Interesting ebay sale

[JonW]

I know the seller of this lot, I didnt know his Dad, but Id have liked to, im sure at least one person on here probably did know him. anyway...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231920463332

Whats interesting is that this auction bid up fast but seems to have dropped almost $100 in the past 24hrs, at least 3 bids have come off it. Im wondering why...

Oh and if youre thinking its good value or overpriced, Ive given up wondering about that stuff with ebay listings. Seems you can sell a bitsa 'bike' with many parts missing and boxes of what look to me like duplicates of usable spares (not saying thats the case here, just telling a story) for more than a whole bike that runs, i think its all in the marketing or lack thereof... or maybe its a beer oclock ebay searching thing

[BRG1200]

Hmmm, depends what you want. Could be an interesting project in its own right, or a lot of useful spares. Looks like a lot of work!

[JonW]

well yes, thats always true as well.

Selling price seems stable at $1002 now...

[jools]

What amazes me is how much more RZs fetch in England than Oz. A couple went in Oz the last few weeks that were so cheap, if I had room in the workshop I'd have been very tempted.

[BRG1200]

They really were a signature bike in the UK, an object of desire, and they were almost all 350's. If you couldn't afford a 600, or a 750, and the insurance, you tried to get a Powervalve.
It was a respectable choice.
I find it hard to picture how important they were in the scene in Australia back then, and they're almost all 250's. I think that little extra capacity makes a difference.
Chip shop heroes.

[JonW]

Chip shop heroes indeed... sit in the wall with your mates, chips with extra vinegar on yer lap, surrounded by your bikes chatting up the girls as they go by... Seems like it was every weekend, but... {scratched record noise} It rains and is frikkin cold most of the time in the UK, when did we have the days that burnt those memories into our consciousness?

Anyway... Yes the UK RZs (still RDs of course) were 99% 350s, the Learner Laws had changed (cos of the LC 250) so there was little point buying a 250 when there was a 350 on sale. LC sales on the other hand were only 50-60% 350s.

Of course I wasnt in Aus back then, but Im guessing people hung about the Milkbars or pubs, at least the Aussies had the weather for it LOL!

[jools]

Oh to be a spring chicken like you Jon. My 'formative' memory is as a teen kid, lying in bed listening to the Goldies twittering on the over-run as they backed off (not much!) for the bend at the the bottom of 'the Goss' (later renamed 'Death Hill') at Farningham, burning back from Johnson's Caff.

[BRG1200]

Aw Jools, that's a heckuva memory! I can almost smell the Brylcreme! How's your Pomp and sideburns these days?

[BRG1200]

Jon, those great days were the rare ones, but like that hot girl you never thought you'd get to pork, they're the memories that etch into your brain. Nostalgia, its a powerful thing!

[jools]

Hah mate... pomp and burns! a distant memory, - BUT when I get the RZ up and 'on the pipe', the sad ol' silver pomp and burns magically transform into "greasy, greasy, greasy hair... easy smile"... (Apologies to Knopfler). (I still have the Velocette Clubman that those ol' Jonhson's days inspired me to buy, and man, I do love my little RZ !)

[BRG1200]

Good on yer

[JonW]

Ok, sold for $2175!

[BRG1200]

Three grand each to restore? Probably work out at four or five grand each, minus whatever buyer can sell the spares for.
Might be better off buying one thats already done, but maybe thats not the point

[JonW]

3k... lol, i wish. Ive been quoted 3k to paint a fully faired RZ...

and that 2nd one is missing waaay too many parts to be an easy resto... i just didnt see even 2ks worth of parts there really :/

[ged]

Give it another 12 months and it will probably look cheap... I doubt that RZ prices are likely to be affected by our current economic ''deflation".