Motorcycle depreciation: how fast bikes lose value, by category

Motorcycles depreciate faster than cars in year one and slower after that, and the spread between categories is enormous. A Harley touring bike and a 450 motocrosser bought on the same day are worth wildly different fractions of their sticker three years later.

The curves, roughly

Percentage of MSRP retained, good condition, typical mileage:

• Cruiser (Harley, Indian, big Japanese): year 1 about 82%, year 3 about 70%, year 5 about 60%, year 10 about 45%.
• Touring: 80%, 67%, 57%, 40%.
• Modern classic / cafe: 80%, 68%, 58%, 42%.
• Adventure: 80%, 65%, 53%, 36%.
• Dual-sport: 85%, 73%, 64%, 50% — the flattest curve on the list.
• Naked / standard: 78%, 63%, 51%, 34%.
• Sportbike: 76%, 60%, 48%, 31%.
• Dirt / motocross: 75%, 55%, 42%, 25%.
• Electric: 65%, 44%, 32%, 18% — battery age and rapid model turnover.

Why the differences

Buyers of cruisers and touring bikes are older, keep bikes longer, and value the brand; supply of clean used examples is always short in spring. Sportbike buyers are younger, trade more often, and the bikes get crashed and modified. Dirt bikes are consumables. Dual-sports are the anomaly: demand is steady, manufacturers make few, and the bikes are simple enough to last decades.

The models that don't depreciate

A short list of bikes that hold 70% or more of MSRP for years: Suzuki DR650 and DR-Z400, Kawasaki KLR650, Honda XR650L and Grom, Yamaha TW200 and WR250R, KTM 300 XC-W and 500 EXC-F, Royal Enfield Classic 350, most Vespas. What they have in common is an unchanged design, low supply and a buyer who wants exactly that bike and nothing else.

The first year

The drop from new to one-year-old is the biggest single step on every curve — 18–25% — and it is why a one-year-old bike with a few thousand miles is the smartest buy in the market. Dealers know it too: that is the bike they most want to sell you at retail.