Best Bikes to buy as Investments?

I reckon they will dip to sub £2000 before they start to climb. Augusta values seem to have bottomed at about £5k for a decent F4 750 and laverda values seem to swing wildly between £2k and £4k. One nut has gad I've up for £9k for a while now.

As is always the way, long term ownership is desirable so buying a one owner bike and keeping it long term will always help its value rather than one that's been through 15 sets of hands.

 

As a money maker,the CX500 will do far better than the Benelli in percentage terms
(although the price of CX's bottomed out sometime ago).
The Benelli is likely to be cherished because of it's rarity,the CX wasn't and has become rare.
And actually,the CX had it's plus points.
I couriered several to destruction in the Eighties,huge mileages possible as long as you changed the oil
And the seat was without doubt one of the most comfortable I've ever sat on
If you had to spend all day on a bike,they were not a bad proposition,despite the soggy-sponge handling

 

True, but don't you find that maddening? The Tre is an excellent bike just needing attention, whereas the CX was a shocking piece of shite that needed nuking. By the way, I came into CX ownership the same way, through dispatching - it's still a piece of shite.

 

Maddening is not a strong enough word...
But it pales into insignificance in a world where people are starving,and a piece of shitty old canvas with oil paint daubed on it changes hands for umpteen millions.
In comparison to a Picasso,a CX500 is a positive masterpiece,Imo of course :biggrin:

 

Since the CX500 had pushrods, not overhead camshafts, probably not.

 

Fair enough. That will be all the other Hondas of that era then.

 

Enough! I'm sick of hearing about bloody CX's, they were shit, end of.

 

Early RSV Mille tricolor. Pick one up for a grand now, sell it in ten years for five times that.

 

Wasn't that part of the point of them? As a dispatching bike, you could ride it in shit weather all day, never clean it or care about it. You didn't even have to oil a chain. There is something to be said for a loathsome bike as a workhorse. The sort of 2 wheeled equivalent of a white van.

 

This sounds very wise.

 

I said Enough

 

Shame I swapped mine for an ST2.

 

Don't you roar at me!

 

There may be an age thing related to what is wanted in the future............. I'll give you an example: the old air-cooled RD's (especially the RD350B and the RD400C/D) from the 70's are now much sought after by the people who used to own them and are now re-living their youth with the disposable income that comes when you are around 50, along with your mid-life crisis. A new one cost about £650 back then, about 5 years ago you could have bought a nice one for £1500, today you will need £5000 to own a restored or really clean original. that doesn't mean to say you have to keep a bike for 35 years before it becomes valuable, you just need to make a calculated guess as to what these people will want in 5 years time and buy a modern classic now before the price goes through the roof.

 

Every bike has it's attractions.
Take the Kawa GT750:
The epitome of pie-and-chips,plain vanilla motorcycling,completely devoid of any excitement or character
But the next best bike for despatching after Figs unmentionable Honda...probably sold millions worldwide too

 

And how much is the GT750 worth now..?

That's right, about £3.50 for a good'un. They were the Austin Allegro of the bike world, the CX was the A40...

 

I wouldn't want one,it was horribly uncomfortable for anyone over 6 ft if I recall...
But....they are cheap now,(not £3.50 cheap),but they MAY get a following...like the unmentionable Honda...
So,if you are just looking for a money maker,spending £500-1000 on a good,low mileage example,MAY get you back £1500-2000 in a few years...possible 100-200% return on your investment.
Better than any savings rate,but you wouldn't want to be seen in public on the thing...

 

Or buy an FZR1000 for the same money and treble your profit...

 

Well said Daisy Duke.
Just to add to what you have said:
A bike "that everyone Dreamed of owning" When they were 17-19 years old. But could never afford the HP payments or insurance at that age. (Laverda Jota, MV, Ducati), The same bike that was always "stuck up on the small Box room bedroom wall". A bike that MCN headline said "was the fastest" on the road.
Some chap once said to me "the more exhaust pipes a bike had" the more it would be worth in the future (invest in an extra original NOS exhaust if you were to follow this investment theory) Puzzled about single exhaust XT500 prices with that theory.
ian

 

A bike on the wall..? I had Debbie Harry, Kim Wilde and Vanya on my wall...