whats it worth

[Isamemon]

dont take me wrong, I love my 80/7 (1978)
but I have heard so many different ideas on what the bike is worth
I have pics in the top thread
the reason I ask, is my insurance person siad, well, if it gets stolen or :banghead , it is replacement value, from newspapers
well, there is some junk in the newspapers, and some nice ones
well, I was asked, we can insure it for an appraised value, dont know how to do that ( me) , or what do you think it is worth
gee, I dont know , maybe what I paid, 2800
( maybe I paid too much)
no we need somthing offical, what ever official is

so how do I find out what this bike is "officaly" worth
yes that is real open ended, like how long is forever, I dont know

[robsryder]

I have my "vintage" bikes insured with a company that specializes in "collectable" vehicles. All of the bikes are over 25 years old and have Ohio historical license tags. The advantage of the historical tag is no recurring (i.e., annual) fees.

The condition of the insurance is that I can't ride any bike more than 2500 miles per year, without first letting the insurance company know. For example, if I wanted to ride my 77RS from Ohio to a bike show on the west coast and the total distance was going to be about 7,000 miles, I could do this. I would just let the insurance folks know first. (You don't actually think that I'd ride in a straight line, do you? :-)

Oh yeah, the cost to fully insure (with a $250 ded) all 5 bikes? About $250 per year. The insurance company is Condon & Skelly (800-257-9496) / MetLife and my agent is Mike Snyder (614-486-7646).
http://www.condonskelly.com/company.php

For the valuation I am required to provide a set of photos and a valuation statement. I have a form letter that I ask a local dealer (usually the one that sold me the bike) to sign. At the urging of my insurance agent (also likes collectible vehicles!) I use the high end value when I am done with the re-do work.

So for my 77RS, I estimated $7k. For my 75 R60/6, I used $3.5k and $5k for my 71 R75/5 (the other old bikes are non-BMW). I consulted various sources to get the valuation.

These sources include the ads in the MOA's ON, and the NADA historical bike valuation. See:
http://www2.nadaguides.com//Values/ZipCode.asp?UserID=33dae2fc-acdb-464e-a18f-ca1e8579c72d&DID=38925&ColorId=&wSec=3&wPg=1102

Since the dealer signing my valuation statement knows that I'm not obliging him to purchase my bike at the estimated value, he doesn't argue with me. I have info handy to show that "similar" (i.e., excellent) condition bikes will go for an amount at or above my bike.

When re-doing my bikes, I don't go for max value and perfect restoration. Rather, I'll do things to my own satisfaction. Some folks feel that anything not exactly as issued by the factory lessens the value. YMMV.

One such example is on my 77RS I used the accordian fork boots instead of the gaiters at the bottom of the fairing. Personal preference.

[Isamemon]

thanks