I have a frame from a 67 that I purchased some time ago. It is in very good condition, without any problems. It also has some of the rear linkage components with it.

A friend of a friend wants it for his Atlas, but he had the opportunity to buy it before I did and said no due to the price. I have suggested he look at having a frame built, but he wants to be as original as possible. I can understand this idea.

I have looked online, and found these frames have been selling at 3000-3500 in US dollars. I think he could be affordable at having 1 built (Unity Equipe?).

Any suggestions on the value of this frame? I had planned on building a Triton with it, and realize if I do sell it I may never find/be able to afford another 1 again.

THANKS!

These appear now and then on ebay and cragislist.
In average condition, $3000 should buy you a few of them !
You could buy a project Atlas for that ??
The guy selling bulk Atlas stuff on ebay shut up shop and moved on though.

Unity charge absolutely top dollar for them, must be a fairly profitable line for them ?
Do they make slimlines ?, at one point they were proclaiming widelines were the only ones they would touch....

Cheers.

Hi

If I was you I would keep it, I have 2 Featherbed frames 1 a Wideline the other a Slimline, I have my 850 in the wideline and deciding what I will put in the slimline it came with a 650 motor but has no head, very hard to fine a head for it so far so mite have to put a Atlas motor in it.

As for how much they are worth depends on if you realy want to sell it, here in Australia they go for about $2000 or more for a good one and up to $1500 for one that needs repairs, but there are a lot of replica featherbed frame getting around now, every man and his dog are making them now, but they are easy to pick from the real ones.

Tritons look good but I'm just a true Norton person and perfer to stick with a Norton engine, I have been running my 850 Commando motor Featherbed frame for over 30 years now, has just gone through a major rebuild last year and its my every day ride and on the weekends it gets a good work out, I never get tied of riding it.

Ashley

Try MacIntosh Racing in New Zealand. They really know how to build a Featherbed and you'll get a new one for half of what an old dodgy one might be off Ebay!

Mick

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/190503569773

This auction is out of date now, but it was for a complete Atlas with extended forks and hi-rider seat, the chopper look, in Ohio for $3750. Frame looked to be stock, as was engine gearbox wheels tinwear everything.

Im also searching for a slimline, spoke to McIntosh in NZ and they only do a wideline Manx, I was surprised they didn't do a slimline.

Thanks for the info folks! I don't really have any plans to sell it, but I wanted some info to throw out in case the buyer got serious. Again, I know if I did sell it I would regret it. Here in the US finding 1 is impossible, and when someone finds out you have 1 it is a HOT commodity. Thanks again for the info!

Yes I'd be keeping it if ur planning a future build one day! There not impossible to get though they come up regularly on eBay a few times a month on eBay Oz, US and UK, but keep it if u can

hello ashman, I have an old head from a basket case that I was going to build, however I've since found a more or less complete MK3 which I was able to afford and I'm focusing on it right now. If you like I could send a photo or check the casting #'s etc... Cj

I can only offer you my personal experience with a featherbed as a guide. I bought a slimline frame about six years ago for $750.00. In prep for building a TRITON I sent it to FrameCrafters to make sure it's straight and fit. It cost me $150.00 to ship it to Chicago, $900 in repairs and will likely cost another $100.00 or so to ship back. So I have about $1900.00 in my frame. Keep in mind the original purchase cost was over five years ago. My anecdotal data for you anyway...

Featherbed-framed non-running 650 and 750 project bikes come up regularly for anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500, running bikes for another couple hundred to a grand.

I've seen several frames in the $750 to $1,000 range, but as Steve said, may need repair.

I got mine in trade for about $1,000 worth of parts; it's nice and straight, no drilling or cut off tabs anywhere on it. My friend bought two of them at $750 each at the time he bought them, then offered me the "rougher" one in trade (we're both building TriTons)

For what it's worth, widelines seem to fetch more than slimlines MOST OF THE TIME.

Are there big differances in how the two types handle and is one prefered more?

As far as I know the handling is the same for both the wide line and the slim line.
Many people out there prefer the wide line as it looks the same as the Manx frame, however a wide line is quite difficult to find in the US.

I hope this helps

Webby

Correct me if I'm (or when) Im wrong but didn't the Manx evolve from Internationals that were raced? So is the Manx frame considered a "featherbed" ? I mean at least the swing arm years? I understand that it was a race bike totaly & not a stripped down street bike & therefor the frames would be "Manx specific " but are they ( the swingarm years ) " Featherbeds"???