Copycat used bargains

Just don’t buy new, you might as well chuck your cash down a well.

Good news, the brace of Suzuki TS250s I dragged out from the back of my lock-up (one of them needed a lot of dragging as the chain had seized and the other required multiple drags as it was all in boxes) sold easily. I’d reckoned they’d make two grand, and was smack on the money – the pair sold for £1970.

Even allowing for the £500 I’d spent on paint and parts, that’s an easy £500 more than they owed me and all they did was sit in a garage. I’m beginning to think that restoring Japanese bikes for money is a mug’s game – just let project bikes quietly appreciate on their own. From the ridiculous to the sublime: I’ve just heard, a bit late in the day, that Triumph are discontinuing the 1200 Trophy.

TOP STORIES

• First Ride: 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6
• The great smell of Desmo…
• Ducati Monster 797 shines through despite washout
• MotoGP: Extra sessions planned as rain set to hit opening night

I’m not the least bit surprised, and I’ve more than once tipped the big inline four tourer as a superb used buy because it depreciates like a brick dropped down a well, and buying a new one is like throwing your wallet and credit cards after the brick. Used values are going to be even lower now, so a 2015/16 Trophy will be the touring bargain of the century with high spec and decent build quality.

When Triumph try and copy others (in this case, BMW’s R1200RT), they fall flat on their faces. Who remembers the four-cylinder TT600, the Honda CBR600-lookalike? But when they tread their own path, like with the Bonnie series and the Speed and Street Triples, they don’t put a foot wrong.

I’d be happy to bet that Yamaha’s Super Ténéré isn’t long for this world either, and for much the same reason. Why buy it when you can buy a BMW R1200GS instead? Used Super Téns, I think, are going to be cheap so there will be some bargains to be had.

 

Looking for the perfect two-wheeled companion? Visit MCN Bikes For Sale website or use MCN’s Bikes For Sale App.