Ducati Monster Forum

Anyone feel that a tail chop would be a detriment to resale value?

Now that I have a second bike for trips, I want to chop the tail off my Duc, and really make it a City and day trip bike.

But, the pessimist in me wonders if personal finances in a year or so may require I sell it (God forbid!).

50/50

ANY modification and it's value to a following owner is dependant on that purchaser and how they percieve it either positively or negatively.

Why would you sell a Ducati? HA! I would guess that a lot of people would be accepting of the tail chop when they are shopping for a new Duc. To me if it was done right it's just one last thing to do myself. IMO it just looks right.

Yeah... I'm already justifying the chop to myself... "It's MY bike, I'll make it the way I want it!"

I killed my fender eliminator kit during a previous mod, so I'll have to rebuild that on a rainy day to make the chop work. (yay... another cheap mod project!)

This is something that has been on my mind every time I try to get the motivation to "just do it".  My kit is just sitting their staring me in the face but I just don't have the balls to chop the frame.  I know I'm not the only one.
I would have no problem buying a Monster that had it done properly, as someone else noted.  But I might be more inclined to look for a machine that wasn't heavily modded or cut up.

I'm the opposite of you. I immediately disregard any Monster with a tail chop, whether "properly done" or not. I refuse to even look at a bike that's been tail chopped. I also stay away from any bike that has any mods done to the engine, has been repainted, polished or chromed, or just about anything else. About as far as I will go is an aftermarket exhaust system. Anything beyond that, I'm simply not interested.....unless the mods are easily reversible, I can sell all of the custom stuff, and put OEM stuff back on it (thereby lowering my effective purchase price).

I've seen some "professional" work and mods, and if that is what they consider "professional", I'd hate to see something they consider amateur. I've hung out in the motorcycle service areas enough over the years, that I don't even trust someone who is "factory trained". Some of the stuff I've seen even those guys do scares the crap out of me for the owner's sake.

The way I look at it, I do to my bike what ever I want.  If I decide to sell my bike then any perspective buyer would either want it as is and buy it or hate it and not.  Sure it may take longer to sell but it will sell.  And anyway I don't think I have ever heard of someone not buying a Monster because the tail chop.




Soooooooo...just chop the make the beast with two backsing thing already!!!!







that is all
nothing follows

ok ...now i have heard of someone not wanting a bike with a chop... ;D

 [laugh] :-\

Without trying to convince you youre "wrong" (to each his own and all that), I would ask you why you feel the need to exert such extreme stipulations. With the only major exception being engine mods, you can check the quality of most monster mods in a driveway with a handful of tools in >20 minutes.  plus there are so many benefits to buying a lightly modded bike. exhaust, sliders, suspension..all largely a bolt on operation. anything more severe (like whether or not the bike has been tuned for the full exhaust and chopped airbox with K&N filter that is easily discovered) can be examined at a shop with a pre-purchase inspection (50-150$ depending on how deep you want them to go at every shop ive seen)

As for a tail chop, not only is that the EASIEST thing to check the quality of but its also one of the most idiot proof ones. besides messing up the wiring/mounting of the tail light and turn signals (pop the seat off with the key and check how they did it) there are zero structural concerns and if the cuts were done poorly, or the internals of the frame are beginning to rust, it will be glaringly obvious as there are only 2 points that are completely un-obscured.

Personally I love buying bikes modded in the direction I would go in, but I would NEVER buy a bike that I havent eyeballed thoroughly and then paid the shop I would be taking the bike to for service give it a PPI. Ive seen plenty of bone stock bikes that while cleaned up very nice had horrible runnability/wiring issues (>100 mile bikes pristine except for that rat living in the airbox and the water in the oil...). plus if an owner drops a bike and repairs it without consulting their insurance you get A) a previously wrecked bike with no paper trail and B) a bike that in all likelihood had been repaired as cheaply as possible, potentially ignoring things like bent steering stops and tweeked framed that are easy to pick out if you take the time to examine it.

