Adventure Bike Rider Forum

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Serow- ... Sw-0xYkH~S

The write up nearly sent me to sleep!

Silly money--they aren't that good--but they might get it---there's a Kawa super sherpa on fleabay at the moment for 1k less and its original 201797977635 , and mint--and a better low seat bike?
I'm helping "restore" a Kawa at the moment--took us a little over a day to get it down to a bare frame-- and a quality powder coat of the frame , kickstand, footrests, rear spring and so on is not much more than a 100 quid. To be honest if they are too good then they aren't really suitable for throwing at the scenery (talking about older bikes)--its even harder to throw a new 7k plus bike at the scenery--but people do it--and must have the money to not worry.

I have to say rod you do make a nice job of the bikes you refurb.

Nice job rod (thumbs)

Aren't you doing a small bike trip this year then?

A friend over here has a Serow along with a few other bikes including an R69S and I have to say I think they are a wonderful bike for off road. He makes great use of it and to me the proportions are great and the lack of weight a real bonus. If I were going for an adventure bike for trails and so on I would go for this.

All I can say Rod is if I was looking for a Serow I would buy yours without hesitation. Lovely job.

Tink wrote:Nice job rod (thumbs)

Aren't you doing a small bike trip this year then?

I am..I was going to get 06 serows & do them up to the same standard, but unfortunately the prices have shot up. To get a semi decent base,expect to pay £1500+ and then to do up, powder coat, racks,Garmin etc- there is little profit for the amount of work to get a reliable bike at the end.The concept of a budget trip would go out of the window if I had to do up serows now..it's such a shame.

but..silver linings & all that..I am now the proud owner of 08 ttrs, but only need 06- so Im thinning out. The serow goes and so will 2 ttr's...then its onto sorting the remaining bikes for a September trip.

catcitrus wrote:Silly money--they aren't that good--but they might get it---there's a Kawa super sherpa on fleabay at the moment for 1k less and its original 201797977635 , and mint--and a better low seat bike?
I'm helping "restore" a Kawa at the moment--took us a little over a day to get it down to a bare frame-- and a quality powder coat of the frame , kickstand, footrests, rear spring and so on is not much more than a 100 quid. To be honest if they are too good then they aren't really suitable for throwing at the scenery (talking about older bikes)--its even harder to throw a new 7k plus bike at the scenery--but people do it--and must have the money to not worry.

That bike looks nice.- I do agree with you about prices & throwing a good bike down a lane...I would expect that Sherpa to be around £1k, but its roughly the same price as a standard drum serow. What puts the ££ on an overhaul is the parts & time. I spent just shy of 6 months on the bike. I shudder to think how many hours I really put into it...still its all experience for the other bikes I suppose!

rodyorkabr wrote:

catcitrus wrote:Silly money--they aren't that good--but they might get it---there's a Kawa super sherpa on fleabay at the moment for 1k less and its original 201797977635 , and mint--and a better low seat bike?
I'm helping "restore" a Kawa at the moment--took us a little over a day to get it down to a bare frame-- and a quality powder coat of the frame , kickstand, footrests, rear spring and so on is not much more than a 100 quid. To be honest if they are too good then they aren't really suitable for throwing at the scenery (talking about older bikes)--its even harder to throw a new 7k plus bike at the scenery--but people do it--and must have the money to not worry.

That bike looks nice.- I do agree with you about prices & throwing a good bike down a lane...I would expect that Sherpa to be around £1k, but its roughly the same price as a standard drum serow. What puts the ££ on an overhaul is the parts & time. I spent just shy of 6 months on the bike. I shudder to think how many hours I really put into it...still its all experience for the other bikes I suppose!

I agree on time spent--and parts cost--versus market value---basically you are lucky to break even without even counting the hours spent and materials consumed. However, a lot of the fun is actually doing the job in the first place--and you end up with a bike that you know intimately, and one where all the little things that can go wrong have been sorted(wiring, cables, bearings and the like). A recent typical example for me was the Mikuni carb--the float bowl had never been off, and I ended up having to drill off the crosshead screw heads--now replaced with stainless socket heads of course.(and more realistic jets added).

For me- I really hate charging high prices..it ruins the market,as I have seen prices shoot up whenever I sell a bike that is has been truely sorted. I know I have lost £ if I add in my time...so I just try not to think about it!
I have also been over the last year to view so many "runs as sweet as a swiss watch" bikes...only to find that they dont know what they are talking about, with the model they are selling. My furthest follie was York to Portsmouth to buy a TTR...I got there and the two main areas I had asked for his honesty(over the phone)- came immediately to light. The repairs I knew would be £500 in parts...not labour..he wouldn't drop that much & so my journey was wasted...still I got a Dartford crossing fine as a memento of the trip- so all was not lost!...
Thats why I now take photographs of any work I do- so I can show work completed with receipts...watch the other serows shoot up in price after mine goes!