RG500 Values

[Steve Bass]

What's the collective opinion here??

Has the 80's/90's deux temps market peaked or is there room to grow?

There's a MINT one come up here from a famous collection but at nearly £20k gbp it feels a little salty.
As lovely and iconic as it may be, I wonder if the values have peaked based on the average riders age from those days now being older/wealthier and wanting the halo bikes from their paydays.
It makes the showroom condition NSR400 that's also up for about £17k look a bit cheeky though. However an NSR 400 motor just sold for $7000 CAD look expensive.
There's also an Aprilia RS250 Cup Bike with 400kms for £10k gbp but they can't be road registered so that's hanging around.

Hmmmmmm.

Edited by Steve Bass on Thursday 24th October 14:16

[podman]

I *think* I sold my RD500 at its peak in 2022 , private sale, sold for £20,000.

RGs/Rds seem to be available quite a bit under that now and those that are above it, from dealers, are sitting a long time it appears.

A friend of mine restores bikes for a living and he is clear he is losing money on them now and looking for a "proper" paid job to support the business, prices are suppressed and the market is deflated, classic prices are always on a roller coaster so if you want one to buy and keep long term, could be a good time to buy..

[Steve Bass]

That's interesting Bryan....
My issue is a bike at 20k isn't going to be a daily ride.
And keeping it in a bubble tent is like animals in the zoo.... sad as it's not where they belong...

So as a piece of art does it make sense?? Not sure

[podman]

Steve Bass said:

That's interesting Bryan....
My issue is a bike at 20k isn't going to be a daily ride.
And keeping it in a bubble tent is like animals in the zoo.... sad as it's not where they belong...

So as a piece of art does it make sense?? Not sure

Well, I did use my RD500, covering around 4,000 miles in 5 years, I had lots of issues with it for the first couple of years otherwise I would have done many more, not a lot of miles but as you know, many classic bike owners do next to nothing from one year to the next.

Despite that, it did double in value, my 350LC has trebled in value over 10,000 miles/12years , so if you keep a classic long enough, you can have your cake and eat it…

[NS400R]

I wouldn’t be betting on values holding on the RG. The whole market is depressed. Add in the commitment needed to keep one on the road, poor parts availability , the reality that it actually wasn’t a particularly great handling bike and that the quality was poor. Plastics on them are fragile and the gearbox is the original Russian roulette surprise. If your plastics deteriorate/snap you’re going to lose money, never mind a couple of gears through the cases….. I wouldn’t touch the RZ500 either. The NS makes a better case as it was beautifully built but you’d be brave to buy one of those too to at approaching 40 years old with, once again, poor parts availability.

That said, I do make parts for the NS…..

[fly by wire]

The 500 Gamma was always over rated mainly due to the test bikes supplied to journos were somewhat 'enhanced' by Suzuki GB, the showroom version having nowhere near the same performance.

Thr RD500 was a waste of money, a good 350 YPVS was far better in every respect.

The NS400R was the one to have once the dicky 2nd gear issue had been fixed, I had one with a Terry Shepherd 500 conversion with 17" wheels meaning I could fit decent tyres. Neither the RG or RD could hold a candle to this in performance or handling. I wish I still had it.

[Skeptisk]

Unless you were into bikes and around when the RG500 was new, it probably wouldn’t be on your shopping list. At some point all those who would be interested will stop riding or die, so long term values for anything but the best are likely to fall, I would think.

[Dalmahoy]

Think you're seeing a touch of reality after everything went crazy during the covid years.
Throw in some economic issues/speculators into the mix.
I am almost finished rebuilding a zero mileage RG500 with the intention of using it - not interested in speculation or value.
Always wanted one and not just to look at.

[Kawasicki]

I might be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think the classic bike and car market is going down, down, down. I attended a huge meet lately. Hundreds of old bikes, owned by old people, I was offered many bikes. I got. the distinct feeling that some owners were anxious that their investments might be dropping in value.

On the other hand it could all just be in my head.

[Rob 131 Sport]

Kawasicki said:

I might be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think the classic bike and car market is going down, down, down. I attended a huge meet lately. Hundreds of old bikes, owned by old people, I was offered many bikes. I got. the distinct feeling that some owners were anxious that their investments might be dropping in value.

On the other hand it could all just be in my head.

Values will always fluctuate for classics based on a number of parameters. The RG500 and NS400 are similar to the Escort RS Turbo and Sierra Cosworth, where they appeal to people over a vast age range and not just the 50-70 who had one or like me (lusted after one) when they were younger.

