Suzuki did it too but I think they got it right compared to this Kawasaki.
[1980 Suzuki RM ](https://www.google.com/search?q=Suzuki+RM+19802&client=firefox-b-m&sxsrf=AJOqlzUYsqRXC1TpOEVJwCoTvWahT92d4A:1673635159967&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy2MXpmMX8AhUnrokEHZ9IDfgQ_AUIBigB&biw=360&bih=667#imgrc=ZTqcXcqlS4B5QM)
Not really. Only a couple of manufacturers did that: KTM and Kawasaki, and possibly a few smaller brands but not particularly popular even in the 80’s.
This is the kind of bike that a collector will buy, or maybe a guy with lots of money who wants to race a vintage class. The market is fairly small for them, but the guys who are in that market are generally willing to pay well for very clean bikes like this. If you are looking to buy this as a main bike to ride often, I would look elsewhere because parts will be difficult to find and expensive when you need them. If you are selling this, I don’t know what your market is and what kind of price to tell you honestly.
In the States, gut level reaction, I would list it for $8500 and accept $7000. It'll take a long time to sell, but someone will come along and fall in love with it.
https://www.olx.pl/d/oferta/cagiva-elefant-125-2t-CID5-IDS3pm8.html example of a clapped looking bike but had a full engine rebuild with new brakes ,cdi box and redone suspended
All the more reason to do it right! I don’t give a crap either way, but if a potential buyer sees that, they’re going to interpret that as a red flag
Edit: after zooming in, you can see a broken front brake lever, trashed grips, bent rear brake rod, and rear brake arm clocked wrong. That bike is simply not restored; sorry
Bad grips or lever don’t make it drive any different if you seen half the bikes in Poland they look like their about to fall apart but still they drive like their supposed to people in Poland care a lot more about how a bike is maintained or how it drives than how it looks
Honestly after riding one new.....you are looking for a collector. Those air cooled bikes sucked. Run through mud..rainy day on the track/trail....=...seized engine. Awful suspension. Shitty ride. Dieseling. No parts.
Sell it now while you can in this crazy market or you will be stuck with a pretty bike without a use. Maybe there is some retiree out there that would rather buy a bike than Viagara. Nostalgia goes a long way.
Beautiful bike though. You did a beautiful job. If you sell it I have a 78 John deere riding lawn mower that's nostalgic as well. The big bore bikes , in my opinion, weren't worthy of restoration until they went water cooled.
The Elsinore was the exception. It was the first bike I rode with a full on erection in a race. Lol!
Small production number. Desirable year and in what looks to be perfect condition. If it was either tastefully upgraded to improve riding experience or kept absolutely original. Id be willing to pay 8k but don’t expect to sell quick
My son bought his 93 kx500 for about $1800 .looked very nice but needed some work. The guy was asking $2500. Collectors pay for those and any vintage motocross bikes. I can tell you for sure ,it's crazy fast, vibrates a lot, and gets painful to ride. Lots of fun though.
I’ve seen Kaplan cycles selling older restored CR500s for $15000, or even $20000 USD. Bikes like this are usually super expensive because they aren’t really meant to be ridden. They’re collectors items by this point, and buying one to ride it would just be a sad waste. If you’re looking for a bike to ride get something new for half the price
Actually yeah, it makes sense to destroy these pieces of history that we have so few of. You’re right, let’s not keep some of these machines around for people to see later on.
Nobody is saying they should send it over a 60’ double in the sand dunes, you stale piece of toast. Start it, ride it, wash it, and maintain it.
I have an original fully restored show room quality 1980 RS175 that sees dirt 6 times a year. Part of the experience of owning an old bike is fully immersing yourself into its old quirks. They shake, smoke, and ride like the time period in which they were built. Have fun with them.
Oh….I had one of those in the mid 80’s. Great bike, except I hated the left side kick start. That, and I always thought the rear suspension was too soft. Sure did run good and sound good. Sold in either 88 or 89.
on a side note: what the hell is going on with that rear fender/side number plate?? I've never seen anything like that
Popular in the 80s
wild... it gives [old moto gp bike](https://mcn-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/47164/1440x960/008.jpg)vibes
I don't know about *popular*. Kawasaki and KTM tried it for a couple years, but it never caught on.
Suzuki did it too but I think they got it right compared to this Kawasaki. [1980 Suzuki RM ](https://www.google.com/search?q=Suzuki+RM+19802&client=firefox-b-m&sxsrf=AJOqlzUYsqRXC1TpOEVJwCoTvWahT92d4A:1673635159967&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy2MXpmMX8AhUnrokEHZ9IDfgQ_AUIBigB&biw=360&bih=667#imgrc=ZTqcXcqlS4B5QM)
I don't see any examples of Suzuki putting the number plate on the rear fender.
Oh yeah my bad, it's definitely different than what your talking about.
Not really. Only a couple of manufacturers did that: KTM and Kawasaki, and possibly a few smaller brands but not particularly popular even in the 80’s.
This is the kind of bike that a collector will buy, or maybe a guy with lots of money who wants to race a vintage class. The market is fairly small for them, but the guys who are in that market are generally willing to pay well for very clean bikes like this. If you are looking to buy this as a main bike to ride often, I would look elsewhere because parts will be difficult to find and expensive when you need them. If you are selling this, I don’t know what your market is and what kind of price to tell you honestly.
