I find myself with a dilemma and so I thought I would turn to the wisdom of the forum for advice...

I am looking at going out of the country for no less than a year (but possibly longer) and I can't decide whether to put my bike in storage or to sell it and take advantage of the higher resale value now as oppose to if I decide to sell it in a year or so (if I were to not come back until later) so here the things I can think of so far...

I can

A)
Drive it to my mothers house (1000miles north), drain it/stabilize it/wrapped it/etc and store it there in her garage until I return or decide to sell in the future (keeping in mind that the used motorcycle market where she is at is MUCH weaker than it is here in Florida)

or I can

B)
Sell it and use the cash to do all the items on my crazy "before I move out of FL forever" list ...

for the record I have an 01 F4i with currently about 19k on it... so its not like it would be turning over thaaat much cash... but I did get a good deal on it when I bought it (a yr ago) and I would hate to not be able to find a bike in such good condition when I return...

so I guess what I want to know is... what would you do? ... has anybody had a similar situation and did one thing and wish they did the other?...or ?..

 

Sell it.
You don't seem to have any attachment to it yet.
You concerns seem monetary, as apposed to someone that would be concerned with their motorbike being cooped up and not ridden.

Sell it.

 

Agreed - Sell it.

If it was some one-off bike that you would have a hard time getting your hands on again, then possibly keep it, but from the way you describe it I am guessing it isn't.

Financially speaking letting something sit for a year can only cost you money. Nothing can cause problems faster than something sitting without being used.

 

Sell it.

Like joey said it doesn't seem like you are that into your bike. You probably haven't pimped it out much or personalized it. You probably don't love it like some of us do our bikes. You don't sit and stare at it bathed in the soft glow of the garage florescents. you don't start it up just because you have missed the sound since the last time you started it up an hour ago. You don't lovingly caress its new white paint job or gently wipe away bug guts with a slightly damp sham-wow. Mmmmm......Whoa, what happened? I'm back now. Sorry about that bit of digression there.

Sell it but keep the money. It'll make a nice downpayment on something newer when you get back! Don't blow it on frivolities. Keep it for upgrades. They'll stick with you longer than crappy memories of stupid stuff you did before you left FL!

 

sell it. you shouldn't have a problem finding exactly what you want when you come back.

where are you traveling to?

 

like those guys said..... you dont seem to attached... sell her spend the money on stuff you need... and when you get back it ya got enough buy another one.... lol i planned on selling mine but after all the custom work ive put into it so far (its not done) im going to have a hard time.... if even at all (my fiance will prolly get pissed ifi dont) but shes my second baba (my fiance ranks 1st obviously)

 

I sold my first car, which I loved, one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm bummed I don't have it. But ecstatic I have my bike. I will keep my bike forever. If I want a new one, I'll have to buy it outright. But if you don't think you'll miss it. Sell it. If you have any attachment, or second thoughts, DON'T!

 

Thanks for all the replies!

the bike isn't anything particularly special... it doesn't have a lot of customizations... its all pretty stock (save the double bubble and slip on) ...

I do love my bike...but its more about the feeling of riding the the machine between my legs... and with the 'profit' I'm now thinking I could get something newer(¿better?) upon returning...

My current plans are to go to South Korea for no less than a year to teach ESL... ...the actual teaching I'm not exactly crazy about...but the 'other culture' experience should be awesome! and I can't imagine teaching ESL will be that rough :-P

if anything I think I'll only miss my bike during that time that I am still in the states after the sale, but before the move... but even still... that will mainly be cause I'm stuck in my POS cage

Thanks for all the advice! I think as soon as I get my arrangements a lil more concrete I will be selling her!... maybe when I come back I can get a newer f4i!...or maybe even an rr :-P... just as long as it isn't a banana seat *yuck*...haha

 

I don't think value will ever go up enough for you to keep it and sell it later on. Id just sell it now, save the cash and maybe get something later on, or use it on your trip. You love to ride, just don't really care what it is.. No reason to store it.

 

Ditto on Joe. Sell now, but later.