I did look at getting an 80’s 2 Stroke a few years ago with an NS400 or KR1S being favourites. I discussed it with a few people and it was always values and investment that they wanted to talk about.

Whilst I wouldn’t have wanted its value to tank, I wanted to just enjoy the ownership experience with occasional use and have something as a garage queen. I fully expected it to be a maintenance money pit that would have been absolutely fine by me.

[NS400R]

Rob 131 Sport said:

I fully expected it to be a maintenance money pit that would have been absolutely fine by me.

They don’t have to be if they’re used regularly and fed decent petrol and oil. Mine has done 35k miles on original pistons and crank. Apart from needing replacement inlet manifolds and a new third gear at last strip down, it has been utterly reliable. So reliable I had no qualms about using it on an Old Gits trip to Italy a few years back. I’d be more worried about modern BMW failing to be honest.

But the reality is that most out there have been neglected and will be money pits. And that gets worse if the bike wasn’t the best built to start with

[Rob 131 Sport]

NS400R said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

I fully expected it to be a maintenance money pit that would have been absolutely fine by me.

They don’t have to be if they’re used regularly and fed decent petrol and oil. Mine has done 35k miles on original pistons and crank. Apart from needing replacement inlet manifolds and a new third gear at last strip down, it has been utterly reliable. So reliable I had no qualms about using it on an Old Gits trip to Italy a few years back. I’d be more worried about modern BMW failing to be honest.

But the reality is that most out there have been neglected and will be money pits. And that gets worse if the bike wasn’t the best built to start with

That is a stunning looking bike, you must be so proud. I always adored the look of the NS400 and RG500 back in the day. I was less keen on the RD500. Unfortunately I never got to own any of them.

[Mr Tidy]

Steve Bass said:

My issue is a bike at 20k isn't going to be a daily ride.
And keeping it in a bubble tent is like animals in the zoo.... sad as it's not where they belong...

So as a piece of art does it make sense?? Not sure

Probably not!

I wouldn't have the willpower to stop myself from using it now and again, regardless of what it did to the value.

Which may be a safer mindset as it isn't like it's value will tank.

[Kuwahara]

Skeptisk said:

Unless you were into bikes and around when the RG500 was new, it probably wouldn’t be on your shopping list. At some point all those who would be interested will stop riding or die, so long term values for anything but the best are likely to fall, I would think.

The RD was thrown together, the weird carb set up was testament to that , at least the Japanese market ones had an alloy frame as opposed to steel but never really caught on, 350 YPVS was probably the better bike for a daily.

[mark seeker]

Skeptisk said:

Unless you were into bikes and around when the RG500 was new, it probably wouldn’t be on your shopping list. At some point all those who would be interested will stop riding or die, so long term values for anything but the best are likely to fall, I would think.

I do tend to agree, how many 20 / early 30 years olds are lusting after an RG500 / RD250LC / X7?

I'm currently very casually looking for an LC and there seem to be a lot on the market, the influx of the German / Canadian./ Swedish etc bikes has created a lot of supply and a lot of the bikes I see tend to hang around (even the UK matching numbers bike), there was a UK LC that had delivery mileage that didn't make the reserve at auction (I think it made £12k)? I do occasionally see the RG500 in the Manor Park auctions and they seem to roll into the next auction.

[Rob 131 Sport]

mark seeker said:

Skeptisk said:

Unless you were into bikes and around when the RG500 was new, it probably wouldn’t be on your shopping list. At some point all those who would be interested will stop riding or die, so long term values for anything but the best are likely to fall, I would think.

I do tend to agree, how many 20 / early 30 years olds are lusting after an RG500 / RD250LC / X7?

I'm currently very casually looking for an LC and there seem to be a lot on the market, the influx of the German / Canadian./ Swedish etc bikes has created a lot of supply and a lot of the bikes I see tend to hang around (even the UK matching numbers bike), there was a UK LC that had delivery mileage that didn't make the reserve at auction (I think it made £12k)? I do occasionally see the RG500 in the Manor Park auctions and they seem to roll into the next auction.

Whilst I haven’t studied the stock in detail flicking through Steve Berry’s really decent pre auction programmes, values seem to be very competitive.

[mark seeker]

Not an RG500 but this went through the blocks earlier, almost made me wonder if I want one over an LC.

Seems to be fairly ok money...

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2671-02-N...

[Rob 131 Sport]

mark seeker said:

Not an RG500 but this went through the blocks earlier, almost made me wonder if I want one over an LC.

Seems to be fairly ok money...

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2671-02-N...

Nice bike in the best colour scheme. However back in the day (86 to 90) I preferred the TZR 250.