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Strip the bike down as far as you can / have time for. It matters and makes a difference. Hand wash all of the plastic.
Use Mr. Clean on the tires before power washing. Use a lotion-type hand cleaner on the rubber hoses (NOT with pumice). It'll make the rubber parts look like new.
On aluminum that needs to have a brushed look, I use 80 or 120g sand paper wet with WD40.
As far as your side covers (ignition and clutch), I personally would remove them, sand, then paint them. Bead-blasting, powder-coating, etc. are all good ideas, but a quick sand & paint is way cheaper and quicker.
The biggest element is to make the bike shiny and clean, but not oily-shiny (armor-all or a silicon spray looks fake). My secret is to buff the plastic with an automotive buffer (a good one, not the orbital cheap plastic buffers). Its unreal how good the plastic can look with nothing more than a buffer and a wool pad; no polish necessary. There is a trick to it in regards to technique, but it can make the plastic look drastically better than new.
Like-new cleanliness IS in the details, but its actually more about making the prominent parts shine to overshadow the elements that show some wear.
As far as photos, I saw a few people above suggest "taking in direct sunlight". I would do the complete opposite. Direct sunlight is terrible. It over-exposes everything and washes out the image. Shoot it during "magic hour". The last hour of sunlight (roughly). In the shade. Trust me. Not a dark shaded area, but in a nice diffuse light. NOT in direct sunlight.
The Shop
2. Make sure that potential buyers know that your bike "has power bands in every gear".
3.sit back and wait for cash to roll in.
I was selling my 2010 RM-Z 450 two years ago. It had 90 hours on it. It was rock solid as far as technical stuff goes. It had an hour meter from new and I kept a journal where I marked every ride and maintenance job. I had overhauled the engine (piston, crank, bearings, camchain, gasket set etc..) it had new tires, chain, sprockets, brake discs and pads, I had the suspension done, linkage bearings, everything! But it had original plastics with original graphics so it showed the wear. I was selling it for a loooong time. I told every caller that it looked like crap but was mechanically sound, Everyone said that ok it was not a biggie, but when they arrived to see the bike, the first thing they would say was that it looked worse than in the pics.
I eventually got the bike sold, had I done the cosmetics I believe it would have sold faster and maybe at a bit better price.
(a little a bit of topic, but all the good advice is there already, so I´ll just give you my thoughts on the subject)
Just put it on craigslist
Pit Row
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