What's a fair price for a flat tappet Griso?

[jlburgess]

I had kind of intended on keeping this bike for life but after moving to SoCal from Oregon I think I lost my faith in cage drivers.  My tappets checked out fine but obviously need to get rollered at some point.  Sadly I have amassed only 1,000 miles in the last year.  The bike is heavily farkelized which might be better to sell off seperately?
20 k miles.  I'm thinking about selling it and my older stick shift Jeep for a newer Jeep....

[groundhog105]

I would think you will have a difficult time selling the Griso without having the roller rocker conversion done.  You could probably get the factory to supply the parts at the least. 

[jlburgess]

I would think you will have a difficult time selling the Griso without having the roller rocker conversion done.  You could probably get the factory to supply the parts at the least.

Well the fact is it ain't broke so they don't cover it.  Maybe I should consign it at the dealer that did the inspection?  I've bought and sold there before with good results.
I'd like this to be a valuation thread, not an upgrade thread.

[oldbike54]

 Look up the price for the same bike with the fix , subtract the cost of the repair , plus $600.00 or so to cover the aggravation . That would get close .

 Dusty

[pete roper]

John, I'm sorry to hear you're selling it but so be it.

What it's worth is what someone is willing to pay for it but a decent man, (or woman.) would sell it with full disclosure which means that unrollerised its value has to be pretty low. It's an early model bike from memory, (2009?) so that will count against it. Then add in the fact it needs a 'C' kit with all associated costs and its value is essentially dive bombing. Farkles add nothing to the value unfortunately, that's just the way it is.

I have no idea of its true worth in the USA, all I can say is I'd buy it if I could to replace 'Pinko' but right at the moment I'm trying to sell my Mana GT and if I buy anything else in the US it will probably be a Stelvio as both Jude and I can travel on that in comfort. The Mana is getting a bit *Snug* for the two of us, a Griso is out of the question as a 2-Up bike and experience has taught us that the Cali 14 sucks so if it's anything it'll be a Stelvio.

Sorry, I'm ranting.

Pete

[jlburgess]

So what I'm hearing is that the value of my non-Roper approved bike is a negative number?  You are a nice guy Pete and well informed.  I'm sure that I can't even part it out now.  Maybe I should just keep it and wait to move on.

[pete roper]

Sorry John, not trying to be negative, just honest. In US terms it's an 'Old' bike now and it needs rollerising. If I had the need for it I'd buy it in a flash, but with the understanding I'd be having to fling another grand in parts and some hours labour at it to get it right. If you find someone who feels the same way it would be a great buy but for 'Joe Average' they would probably be a killer.

Pete

[ITSec]

To expand on what Pete has said...

I'm hoping to buy a Stelvio and a Griso this fall. I would consider a bike that originally had flat tappets IF it has already had the conversion performed. I would simply discount from consideration any bike that needed the work and had not yet been updated. Since I can chose bikes that have been fixed already or never had the issue versus those that are still waiting for an update, it's straightforward.

I don't think I'm that different from any buyer aware of this issue - there are bikes that are on the market that don't have this issue, and buyers will opt for them rather than bikes (regardless of quality) that still need the update.

[Dilliw]

I don't think I'm that different from any buyer aware of this issue - there are bikes that are on the market that don't have this issue, and buyers will opt for them rather than bikes (regardless of quality) that still need the update.

This. 

Used 2012-2014 factory roller Grisos can be had for $7k.  You will have to be $3k under that to sell to a knowledgeable buyer since it needs "C" kit, and then you will need a buyer who wants your '09 over a used Black/Red Devil for whatever reason (location, farkles, desire, etc).  That might be a hard buyer to find and the only thing you can do is reduce the price. 

I would swap back on all the OEM parts you have and sell the farlkes separately here. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

I would swap back on all the OEM parts you have and sell the farlkes separately here.

