What did an xj650 cost new in 1982?

Any info on the cost of a new XJ650 in 1982?
I'm just curious how it compares to what they are selling for used 26 years later.

 

check my post at:
http://xjpricelist.tripod.com
for all XJ prices from 1978 to 1998

 

Good list there that Baz has posted.

HOWEVER, be careful when comparing past prices with current prices, as what people call a "price" is not necessarily a "value"..........read on:

The price of anything is normally expressed in relation to something else, in most cases, to a particular "currency" (which is almost the same thing as "money", but that's a whole 'nother topic). US Dollars are the most common "something else", but it could be anything; for instance, CANADIAN Dollars, or Apples, Wampum Beads, or my favorite, an ounce of pure gold.

In other words, for the price for a 1982 XJ650J is listed as having a MSRP of $ 2498 in 1982, and the rest of the sentence, in order to be truly accurate, should read: "in 1982 US Dollars".

1982 US Dollars were "worth" a bit more than 2008 US Dollars......a 1982 US Dollar would buy more (or, to put it another way, could be TRADED FOR MORE of some other item) than a 2008 US Dollar.

One way to measure what the "underlying value" of a unit of currency is (i.e. a "US Dollar") over time is to use government figures on inflation, or what is called CPI, although those numbers can be very suspect for a number of reasons (again, a whole other topic). But just for fun, the CPI Index was equal the arbitrary figure of "100" in 1982. The latest 2008 figure is 217 or so.

So, it takes 217 "2008 Dollars" to buy the exact same amount of "something" that only 100 "1982 Dollars" would have.

An ounce of gold was priced at somewhere (on average) of about $400 +/- in 1982; in 2008, that same ounce is priced (on average) of about $ 850 +/- (the +/- is there since the price fluctuates throughtout the year).

Which leads to an important conclusion:

The "PRICE" of any item is really a result of TWO different factors:

a) supply and demand, which is what most people think of as being the main (or only) factor of what the "price" of an item is (and, for very short-term purposes, is correct).

b) the underlying value of the "currency" that the price is expressed in (dollars, yen, ounce of gold, wampum beads, etc.). This factor is normally fully and completely disregarded, or not understood and appreciated by most people.


So, using our figures from above, we find that 2008 US Dollars are worth:

1) according to suspect US Government CPI figures, 100/217th as much as 1982 US Dollars, or a 46% reduction ("haircut") in purchasing power.

2) according to the price of gold, 400/850th as much as 1982 US Dollars, or a reduction of 47%.

Just to make things easy, let's round those 46/47% figures to an even 50%....meaning a 2008 US Dollar is worth exactly 1/2 as much as a 1982 US Dollar.

So.............the 1982 US Dollar MSRP of the $ 2498 (call it $2500) for a 1982 XJ650J Maxim, and in 2008 US Dollars, you would have to fork over $5000 to purchase it.

There, now we're (almost) talking apples-to-apples. So, what is the current (2008 US Dollars) value of a pristine (i.e. "like new") 1982 XJ650J Maxim (if you could find one)?

Your guess is as good as mine, but since "really, REALLY nice", low-mileage examples are selling for around, what?, $ 2000 - 2500, then even a fully-depreciated bike has still retained half of it's "brand new" value after 26+ years, and that's pretty darned good.......in other words, this reflects a strong "collectible" price, and a "collectible" price, once we strip away the "underlying currency value" considerations, means the supply vs. demand issues are very strong.

By the way, missing from the above discussion on the "value of the dollar" is foreign-exchange considerations; in other words, just as you can express the "price" of an object (say, a 1982 XJ650J Maxim) in terms of another object (say, 1982 US Dollars or 2008 US Dollars), you can also express the price of one currency versus another in the same way.....some other currency (Yen, or Shekels, or Canadian Dollars, for example) being just another example of a "something" that you can trade a US Dollar for..........

In 1982, one 1982 US Dollar would buy you about 235 1982 Japanese Yen.

This is important because Yamaha motorcycles are built in Japan, with Japanese parts, and Japanese labor, all of which are denominated in Yen. So Yamaha spent "X" number of YEN to build that 1982 XJ650J, and then sent it over to the USA to be sold in DOLLARS, and since Yamaha hoped to make a profit from the sale to a person in the USA, who would be paying for the purchase in Dollars, then that yen-dollar conversion rate brings another issue into the equation.

