When you’re looking at selling your motorcycle, it’s important to know what it’s worth. Price it too high and you’ll be wasting your time. Price it too low and you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot.
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There is no reliable free motorcycle valuation tool but there is one UK-based website that offers an instant valuation. WeBuyAnyBike.com will give you an instant valuation. You have to enter your bike’s registration, then fill out other details including its make, model, mileage and condition. The estimator does give you a ‘value’ however it’s worth remembering this is what your motorbike is worth to that company. You may be able to get more if you sell it privately and generally speaking, it’s not an accurate market valuation of your motorcycle.
How to value a motorbike you’re selling
Even though the majority of people just want a quick answer, it pays to do some research.
Start by looking at websites like eBay and seeing how much bikes similar to yours are being listed for. The site has a “completed listings” feature which shows you all the bikes that have been listed and colours the final price red if it wasn’t sold or green if it was.
If anyone has started a motorcycle auction for a bike well under the final hammer price, with no reserve, you’ll get a good indication of what the market is prepared to pay for that bike.
BikeTrader is another good resource and they have a very good smartphone app. Check out the listings to find motorbikes like yours and from there you can get a good idea of what it’s worth.
What if I’ve got a one-off?
If you’ve got a classic, historic or ex-race bike that you think is a little bit special and different to anything else out there, it’s worth looking at specialist websites to see if you can find any for sale.
Start by using Google to search for your bike’s make and model and add ‘for sale’ to the end of the search query. Hopefully you’ll bring up some similar listings.
Then take a look at sites such as Bonhams, H&H and Car & Classic to see if you can find any similar examples.
Glass Motorcycle Price Guide
The Glass’s guide used to be a monthly printed booklet packed with every motorbike that had been sold in the UK over the past 10 years.
The guide was used by dealers to help them value a bike in a variety of conditions, from Good to Fair to Poor. You might be able to pick up an old copy somewhere – very handy if you’re into buying and selling.
If you are a prolific buyer and seller but not quite a full-time dealer you could subscribe to the Glass’s Guide Online Motorcycle Price Guide – it costs around £300 a year for a subscription.
Questions or Comments?
If you’ve got a question about this article and you need a bit more guidance, drop a comment below and we’ll get back to you.
Likewise, if you’ve got something to add to this article or an experience you’d like to share, let’s hear it!
We love reading your comments and helping our readers.
I own a Suzuki TR 175 trials bike with 32 miles on the clock bought from new from a main dealership in 1978. I lost my bottle after an accident (not my fault) on a previous bike. The Suzuki is as manufactured with no mods and has been garage stored since 1978. It is in full working, and 100% road legal order but now I need to sell due to my mother passing away. I have all the original log book and manual etc.