Crazy Classic Bike Prices

[Searchguru]

Bruce,
Your bike is brilliant and in many ways more 'real' than a restored bike. I suspect that you would never part with it as it owes you at least £15.
If you had the money and/or OCD you could make your bike better than new but you would probably be scared to ride it! I have no problem with people that want to restore bikes nor do I have a problem with those that either don't want to or can't.
Don't let REX see your rear view mirror as that looks suspiciously Japanese!
Cheers and I hope you have another 36 years with your Norton.

[Bruce]

It gets used a lot hence the mirror note the towbar for a small trailer and also I have fitted a car dynamo to it which gives me good lights and loud hooter.Over the years I have been to the south of France Switzerland,Germany,France Belguim,Holland on it

[Goldie]

This is my Norton Big4 bought for £15 in 1972 it used not a trailer queen

It looks all there. A restorers dream.

[henry_norton]

Nice pics Bruce - nice bike too. You're a bit eraly for 'Featherbed Lane though aren't you? Maybe you should look for something like 'Garden Gate Close' (or was that the plunger frame....?) How about 'Rigid Road' ?  

[thunderbird]

great to see bikes like this in regular use bruce so much character would be spoiled if restored. :)cheers steve

[goldandblack]

I`ve been reading these comments on crazy prices with interest and as stated already they are only worth what some ones going to pay for them. There is some over priced grey porridge out there, but I can remember being offered a DBD 34 back in 1974 for a crazy £1,000, I bought a new suzuki for £340.
This is not an attack on the fantastic hand crafted personaly built machines that are loved and cherished by the owner,but when it  comes to the gold star the real thing was also hand built by the competition department at Small Heath. The genuine thing comes with a dyno test record, they run like a swiss watch,  the sweetest thing to ride, fantastically exhillerating on twisty roads.  We also shouldn't forget it was the most successful production racer Britain ever produced.
There are two sides to the coin, the cost of good restoration is now very expensive and I would say there are also some under valued bikes out there.

[Blue]

 We also shouldn't forget it was the most successful production racer Britain ever produced.

Fans of 'Slippery Sam' might have something to say about this, haha.

I agree that old bikes are only worth what people will pay, though.  When all's said and done, you can pay 120,000 pounds for a scungy old brough capable of 100mph (!) but will never be taken to said speed because the owner will be too busy polishing it and showing it off ... or you can spend a sixth of that price and get a modern japanese 500cc that will do 130mph in second gear AND will do it safely, reliably and without leaking oil hahaha.

I suppose the difference is that whilst japan makes hundreds of thousands (millions?) of bikes every year, there's only a limited amount of A10 frames being chopped to look like goldstars per annum - but with modern 250s doing better speeds than most british bikes it does beg the question 'why?' when someone tells you they plan to 'hot up' a british motor for the road...

that snortin sidevalve looks great, by the by

[Rex]

   When all's said and done, you can pay 120,000 pounds for a scungy old brough capable of 100mph (!) but will never be taken to said speed because the owner will be too busy polishing it and showing it off ... or you can spend a sixth of that price and get a modern japanese 500cc that will do 130mph in second gear AND will do it safely, reliably and without leaking oil hahaha.
If a high top end and modern reliability is all that's required, then it rather misses the point to buy a old British bike.....

[henry_norton]

I like my old Bonnie because it's loud, it shakes, it smells of petrol and oil, (it only drips a tiny amount) and it's got that deep, rich aura of history surrounding it that just makes it nice to be on. That's asides from the fact that it's actually good fun to ride and has easily reached limits that give the rider some involvement beyond being just a means of transport. It comes apart like meccano so I can tinker with it in my spare time and every now and again this results in an improvement, which is satisfying and heightens my feeling of involvement again.

Remember, a Bonneville or a Gold Star will both exceed the speed limit by about 40 MPH - they just won't exceed it 'comfortably', which, for me is the whole point  

If I had a Brough I'm not sure I would want to risk wrapping £120,000 around a lamp post either........

[Goldie]

  When all's said and done, you can pay 120,000 pounds for a scungy old brough capable of 100mph (!) but will never be taken to said speed because the owner will be too busy polishing it and showing it off ... or you can spend a sixth of that price and get a modern japanese 500cc that will do 130mph in second gear AND will do it safely, reliably and without leaking oil hahaha.
If a high top end and modern reliability is all that's required, then it rather misses the point to buy a old British bike.....

But there is one thing that Japaneese bikes will never have which British bikes ooze,
That's character and indevidualality.

[thunderbird]

I dont think you can compare modern sports bikes  with old british iron they are worlds apart,if you ride an old british bike you do it for the enjoyment, not for the speeds modern sports bikes do, my old thunderbird is more than capable of exceeding the Ton plenty fast enough for me. i think part of the enjoyment is the maitanance side,british bikes are very easy to work on,reliability comes with use and getting to know your bike,modern bikes can be complicated and expensive to put right.getting back to crazy prices i think (example £120,000 brough they become just an investmat tool)

[henry_norton]

A Brough SS100 went for £150,000 this month at Bonhams - obviously global recession doesn't affect all of us!!!

It's sad to think that a bike like that is just too valuable to ride on the road. To do so would be a real pleasure for the rider (worry asides) but maybe just as importantly it gives people on the streets a chance to experience a unique part of our history that's otherwise forgotten by the majority. Most people on the street know what a Honda is but would they have heard of a Brough Superior (let alone what they stood for or were capable of in the context of the times)?

[thunderbird]

Brough superior certainly were a rolls royce of motorcycle in there day and were expensive when new and deserve a high value for what they are, but as prices do go ever higher it puts other more exotic bikes out of reach to the every day enthusiast the people that have have kept these bikes going over the years and have done so for the love of there machines.The fact that that prices are still rising in are current financial climate will only fuel the investors wanting financial gain and a good return and take more machines out of the public domain and into private collections.

[twolitre]

There are some nice looking bikes here! Does it matter if they are not original?
I hate to see over-restored 'show' machines running away with awards at shows, while other excellent bikes reflecting 'as produced' condition are ignored.
I also do not see any problem with uprated parts or accessories, especially if fitted with extra safety in mind.  I believe the Montague Motor Museum refuse over restored exhibits though they will accept added accessories or modifications which could legitimately have been done during the machine's normal life and use. A policy I wholeheartedly endorse.
My own 1957 Triumph 5TA (to be found somewhere among Nigel's photographs) is a personal choice mixture of of 5T and 5TA parts to resemble a 5T I had fifty years ago.  For which I make no apology.
Incidentally, the bike is going on a 60 mile run this evening, which will bring the mileage over the last week to around 160 miles.  I seem to get more praise and respect for using it than I would expect from showing it!
Build the bike you want and use it!  Don't get bogged down with ££££'s  

[henry_norton]

And so back to andyw's original comment - maybe these high end bike prices really are pushing up the value of the more popular bikes. Even bitsa unit Triumphs of suspect heritage.

There's only one solution of course - keep ridin' em!!!!