I do not believe it will limit resale value...it will limit which type of resale BUYER you attract

Maybe 30 or so years from now I would want to restore the bike to as-built spec and would curse at a tail chop....

but 30 years from now I'll either be dead or in diapers babbling and hallucinating so who gives a damn

That said...I chopped my latest 2002 900ie acquisition last year without a second thought.  I used a pipe cutting tool to make as clean an edge as possible

I saved the cut piece and the tail plastic...

If someone wanted to, they could reinstall the cut section with inside-the-tube cylindrical sleeves or slugs and braise the mating joints/cuts together and grind them down and repaint...

It is what I would do if I was aiming at a 90+ point restoration job when the bike becomes a vintage antique, but then I would only target an early-mid 1990's Cagiva era M900 to restore anyway

IIRC that whole rear appendage was more of a DOT/MOT/whatever Gov't Agency mandate appeasement than it was an original Galluzzi design piece on the bike

lord knows it looks like an afterthought

and to give you an idea of what I have done with 46 year old pieces of shit see latest project below, trust me a lot of cursing into the air at the prior owners has been going into this rebuild/restoration to factory spec


BEFORE:

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee91/visigoth9/G15CSR.jpg)



AFTER:

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee91/visigoth9/G15CSRSheetmetal003.jpg)

i personally don't like tail chops so if i was in the market i wouldn't buy a chopped bike, eacth to their own.

though with a chopped bike some things no longer fit, so fit if the person buyin it wants it they may not be able to put on all the things they want, like a givi top case that was made for older 2 sided swing arms by ducati, won't fit with a chop.  but aside from that its each to their own.

maybe most people would buy a chopped bike maybe some won't either way you may or may not have an easy time selling it, but either way you have to work at it.

Yeah... This would be the first truly irreversable mod I've done, other than powdercoating a few bits. That's why I sought your perspectives. I even kept the emissions canister.   

Thanks for all the feedback.

Do you buy a bike and instantly think of reselling it?  Why buy the bike in the first place if your worried you won't have funds to keep it?  Hell riding it at all reduces resale value........  When I buy something I want I intend to keep it and enjoy it and make it my own.  If your so worried about the future then get rid of it now then you will have the money for your possible financial woes later on.

I say do the chop if you like how it looks and then go ride!!!!

If you're in doubt about the tail chop, there's smaller carbon fiber "beer trays" that can take the ugly out of the thing.

But if it's only resail value you're worried about, the go ahead and chop! [evil] I bought both of my monsters pre-chopped, and at no point was that an issue. And even if, I could only reasonably haggle a houndred or two off the price for that...

Only real life issue with a tail chop is riding in the rain: expect everything the wheel flings up to end on your back! >:( That's why my daily commuter has a fender off a 748.

Beer tray came off 5 years ago... still in the garage. I built a custom tail to move the taillights to the back of the frame, giving me room for a duffel bag on trips.

Duffel bags hold more beer, anyway.

I guess I can see why someone would want that thing hanging back there but I just couldn't wait to get mine cut the make the beast with two backs off.  I hadn't even rode it before I chopped the tail. 

Funny when I bought the bike, I had a party and all my friends were kind of on the fence on how they liked the look of the bike, when I chopped the tail all I got was, that is how that bike should look.

In my opinion, Monsters just don't look bad enough with the tail on.  Completely changes the attitude of it when they're chopped.

Just my 2 cents.

This is a simple one. I'm a purist with my vehicles - I don't "mod" them. I also come from a classic Corvette background where modifications and non-original parts detract rapidly from a car's value....except in the wildly custom cars where they spend a LOT more than the car will ever be worth (like sinking well over $100k in a tubbed out ride with a 500+ cid engine and 6-71 blower....and selling it for $20k-$40k).

