Quote:
Originally Posted by lynch180
Ted,
I bought a Klr 650c for €1,150, got it overland ready myself and rode through central America on it 
Sold it when I got home for €2,500 so it is possible to increase its value but you will decrease the number of buyers knocking on your door |
Many years ago I spent a year building and prepping what I regarded as the perfect Elephant Rally bike only to have it stolen a couple of weeks before we were due to leave. The only bike I could scrounge in the time was a little 100cc Suzuki trail bike which I duly thrashed down to the middle of Europe and back.
I reurned it with near terminal little end rattle and although I would have been happy to do the repairs my friend sold it within a couple of days at a 50% profit using the sales pitch "it must be reliable, it's just been to Austria and back"  He was Irish as well!
On Ted's question, I'm not sure an overland prep service would be of much interest to me. Planning a long trip (or even a short one) means being on top of a lot of stuff - paperwork, politics, climate, health etc and knowing the bike well is high up the list. Some sort of turn-key purchase, where someone else has taken on the task of overhauling of the engine, chosing the luggage, deciding what spares to take etc would worry me.
If it breaks down and all I know is where the key goes and how to put fuel in where does that leave me in the middle of the Sahara? Whoever prepped it won't be turning up to rescue me. I've no problem outsourcing work but you have to take responsibility, not just take things on trust.
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