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34L Valuation please.... Dilemma! 34L Valuation please.... Dilemma!
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 13 Jun 2010
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34L Valuation please.... Dilemma!
Hello all,

I have just picked up a very nice 1984 34L Tenere. Totally original apart from a 3aj style acerbis front mudguard. Super tight engine, lovely gearbox, everything working. The tank could do with a lick of paint but that's about it. I also have a nice IVJ that I use daily.

My dilemma is which one do I keep? The decision will be based around roughly what the 34L might be worth.

If anybody can shed some light on its potential value I would be grateful as I havn't seen any for sale on fleabay for a long time and can't find any elsewhere.

Thanks in advance.

Alan
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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34l
Good question, difficult to answer

Of course, a 34L is absolutely the only Tenere to own.

It was the first and like so many Yamahas, the first is so often the best and the design gets watered down in subsequent bikes.

The 1VJ was a flawed design, (heavier with a smaller tank) and a 3AJ is so utterly hideously ugly to be not worth considering by anybody but the blind.

An XTZ660 and the new XT660Z are both abominations, utterly unworthy of the Tenere name, watercooled, overweight, talentless pigs.

The 34L really is the conneisuers choice and as such will command a premium, especially if the frame and engine numbers match and it is all original

There is a huge amount of crap on Ebay, mostly field bikes or butchered by ham fisted loonies and very rarely do you see a proper 34L

But you have to get the right customer along and it might not sell straightaway.

But rarity value would surely get it over £2000 if it is a good 'un. If you can also prove the 5th gear has been replaced and an uprated oil pump fitted with rerouted oil flow, then you have a beaut.

Like mine
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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Sold mine last year for £1100

Full test, etc.
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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Ta daah


Not for sale mind
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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Interesting, thanks for the opinions so far.

Dick your bike looks amazing, almost like a sales brochure bike superimposed on your lawn! Mine isn't as good as that cosmetically, it has been repsrayed to a fairly good standard in the proper blue but awaits decals. The frame and engine numbers do match and the engine runs like clockwork, much better than the rattle and bang of my IVJ! (awaiting 3AJ transplant) Not sure if the 5th gear has been done but it is absolutley silent.

Tom, how would you describe the condition of your bike when you sold it for £1100. How did you sell? Ebay?


For those interested there is a 34l for sale on the pistonheads website somewhere in scotland for £450, looks quite reasonable in the picture.
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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I sold a tatty one about 5 years ago for £800 on Ebay... I spent £300 on a full engine rebuild too. I just about broke even with what it cost me.

Old bikes aren't as much as their owners like to think they are. Maybe to the right person and the right time , but you have to be pretty patient and lucky. They're only worth what someone is prepared to pay !!

I'd find it VERY hard to imagine it's worth anywhere near £2000 unless it's showroom immaculate collectable and someone actually wants to pay that.

The 34L's were great bikes in the 80's, but you can buy a lot of great bikes for £1500 these days. Its got a big tank (so what), and a crappy drum brake on the rear.

I paid £1800 for a 4 year old XT600E with only 1500 miles on it... It was IMMACULATE !

I reckon its worth about a grand.

Ted (Ex yamaha dealer salesman and owner of a few XT's)
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Old 14 Jun 2010
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Ted

It's a great debate, the value of machines, but it doesn't work when you boil it down to the functionality of the machine

A 1960s Ferrari is functionally less impressive than all modern sports cars but it is worth far far more.

Charisma, style, originality, rarity, the market - it all counts.

An original RG500 for example is a goldmine on Ebay at the moment but compared to say a modern CBR600, well it's a pile of crap.

I've been on quite a bike journey the last 3 years (in order DRZ400, KTM 640 Adventure, XR650R, XT600E, XR650R again, new XT660Z (ugh) and I'm pretty well stuck on the 34L as the bike I love to take out on a summers evening to blat around the lanes

For me personally, I think certain machines have charisma which I am willing to pay for, after all £2k isn't a huge amount of money, especially where the depreciation is minimal

But I'm a punter, not a dealer
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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Love Dick's resume of the XT and agree that the 34L is the 'original and best.' However they're hard to find in a useable state, so in my book, the 1VJs are a credible alternative, and can be had for +/- £1000.
A good 34L will go for £1500+, and so will 3AJs, interestingly. That said, it's more about condition that model - plenty of 34L field bike sh***ers out there for 3 - 400 quid!

My advice - keep 'em both, as they won't be making any more - and if you're selling either, PM me!
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick View Post
Ted

I

For me personally, I think certain machines have charisma which I am willing to pay for, after all £2k isn't a huge amount of money, especially where the depreciation is minimal
Well absolutely. It's worth that TO YOU, and maybe someone else. It's a small market though so throwing a similar one ebay may bring a nasty surprise if there aren't a couple of people who are willing to pay a premium for a very old bike.



Quote:
Originally Posted by guzzibob View Post

My advice - keep 'em both, as they won't be making any more - and if you're selling either, PM me!
Probably the best advice. If you can afford to keep it, keep it !! Not many of us can afford to keep metal in our garage just for the sake of it though.

Unless you can sell it to guzzibob for £2000
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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Mine wasn't a minter by any stretch of the imagination.
The guy just wanted it more than the next guy. And yes it was on eBay.
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