Motorcycle Blue Book Value: What's My Motorcycle Worth?
A motorcycle's blue book value tells you how much a pre-owned motorcycle is worth. That's important if you're buying or selling a used bike or negotiating with an insurance company after an accident that totals your bike.
Kelley Blue Book (KBB), J.D. Power and the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) have become the industry leaders for helping you find your bike's value.
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What is a motorcycle’s blue book value?
Your motorcycle blue book value is an estimate of how much your bike is worth in the private market.
In other words, if you're looking to sell or buy a motorcycle, a motorcycle's blue book value is a baseline for how much you should expect to either pay or receive in a transaction. The value of a motorcycle is determined by factors like make and model, the condition of the motorcycle and more.
The term "blue book value" was popularized by Kelley Blue Book, an automotive research company. However, today, motorcycle blue book value is a generic phrase, simply referring to an expert estimate of a vehicle's value. Each company that provides blue book values for motorcycles has its own value methodology.
Why you should know your motorcycle's blue book value
Knowing a motorcycle's blue book value can be helpful to a lot of motorcycle riders, especially riders looking to sell, buy or negotiate with their insurance provider for a higher claim payout. If you feel the settlement your motorcycle insurance company is offering you is low, you can negotiate with your insurer using evidence of your bike's value before the accident.
One approach that you can take is to compare what your insurance company claims the market value for your motorcycle is to the motorcycle blue book value for your bike. If your motorcycle's blue book value is more than what your insurance company is offering you, you'll want to point this out to your insurer.
For example, say you bought your Harley-Davidson motorcycle for $25,000, but your insurer maintains it has depreciated to $15,000. If it was totaled, you'd be reimbursed for $15,000 (the current market price) minus your deductible. If the blue book value was $20,000, you might be able to get a better settlement, which means more money toward a replacement bike.
There are other ways to negotiate with your insurance company after an accident that don't require you to research your motorcycle's blue book value. For instance, you could hire an independent appraiser to calculate a value for your used motorcycle and then present this figure to your insurance company.
Additionally, anyone who is looking to either buy or sell a motorcycle would also benefit from knowing a motorcycle's blue book value. If you're attempting to sell your vintage motorcycle, for example, you might get a sense of your asking price by consulting its motorcycle blue book value to ensure you'd receive a fair amount in a sale.
What's my motorcycle worth?
You can consult different sources for a motorcycle's blue book value, but each company will use a different methodology, resulting in a different blue book value from each.
To find out what a motorcycle is worth, check out Kelley Blue Book and J.D. Power, which you can find through NADA. Both companies offer free values, which you can check on their respective websites, and both use sales transactions when calculating a used motorcycle's value.
Kelley Blue Book's and J.D. Power's sites are easy to navigate. To obtain a range of J.D. Power bike values, all you need is a used motorcycle's make, model and year and your ZIP code. NADA's site even allows you to select customized equipment.
Kelley Blue Book's site only requires a used motorcycle's make, model and year in order to get a blue book value. KBB also lists a set of extra features for different bikes and how much they add to the value of a used motorcycle.
Take both figures into account when selling, buying or negotiating with your insurance company and using the blue book value that most benefits you.
For instance, let's say KBB claims your used motorcycle's blue book value is $10,000, but J.D. Power estimates that it's $9,000. In this scenario, anyone selling their motorcycle or negotiating with their insurance company should point to the $10,000 blue book value from Kelley Blue Book. On the other hand, buyers will want to highlight the $9,000 blue book value from J.D. Power.
Kelley Blue Book motorcycle values
The motorcycle blue book values that Kelley Blue Book gives are based on several data points, including sales transactions and auction prices. Kelley Blue Book accounts for seasonality and market trends in its blue book values, so it is best to check the most recent figures.
Furthermore, its values reflect local conditions and are updated constantly. This means someone looking for a motorcycle blue book value in Florida is likely to get a different value than someone searching for one in Washington.
J.D. Power blue book values
J.D. Power uses vehicle transaction data to calculate its vehicle pricing information. The company also works with dealers to determine three types of pricing: the suggested retail price (the highest suggested list price), the value for a bike with excessive wear and tear, and the value of a bike in average condition.
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