1971 Commando value

I have a 1971 Commando that I am thinking of selling and am trying to figure out the value. The bike is totally rebuilt with clipons and a Corbin seat. The tank was painted by Bret at Vintage Vendor, I am currently running a single Mikuni from Rocky Point Cycles but I also have the twin Amals as well. Also of note I think the Serial Number indicated it is one of the 100 bikes comerating the Isl of Mann winn. Also the bike was last tuned by Kenny Cummings of NY Norton.

Thanks inn advance for your help LWall

Also of note I think the Serial Number indicated it is one of the 100 bikes comerating the Isl of Mann winn.

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can't figure that one out, as Peter Williams won the Isle of Man on his "commando" in 1973

and your bike was built two years before that?

anyway, I am sure others will venture guesses as to value

but right off the top I am going to suggest $6000 in good cosmetic and running condition?

That's some fair provenance. People will pay for that.

I don't think trying to get every last pennies worth is wrong, but there is nothing wrong with passing a good bike on at a fair price. Notice I said passing, not selling. There is a difference.

Set a price that is comfortable to you. Advertise it here in the for sale section with lots of picture and as many details as you can. We'd love to see it. Figure out what you will accept(what you need to get out of it), add a percentage and be willing to except an offer that is in your acceptable range.

If you can't get your price here, you will at least get a better or reasonable idea on its true worth. Take your time if you can. Shop for a buyer. Sounds like the bike deserves a good owner.

There is nothing wrong with giving someone a good deal as long as all parties are happy. Be fair.

6 seems fair. Keep both partys happy.

If I was looking at a machine , Id want to warm it up , see if it ran clean to redline if ' run in ' , how gutless it was , and wether the wheels feel off - :shock:
as in if it pulls up straight , and the suspension / chassis is good through rough sections of road . Till then its worth nothing . If it passes its worth millions .

As a hanger queen it could be a different story . Id expect a motorcycle to be reliable for touring , otherwise id shoot it , if it was a horse . :mrgreen:

$6K is very fair for what you described, they definitely fetch more on the 'outside'.

When I left N-V in the spring of 1968, I could have bought a brand new '68 fastback for the employee price of 375 UK pounds (about $740). Boeing would have shipped it for me as part of the relocation package. Sometimes, I wish I'd gone for it - it would have been a hell of a good investment. Unfortunately, we were suffering from the typical UK engineering salary limitations (mine was about $3500 a year, based on the exchange rate at the time) and spare cash was a serious issue.

After seeing what US traffic was like - little old ladies in the Oldsmobile 98's peering though the steering wheel while running at 45 mph on the freeway - I realised I'd made a good decision (apart from the potential financial benefit). Haven't ridden on the street since we came over here in 1968.

One of the things that bothered me was the recognition that you're on the other side of the street when you're in a car - you're sitting on the other side. On a bike there's no equivalent cue. I regret not having ridden over here, except some trials and M-X machinery off-road, but the negatives way outweigh the positives. Just my honest opinion.

I grew up in the UK. As such I was used to driving/riding on the left side. However I used to do a lot of riding on continental Europe where they drive on the right side, like the US. I can honestly say I had only one problem. Whilst leaving the car ferry at either Zeebrugge or Ostend, I was in a group of about 30 or so bikes which left the ferry at about the same time. There was one exit from the empty and HUGE truck park, so everyone rode across to the exit, which happened to be a roundabout. The guy in the lead, treated it as if it was a roundabout in the UK, and the rest of us sheep just followed. If there had been a police presence I think we would still be there! But it was about 3am, and there was no-one about.
cheers
wakeup

frankdamp said:

One of the things that bothered me was the recognition that you're on the other side of the street when you're in a car - you're sitting on the other side. On a bike there's no equivalent cue.

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If ever I am in wrong side of the road territory, I have a bit of masking tape on the tacho/steering wheel etc
with a big black arrow on it and a KEEP LEFT or KEEP RIGHT written on it.
Also a bit of tape on the tank, with BRAKE and suitable arrow written on it.
If switching from brit to jap or italian or german, which I've had at various times,
this saves a few seconds of stamping on the gearlever.
I reckon this has saved me a few times, when you REALLY need fast reactions.

I also do this with the blinker control in cars/trucks,
that euro/japanese opposite sides is a real curse if you swap vehicles a lot.

$6k sounds a bit too cheap, if this is as good as it sounds.... ?