How much should I pay for a 1980 Honda cx500? Needs battery and carb clean, with 55K miles. Dallas, tx?

I'm looking forward to my first motorcycle, and I think I found one… It's a 1980 Honda CX500, it has 55K miles on it and it also needs a battery, and they also said just a carb clean… It also needs inspection sticker, and they said it will pass with ease… How much should I pay for a bike like this? I live in Texas if that makes a difference.

Never fall for the old "all it needs is" line. If it can't be started and ridden, forget it. Odds are it needs a LOT more than what they're telling you.

If I were selling a bike, and "all it needs" is a carb clean and a battery, I would take care of that and have it running well when a buyer came to look at it. It would sell for a lot more money.

$350. To $550 good luck

Never buy something that doesn't run, unless you want to rebuild the entire engine if it's broken.
The carburetors can have broken parts inside, requiring replacement (they are not available anywhere!)
Every part inside of the engine could be missing because he sold it for parts.

Very little - in the UK this bike was known as the "Plastic Maggot" and is only of interest now to people buying them to turn into café racers

No more that 500 bucks if it is not running right now. Don't listen to the owner on whether it runs or not, whether it will pass inspection or not. If they knew the answer, it would run right now and have a current inspection right now and then you would pay for a running, inspected bike.

Because it is not running and it is not inspected, you aren't going to pay for that.

If it's all there and in YOUR opinion is worth 500 bucks, then that is what you are willing to pay for a non-running bike from the 80's.

Make sure the guy selling the bike is the guy named on the title. Check his ID. Make sure the title is for THAT bike. Make sure the title is valid with NO errors. Make sure the title has no liens or the liens are released.

Old bikes need more than just a carb clean… Don't even believe that for a minute, many people list things for sale with the "it just needs" line. If that s all it needs then why don't they take care of it and make more money?
Even after you have it up and going there are many little things due to age and rot that need attention and they add up to more money that you d imagine. A $3000 newer ready to go bike is cheaper that a $500 old bike in the end.
I do my own repairs, I don't pay any labor and I still find it to be more expensive to by an old bike than a newer one. Then there's the parts that you have to find used or not at all because they don't make them anymore. Been there done that.

Not running but proper paperwork? $100.00, about what wholesaling parts would get for the frontend, other parts outside of engine. That vintage running with for sale sign is a minimum $500.00 special with bald tires and scratches, beer can patches on exhaust- but relatively clean oil and filters that aren't fouled. $1000.00 for good tires and firmly clamped exhaust- but again, has to be a runner and there are a fair amount of running 'rat' bikes in my area seen in the spring- I've got a couple.

Don't bother unless the seller gets it running. Otherwise MAYBE 250 dollars MAX!