Those RD's are great bikes! A super fun-filled practical classic! That RD might seem a high price but that's partly because we can remember years ago when those sorts of bikes were trading hands for a couple grand or whatever. If you compare the price of a good classic RD to the price of a (crappy) little new car (i.e. a Honda Jazz = £24,000 plus?) it might help give you a different perspective on its cost. And in terms of the "Fun Factor" and RD beats most things out there! Happy shopping!
To put things into a little more perspective I paid £999 for my LC in January 1982. With inflation here's what it would cost today. The 350LC was about £1100 - £1150 at the time I seem to remember.
Until you factor in supply and demand. There is virtually no supply and (currently) a lot of demand. In '82 they were popular, but there was also unlimited supply. Honda VFR400 NC30 sold for £6000+ new in '89 'cause there was almost none available!
Recent auction prices are well down. A nice 1st gen fireplace couldn't hit £5k. Many didn't sell. I'd wait for the right bike
Mine cost a little over 10k to build and its still getting money spent, new athena 400 top end and 30mm carbs still to fit
