Collecting Vintage Motorcycles
August 30th, 2006 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"A few months ago I mentioned what I called affordable classic motorcycles and said motorcycles come and go from the hot sheets of the collectors. If you have one that comes to their attention, you might make a lot of money but if you buy with that intention, you could get burned and not enjoy the experience very much.
Well, Forbes magazine is now writing about collecting motorcycles. They have an article that tells you to do your homework before you plunk down your cash, attend rallies and shows, read Cycle Trader, you know, take a few weeks to become an expert so you can buy the hidden gems out there.
I can’t help but think that anyone reading Forbes who gets the idea to collect motorcycles from an article like that is asking for a lot of trouble and disappointment. I like Forbes, I think it’s a pretty neat magazine, but if the idea to collect bikes never hit you before reading that article, keep your wallet in your pocket, it’s safer there.
On the other hand, at the end of the article they point to the Honda CB750 as an entry point to the collectible market, I agree with them there, many of the Honda CB motorcycles are rising in value, but they go on to say you can still pick up a nice one for $15,000. Excuse me? For $15,000, you can pick up a really top notch Honda CBX and have money left over. Like I said, those guys should keep their wallets in their pockets, unless of course, you happen to have an old Honda for sale. 
Posted in Vintage Motorcycles
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6 Responses to “Collecting Vintage Motorcycles”
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August 30th, 2006 at 10:49 am
According to my latest VJMC magazine, a ‘69 CB750 sandcast recently sold on e-Bay for just that; 15K. And that after forty some odd bids.
August 30th, 2006 at 11:05 am
Just goes to show, I don’t follow the market closely enough. The sandcast models are more pricey but still, that must have been some motorcycle! Was that some kind of auction record?
August 30th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
vintage motorcycle price guide values a sandcast at $21,000 when in #1 condition. but the honda prices in there are a bit strange…cb400f is valued at $2000, but one sold for $3250 in that issue’s auction results listing in condition 3 (which, according to them, is worth $1200)
August 30th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
what do you think I could get for a beat up 86 Honda VFR700??? It runs and has most of the parts
August 30th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Beat up would describe my bike perfectly, right on with the “most of the parts”. Though you would know since you do most of the work on it.
September 4th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I think it was a typo from the editor. I’ve seen very nice, good running early CB750’s for less than $1,500. Of course, most of the sand-cast ones (very few) have already been spoken for.
-todd