Restore or customize?

i recently picked up a good condition 1982 xj550 with 23 000 kms for $360 cnd. the bike is not running but im working on that considering all it was doing is sitting in a garage for 5 years. (bike was running before stored). its not seized so it has great potential.

question is should i restore it to factory or should i rake it and customize the bike. i bought the bike for a resale project. which do you think would be easier to sell?

i think if i make it a chopper i will want to keep it lol.

 

Well my two cents “about all it’s really worth” is if you are going to sell it, do a nice but not to crazy restoration. The money and effort to do an in depth restoration is seldom if ever recovered. If you change your mind and decide to keep it than anything goes. I’m 90% done on the restoration of my 81 Seca 750. So I only have 90% to go. That will make sense to anyone how’s done this before. Judging from all the awesome work I’ve seen done here, I’m sure most of you will get it.

 

yeah so you think i should just keep it stock with a couple of goodies like new mirrors and such? its my first restoration and im only 19 so. my over knowledge isnt there abotu all the older stuff. im pretty tool savy though, good with my hands so it shouldnt take me to long to get the old girl going again. i dont even have my bike licence so i might keep it as my starter bike for a while after rebuilding her. its in great shape amazing what people have sitting around for years.

 

I say get it going as is with as little dough spent as possible. Use it for a starter bike. Then after a season or so of riding, chop it. Modify it. Make it your creation. You'll always regret losing the first one.

Of course, the purist will string me up for saying chop it.

 

to make it short and sweet: MAKE IT YOURS, Give it your flare for style.

get some ideas from our galleries . lots a of great bikes.

 

At the end of the the day it's up to you. You could use it as a tool to teach yourself stock fixes or tricked out mods. What do you prefer? If I were you, I would leave it stock and dress it up a bit as you are doing this to resell it. The further you go tricking it out the less potential you will have to find a buyer.

 

If you're planning to sell it then I would not start cutting it up. The closer to original the better for resale value.

But as others have mentioned, EITHER way, you're not likely to get as much back as you put into it no matter which route you go.

I'm WAAY "upside down" on my '83 but I plan to ride it till I wear it out, so I look at it as being a really cheap NEW bike.

 

Like the others said. Keep it as original as you can and don't chop it up. It is a great bike to start with. And when you get tired of its' looks, then sell it. Let somebody else enjoy a great bike the way it was made.

 

I understand this, but being on the boat of "man i wish I hadn't sold my first bike", I vote for cut her up, make her yours. But as was said above, if you start doing any mods, and then later decide to sell, don't expect to get much usually.

I'm tearing mine apart, hardly using any of the stock bits. From an 81 with <10k on the clock when I picked it up last spring. If you're debating on selling it, I say get it running as cheaply as possible, then make your decision. Just my 2c.

 

thanks guys. and for my prefference i love the chopper laid back look, i dont know how comfortable they are to ride but i love how the sit. i think im going to keep this one original with as little money spent as possible. sell it and then buy another bike, just to get a feel of what type of bike i like to ride most. thanks for the input guys.

i think my plan is to find a none running donner bike (or frame) and then chop that one up to make it a chopper. that way i can have both. and i know what people are saying about loosing your first i still cant get rid of my first truck. but space is tight so i dont know where im going to store all these bikes lol. guess im going to have to kick my father out of his garage

any more input would be great maybe some links to some canadian sites for parts or wreckers that sort of things.

thanks guys