Selling A Motorcycle On Facebook Marketplace? Here’s What You Should Know First

I have this sideline where I buy old, abandoned Japanese motorcycles, rehab them, and sell them to new owners. I work on a little bit of everything, but mostly ’70s-era Hondas and Yamahas with a focus on Yamaha’s XS-series twins and triples. A typical bike I buy has been off the road for 20 or 30 years and needs a lot of TLC.

The way it works is, I pick up, say, an old Honda CB350 for a couple hundred dollars out of some guy’s garage. It’s rusty, its tires are from the Regan administration, and there’s still a couple gallons of circa 1987 unleaded in the battered tank. The engine turns over, though, and it’s all there. Once I get it home I put it on the lift, put some time and money into it, get it running and (safely) riding, and then put it up for sale for whatever Kelly Blue Book says it’s worth.

Putting it up for sale is often the most difficult part of what I do because Facebook Marketplace tends to dominate with the coolest cars found online, and it’s a real disaster. Aside from the usual tire kickers, time wasters, and general riffraff, the site itself can often be difficult to navigate. Over the years, though, I’ve found a few tricks to make my listings stand out, so that my bikes actually sell. Since I’m such a nice guy, I reckon I’ll share them with you.

The first thing you need to do to successfully and painlessly sell a bike on Facebook Marketplace is some good pictures. For best results, make sure the bike is as clean and presentable as you can make it. Also, be cognizant of what’s behind and around the bike. Don’t shoot it against anything you don’t want a million randos to see. Also, you’ll want to shoot the bike from multiple angles — both profiles, head on, tail, some three-quarter shots, etc. — then shoot some closeups of any details you want or need to highlight. Also, this should go without saying, but make sure the pictures are in focus. You may also want to include a video of the bike running. It’s not necessary, but it helps.

To really take it up a notch, try to take your pictures outside in natural light (somewhere where the sun isn’t shining directly on the bike, if you can) and with a nice background. For example, I like to shoot my bikes against a brick wall in my backyard late in the afternoon. The light color is nice and warm and the brick wall is interesting enough as a background without being distracting.

Once you get your pictures, pick the best, most eye-catching one as your header image and thumbnail. The pictures are the first thing that a buyer sees in a listing, so you want to make as good an impression as you can.

When selling a bike, you want to create an honest, yet appealing Marketplace ad, so potential buyers know what they’re getting into — you’d be amazed at how many Marketplace sellers don’t seem to know anything about their bikes. With that, make sure you know exactly what your bike is before you list it and start with the make, model, and model year. 

In the body of the listing, tell a potential buyer anything you can think of about the bike. How many miles are on it, and what kind of riding did you do to rack those miles up? Any mods or upgrades? Has it been in any crashes or had any major work done to it? Has it had any recall notices or work done? The more forthcoming you are about the bike, the more likely you are to sell it.

If you’re selling a classic or a recently restored bike (or both like I do), list all the new parts and all the work that’s been done to the bike. Also, make sure you back this info up with receipts. Again, this is a trust thing. Don’t be the kind of previous owner who “lost the receipts” but still expects a buyer to believe you rebuilt the engine — that’s never a good look. Finally, let the buyer know why they need this bike by talking the bike up a little. Even though you know it’s a great bike and fun to ride, your potential buyer doesn’t.

Finally, there’s your selling price. I’ll admit, this is the part I have the hardest time with because I absolutely loathe haggling. I’ve legit kicked people out of my shop for trying to nickel and dime me on some old part or bike. Now, that said, I know a lot of people (my father-in-law, for example) who not only expect but actually love haggling over prices. Here’s what I do when I set a price for one of my bikes.

I set my price based on two things — Kelly Blue Book value and going prices. The first is pretty self-explanatory and KBB is usually pretty spot on with values. If your bike is old or weird (or both like the Bridgestones I collect), you may want to try someplace that deals with classics like Haggerty or check out the annual Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide. The second, going prices, is what a bike like yours is going for on Marketplace. You never want to be the highest priced bike there, but you don’t want to be the lowest, either. You can shoot somewhere in the middle and adjust for quality and condition.

When you come up with your selling price, have two numbers in your head — asking price and final price. List it at your asking price, but if anyone asks if there’s wiggle room on it, make sure you have a number you won’t go under and then let the buyer get as close to it as possible.

So, there you have it. Those three things — pictures, info, and price — are the three most important things about your Facebook Marketplace listing. They’re also, coincidentally, the things you have the most control over. You can’t control someone’s reading comprehension, attitude, or follow through, unfortunately. You cannot make a potential buyer read your entire listing or even show up to check the bike out when they say they will. What you can do, and the advice that this article is trying to impart, is that there are things you have absolute control over, and you should make extra sure that you take advantage of those things. 

Making sure you have the best pictures possible, giving the buyer all the information they need, and having solid numbers — i.e. boundaries — in place when selling your bike will go a long way in smoothing out the selling process. It’s hard enough selling a beloved machine. Don’t make it any harder on yourself by not doing the beneficial work upfront.