Introduction and small rant on....Rediculous Bike Prices

KaaoSkitzofreniK

KaaoSkitzofreniK

New Member
Does anyone else here think it's rediculous the prices people on ebay and craigslist are setting for the hunks of junk now, cause of a rise in Cafe Racer popularity? Do these guys think just because someone creates a show and makes something that is a hard long and laborious jon look like a weekend project, that they can just jack up the prices on old, leaking, ratty, rusty, hunks of crap to rediculous prices? Apparently they do..... and then these bikes end up in the hands of idiots who don't know what it's all about and they end up sitting in another shed for another 30-40 years........ IM SORRY BUT YOUR NONRUNNING OIL LEAKING RUST BUCKET IS NOT WORTH ALMOST 2000$ YOU IDIOT. Ok i feel much better.

On another note. New to DOTHETON, followed caferacer.net for a good while and did not like how cruel and unhelpful a lot of the member on there were. Just moved, so as soon as i can procure a garage for my cl450, will start posting a project log. Really enjoy reading the posts and helpfulness on here!

Cheers to all
Ben
 
A sucker is born every minute, and unfortunately the eBay'ers and Craiglisters know it.

The majority of us just avoid the overpriced nonsense and keep an eye out for the real deals. I also like to offer the overpriced cats fair value. Some tell me to go F myself, and others come way down on price.

Welcome to the fray, sir. I look forward to seeing pics of that CL450.
 
KaaoSkitzofreniK said:
On another note. New to DOTHETON, followed caferacer.net for a good while and did not like how cruel and unhelpful a lot of the member on there were.
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Those bullies, hmmmph. :mad:
 
You be talking about "Ridiculous" bike prices? We have our fair share of them up here as well.
I guess you just have to walk away from the bad stuff. I was looking for another bike for a vintage road racing project and saw barely running bikes for well over a grand, bikes with pooched motors for well north of $500.00 and finally bought a hulk the other week that was within my budget. Not my first choice for a vintage racer in the class I'll be competing in but "it'll do". A couple of times recently I felt like I was negotiating for the Holy Grail or a contender for concours d'elegance at Pebble Beach or something - Holy s***!
Granted I'm a scavenger of the first water, a pack rat of some renown, real tight with my money and looking for the start of a vintage race bike is a lot different than looking for a street bike to cafe, so the perfect project for me won't be the one for you, but just keep looking, keep asking around and you'll eventually find what you need.
The DTT site is a great source for leads - let everyone know where you're located and what you're after and maybe...
Good luck and keep us posted on your search - we're all in this with ya.
Pat Cowan,
Vintage Motorcycle Fiberglass
 
About a year ago when i was searching for a bike(before i finally chose ther cl) i saw a cb350 on craigslist that wasnt running but had "good compression, and just needed carb work and new seals" for 1500$ obo.... I offered him 750$ for it, told him it was a fair price for a bike that doesnt run.... He proceeded to tell me to Fuck Myself and that i was rude as hell for lowballing such a "rare piece of history" i could only laugh at my screen as i decided not to make another offer on that rare bike that was made in the tens of thousands in the states each year for 7 some odd years.... For me, any ass stating it doesnt run, but "just needs a lil carb cleaning" is poof and a liar and shouldnt sleep at night when they do sell it to some poor sod who has no inkling what theyre getting themselves into....
 
Garage Rat said:
I've still yet to see this TV show, must be a states only thing...
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I'll admit i've watched every episode up until they started focusing less on bikes, and more on hipsters artists flaunting street art around L.A. and musicians that happen to ride a bike cause they live in a crowded city.... When the bike becomes an afterthought to trying to ring in more types of people to watch the show, I'm done.
 
Thems the breaks man... Only problem is now the bikes are old enouyh that the value won't he dropping that much. Once something like that passes the 30 year old mark it becomes "rare" in the eyes of the masses. Add to that the fact that the folks who owned these bikes new are of the age where expendable cash becomes more available, and us working stiff get the shaft.