Good advice. Farkles don't add much value to a used bike. That's just a fact of life. <shrug> A non rollered 8 valve? Sorry. I wouldn't look at it unless it was really cheap. It's the same situation as the unmodified Lario. You can hardly give away a pristine low mileage example..

[kirb]

'09 Griso KBB trade =$4.8k retail = $7k
Private sale in the middle somewhere
- $? cost of roller labor once the parts are supplied by Piaggio

I'd say you are in the $4k-5k tops in private sale, more like $3k-$4k reality.

There are a few, with good reason, who wouldn't buy a Griz that had the tappets fail and then rollered. You would hope the dealer the proper job, but I would be spending my entire riding experience wondering how much of that DLC is floating around the spendy bits in the engine.

[arveno]

Frankly how much do you espect to get for that bike ?
Please enlighten us.

Thanks

[MotoG5]

'09 Griso KBB trade =$4.8k retail = $7k
Private sale in the middle somewhere
- $? cost of roller labor once the parts are supplied by Piaggio

I'd say you are in the $4k-5k tops in private sale, more like $3k-$4k reality.

There are a few, with good reason, who wouldn't buy a Griz that had the tappets fail and then rollered. You would hope the dealer the proper job, but I would be spending my entire riding experience wondering how much of that DLC is floating around the spendy bits in the engine.

As the owner of a  rollerized 2012 NTX I agree with your estimate on value. I would not expect to get any more than that even with the upgrade for my bike. That is why I wont bother to sell it. I did the conversion myself but even so the only way I see getting my dimes worth out of it is to ride it until it either has paid me back in miles used or it dies. Since I have already taken the hit I don't worry about the DLC issue, it will be what it will be. So far its running fine and I really do love the bike and it does what I bought it for. At my age its entirely possible that I may break before it does. If it does go before I do I will sell it for parts and get something else. At least now that the 8V is out of production it will have some value for salvage.

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

TI would consider a bike that originally had flat tappets IF it has already had the conversion performed. I would simply discount from consideration any bike that needed the work and had not yet been updated. Since I can chose bikes that have been fixed already or never had the issue versus those that are still waiting for an update, it's straightforward.

I don't think I'm that different from any buyer aware of this issue - there are bikes that are on the market that don't have this issue, and buyers will opt for them rather than bikes (regardless of quality) that still need the update.

Unfortunately this is truth

Why buy a bike with a known issue, when the parts are difficult to get, even guzzisti are generaly confused as to which part set is needed, and compitent dealers to preform the swap are few and far between?  To make matters worse... they made the GRiSO for 10 years solid, and there are plenty of cheap roller bikes on the market.

This sucks for you man, but I think you are in for a soaking on this one.  I personally wouldnt even consider any flat tappet 8v guzzi, regardless of history, unless it was a Tenni GRiSO with crazy low miles in perfect cosmetic condition...

Perhaps those who can do the work themselves will feel different, but those same people will be looking for a bargain if they have to rebuild the engine.

[Waltr]

How many miles on the Griso?  It is very hard to believe that there is zero visual wear on the tappets. If you have not ridden it, well, maybe so. But if you have at least 10-15 thousand there is going to be some visual wear and they have always covered with some visual wear showing.  By the time you can see it the process has started. 

[Waltr]

Did your dealer charge you to pull a rocker box and take pictures of the tappets?

[Chuck in Indiana]

Maybe they looked, saw all the parts in there, and said it's fine? 

[pete roper]

Sadly, with John's bike I think they didn't look, charged him a fortune and told him it was fine.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sadly, with John's bike I think they didn't look, charged him a fortune and told him it was fine.

Well, that *would* be easier than actually taking a valve cover off.. wondering what all those parts were.. and saying it's fine. <shrug>

[Nic in Western NYS]

What it's worth is what someone is willing to pay for it but a decent man, (or woman.) would sell it with full disclosure which means that unrollerised its value has to be pretty low.

Pete

As Pete implied, it's an ethical issue.  Lots of people buy vehicles not knowing the issues the sellers knew.  The question is whether you want to join that group of sellers.