's possible all the bikes were pre-'83.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[Legman]

Yeah Kit, I know one guy who is making a lot of money doing just that with pre '83 bikes. Brings back about 3 containers a year.

 

[sanoptic]

Old bikes can still be worth good money ,i once bought a basket case Matchless 3GL 350 around 1957 model for a couple hundred AUD,spent about a grand on parts to get it running then lost interest in it.
Put an add in the local paper to sell [this was approx 1985] got a call from a collector in Japan ,he sent me a cheque for 10 grand sight unseen & he arranged a company to pick it up & ship it to Japan.
Few months later he sent me a pic of the now fully restored Matchless.
Looked like brand new !!!! & most likely worth a fortune.

cheers