I've sold several motorcycles on Ebay, and here's a quick run down of what I've learned, along with some common pitfalls to avoid and details that should not be overlooked:

1. Presentation: picture, pictures, pictures. You can never have too many pictures. If I'm buying a used vehicle, particularly something as potentially dangerous as a used motorcycle, I want to be assured that everything is up and up with the vehicle, and the only way of achieving that warm fuzzy is through pictures, unless I live close enough to go and pay the seller a visit before the purchase. At a minimum, for a motorcycle, pictures of all sides, closeups of potential impact areas like the side covers for sport bikes and exhaust pipes for cruisers, and an odometer/cockpit shot are required. I see too many bikes being listed with only one angle of the bike showing (shady) and poor lighting (not confidence inspiring). If you have a crash-free bike to sale and would have no problem selling it to a loved one, then demonstrate that faith in your product by showing it from all angles. Another tip: when you have taken all the pictures and are ready to attach them to your listing, try to do so in a logical manner--I usually start from the right side of the bike (exhaust pipe side) and flow my pictures clockwise in a "walkaround" of the bike. This allows the potential bidder to get the best view of the bike than does a bunch of random pictures which require the viewer to flip back and forth from one picture to another in order to compare body panels and so forth. Also, be prepared to offer additional pictures if bidders want to see more of the bike. 

2. Pricing: this might be the number one reason for unsuccessful listings. Far too many sellers price their bikes at a premium. If you are selling a late model bike from among the big 4 (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha), and you bought the bike new, realize that these bikes depreciate greatly, usually to the tune of at least $1,000-2,000. If you start your bike at NADA or "book" value, you've not given your prospective buyers any wiggle room or room with which to bid up to a fair price for your bike. I usually start my listing at $500 or so below the lowest book value for my bike, and my listings always end at fair market price, which is what one would expect. Tip: this may be obvious for some, but first time sellers may not do it....check the Ebay price for the model bike you are selling and compare other factors like color, mileage, and bike condition to see where your listing may fall within the model range. I've been successful because I've been able to find a similar bike to mine with a much higher starting price. Buy-it-now: If you do offer this, put some thought into it. Generally, if you set your starting price slightly below the lowest book value and allow the market to determine the final price, you'll get the best deal, so I don't prefer to use a buy-it-now price, but there are instances where this could benefit you, such as you already own the bike and want to sell quickly without the hassle of a 5 or 7 day auction and can price the bike accordingly. Reserve price: I've never used a reserve. Of course, there are situations in which a reserve could be useful like when you know the bike you are selling may not do well (a model that is historically low in attraction to consumers will not always sell for book value, for example), and you wish to protect yourself in the event the bidding does not go high enough for you to sell.

3. Shipping: You have 3 options: 1) Trailer the bike to a customer, 2) have Ebay shipping service (Das.Ebay.com) or another third party shipper perform the job, or 3) have the customer pick up the bike from your residence. Of the three, the pick-up from residence is my preferred method because it allows me to show the bike to the buyer before he/she gets on it and takes off. Often times, the buyers are totally new to riding a motorcycle. I had one buyer who bought a 1400cc sportbike from me, who had never ridden a motorcycle before. As any experienced rider knows, this situation is fraught with peril, so having the buyer pick up the bike from me allowed me to give them a few pointers and words of advice that might help to save their life down the road. It also allowed me to show them the bike, the location of everything, explain the maintenance, etc., etc. One usually gets this from the dealership when buying a new bike, but without the pick-up, the buyer is left to figure all of this out on their own (this is generally not a concern for experienced riders, but if you've ridden a Honda all your life and switch to Harley, there are some differences you might want to know about before taking delivery). If you do offer shipping throught DAS or another third party shipper, figure about $500 as a ballpark estimate. I shipped a 750 pound cruiser from LA to WI using DAS, and it cost a little over $500. If you plan on trailering the bike yourself, it's on you to arrange compensation for the shipping. I tell the buyer up front how much I want for my expenses and time, and this alleviates any naggling after the purchase.

4. Titles: this can be a real hang-up during listing, especially if you have a leinholder on your title. Most lienholders take 2-3 weeks to issue a title to the owner after the bike loan has been paid off, so if you're selling a bike for which you still owe money to a bank or lender, make sure to state this in your listing and state how long it will take to get the title from the lienholder to the winning bidder. In lieu of a title, a bill of sale can be used to show proof of sale. I issue a bill of sale to cover the buyer (and myself) during the waiting period between paying off the bike loan and receiving the title from the lienholder. A bill of sale example can be found on the web using a simple Google search. There's no specific format; just include all the pertinent identifying information for the bike (VIN, year, make/model, color, odometer reading) and owner (full name and address).

5. Pitfalls: I've dealt with my fair share of shady bidders. My advice is to always use the Ebay message system when dealing with bidders, as this gives you a "paper trail" for what's transpired and what may or may not have been agreed to after the sale. I always demand cashiers checks or money orders as payment for a bike. Regardless of which payment method you use, under no circumstances hand over the bike until payment has cleared. This should be obvious, but I've heard horror stories. I don't deal in wire transfers, as this requires me to give out my banking information. I know it's done all the time without any snags, but there's not a lot that can go wrong with a cashier's check or money order so I usually go that route.

I hope this helps in some measure. I'm sure I forgot to mention something, but I'll try to update this guide from time to time, depending upon how much attention it receives. If you have any questions or suggestions for me, just send me a message through the Ebay message system. Thank you for your time, and happy selling.