Selling a UK Bike in Luxembourg Advice (FS as well)

I moved to Luxembourg a little while ago, and brought my bike with me - an
R-Reg Fazer 600. The thing is, I've now decided that I could do with
something a bit bigger, so the Fazer is going to have to go. Another factor
in the decision is that re-registering it as a Luxembourg vehicle would be a
major PITA - I just had the car done, and it was a bureaucratic nightmare.
With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to sell it before I
came.

So, does the FOAK have a view on the best way to go about getting shot of
it? Does anybody have experience of selling a UK-registered bike in a
foreign country (or, indeed, a foreign-registered bike in the UK)? I imagine
that the eventual buyer will most likely be someone in the UK who doesn't
mind picking it up from Luxembourg [1][2], althought it could, of course, be
bought by someone on the continent who would be willing to re-register it in
their own country.

My first instinct is to eBay it, with no reserve, and let the market do its
stuff - especially as I don't really have a clear view of its value, given
its location and rather colourful history (see below). If I were to eBay it,
is there some way to list its location as Luxembourg, and yet still draw the
attention of potential buyers in the UK?

As for the bike itself, the salient details (just in case anybody here is
interested) are:

Model: Fazer 600
Year: 1998
Colour: Red
Mileage: 10k *recorded*, but actually higher [3]. I would estimate the true
mileage to be 20k(ish).
Accessories: MDD Top-Box (original grab rails still available to re-fit);
Scottoiler; Cover; Haynes manual; hugger
No. of owners: 3 (inc. me, per V5)

Grateful for any comments and/or advice

Cheers





[1] I won't really have the chance to ride it back to the UK in the near
future myself, mainly because I simply don't have the time, but also because
I'd rather spend the free time that I do have riding my new bike rather than
performing a relatively dull 'delivery run' of the old one. The price would,
of course, need to reflect this.

[2] This would require a sale in the imminent future, with the tax and MoT
ticking away (both 09/06)

[3] It's had at least two sets of clocks. The previous owner (a friend of
mine) replaced the clocks immediately before selling it to me - they had
stopped working altogether, so he fitted a set from a breakers which were
showing around 4k miles. I very much doubt that the clocks that were on the
bike before the replacements are original either [4]

[4] It's a Cat C write-off. I HPI'd the bike before buying it, my suspicions
aroused by the suspiciously low mileage, ,the presence of a few non-standard
parts (e.g. handlebars, switchgear and wiring), and the absence of
maintenance documentation. I wasn't too worried about buying it myself, from
a mechanical point of view, because I had borrowed the bike for a couple of
months before buying it, and that didn't reveal any obvious malfunctions. I
did want to confirm my suspicions, though, hence the HPI. Also, I spoke to
the first owner that had crashed it in the first place (his name was on the
V5), and it didn't sound too severe (30mph low-side), so I decided to take
the risk. The risk seems to have paid off, since I've ridden it about 8k
miles over the last 2 years without it having missed a beat (or provided any
clue as to its history)

 

I should hang onto it until after the end of may as a shit load of ukrmers
are off to ride the 'ring', (myself included)... there may be need of a
motorcycle [1]

[1] Thats it now I've said it, we all know who's gixxer is going to be
repainting the carousel

 

Heh - perhaps a little 'prepping' of the track might help my sales
campaign...

Unfortunately I'm not sure that, with the MoT and tax clocks ticking, I can
wait that long.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, JW

TBH, I would think you've got next to ****-all chance of selling a bike
on those conditions unless it's a rare or unusual one.

If you think about it, the buyer can't inspect pre-purchase and they're
looking at a couple of days and at least £300-400 in additional costs to
collect the bike.

That's possible, but again more likely if it's rare or unusual (unlike a
Fazer 600). Or very, very, very cheap...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Podium Placed Ducati Race Engineer

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

 

Yes, I take both of your points. I know that *I'd* certainly be reluctant to
travel 500-odd miles to pick up a bike, with all of the attendant travel
costs, which could well transpire to be a total heap of shit [1]. I think
that I could well find myself going with the 'very, very cheap' option - I'm
seriously tempted by the eBay no-reserve option, if only because I like the
idea of a 'pure' auction. I did have a rather fanciful notion of advertising
it as an opportunity to acquire a reasonably cheap machine with the added
attraction of a trip to Luxembourg. But then I remembered: this is
*Luxembourg*.

Essentially, I suppose that the real choice is whether to sell it now, for
next to **** all, but without having to worry about registering, storing or
transporting it; or wait until I move back to the UK in a couple of years
and use it as a winter hack.


[1] Amazingly, in spite of its somewhat chequered past, it's not. I took it
for a fairly decent hoon today [2], and found myself having a bloody
brilliant time, and being pleasantly surprised by how well the bike
performed. It's amazing, the psychological effect that a good clean can
have...

[2] Out near the 'Ring, as it happens. Having seen the thread below about
the ukrm Sedan/Ring trip, I thoroughly recommend making the trip through
Luxembourg rather than Belgium, Belgian roads in the Ardennes being made out
of weird, crumbly stuff. Apologies if I'm preaching to the choir...