I've never really cared for (buying) anything that is modified.......bikes, cars, guitars, guns......women with fake titties.   [laugh]


Now, in all fairness, I did go through a modification stage in my 20's. I only did the engine route though. I've never been into custom paint and the cosmetics. I did modify the engine of my Harley with different carb, cam, valves, valve springs, pistons, ignition, and a few other goodies. 18 years later, though, I wish I'd left it alone and kept the cash in my pocket (I still own the bike, and it still has the original, faded, chipped, and thinly worn 26 year old paint). I also once built up an engine for my old '84 Chevy truck. I stuffed a 383 cid in it with Corvette aluminum heads and 12:1 compression running pump gas I was getting nearly 500 ft. lbs of torque and was kicking the thing sideways at 60 mph and breaking the tires loose at 95 mph when I hit third gear. Had over $4000 in that engine in the early 90's. When I sold the truck, I rebuilt and stuffed the original 305 back in it. I still have that 383 in my basement.

 [thumbsdown] 'nuff said!

Resale value shouldn't be affected ... what will be is the number of prospective buyers.  As someone before indicated there are a number of changes to a bike that would cause me to move past it looking for a better option, a tail chop isn't one.  Now start changing geometry, modifying the frame, swaping a DSS to a SSS those might cause me concern but a tail chop won't.

Then again I'm sort of a sleeper look guy, if its cars, trucks or bikes I prefer my modification to require a keen eye to spot but only a moderately experience rider to notice.  My S2R 800 for the most part looks stock, but the front end is from and S4Rt as is the rear shock, and the wheels.  The Power Commander will be hidden from prying eyes so, only a couple of people notice that it isn't quite right and usually it is the calipers that give it away once they realize it is a wet clutch.

All of this to say do what you want to your bike there will always be someone out there who is willing to take it off your hands for fair market price, you never make money selling a personal bike.

 [drink]

I always look at structural mods with a more critical eye.  I want to know how it was done, etc, but most of those questions can be resolved with a good inspection.  If they don't want you to inspect it closely, then just take your business elsewhere and post here on the DMF to let us all know the seller is a douche.

The main things I look for on a potential bike purchase are:

1.  Chickenstrips -- this means he was a nonaggressive or novice rider.  Look for any drop damage and if none found, the bike probably has low mileage.
2.  Service records.  Most people dont have this, but it doesn't hurt to ask.  If they say they do it all themselves, then ask them the brand of oil, filter and BRAND of belt they used.  If they can't answer quickly, they are LYING.  The belt brand question is a gotcha, some people don't know the belts are not AutoZone purchases.  I had a guy tell me he got the belts at AutoZone --wait, what??  Really.  (I took the cover off -- original factory belts.  He never changed anything)
3.  Color of brake fluid.
4.  If there are any changes, then I want to see if they were installed professionally or correctly.
5.  Battery.  If its been replaced, ask why.  Neglected bikes usually get a dead battery after a while.

The rest is gravy.

Yeah...and one reason why I stated I regret having done it. I could have gotten more performance by spending the money on a used 600 sportbike. Back then I lived in flatland areas and it was 10 years prior to me getting into sportbikes - which I never saw a purpose of offering to the general public until I moved near the mountains. Now, I think they need to ban cruisers from the mountain twisties.  [moto]

I've been having the same internal back and forth with my ride. My final consensus came down to "only mods that can be returned to stock", with the exception of a slip-on (SV's have welded exhausts that have to be chopped to install a slip-on).

My reason for the exception: "No one's ever going to break my balls over putting a slip-on on the bike that looks cleaner than stock".

However, I'd probably be in the same position if I had a Monster and was considering a tail chop  :-\

every duc i have ever owned (about 6 now) has had a tail chop.  in fact, it bothers me if it's not done already.  just more effort that i have to expend.  like others said if it's rusty or janky it'll be obvious.  i sold a very heavily modded m900 for about 1500 over book as the new owner shared my feeling that the bike was worth more with all the effort and mods.  i do what i want with every bike i buy and i've NEVER had a problem selling them, ever.  good luck (do it). 

didn't cause me any trouble when i sold my first monster... however, it definitely depends on the buyer and/or how big a hurry you are to sell.