Recent discussions about my pension, the invitation I got from Ducati to buy a Pantygirdle RR, and a beer last week with a mate who has a few exotic cars as his retirement fund got me thinking ... What would be the best bikes to buy right now as investments - Ducati or otherwise? Any thoughts?
Don't buy something which is already hugely overpriced - buy something less sought after today, which might become more attractive later. Don't buy something really ugly. Don't buy a grubby bike and spend a fortune refinishing it to showroom - the day will come when the patina will be worth more than the new paint. Buy something rare enough that the supply will always be limited, but not so rare that nobody's ever heard of it.
Ok, so now we've got the statements of the bleedin' obvious out of the way does anyone have any suggestions of actual bikes? ;-)
I'd say 1st and foremost, buy something you can enjoy as a motorbike rather than worry about the pennies. Look after it and the value will take care of itself. I've noticed that some classic Lambrettas that were going for crazy money a couple of years ago are now starting to soften up in price. Classic Vespas from a few years later are starting to appreciate in value. Look at the price of RD350LC's at the moment. I think the high demand comes from people who had them 25 - 30 years ago, sold them and had families. The kids have now flown the nest and these people have a few quid and a bit of time on their hands, so they nostalgically hark back to their youth. Their demand drives the price up. Ten years down the line it'll be Fireblades, R1's and 916's (you could argue it's happening already) These people may not want an RD350LC, so the demand may drop a little. I've seen FS1E's for £6k recently ! Just my thoughts on the matter.
I know nothing but I'd buy a Desmo. It was rare and expensive and a one off. Rare expensive things have a tendency to increase in value unless they were overpriced rubbish which the Desmo isn't. That's my gut reaction but I'm hardly an expert.
well this guy has some Ducati's that he thinks are worth a lot of money.... Used Ducati for Sale in Sheffield - The Bike Specialists | Sheffield | South Yorkshire
MHR, 500 pantah, 888 SP4, SP5 (S), 916, you know which ones, 996, the same applies, 998 FE + that matrix thingy, 999R full fat tweaked and prepped, 1098R as before ... any of the Senna's, preferably the first one (300) and one of those genuine (161??) new Senna pannys from Brazil + the Grey 748s (30uk) which has largely gone under the radar and if you want a real rarity try and find a MY02 yellow 748s, I won't tell you how many of those there are!! Desmo - check Daft question :smile:
well i bought the foggy rep and rd 350ypvs as investments as a start. Might not make that much money on them but at least i can admire them. ;-)
its a shame when lovely bikes are bought as investments and never ridden, but fair play..its better than being a totally boring fekker and having money sat in some bullshit ponzi scheme. if youve got the money to invest, what about actual real race bikes? ones that won certain WSBK races etc? the downsides would be the potentiallu huge outlay for something historically significant, availablity, and finally ultimate desirablilty when you need to realise your investment. a lot of the best ones will be in the honda museum etc, but can imagine owning Vale's Nastro Azzuro NSR 500??? pretty fkn tasty..or M.Marquez's current Honda?? that will surely appreciate...anything ridden by any of the world champs, or classics like Schwantzs no 34 Lucky strike Suzuki etc etc..
Nearly £8.500 for a 998S seems a bit steep especially for the mileage, mine has done less than that from new but it's not an S. I notice though he seems to have sold a fair number so clearly some must have had the attraction or they had been at the right price. As for an appreciating asset, and I have never had one, I would say a very early R1 (as mentioned above) would be an investment. These were appreciating in price a few years back. These were the ones with the headstock that got belled out if you wheelied it too much. Red\White a must in terms of colour. After that maybe a Laverda, the Jota springs to mind but I am not too sure about that one. I like LC's but as has also been mentioned these are like Lambretta's older people looking to recapture memories or lost youth and maybe not purists or hard core collectors. Maybe even a nice Yamaha TZ the early 250H powervalve, they have gone up in price definitely.
