2 Strokes Down Under

We should run a book on what it'll go for... 8 days out at $4050, it has 8 grand written all over it!

You know, I hate this stage in any classics life, all the crazy bidders come out and the bikes become unobtainable to regular enthusiasts. Look at what you'd have paid two years ago, or what you'd have got for that money. $10k for an aircooled Daytona? Suddenly you could buy a recent superbike, the perspective/overview view s interesting.

DuncanB wrote:We should run a book on what it'll go for... 8 days out at $4050, it has 8 grand written all over it!

Yeah we should run a book. I don't think its a 8 grand resto. Now its hard to see absolute detail but it doesn't look absolutely OEM. S/s side cover screw for one. The alloy doesn't look particularly shmick to me.

I reckon $5-6000 maybe .

I always wonder why people sell their bikes after doing a major resto, after all that time any money I would want to keep and enjoy it , at least for a while.

I have a couple of theories, reckon there's a certain domestic psychology to it.

Went for $7600, so take a bow Duncan - the cheque is in the mail .....or not .

I'm surprised. But as an owner good to see .

Its a funny world, I too think that price is good news for us, but there will be many who lament the bikes are now out of 'the man in the streets' price range.

I also wonder if in the future people who didnt have a new one in the 70/80s will ride em round and think, 'this thing is a bit bendy in the middle, offers no creature comforts, feels like its about to go bang, has middling brakes and an on-off power delivery... its kind of fun, but you've gotta really want one!' The same way 80's turbo cars are... which i also love... so, perhaps when guys our age hang up our boots these will be worth peanuts... then the man in the street will have his pickings for peanuts again! haha.

I'm not totally convinced, there seems to be a lot of inconsistency, but they're definitely getting more expensive.
My question is WHO is buying them now at these higher prices?

1046683301
RD250LC Gumtree, Sylvania, southern Sydney.
Apparent bargain at $1950.
If it was here in South Australia I'd have been round there by now.

I was watching this bike on Ebay, as I have been looking for one for a while now, and have seen decent looking ones all over the country going from around $6,000 to probably double that figure, I saw one go just recently in Melbourne for close to $8,000 I think it was, and it hadn't been started for 12 years, so I thought you would have to throw another few grand in to it to get it running at the very least, top end rebuild, water pump, chain, sprockets, tyres, and whatever else

Like someone else has said here, I am starting to think of what other bike I could buy for 10 grand or there abouts

There has to be a ceiling value, 8 grand for a snotter? Nah, waaaaay too much.
Realistically I think 5 or 6 grand should get you a REALLY GOOD 350, maybe with something special about it, or at least with no work being necessary, commensurately less for 250's, surely it would have to be very good for that money.

OzzyElsie wrote:Went for $7600, so take a bow Duncan - the cheque is in the mail .....or not .

I'm surprised. But as an owner good to see .

Thank you... Thank you... !! Just a wild guess...

LC's were cheap thrills back in the day. It sure isn't the case anymore!

To be honest tho, powercoating, paint, parts, machine work, tuning etc etc etc all mean its not possible to sell a restored bike for what it owes you, and also dont forget the hours and hours of free labour. The fact my 12k bike is worth 8 might be good news is kinda worrying, but its good to know its not 4k anymore...

Ah, but yours is a fully loaded special, not a bog standard or corroded old knacker, all the work you describe hasn't "usually" been done to these bikes. High starting price will make it that much harder to get to the finished ideal.
On the other hand taking the resto factor into account, you'd need the seller to pay you to take his bike away, if you were targeting the purchase price plus what you were about to pour into it. The maths of restoration doesn't really stack up, you have to do it out of love (cue hearts and flowers)