Cruiser riding question: M50 resale value: ramblings

[KelvinAng]

Hey guys,

Started looking at cruisers lately, a category of bikes I never thought I'll consider. The M50 seems to hit the sweet spot for me in terms of styling and noise level.

A short test-ride suggest it's pretty comfy too although I keep getting the feeling that I could do better if I had slightly longer legs. I can shift and brake alright, no problems, but it seems a tad more stretched out than I'm used to, so I guess it's just the style of cruiser riding? Or do I need to go for leg extension surgery? I'm 170cm/5'8" and a 30.5" inseam.

It handles very well much to my surprise! Maybe it's the fuel-injection, I don't get that "breathe on throttle and to launch rocket" feeling which is great. I hate making U-Turns but on the M50 it was easy. I like it, suits my nana riding style perfectly. I thought the brakes could have a tad more bite though. No surprise there, had been reading about the single disc + drum brakes in practically every review of the M50.

But there's one thing I'm a bit concerned about - there's a couple of M50s on Trade Me, and none of them seem to be selling! I'm just thinking what if I decided after riding the bike for a month or so daily that I really don't like a cruiser bike and want to sell it, but couldn't? Any thoughts on this? I suppose most cruiser guys would prefer a larger, classic-styled bike and not a tiny 800cc displacement engine pushing out 46 ponies?

Any thoughts welcomed :yes:

[munster]

I bought an M50 off trademe last September, My Dad bought one last week.

From personal observation (watching trademe for 6 months) they do seem to hold their value well and though slow to move, they do get their price.

It's a purchase I've never regretted, and Dad loved it so much he flicked his Hyosung Aquila 250 and bought one as well.

As for riding postion, I'm 6' 3" and am thinking about forward controls, there's some kits from the states that put them forward 3 inches.

[KelvinAng]

As for riding postion, I'm 6' 3" and am thinking about forward controls, there's some kits from the states that put them forward 3 inches.

Do you mean you find the foot controls a bit too near towards you? I'd imagine that might be the case, being 6' 3". Cheers for that, if I end up buying the M50 and the riding position continue to bug me after a while I'll look into modification kits.

[munster]

yes, the standard controls are OK, but my legs are quite bent and my knees high. I want to be more stretched out. Might also help keep my heels off the ground in the corners.

[YellowDog]

M50's a nice looking bit of kit.

If you like all that hands and feet in the air uncomfortable stuff then good luck to you.

[KelvinAng]

If you like all that hands and feet in the air uncomfortable stuff then good luck to you.

The seller suggest that I take her out on a longer ride to see how I like it. I commute 50-60 minutes one-way so that's something to consider.

[Toaster]

The M50 is a good mid sized bike and not overdone in the horse yanking department, so is a good place to start rather than jumping onto the bigger bikes that really do require a taller frame to ride safely.

I agree with the seller... take it out for a longer ride and make sure you do open road speeds as well as slow speed parking, turning etc etc to get a feel for it better.

Have fun!

[Jerry74]

Mine goes well, but I have that harley bug so the M50 will be up for sale soon

[KelvinAng]

Had a short run today on the bike, bit of town riding, bit of motorway, bit of easy twisting country road and bit of gas station manoeuvring. The bike is fantastic to handle at posted speed limits. It almost feels like you're sitting in an auto-pilot armchair. Love the torque. Once I get going I can actually pootle around town in fifth (top) gear without the bike stuttering. I thought that's amazing! The gearbox is very smooth with neutral easy to engage.

The wind while riding isn't as bad as I thought it will be. Just for fun I assumed the "sportbike position" and it makes a considerable difference to the amount of wind and wind noise. I reckon a small screen may actually help.

Got two mates with me checking out the bike as well. One of them rides a 2004 Marauder 800, so essentially a carburettor version of the M50. He had a short blat on it and thought it's a worthy upgrade. The other is a knee-down fan and has never ridden a cruiser but he took it for a blat too and returned grinning (positively). Besides the brake issue (as to be expected!) knee-down bloke is impressed. However he did ask what the "FI" light on the dash stand for, to which Marauder rider replies, "it stands for Fucking Idiot." :laugh:

Knee-down bloke now reckons a cruiser is in his radar.

[PeeJay]

Hey guys,

Started looking at cruisers lately, a category of bikes I never thought I'll consider. The M50 seems to hit the sweet spot for me in terms of styling and noise level.

A short test-ride suggest it's pretty comfy too although I keep getting the feeling that I could do better if I had slightly longer legs. I can shift and brake alright, no problems, but it seems a tad more stretched out than I'm used to, so I guess it's just the style of cruiser riding? Or do I need to go for leg extension surgery? I'm 170cm/5'8" and a 30.5" inseam.

It handles very well much to my surprise! Maybe it's the fuel-injection, I don't get that "breathe on throttle and to launch rocket" feeling which is great. I hate making U-Turns but on the M50 it was easy. I like it, suits my nana riding style perfectly. I thought the brakes could have a tad more bite though. No surprise there, had been reading about the single disc + drum brakes in practically every review of the M50.

But there's one thing I'm a bit concerned about - there's a couple of M50s on Trade Me, and none of them seem to be selling! I'm just thinking what if I decided after riding the bike for a month or so daily that I really don't like a cruiser bike and want to sell it, but couldn't? Any thoughts on this? I suppose most cruiser guys would prefer a larger, classic-styled bike and not a tiny 800cc displacement engine pushing out 46 ponies?

