Open ended this one. Purely for debate. Not sure what people think.... Last month I was on the hunt for a supermoto. I had a good idea of what I wanted. And in the end I came down to a conversion and rebuild. At the moment its all in pieces and stuff is at various corners of the country being coated, dipped, blasted cleaned etc etc. One of the options that I would have gone for (if not being stopped by the wife) was an Aprilia VDB 450 which was 6k. The bike was immaculate, it had a lot of work done to it and one of the main things was that it had been totally rebuilt and had the engine work done by a lad up north who knows his stuff (generally once he's built the engine the reliability goes up). The price of this particular bike was about double the going rate for an aprilia, but I would have been happy to pay for the time and effort put into it. Currently with mine i'm actually enjoying it and almost would like to do it again, but if I were then I would get rid of mine at an inflated price due to, again, as above the time effort and money put into it. And heres the rub. Would I be wrong to charge 1k over the price for the work that's been done. It does seem from what I can see sometimes that buyers think its their god given right to get everything for bugger all. Its almost like...say youre a custom shop, you build a trick bike, put say, 12k into it and then charge 17k for the bike. That would be acceptable but then if Joe public did the same thing theyd be told they've got no chance.... I dunno, I maybe wrong. Having said that if it turns out the way I think its going to I think ill be keeping it, I don't need to get rid of it, the only reason as I say would be to do it all again...therapy - that's what it is.... Just to add this is an example....this was on ebay for I think 6.5k - it had dropped off and was sold...if it was still for sale I would have bit the lads hand off.... I got in contact with him and it sold from recollection at 5.5k - he was pretty gutted as he'd again, put a lot of time effort and money into it...Ive gone off streetfighters over the years but this one restored my faith in them... Anyway - there you go - thought id give you all something to get stuck into....!
I would never expect to pay full rebuild cost for a bike. And I would never ask full build cost when selling.
Im not saying for the price of a rebuild but the time put into it - a token amount if you will....ie I think so far ive spent on coatings one way or another about 600 so far....and the coatings that have been done are (I would say way in excess of what ktm have done)....from a quality point of view...ie the frame is being treated first with a weatherproof base before the powder coating goes on...
I wouldn't be building a bike to sell (unless just built from old bits) as there would be no way I'd ever get anything like the cost for it - it just wouldn't sell at that price. As such my recently built Monster is a keeper although it was always being built for me rather than the next owner. Also a lot of bike builds are very personal and you can't expect anyone else to like it as much as you do, for example I think that green Kawasaki is an abomination, the only way I'd buy it would be cheaply to put a proper tank and seat unit on it...
Yeah - id have to agree - mine is being built the way I would want one to look. As I say so far its been enjoyable - id love to do it again but I wouldn't want to loose money hand over fist to do it... I cant wait for it to start taking shape - I think that once the wheels are back on I wouldn't consider selling it... The kwak....I love stuff like that chunky, stocky, aggressive look. The thing that ive not liked about streetfighters over the years is that when most people tend to do them they put those ridiculous seat units on that look like they've had a rear end shunt.... This is another - if that came up for sale id get rid of my RSV4 for that at the drop of a hat.... The seat section is going up in the air a little but id put up with it for that!!
Its not an argumentative thread/post, just something that when I look at a bike being sold by person or business a. it can command a premium and then look at something produced by person or business b. theyre looked at as a rip off merchant - there is no hard and fast rule...I suppose its the age old "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - if you like it...youll pay for it...
Hmm. Painted on rust. Each to his own. As regards person A vs person B, it's a branding thing, isn't it? If person A has built up a reputation for their work, then it will command a premium. Person B's work may be just as good, but if they don't have a reputation, it isn't worth as much in the market place. Just like any products. Advertised ones are seen by the market to be worth more, whatever their intrinsic qualities compared to no-name products.
Yeah - I can go with that - im big enough to say I never looked at it from that angle....I must be too trusting....on the uk supermoto forum I would say is the best hotbed for home built machines ever. Theres bikes built on there that look absolutely stunning. In a way its kinda where I got the inspiration to do mine...its a pretty simple bike (well it was pulling it to pieces anyway) plus its not like ive got nothing else to use while its off the road...
Here's my take on it. Unless the bike was a very famous show winner, a special commissioned by the manufacturer, or something built by Shinya Kimura, I'd expect to pay less than stock for it. Cos in a couple of years time it'll be worth less than stock. It's harsh, but it's the truth. I'm farting around with my old Guzzi, but I won't spend big money on it cos I know it's worth less than a restored standard bike. You've got to really, really want a customized bike enough to pay top dollar for it. And then accept when it comes time to sell that other people don't have the same taste or desire to be different as you. Having said all that, I'd still put the bike up for 5 grand over, cos there's always one idiot prepared to pay the price...
Yeah - my mate says to me "you buy with your heart - not your wallet...." I will confess that if I like something - I kinda....gotta have it...but then me (and my wife) to a certain extent aren't people that piss about....ie our first house (the last one) we bought without looking at any others. Same with the one we have now....didn't look at anything else...that's the way I am with bikes...ive never test rode anything in my life, I almost feel that its taking the piss if you will...I just see a bike, like it, and buy it....
In fact just to add when I bought my mates KTM (the one im doing now) I rolled it out of the back of the van, into the garage (didn't bother even starting it) and set about it with a spanner, that was at 12.30 - by 5 it was down to the frame and engine...
I'm the same, never test ridden anything. But I buy at the lower end of the price spectrum in the hope I can turn a profit when I come to sell - which I usually do, by junking all the tat the previous owners have fitted and returning the bikes to standard. Horses for courses.
I like the front half... Certainly well executed. If it were my own creation I'd be pretty chuffed, but can't imagine riding around on it much - it's pretty 'in yer face'!
Heh - it is isn't it. that's why I like it so much....I built this 20+ years ago....no money, just bought first house, pretty skint... View attachment Page29.JPG Knock off the sub frame, v5 and the lights and that's how my mate pretty well raced it...it was too much for him so I put it on the road...750 frame 1100 motor....still to this day the scariest thing ive ever owned.
Yeah - that shot is taken outside my dads cottage about 15 years ago ( I stored it there while I was house renovating ). I put it up for sale, a bloke turned up with a trailer, asked for a go on it and said "how much you looking for" - I said 2.2k he said "can I take it for a spin" - "as long as I can hold on to the money" to which he agreed. My old mans cottage is out in the middle of nowhere, he got on, and was out of my sight within 10 seconds. I heard him turn on to the main road and then open it up, heard it hit the limiter, pause, 2nd, very gingerly opened it up, and then all the way again....didn't hear him after that....30 mins later he came back with his visor missing and red bloodshot eyes. Got off and said "2.2k is fine!" loaded it on the trailer and I never saw it again...
