Thundercat wanted!!

Hi all, I'm new to the site, and I would like to make it known that I am in the market for a lovely thundercat. I have been riding bikes for getting on 2 years now(bigger bikes that is) and have had it in my head that this is the bike for me for awhile now. The only trouble is i cannot seem to find a decent one any where near where i live. I am in north cornwall, and when one does turn up in a dealership they are asking stupid money for high miles etc. So if any of you out there within a 200 mile radius of cornwall want to sell your thundercat, please do get in touch. cheers guys, Lauren

Hi Lauren,

Welcome to the site.

There have been a couple of threads on here recently about selling a 'cat, but I think they may have gone by now. Perhaps worth checking them out. Otherwise ebay, MCN or BikeTrader are the places to look. If you spot a bike you like let us know and I'm sure there'll be plenty of folk happy to pass judgement on it.

Good luck with the search. BTW what have/are you riding at the moment?

Cheers,
Chris

Hi Chris, thanks for the reply. I have been looking on your suggested sites daily, and while they are about, they never come up in an area that i can get to without roping some one else in to taking me 200 mile+... i guess patience is a virtue and the right one will turn up soon hopefully. I am currently riding a suzuki sv650 s in black, fully faired. Its been a fantastic bike but the lure of a sexy IL4 is getting stronger by the day. I previously had a zxr400 which sounded great and handled well, but alas the bike was jinxed and had to go... Thundercat is the way forward! oh, i did see one on mcn website, in bournemouth. 2000 plate with 24k on the clock at £1450. thought that was pretty decent, would be glad for you to let me know what you think? maybe they will p/x mine... Cheers Chris

Hi Lauren, welcome aboard good luck with the bike hunt.

Ellie xx

£1450 for a 2000 is a good price, don't be alarmed by things like mileage, some folks on here have done a lot since getting theirs but these bikes a pretty bullet proof as long as some basic maintainance is adopted.

Like Chris said there will be plenty of people on here happy to help you find your new cat and judge it's worthiness and I'd like to wish you every success with your search.

Oh and welcome to the forum, we are a friendly buck on the whole

Hello and thank you Ellie and Snowcat. I rode up to exeter today to have a go 97 plate thundercat, only one i have found in this area for awhile. Its too expensive for me, at £2400 but it is good to have sat on one and get a feel for the bike. I didnt find it too large or heavy which was my only concern as i'm only 5'2, so I definately know this is the bike to go for. Thanks for the good wishes people! Will update when i do get my cat x

As a guide there was a Q & A in this months ride magazine about someone looking at a P reg (1996-97) cat for £1800 and they said that price is "absolute top money even from a dealer so should be in absolute perfect condition." I'd be tempted to question that price as it sounds very high to me.

Best of luck

Steve

I thought as much, I'd read about them in practical sportsbikes a while back which gave a good price guide to go on. They said they would take my bike for p/x at £1200 but that left another £1200 to pay on top, and i know if can just hold on for a little while, one will pop up privately for £1400-£1800, and if i sold my bike on the bay, i wont go too deep into my pockets. If any of you guys have any mates that are thinking about selling their cat, please drop me a line on here. Thanks for your comments, I appreciate it!

Another good guide is to go on to ebay and set your preferences to ended items only. You can then see the actual price they are going for but more importantly, the classifieds and those with unrealistic reserves that haven't sold. Print them off and use them as ammunition when viewing some high priced bikes.

Mine was on Autotrader for £1850 and I spotted it on eBay as an unsold item with bids up to £1600 but they hadn't met reserve. I contacted the seller (who lived literally 10 minutes from me) viewed the next day, confronted him with my evidence and got the bike for £1550. He was pleased and I was over the moon. Its an 02 incidentally and that was in November last year so I suppose technically after the "fair weather biker season" had ended and he wanted rid as winter kicked in.

Prior to that I had a jap import 125 I was getting some experience on as i prepared for my test and when took it back to the dealer for a warranty service I fell in love with a 1997 cat which was up for £1995, higher mileage than mine and not as good condition. At this point I would have paid that money without hesitation and this was also the time I decided a car was going to be my first big bike.

My point is without the research it is likely I would have paid over the odds for one.