Interesting with low mileage like my bike.
But I wonder why with such low miles it needed refurbishment?
I find quite a few 2nd hand machines being offered up here in the Chicago area with low miles (< 10K) and often much less. I think this is true for a few reasons:
1) Short riding season A hard core rider can stretch their season from March through December, but most folks have MUCH shorter seasons. Once the snow, ice and especially the salt are on the roads, almost nobody tries to ride. A late May to early October riding season is probably much more common. Even then there are many rainy days, and folks will take their alternative transportation option.
2) These are, by and large, toys. Because riding is so difficult, if not impossible, for a few months of the year, just about everyone has an alternate vehicle, car, truck, wife's car, etc. Many bikes get to spend all the nasty days, inside a garage. Some come out only on the most perfect days. Folks here are, on average, reasonably well off, and can afford nice toys. I have met many motorcyclists who own as many as 2 DOZEN different bikes. With a short riding season, and multiple rides to choose from, those bikes can't possibly see much use. One man I met hires a guy to maintain, and RIDE his collection for him. What a plumb job!
In the case of this particular red CMX450 on craigslist, the owner has aged out, and health forces the sale. He may have paid to have the bike restored out of nostalgia, rather than for any practical reason. Also, bikes stored in damp garages and basements will decay just due to humidity, which gets very high in the summertime.
The interesting thing is that the local market doesn't seem to bear higher prices due to low mileage. A used bike is a used bike and enough people want NEW bikes, and can afford them, that there are some outstanding 2nd hand deals to be found here. In fact, from what I've seen, the same bike, in the same condition, with substantially LOWER miles, will be priced cheaper here in Chicago, than it will out on the West Coast. I've been joking with my brother, who lives in San Diego, that we could run a little side business where I transport bikes out there and he sells them.