Over the past few months I have started to see late model (2003) Yamaha XT600E's being sold by shops and private individuals in the UK for increasingly silly prices (in my opinion)! Last week I saw one low mileage XT6E going for £2,300 in average condition!

I have even seen quite a few high mileage old dogs of bikes with a price tag of £1,500.

Last week I even saw a non-runner rust bucket (33K) being sold with an asking price of (wait for it)..... £1,300.

I can only presume that as the supply of good XT6's dry up, the prices being asked goes up. This is what happened to XT350's when they started to get scarce in the late 1990's. These little machines had such a good name yet they were discontinued.

The way things are going hanging on to a XT600E seems a pretty good idea from an investment point of view.

Perhaps the supply of XT6E's is now indeed getting low?

Or perhaps everyone is now getting plain greedy?

In my opinion a low mileage XT6E in mint condition is worth £1,600 tops as a private buy, a bit more (£1,800) for shop sold bike.

It's now possible to find early XT660's for just over £2,000. Are these shops really suggesting that earlier XT6E's are worth almost as much?

Wanted to ask you fellow XT lovers what's going on.....

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Interesting.

But then, I like old school bikes, FI is not my thing. Personally I am willing to pay considerably more for a carbed bike in similar condition.

Maybe a growing group of riders have had their share of electical, electronics and computer related problems, and are willing to pay a premium for a carbed bike?

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Yamaha XT600E '01, Honda XR400 '03, Yamaha XT550 '83

It's a feature of bike pricing that is across the board.
Yep. as supply decreases over the years then prices do tend to rise, if only on the basis that there are enough people around who are genuine (by which I mean have had a long term interest and enthusiasm for a particular marque).
This becomes compounded by "external factors" which may be temporary or permanent in nature - for instance, a while back one or two UK bike mags wrote up the Africa Twin as the best thing since the proverbial sliced bread (compared with bikes that were about 10 years newer in design and manufacture) and awarded the AT "top of the class". Of course, that is all a matter of opinion, but it does tend to sell copy and, pretty much straight after that write up, AT asking prices rose strongly (it takes two or more individuals to make a price stick).

So, it happens with lots of bikes, which I suppose is why we end up with "classic bikes", not to mention such cars as the Bugatti.
IMO you should monitor the price of BMW Dakars to observe another example of this phenomena.

Then there is the seasonal factor: buy in the depths of winter and sell about now; but most of we consumers don't do that of course.

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Dave

I bought my xt 600 e approximately 12 months ago, I chose it for its simple proven reliability, less to go wrong compared to newer models. I liked the look of the new 660 tenere but this was out of my price range but may have been tempted otherwise. I suppose it depends what you want a bike for. I wanted a tall bike. I am 6' 6" that was reliable for a daily commute the xt 600e fits the bill perfectly. When I looked even twelve months ago there where very few xts under 2k and there are not masses of them about so it comes down to supply and demand. Good news if you come to sell The press reviews of problems with the 660 also had a hand in the choice.

I guess you guys are right - Supplies of good XT6E's are running low.

Come to think of it, whenever I read one of my regular bike mags, I always look to see if any XT's are up for sale. Recently I have noticed there aren't many being sold!

Interesting concept about the time of year - summer people want bikes v winter people want cars. I wonder if this rule applies to other places where the weather is fine all year?
That reminds me - what has happened to our bloody Summer this year?

The Yamaha XT600E used to be very easy to find in the UK but it's getting harder and harder to find a good'n.

I suppose that is good news for us who already own one, bad news for those who are seeking one.

In the UK at the moment you are lucky to find a bank savings account paying 2% interest a year, perhaps it would make better sense sourcing all the decent XT6E's and buying them all up as an investment instead?

It's a great pity this model was ever discontinued by Yamaha. I guess we have the damn "tree huggers" to blame for it's demise. I really can't see another bike taking it's mantle in the near future - it's replacement the XT660 although a good bike isn't nearly in the same league when it comes to simpleness and reliability.

It looks like a Yamaha XT660 will one day in the not too distant future be cheaper to buy than it's older sibling! Now that is shocking.

Anyone fancy a nice low mileage mint XT6E for £3,000? - only joking.

Neil

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Brilliant, so my two in the garage aren't "clutter" anymore, they've just become an"investment".

Incidentally, my asking price for my XT225 now is more than I paid for it 4 years ago, (but not by a lot of £).

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Dave

I can understand a XT225 being sold for a premium because those things have always been like hens teeth to get hold of...

Great little gem of a bike and getting very very RARE.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Prices are high for mint xt600's in Denmark aswell, but they are for sale, but not being sold. Its the same ones in the adds month after month.

