Crazy Classic Bike Prices

[thunderbird]

its good here others getting some miles under there belt on these old machines, mine is used every week local bike night thursdays mixing with the modern bikes i also go on there planned rideouts every month,also doing 160 mile round trip sunday  two stroke and classic bike meet i dont tend to do the shows as i enjoy the riding,its great to see the smiles on peoples faces when they see theses old bikes on the road,  thats what its all about for me

[Blue]

I think many of you missed my point; that being that if the world were black and white and price reflected value in terms of reliability, speed, comfort and economy, then old British bikes would be worth and cost nothing because they have long been superceded by modern machinery.  But, for whatever reasons you care to name, the market defies this logic and the scarcity and desirability of the grumbling old bangers will continue to inflate the prices.

[henry_norton]

Yeah, it's all about perceived value - It's like if you had twelve thousand pounds to spend on a motorbike would you buy a DBD34 Goldie or a 996(?) Ducati? They're both very pretty, somewhat temperamental and uncomfortable and neither can really be used as everyday transport.

Ignoring the the fact that the Goldie will hold its value it would be a tough decision for me if I had to choose between the two.

 :-?

[twolitre]

I don't think many repliers missed the point. I think most, like myself were trying to offer a better way of looking at it.
  Rightly or wrongly many old things - often worth little in terms of raw materials - get latched onto by those who think they are an investment for the future.  How much would you pay for a picture of a bowl full of marigolds which cost almost nothing to produce? The tragedy is that the artist who produced it died almost a pauper while others make vast profits from selling the painting when he is long dead.  A lot of these expensive classic and vintage bikes will likely rarely see the light of day, being kept for investment and (hopefully as far as the buyers are concerned) a profit.  I imagine a lot of those high price buyers have never ridden a motorbike.

[henry_norton]

I don't think many repliers missed the point. I think most, like myself were trying to offer a better way of looking at it.

I agree, but it is frustrating when you'd love a classic brit bike but simply can't afford an 'original' - hopefully the ebay bike Blue mentioned at the start of this thread ('bitsa' Bonnie for 'matching numbers' price) isn't the start of a trend.

[thunderbird]

very well put twolitre,you go back 30 years many of the old bikes were worthless in money terms but were of value to those with an interest in restoring them.

[chris p]

you ve only got to look at prices some people are asking on here they think of a number and then add a 0 on end most of them would be asking too much if they knocked the first digit off

[Rex]

All the time bikes fetch those prices, then what you stated can't be true; they ARE worth only what they'll fetch on the open market, and that's true of nearly everything.
A late model TR6 made £1200 on Ebay last week or so, and that hardly prices any potential classic owner out of the market. As me old granny used to say, "you have to cut your cloth according to your means" and it still holds true. 8-)