Thanks for the advice, I've got 2 or 3 weeks to decide how to sell it, I kinda want to make it available to the US market too. You've got to be careful with Ebay auctions, about 10 years ago my brother won an SPS in very good condition and 16K miles for £4700! The owner was gutted when we were picking it up and said he'd had far higher offers from other bidders in case we didn't turn up to collect it. We shall see . . . .
The 1994 916 on eBay finished at £8k, easily another £3-4K required on getting it right (more if the engine needs a strip down)
I guess it depends whether or not the buyer can do the work themselves? For sure, if they send it to a Ducati specialist to be recommissioned it will cost that much but on the face of it much of the work required was just TLC and a full service inc valves and belts. To my mind the questions were 1. Could the dent in that tank be pulled out by a specialist? 2. Is it possible to get a period screen to replace the cracked one? Admittedly if the engine needs a complete strip down and rebuild that would blow the figures out the window but there's every possibility that wouldn't be necessary, it's just been stood for a very very long time.
That’s market value. Can’t understand why a varese would be more desirable, but hey that’s me owning a 02 998s
The values for these are clearly set by those who probably won’t ever ride it but be able to say “I’ve one of the first in my collection”. I prefer my cheaper 1996 916 still with elefante all over it but also not perfect because I ride it as often as possible, and bloody love To ride it to be fair
I was pointed to this thread by (I assume) one of your members. It was my Strada on eBay. As is often the way with eBay, the 'winning' bidder seems to have disappeared, though I'll give it another couple of days before writing him off. I've been away from the Ducati ownership clan (indeed, any bikes at all) for quite a while now. As I said in the listing, it seemed a waste to have it sitting there gathering dust, so I decided to put it up on eBay. Started at 99p! Within a couple of hours I had a flurry of e-mails asking questions regarding frame numbers etc, which is when I discovered that it was a Varese bike. I confess it meant nothing to me until I dug a little deeper. Up to that point, I would probably have been happy to take £3-4k! When it went to £8k I virtually had it wrapped ready to go to it's new owner. However, his loss, I guess. So now I have a dilemma; given it's rarity, and it's perceived value, do I sit on it 'as is' and wait to see where it goes, value-wise, do I re-advertise and hope that the next 'winner' stumps up, or do I spend some money (someone mentioned a few thousand to sort the motor, though I can see no reason why that would be necessary) and get it back running, for ease of selling? And if so, how 'original' does it need to be? I notice one of the comments above stated that it was far from stock. AFAIK, it's mostly standard. Granted, it has a Naugahyde seat cover, but all else seems to be genuine Ducati. Although the levers are span-adjustable, whereas they should be non-adjustable, I believe? And there are elephants all over it! I'll just add that it was never bought as an investment, I just liked looking at it so much after I gave up riding. And I'd happily give it a deep clean and put it back indoors rather than give it away, now I know a little more of it's background. So, over to you, Ducati-ists. What would you do (assuming you don't especially need either the money of the space)?
[So, over to you, Ducati-ists. What would you do (assuming you don't especially need either the money of the space)?[/QUOTE] Welcome to the forum! It's a beautiful bike and I'd hold onto it, keep an eye on Ebay for the various original bits and pieces it needs to take it back to original and enjoy looking at it in the meantime! If I hadn't just bought a 1995 916 in the past couple of weeks I would have been very interested in your bike and watched the bidding with interest. In fact, I'd almost convinced myself that I should take on a minor restoration. Like you, I didn't know much about Varese built bikes before a few weeks ago. It's fascinating to get into the detail on these bikes. Good luck with whichever route you decide to go. Jonathan
You may not have bought it as an investment initially, but an early 916 is now most definitely an appreciating asset. If you don't need to sell it, don't. Keep it clean, keep it original as you can, protect it from corrosion, and it will be worth ££££ in years to come.
Welcome to the Forum and I'm glad you took the time and effort to post and sorry to read you've been messed about by the buyer. To my mind, if you want to just sell it as is then pay the £5 to subscribe and offer it up for sale on here, you'll get a better and more willing buyer than eBay. If you want to keep it then I'd try and pick up the bits and pieces you need to make it whole again and replace them eg the screen and possibly the tank. You may be able to get someone to repair the dent in the tank but that would mean removing all the fittings (fuel cap and surround and the pump/filter assembly out of the bottom of the tank - but that ought to come out anyway so the fuel lines can be checked and a new filter fitted) it all depends how mechanically able you are and how much time you have to do it. It will certainly fetch more when running, fully serviced and cleaned and polished. What's certain though is the value of it is only ever going up.
Welcome - if you like looking at it and don't need to sell collect the bits you need and keep it, you will enjoy looking at it more now it's doubled in your perceived value too. Far better than money in the bank too
Congratulations on having a Varese, I didn't know the significance of these bike when I brought mine either so it's a very nice surprise. As said the price of these Varese's is just going to increase over time, although like any classic the price will fluctuate with the economy. In your shoes I'd maybe clean the bike to get an idea of surface condition then go over the bike and get a rough idea of how original it is (and what it'll cost in parts to get it close to original), most of the plastic body parts have a small round date stamp moulded onto them so you'll know if they're original, then buy a nice Ducati dust cover for it. I'd also contact a Ducati specialist and get some professional advice on recommissioning that engine, and the brakes/clutch and front suspension too. The petrol tank needs attention, and if anyone can Motorcycle Dent Removal in Pickering will get that dent out without the need for filler or paint, my Varese is number 66# and came with an unlined tank that was beginning to rust internally so maybe budget for having that chemically treated too by Andy at the same time. Once you stabilise the aging/decay of the bike (and even get it running) it'll be worth a lot more as a long or medium term investment or just for selling it. I hope that guy from Ebay doesn't turn up and spoil your fun.
@Adetuono First of all, sorry to hear you were messed around, a genuine ad and seller and not fair that someone was a tosser about it Second, a bike with great history and seems to be, in the main quite original Third, if it were me. Hold out (unless you need the cash in which case sell it one here if you can and not E Bollox) and take time to find the few original parts it needs (yes non adjustable levers, new screen, fairings which are not cheap) I bought a 996 and have spent a lot of cash restoring it, I would have snapped your hands off in no time if I wasn’t committed to this one, a year too soon as I’ll flip the 996 and look for another one in the same range. Regarding the tank, these guys will sort it: https://www.motorcycledentremoval.co.uk/ if you still have it when I flip my 996, I’d be happy to take it off you
Just like buses, nothing for ages then all of a sudden, not one, not two, but three come along. @Adetuono 's above plus these two just popped up on eBay 1994 monoposto at £12995 1994 monoposto at £14995