I was at a breakers the other day n he had just imported three xt6's from Italy purely for breaking. He said pretty much everything was pre sold. They were very very good examples too, i almost said i'd swap one of his clean one's for my old one lol but i cant see me parting with it ever.
A friend of mine just sold an early R1 (red/white) carb'd model for £800 more than he paid for it foyr years ago.
I've noticed my self though the steady increase in some bikes, even the run of the mill stuff. Makes ya wish you'd hung to those old strokers though ;-)

Cant say the same here in Norway, XT is not very hot bike..And R1 drops very fast in price, but if we are talking about mint condition bikes they will always have a good buyers marked.

XTROCK,

That does surprise me. I was under the impression that where ever the Yamaha XT600E was imported and sold it (rightly in my opinion), reached cult status among those who love BIG single cylinder motorcycles.

I know that in the USA it was never officially imported and that other big trail bikes like the Kawasaki KLR650 took over the same mantle.

For me there is no better BUDGET RTW bike than the venerable Yamaha XT600 (all models in the XT series including of course the 600cc E electric start model). It's simply put together, robust (crash proof) and above all bulletproof reliable. No other bike comes close, certainly not expensive German BMW's or highly strung KTM's.

A mate of mine has a KTM 600cc trail bike and he's always paying a shop to service it and change oil. Although he's a good home mechanic, there is much he can't do at home in the garage.

I want a cheap, robust, simple reliable nail and the Yamaha XT600E ticks all the boxes. You can use one to travel round the world or for commuting around London. The only place it struggles is on motorways and windy open roads. I never ride it faster than 70 MPH and it's happy cruising all day at 60MPH. Of course it's capable of the ton (just if the winds behind you).

A year or so back I did consider outing one of my XT600E's for a newer Yamaha XT660 Tenere. After riding one it became apparent to me almost immediately that the newer bike didn't really do anything any better than my XT600E. I really couldn't warrant spending another £5,000 on something so similar. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that a £1,600 XT600E gives you maximum "bang for buck". You really do get lots of bike for your money.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

Couldnt agree more! Iam riding all year and this bike is perfect for doing that, KTM with 75bhp is to much on snow and ice, and the same in the mud. One touch on the throttle and you spin out, and yes its real expensive and demanding service on the KTM but damn they are doing wheelies on all gears! I have done all the modification for getting XT a little better to ride with new progressive springs and a little bit more power so now i have the perferct bike for my riding all year. And used parts are easy to get in europe except from here in Norway.. Honda transalp had some real good engines, one had done 200.000km here in Norway. If i only was riding higway and doing long trips its only one bike that is good and thats the BMW GS1200, but thats another story.. I cant have a bike that iam depending on someone else doing the service for me, people are waiting for weeks just for small repairs..For me its half of having a bike to do maintence myself, make modify and paintjob. Its the best hobby i ever had in my life and have been riding for many years and alot of different bikes too, its fun with a racing bike, but i cant control myself with 200bhp.

Mezo,

Nice to learn you're still around these parts... I presume you're still active helping others with your sound mechanical knowledge and love of all things XT.

No I'm not DEAD (yet)!

My backs a bit more knackered but that's to be expected after being thrown from the steps of a 737 at Gatwick Airport while removing a huge Nigerian bogus asylum seeker being deported at end of 12 year sentence (long story). most annoyingly it more or less ended my riding days. Now my babies get polished more than ridden.

I decided both my bikes are keepers. I looked at the more modern Yamaha XT660 Tenere but realised early on it didn't really do much more than my XT6E. Spending another £5,000 simply didn't make sense to me.

I really can't praise the XT series of bikes enough (apart from the bloated, heavy over-expensive new XT1200 Tenere which doesn't make much sense to me)- I just love em!

For the past few months I have been living in Banjul, The Gambia. I own a bolt hole there. It's handy when I want some nice weather.... Talk of weather, what's going on here? Looking out the window at dark clouds. Had the halogen heater on last night would you believe - we're nearly in July!

Was intending to do a bit of gardening and attend the allotment but the weather is so grim.

I presume the weather in OZ although winter, is still pretty mild compared to the Mother country's so called summer?

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

I even heard that Honda XBR500's are now worth serious money!

I heard of one going for (wait for it)...... £3,000! In my book that's plain GREEDY!

Until last week I thought my XBR was only worth about £1,500.

My Honda XBR500 (a cafe racer), is in true mint condition. There can't be too many around now because they never sold in huge numbers in the 1990's.

If anyone knows of a nice Yamaha SRX600 I might be interested? The two bikes are very similar....

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).