Fair asking price

Well I'm afraid that the time has come to sell my KZ650.

I have a 1980 Kawasaki KZ650 LTD model. It has 35000 miles on it. The paint is in good condition as is the frame, engine, and little chrome it has.

It is equipped with crash bars and highway pegs as well, and has a king/queen style seat with sissy bar. Its a strong running bike, I just put a new battery in it....BUT

It will need new ignition coils in the future
It is not currently inspected
It does not have current plates, nor insurance.

I was thinking of asking in the neighborhood of 1200 dollars. Is this a fair price? Just ball park a figure here, I'm just trying to get ideas.

$1200 is a little steep I would think, unless the bike is showroom nice that is. I just sold an 81 kz650 CSR (very similar) that was in about the same condition for $800. Not sure what your local market is like for bikes, but for something the 650s size that is not a flawless bike I wouldn't expect anymore than 800-1000.

Depends on where you are located. If it had no known issues and was ready to ride, $1200 may be considered cheap right now. The coils may be something the buyer need not concern himself with right now. Insurance and registration/inspection will be his responsibility anyway, so those items need not influence your asking price.

Since you can probably advertise 40 MPG or thereabouts, you'll get plenty of interest. Certainly, everyone wants a bargain, but you don't want to shortchange yourself either.

I'd say good starting price. Then adjust when you size up the buyer. What he is driving and wearing, as well as what you think he'd do to her. If he'd take care of her $1000 or if you think he'd misuse her get the full $1200. I saw my brother tell a guy he wouldn't sell him a drink of water. The guy wanted his Water Buffalo and we had seen him beat down a couple of bikes already. I also saw him pretty much give away a nice Nighthawk SC to a guy just back from Desert Storm.

Nice bike by the way! Sure you have to sell it?

Last year I bought Abilane's 80 LTD 650 $700. It was nice other than the spray-bomb paint job. I felt that I overpaid, but I really wanted it because she liked it and it's VIN 00140, built in July of 79. It is noteable that the 650LTD was only offered in 1980. I have to wonder if they will be worth money in years to come.

You are getting some good advice from members...it may all depend on how you market the bike and where you live. For example, in the Greater Houston area (my area), bikes tend to be priced on the high side (KZ's are rare) so your bike might move at $1200...prices tend to be lower in more northern climates so how you market might play a role:)