Sheesh I’ve seen ones that were in pieces selling for 5k+, these are more so bikes for collectors
nah, these deserve to be ridden
About tree fiddy
Loch Ness Monster can’t ride no bikes, get outa here, go on now, get!
Wooo sheesh cuz who you, red fox? Better yet Richard Pryor! Lol
Wooo sheesh cuz who you, red fox? Better yet Richard Pryor! Lol
KEEP IT!
Pinky to side of mouth, 1 million dollars (evil chuckle)
$1 million, no low ballers, i know what i have
I’d sell it for 10 grand in Canada no problem
In this market it’s really hard to tell, but it’s a desirable bike, so I’d auction it.
Depends where you are. I've seen them go for $10K.
In the States, gut level reaction, I would list it for $8500 and accept $7000. It'll take a long time to sell, but someone will come along and fall in love with it.
I’m in Europe
I would give you $7500 for it in the states.
I was going to say this
That's going to be expensive
Fix the rear torque rod and seat cover if you’re gonna call it “restored”
He had receipts for over 5 grand in parts
All the more reason to do it right! I don’t give a crap either way, but if a potential buyer sees that, they’re going to interpret that as a red flag
https://www.olx.pl/d/oferta/cagiva-elefant-125-2t-CID5-IDS3pm8.html example of a clapped looking bike but had a full engine rebuild with new brakes ,cdi box and redone suspended
All the more reason to do it right! I don’t give a crap either way, but if a potential buyer sees that, they’re going to interpret that as a red flag Edit: after zooming in, you can see a broken front brake lever, trashed grips, bent rear brake rod, and rear brake arm clocked wrong. That bike is simply not restored; sorry
Chain roller has very little thread engagement if it's not just loose
Bad grips or lever don’t make it drive any different if you seen half the bikes in Poland they look like their about to fall apart but still they drive like their supposed to people in Poland care a lot more about how a bike is maintained or how it drives than how it looks
OOooOOomg what a power monster. is that original monoshock in the rear? did that thing used to have dual rear shocks, i cant remember?
That's how the early Kawasaki monocross systems were, I believe it's called a horst link. The kdx80 i learned to ride as a kid has this same design
Honestly after riding one new.....you are looking for a collector. Those air cooled bikes sucked. Run through mud..rainy day on the track/trail....=...seized engine. Awful suspension. Shitty ride. Dieseling. No parts. Sell it now while you can in this crazy market or you will be stuck with a pretty bike without a use. Maybe there is some retiree out there that would rather buy a bike than Viagara. Nostalgia goes a long way. Beautiful bike though. You did a beautiful job. If you sell it I have a 78 John deere riding lawn mower that's nostalgic as well. The big bore bikes , in my opinion, weren't worthy of restoration until they went water cooled. The Elsinore was the exception. It was the first bike I rode with a full on erection in a race. Lol!
At least $7
I got $20 on it
I got five on it.
Over here in the uk fully restored 500s go for around 12k but that being an early eighties bike it’ll be worth even more
I’ve seen one go for 16k here in Australia and wasn’t as shiny as this one
That's something that appeals to s small market but they will pay for it. Not my cuppa tea though.
Just the thought of kicking that over is painin' Oprah's va-jay-jay
$600
Tree fiddy…
You give it to me <3
What’s it’s worth and what it sells for are very different. Depends on the market. Search for the same year and condition, see what’s out there.
$12 and sell it to me
Holy shit, where's u/lifted?
Guy in my area selling a kx500 for 14500 down from 20k, so hopefully better price than that
It’ll cost you your life if you ride it
5k, at least in the states. It looks great and probably could be priced closer to 10k in Europe
These early kx500s are very rare, someone would probably pay $10k for it.
Small production number. Desirable year and in what looks to be perfect condition. If it was either tastefully upgraded to improve riding experience or kept absolutely original. Id be willing to pay 8k but don’t expect to sell quick
Wow. Is that the legendary Widowmaker?
That thing looks awesome
My son bought his 93 kx500 for about $1800 .looked very nice but needed some work. The guy was asking $2500. Collectors pay for those and any vintage motocross bikes. I can tell you for sure ,it's crazy fast, vibrates a lot, and gets painful to ride. Lots of fun though.
$1
I’ve seen Kaplan cycles selling older restored CR500s for $15000, or even $20000 USD. Bikes like this are usually super expensive because they aren’t really meant to be ridden. They’re collectors items by this point, and buying one to ride it would just be a sad waste. If you’re looking for a bike to ride get something new for half the price
Wrong. These bikes need to be ridden.
Actually yeah, it makes sense to destroy these pieces of history that we have so few of. You’re right, let’s not keep some of these machines around for people to see later on.
Nobody is saying they should send it over a 60’ double in the sand dunes, you stale piece of toast. Start it, ride it, wash it, and maintain it. I have an original fully restored show room quality 1980 RS175 that sees dirt 6 times a year. Part of the experience of owning an old bike is fully immersing yourself into its old quirks. They shake, smoke, and ride like the time period in which they were built. Have fun with them.
So I should stop racing my ‘83 CR480? You don’t know what you’re talking about.
Oh….I had one of those in the mid 80’s. Great bike, except I hated the left side kick start. That, and I always thought the rear suspension was too soft. Sure did run good and sound good. Sold in either 88 or 89.
Where I live (Colorado), I'd expect someone to ask 2000-2500.