Any thoughts welcomed :yes:

You could always sell it, depends how much you would be willing to take.
Its a buyers market, so if you decided to sell its up to you. Price to sell or price to keep.
The biggest mistake sellers make when trying to sell their ex pride and joy is they put a price up which is what they think the bike is worth to them.
Its only worth what someone is willing to pay.
I know someone who for the sake of $1000 ($21,000 HD) ended up taking 9 mths to sell his bike. Took $17000 in the end. Basic problem, we have an over supply of bikes for sale.
Bike shop prices are generally higher than market value because they can offer insurance, finance, warranty, and the whole deal is less "risky" than a private sale.
Why dont you make an offer on the M50 that arent selling on TM?
Spare a thought for the owner of an MV F4 7000km. Cost $45000 ? shop has been trying to get $22000 without any luck so far.

[KelvinAng]

Why dont you make an offer on the M50 that arent selling on TM?
Spare a thought for the owner of an MV F4 7000km. Cost $45000 ? shop has been trying to get $22000 without any luck so far.

I viewed two M50s (the only two available in Christchurch on TM at the moment), and test rode the one I'm more interested in (the slightly more K's and less pretty-looking one - not too hot on riding an immaculate bike for commuting). I thought his asking price is realistic and will be paying his asking price once I sort out how to pay his finance company the remainder of the money owed on it. I've sold a Vespa scooter, a little Honda Hornet and a Toyota MR2 (all my former pride and joy) on TM for very realistic prices and they were all gone within a week or two. The M50 I rode was on TM for almost 2 months so I reckon M50's aren't in demand despite everyone saying how nice it is.

And wow, a $45k bike. I'll need to be the sole winner of Powerball to even dream about going near one!

[wainui]

5'8" seems about right for that type of bike, perhaps its because you arent use too riding in so relaxed position.
Not sure if you can bring footpegs back to suit though.
there are a few that have been sitting for awhile onTM could be other factors (price too high,Economy etc)

[KelvinAng]

Got the bike! Photos somehow don't display here, instead showing up as links... since I've posted the photos in another forum anyway I'll just link to that thread. I think the black and chrome bits look very good together.

http://www.southernrider.co.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10282

[KelvinAng]

5'8" seems about right for that type of bike, perhaps its because you arent use too riding in so relaxed position.
Not sure if you can bring footpegs back to suit though.

You're right, it doesn't seem possible to bring the footpegs backwards. I checked that out specifically when I had a second look at the bike. Good news is that it wasn't as bad as I thought - I just needed to get used to the riding position.

[munster]

Well, Dad & I did the Cormandel Loop on Saturday. Saw a real nice lady cop in Coromndel Town at a checkpoint checking WOF's & Rego. She was so nice, we went back for seconds!

Bikes both went well, handled fantastically. The road from Coromandel to Whitianga is officialy my new favourite bike road.

Interestingly, Dad got 50km more out of his tank before the final bar started flashing. Mind you I am heavier than him and I had a pillion all day (my 14 year old daughter). I got 284 km, Dad got 330.

I'm doing that trip again soon.

[KelvinAng]

I'm really enjoying the ride on the M50, the exception being on windy days (which is like 6 days out of the week!). The winds can be quite a beast to wrestle on the cruiser. Yesterday I had the most amazing ride into work (probably calm or a light tail wind is blowing), but a most frustrating one back home with a headwind of around 30km/hr (according to the Metservice website). I think my neck and arm muscles got a bit of a workout :confused:

I think I need a screen.

[KelvinAng]

Interestingly, Dad got 50km more out of his tank before the final bar started flashing. Mind you I am heavier than him and I had a pillion all day (my 14 year old daughter). I got 284 km, Dad got 330.

Got some mileage data now. I reached about 300 km before I noticed the final bar starting to flash, and I rode pretty conservatively after (80-90km/hr) that as I'm still about 15km away from home and don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. In the end I reached the servo at 314km on the trip meter and filled up almost 14L of gas. That gives me almost 22.5km/L (~53mpg USA/64mpg UK) fuel economy. This is based on 80% open road/motorway riding and 20% city riding, mostly sedate riding and early shifts.

I'd like to further improve the fuel economy though...

[munster]

From reading the some US M50 forums, your milegae is very good. I once got 350km's before the bar started flashing, but it must have been all down hill and I rode it like a Nana when I first got it.

Glad you're enjoying your bike.

[munster]

And if you haven't already, these are worth a read

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4268696.html?page=1

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2006-lightmiddleweight-cruiser-comparison-3972.html

[KelvinAng]

Good read, thanks :yes:

[KelvinAng]

Just thought I'll update the thread on the results of my fuel economy experiment. In the last tank I did a little experiment by keeping within the speed limits, riding between 90-100km/hr indicated most of the time.

I get 24.1km/L, or almost 57mpg US (68mpg UK).

I think to get any better mileage, I'm going to need fairings and risk getting a traffic cop ticket (for going too slow).

[bluebird]

Have you tried a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 custom? Different again, in my opinion less likely to be grown out of.

[jasonzc]

Have you tried a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 custom? Different again, in my opinion less likely to be grown out of.

apparently (i havnt ridden either) after my researching of both bikes,

vulcan has moar torque, whilst the m50 wins in the handling department.

Cant wait till i get to try both out.. the lucky winner will be my next bike :clap:

[bluebird]

I don't recal the M50 handling better than the Vulcan, I've ridden both, but not the latest M50 model which is far superior in looks to the old one.

[KelvinAng]

I actually prefer the old M50 look for now, though that's not to say I don't like the new one. Haven't ridden the Vulcan mainly because I prefer a non-classic style cruiser, not too big into the studded leather seats and saddle bags. I wish the M50 has (1) better brakes and (2) a 6th (or 7th!) gear, but as it is, it's a pretty good ride :-)

[bluebird]

Usually studded seats and saddle bags are optional. Personally I do not like them. I would ride a Vulcan because if you have never ridden a bike you will never know how it handles or feels like to own. I had an S50 and my mates Vulcan was a better ride on all aspects especially the fact you never looked for another top gear hiway riding.