marknorton wrote:GrandPaul: thats Awesome. Thanks, I am sure I am not the only person who is going to benefit from this. Ahem... the question I have is.... I hope the bike is now finished?

It's the same basic spreadsheet I gave norbsa for the charity bie build, i use it on all my projects.

The numbers on the one I posted are more or less an average of the last few Commandos I've done, taking into consideration the custom versus OEM stuff.

marknorton wrote:Thanks LAB. Yes the spreadsheet and cost is very very important. I accept that I will spend well over a purchase price if Ibought one on ebay, but I need to budget over a period of up to 3 years to do this properly and within my finances. so if I know I have to allow for say 2500 pounds per annum over 3 years then I will have a vague idea of where money is going to run out or where or whereabouts I should be at that point in time.
Hope I am making sense, as if my price is accepted i am doing the deal. Just want to go into it with my eyes open thats all.I want a restoration project you see as well as a beautiful work of design and engineering at the end that I can enjoy on summer days.
You do have a valid comment though and thanks for your post.

The bike on ebay at £6000 is a pretty good guide to the current UK value of a Commando restored to this standard and it will be interesting to see how much higher the price goes. However, from my experiences it will cost a great deal more than £6000 to restore the bike pictured in your original post to the same condition. I have a very similar list to the one posted earlier by granpaul, and the total parts and services spend was just under £6000 not including the purchase price of the bike itself. Even more scary, my list is now five years old and parts prices have gone up quite a lot since then.
As a general guide there is a steady flow of Commandos offered for sale in the UK classic bike magazines and the usual price range seems to be £3500 to £5000 for a "ride-away" depending on condition.

Hey, mitch, I like your slogan.

By the way, those prices are discounted and not typical, you'd have to add AT LEAST 10% to them, (typically 30%) to get a better picture of what the averge person could source them for in most cases; some parts have a very small margin.

Restoration costs is a bit of a sticky situation. There is a guideline that says to buy the best example you can and start with that. Otherwise you will likely end up in the red. I know my 850 was purchased for $3500 and had only 4200 miles on it. Paint was excellent, just had to do the frame. Chrome was good to. So $700 later and it's on the road and running perfect. So I made out ok. 10 years ago I had purchased another 750 Commando that was very tired and needed everything rebuilt. I ended up selling that one to cut my loses at about $500. I could have easily dumped twice what it was worth into getting it on the road.

I know it's not generally acceptable but I look at every restoration as a potential for income. Do what needs to be done but not over do it. Some folks rebuild everything just because. I'm kind of an 'if it aint broke don't fix it' type of person and it has served me well on all my projects. Do the smart stuff and leave the rest until it really needs it.

lrutt wrote:There is a guideline that says to buy the best example you can and start with that. Otherwise you will likely end up in the red.

I disagree. As examples:

It costs the same amount to powdercoat a frame in good shape as a rusty one.

It costs the same to paint a fair tank & sidecovers as it does to paint a really scratched up faded set.

It costs the same to replace worn out rod bearing shells as it does to replace only slightly worn pieces.

It costs the same to clean out a fairly decent engine & sludge trap as it does filthy, grimy ones.

It costs the same to replace good used tires as it does to replace totally bald ones.

It costs the same to....

...well, you get the picture.

I feel if a person is looking to do a total restoration, they should start with the least expensive, RELATIVELY COMPLETE rolling project bike as possible. A barely-running but rideable bike is a great basis for a total restoration for someone looking to say they "did the whole thing"; the fact that it's running is a big hurdle, and you know the critical parts are all there since it's rideable .

PLENTY of folks have "ended up in the red" even when starting with VERY NICE "donor" bikes. The restoration game is not a money-maker; I'm only persisting in it because I have the luxury of being debt-free (except some credit card debt), and loving to do what I do. If I had to be servicing a mortgage or even a typical car payment, I might be working 8 to 5 to make ends meet.