Currently, one 2008 US Dollar can only purchase about 95 2008 Japanese Yen.

That's about 40% less Yen than what a 1982 US Dollar could purchase.

Either Yens have become extremely more valuable, or Dollars have become much less valuable (or some combo of both) in relation to each other.

You can draw your own conclusions by what the above means.


One last thing, which doesn't have much to do with the value of XJ bikes, but something to consider.

There are two main methods by which a government can extract money from the holders of its currency/money:

a) directly, and pretty obviously, via Taxes of various kinds (income taxes, sales taxes, motor fuel taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes----also sometimes lovingly referred to by govt. officials as "fees" of one type or another, but it's all the same thing).

b) indirectly, and stealth-like, via devaluation of the "worth" of currency/money that it issues (and thus via the reduced purchasing power of that currency/money).

Method A---taxes---are universally hated and politicians tend to get voted out of office (.,e, "kicked off the gravy train") when they vote for tax increases.

Method B---devaluation of the currency, very slyly called "inflation" rather than "devaluation", perhaps in order to make it sound less negative to Joe the Plumber---is universally ignored or not understood by most people, and therefore no one gets voted out of office for overseeing a long-term, consistent, continual destruction of the value of the money held by its citizens (or anyone else who holds that currency).


So there it is. XJ-Economics 101. My gut feeling is that XJ bikes will continue to increase in "value", as well as in US Dollar PRICE, although if you live in Japan, for example, you can now buy them on the cheap in the USA, simply due to your Yen being much more valuable (relatively-speaking) than current US Dollars are.

 

Thanks guys, I'll check the link out.

And Chacal, I haven't used the hex head carb drain bolt screws I got from you yet. It's like 20 degrees outside in the garage. I didn't want to try to remove the old stripped out screws when they are so cold. I thought it would go better when warm. Maybe I'll warm them up with the propane torch a little. Anyway, I liked the idea posted by someone about screwing the drain bowl to a piece of wood and then putting the wood in the bench vice to hold it. I bought the micro extractors from Sears to try as suggested on here.

When will spring arrive?

 

Hey Corgi, just don't use a propane torch on a bowl full of fuel!

Regarding this question:

I have a definitive answer:

"According to the astronomical definition, spring begins on the Vernal Equinox (usually March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere, and September 21 in the Southern Hemisphere)."

 

A few bikes from the 70's come to mind. . .
RD 350 's sold new for $908
1974 Chappy 80 CC - $400
My 1978 XS 500 still in the crate in 1979 - $1,650 w/rack and shield
Dad's 1 year old XS-11 $2,200
And overheard the dealer saying Yamaha builds and crates the XS 650 at a cost of $290 per unit. Before shipping to US.

 

Thanks Chacal. So ya think I should drain the carb bowl?? LOL
So then, gas IS flamable LOL
Seriously, I didn't know this LOL
It's good to have a sense of humor.
Thanks

 

And while I'm at it. How do I change the Icon under my username? Already tired of the smokey the bear with the ? mark for a face look.
Thanks

 

Hey Corgi, I just couldn't tell from your wording how you planned to attempt to loosen that screw.......you'd be, umm, rather surprised by the procedures that some people attempt!

Regarding you Icon, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, the chicks do always dig that "government official/man-in-uniform" look. And the question mark portrays you as having a healthy amount of skepticism, sorta like being from Missouri, the "Show-Me" state, always a good thing......

But, to change it, you have to go to the "My Account" option on the left side bar, and then a number of other options will open up, one of them being "My Avatar", where you can upload one or link to an off-site image file.

 

Thanks for the info Chacal. While you were posting the answer, I figured it out. I also tried to list my past and current bikes. Hope it worked.

 

I paid $1945.00 for a 1983 xj650 in 1985 still in the create until 1985, dealer said Yamaha made more than they could sell that year, that's why it was in a create. Still have the bike and has only 1425 miles on it. Sit in a barn from 1986 until this year. Trying to get it back on the road this spring. Don't never store a bike for that long unless you oil and grease everything, gas tank, fenders, forks, shocks and carbs if not you are asking for trouble, like stuck rings, gummed up carbs, rust and pin holes in the tank and rust pitted fenders and forks.