Is a 1986 yamaha 1100 road bike worth 50 bucks if it does not run? and how much would it be worth if running?

it is in good shape and also clean, has compression , i think it may be dirty carbs.

Sure it's worth $50,,,
in worst case you can part it out on Ebay.

They are prone to Ignition and Charging System Probs.
At one time parts were Very expensive for all that stuff.
They appear to have come down to more reasonable and affordable levels.

Get a Service manual for it to guide your trouble shooting before buying parts.

Give it a thorough inspection & total-up a shopping list before investing a bunch of $$$

With any luck and a bit of effort,,ya might fool around and have something pretty cool to ride,,,or make a few $$$ on.

At $50,,,You're in the money going into the deal if Ya just Flipped it as-is.

Go to Ebay and type in XS1100,,,scroll down the list of items to get an idea.
Note not only the prices,,,but the number of Bidders to get an impression of Mkt Demand for Parts.

Good Luck

i'd definitely go for it. as others said there are always parts you can sell. and a buck a cc as magz said is pretty accurate.

http://www.xs11.com/

site is a forum for 1100 owners, check it out.

Even a Jap bike gotta be worth $50
Mag gave a close guess for it running

if you can get it running and ridable without a lot of new parts, it's a steal. If you can't, you can either call it a learning experience, or a great way to waste $50 and a lot of time.

be careful, running doesn't make it safely ridable. Check the tires, brakes and all the controls.

Yes except the carbs parts are hard if no impossible to find for them. I rebuilt one for a guy and we had to buy a set of carbs off another to fix his. But Ihave seen good buys on Ebay under carbuators. I have seen several sets of Smooth bores that can fit. Just check and makes sure carbs are adjustable on the rack.

you can get $1 per CC if it runs, less depending on condition...

I totally think it is, if it is in good condition, I would ask for more than $50.