Answered a Craigslist ad about an 86 Gl1200 for sale, guy says somebody else made an offer of $1500, seller was asking $2400 obo, i was a bit short of that but said i would possibly go the same amount if the other person doesnt buy, well i get a call a few hours later, this was monday afternoon, the other buyer who was driving in from a longer ways away never showed up, does not answer phone, i ask him if bike is road ready, he says yes, just installed a new battery and starter. Just to be safe because of bad weather and that the bike was almost 25 miles away up in the hills i grabbed the Silverado 6x6 and trailer.
Got there with a couple of family members in case i decided to ride bike back, but upon closer inspection i find its probably not seen a road in a long time, tires are very old, cobwebs in the spokes, old gummy oil stains down the forks, rear air shock boot in shreds, faded paint, all chrome had rust spots. Bike did start up, choke was broken, checked exhaust and right rear cylinder pipe was stone cold. I pointed that out and got a weird expression from the guy, i am starting to figure out they know nothing about a Goldwing or bikes at all, they must have thought it was a super smooth running Harley, i am pointing out even as it runs on only 3 cylinders its not right, that it can have extensive problems.
I make my offer, they want more, they wanted a lot more than its worth, i say i can bring it back, make it shine, put it in the bike show, i show them pictures of my other bikes, totally not interested, the guy almost takes my offer plus 8 ounces of silver but his wife says no, thats ok with me, i wish them luck. I have an 81 thats nearly the same as this one, right now i have 18 bikes, of that 7 Goldwings, so i am not THAT anxious to buy a beat up Gl1200, my goal is to build a bigger shop this year, gets old dragging gl1500's and others into the house every winter.
Just posting this because sellers who know nothing about bikes are sometimes the worst sellers, these folks were selling it for somebody else, my guess is that person died or was in prison, there is one just down the road. Even if they call back i am skipping this one, its a shame because this old girl could be brought back nicely, this is the actual Craigslist pic, does not show the rust on the front.