Anyway... Welcome to DTT.
 
Don't get me started, harrumph, harrumph, harrumph......................

15 years ago I decided that having just retired I'd build myself a bells and whistles Tribsa - my favourite of the day [ built 12 of them - 2 for racing ]

The formula back then was take an old BSA B31 / 33 for £10 - probably £100 in today's money? Take a Triumph whatever engine - pre-unit alloy 500's were my favourite - mix in a few ex Racer parts - clip ons, 5 gall GRP tank [ or alloy ], race seat and away you went. Build it yourself for a maximum of £100 [ £1000 today ].

Rusty old non running B31s were fetching around £1000 THEN - now more like £2000 - £3000. decent Triumph engines - £750 - £1000.

A total non starter as far as I was concerned. Tried Italian - OK not bad [ Duke and Guzzi ], ah BMW they were always around in the 60's. Built 3 - but there's not much you can do Cafe Racer wise to a Beemer that makes yours "Different".

Tried various Japanese Twins - all too small enough [ physically ] - FINALLY tripped over Yamaha's TR1 [ XV920 / 980 ] in chain drive mode, and that's where I'm at now. Cheap as chips here in the UK [ comparatively speaking ] maybe £300 - £400 for a cosmetically challenged runner. I know from threads in the US and Canada they are still unnapreciated in the main accross the Pond. Greg Haggeman has a lot to answer for - as prices ARE escalating now - probably 30% up on a year ago.

I recently attended the National Classic Bike show here in the UK - I nearly shit myself I was laughing so much all day ... at the prices people were asking for piles of junk.

Keep at it, you'll find something to suit. My philosophy is to buy complete cosmetically challened [ but running ] bikes and sell off all the unwanted parts. ALL of my projects have ended up with me getting an essentially free set of donor parts using that method.
 
Deals can still be had, I scored a complete CX500 that should run, I will know once I get it cleaned and inside and do compression test etc. for $250 titled. I figure 500 bucks for tires a few parts like cables and hoses, fuel lines and paint and I will have a decent runner. After that sky is the limit on making it pretty and handle etc. but it is going to be a learner bike so it just needs to be safe for now, if we end up liking it and want to keep it, it will get another round of work to be customized.
 
I do have a bike, a 1973 cl450. It ran when i first bought, poorly, but it ran... it's a lot rustier than was advertised, and the front drum brake didnt work at all(not that drums work all that well compared to disc).... I payed 900$ for the bike, i do believe i was taken advantage of with misinformation, and that it was not even close to being worth 900... but that was just as much my naivity as it was his willlingness to misinform. With some work i got the front drum cleaned to work well, and just now need a new brake line. I bought a brake line for an early drum brake version of a cb350 and will get that all worked out soon. Problem is now, the bike doesnt start up, i cleaned and bought new seals for the carbs, reinstalled em, and after putting new spark plugs in, tried to see if we could get a spark.... to no avail. Im thinking i possibly need new coils?
 
Sorry for the 'thread hacking'.. but we all know how nice it is to ride instead of being in the shed over your head in some wires ;)

first off: buy or download/print a good manual. It'll save your ass and wallet ;)

Having no spark can has numerous reasons. I would not buy new coils right away if i were you. Things you check first are points (condition, timing and measure the max gap, check manual for correct numbers and way to set timing), check wiring and check grounds of engine, battery and coils. Also, charge the battery or, better yet, buy a new, charged one.

Bigger displacement (all avobe 200cc if im right) hondas need a battery to run. When battery is flat, you can kick till your legs fall off.

If the PO hacked the wiring, you can hotwire the bike by putting a battery postive on the black/white wire of the coils and put the negative battery lead on ground. When points and such are ok, you should have a spark now if you kick her.

Good luck!
 
Thanks Bert, just downloaded a copy of my bikes manual for a small price. When I have a chance to get to my bike, i will try those things, and we'll see what happens!
 
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