I think the word restoration means different things to different people, There is a 72 Combat at a shop near me that is a nice complete bike with a metal tank that I am told runs strong and is in nice shape. This bike would only need a paint job and a little polish to be a great rider. Some people would buy the thing and tear it to bits and go through the whole thing, Some might just put fuel in it and just ride it. The guy wants $4,500.00 for it and if I had the room I might just buy it. I think what lrutt means is that you can start with something cheap and end up with a money pit, Or you can start with a bike that needs very little work and make a few bucks on it. I have never looked at a bike like an investment, I don't try to make money on them. But I still want to have a bike that is reliable enough to take on long rides without worrying the thing is going to break. We all have different ideas on what a bike should cost and it's value. To me when I buy a bike I want one that needs a bit of work. That's what makes it fun, Going in the garage and getting greasy and having the satisfaction of doing it myself. But one thing we have in common is we all love to RIDE, Right? Have a great day and ride safe, Chuck.

Funnily I just bought a 71 Fastback last Friday in pretty original condition, plan is that a good clean and service (which I'm halfway through) I'll just ride it and see what occurs, its never gong to win a concours competition but its what I call a good honest bike.
I'm from the school of buy something thats running and reaonable then do a rolling restoration while your having fun riding it.
The problem is when you "restore" something then it gets left at home when the weather turns mucky because you don't want it to get dirty.

swooshdave wrote:

Danno wrote:

RoadScholar wrote:Peter Egan of Cycle World just did an editorial on older Nortons, he purchased one. The article is very complimentary and could easily effect the value of our machines.

RS

He's either got one bedeviling him or he's lusting after one. The guy's got it bad.

He's had Commandos before when he wrote for Road & Track.

Yes, and they bedeviled him. Have you ever read "The Tale of the Manxton Contaminator Twin"? It's his story about trying to ride his brand-new MkIII cross country. Funny stuff.

He's had Commandos before when he wrote for Road & Track.[/quote]
Yes, and they bedeviled him...[/quote]

As they have most everyone on this board.

I love that term "rolling restoration". You can keep riding and do a little bit every year even if it takes you 15-20-30 years to come full circle. So many bikes are "torn into" by someone (with probably good intentions at the time) never to be put back together again or they do a royal cob job. That bites the big one.

Russ

Gino Rondelli wrote:
The problem is when you "restore" something then it gets left at home when the weather turns mucky because you don't want it to get dirty.

...Are you talking to me ?

In my experience, the rough rule of thumb regarding Commando values is that they're worth about half what has been spent on them during the preceding five years.

This all sounds rather depressing but actually, my motorcycles are about the the only thing that I don't begrudge spending money on

Master of self-delusion in the art of modifying motorcycles. Compulsive tinkerer. Hey 79x100 Is this line for sale? LOL This would be what I must be too! I remember as a kid we would go up and down the alleys picking up junk people would throw out just so we could take it home and pull it apart, Just to see how it worked. Holy smokes how it would piss my Dad off as we would leave behind a mess, Never to put it back together. I must have taken things apart that they don't even make anymore, And just maybe one of everything they did make. T.V's, Radio's, Blenders, Toaster ovens, You name it we had it apart. LOL. Sorry for getting off track here.

Hortons Norton wrote:..so we could take it home and pull it apart, Just to see how it worked...

That's part of the DNA of a Commando owner.

RoadScholar wrote:Peter Egan of Cycle World just did an editorial on older Nortons, he purchased one. The article is very complimentary and could easily effect the value of our machines.

RS

Stop this, a Commando is not an older Norton. It's the new Norton. Older Nortons have one cylinder. Always enjoy Peter Egan's writing. Even in his Leanings first book he mentioned wanting to get back into a Commando. Not sure he has the fortitude to stay the coarse after selling the last one due to some minor roadside repair. His heart is in the right place for classics.

illf8ed wrote:

RoadScholar wrote:Peter Egan of Cycle World just did an editorial on older Nortons, he purchased one. The article is very complimentary and could easily effect the value of our machines.

RS

Stop this, a Commando is not an older Norton. It's the new Norton. Older Nortons have one cylinder. Always enjoy Peter Egan's writing. Even in his Leanings first book he mentioned wanting to get back into a Commando. Not sure he has the fortitude to stay the coarse after selling the last one due to some minor roadside repair. His heart is in the right place for classics.

I thought the "new" Norton was the Dreer-designed 961. Mine looks pretty aged by comparison.