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Manx with a kickstarter is a very unusual bit of kit. There is one near me , the owner, to my ongoing amazement, gets it to fire on one kick !!!
Commando prices...
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Manx with a kickstarter is a very unusual bit of kit. There is one near me , the owner, to my ongoing amazement, gets it to fire on one kick !!!
htown16
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Here's a bit of perspective.
Approximately 60,000 Commando's were produced from numbers I've been able to find
Let's say 40,000 came to the US
There are approximately 70 million Baby Boomers in the US
Since this hobby seems to be predominantly male lets halve that to 35 million
So doing the division equals .01 percent of that population owned a Commando when new, lets multiply that by 4 for resales. So you have maybe .04 percent of baby boomers owned one in the day.
(Doesn't seem to match with the people that say they did at coffee stops)
Now lets look at attrition. Say there are 25% of those bikes that have been restored.
That means that only .003 percent of current male baby boomers own a restored Commando (around 10,000 bikes).
Now the millenial population is almost the same size as the baby boomers at 35 million males.
So all we need to do is get that small percentage interested in old bikes.
That's why it makes no sense to spout out generalizations that all boomers are a certain way or all millenials are a certain way.
Lets face it we are a tiny fringe group of eccentrics. Surely some of the millenial generation will be too.
My apologies to people in other countries for using US numbers but they are easier for me to find. I bet they are similar in the UK and other places.
Approximately 60,000 Commando's were produced from numbers I've been able to find
Let's say 40,000 came to the US
There are approximately 70 million Baby Boomers in the US
Since this hobby seems to be predominantly male lets halve that to 35 million
So doing the division equals .01 percent of that population owned a Commando when new, lets multiply that by 4 for resales. So you have maybe .04 percent of baby boomers owned one in the day.
(Doesn't seem to match with the people that say they did at coffee stops)
Now lets look at attrition. Say there are 25% of those bikes that have been restored.
That means that only .003 percent of current male baby boomers own a restored Commando (around 10,000 bikes).
Now the millenial population is almost the same size as the baby boomers at 35 million males.
So all we need to do is get that small percentage interested in old bikes.
That's why it makes no sense to spout out generalizations that all boomers are a certain way or all millenials are a certain way.
Lets face it we are a tiny fringe group of eccentrics. Surely some of the millenial generation will be too.
My apologies to people in other countries for using US numbers but they are easier for me to find. I bet they are similar in the UK and other places.
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jbruney
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Welcome to the club. You gain entry by tiring of all the BS and saying something about it. The Norton is my vent because when they start I just walk out and do things to it.... It always needs some sort of attention, never talks back, & is always seemingly appreciative by not leaving me on the side of the road.
To repeat...How do you put a price on that?
To repeat...How do you put a price on that?
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I'm an eccentric and proud of it.
Peter the Hermit's name would infer he did not get out much. I don't get out much and would very much like to know how he met such ladies of ill repute: "As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress." Anybody got any advice ? 
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I do not think you are going to find too many millennial’s that are interested in owning kick-start old bikes. If it does not have a button on it somewhere to push, they are out. They will stand around and look the horse and buggy over but not once have I heard one say they would like to own one.
Craig
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Peter the Hermit's name would infer he did not get out much. I don't get out much and would very much like to know how he met such ladies of ill repute: "As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress." Anybody got any advice ?
Yes ! Put your good boots on and get out there !
NPeteN
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I own 3 kick start only bikes and I'm a millennial. But I do agree with you.
Craig
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My Son is 35 so a millennial .... last evening while giving our Grandson back to him I noticed he had BSA tshitt on ... mentioned I saw a parts collection of BSA parts B-33 couple engines , frame, wheels etc. on Kijiji asking $1200 no paper work ... he looked at his wife and said VIN plates available on eBay .... there is hope !
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Reply to those special invites you receive via email.......Peter the Hermit's name would infer he did not get out much. I don't get out much and would very much like to know how he met such ladies of ill repute: "As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress." Anybody got any advice ?
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Oh, they exist all right, the high quality type millennials, the keeper types that are highly prized by the young ladies
But generally speaking………
But generally speaking………
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Actually managed to trace the history on her all the way back to the original owner back in the day got cases gearbox an carbs so far! Sold my 250lc to get an engine or another norton lol then the commando engine happened haha! Best laid plans an all that. It's a weigh up what to keep Japanese bike wise to get some more Norton's fancying another 650ss an a 16h + a inter one day I'm 30 so there's hope yet know a few more people of all genders that are into the classics in my age group
Having said that it's up to all of us to educate more new riders into the joys of classics an the sheer satisfaction an pleasure that can be gained by stripping an engine an rebuilding it for many epic rides of joy knowing you did it yourself an when something happens you can fix it at the side of the road sometimes, not having to stare an wait for the breakdown truck. Interestingly my bmw r1200gsa te super state of the art go anywhere bike ended up with 3 engines 3 final drives an 4 sets of shocks in 7,000 miles and was in the workshop for 6 months oh yeah add brake failure gearbox failure switchgear failure an people call british bikes lol.It is interesting though trying to judge where the prices are going to go on commando's I remember when everyone said lc's would stall at a grand an now they are up near 8k for something original an nice. Look at Vincent an Brough prices even bonnies all steady or on the rise. Same for some dommie's I remember seeing certain models at 3-5k not to long ago an some are well above that an selling above that now. Even remember when Manx's were 12k not to long ago fetching really strong money now.
I think it's important the knowledge gets passed on there's alot of industries that are going to have a huge skill gap in the years to come I'm already finding out with the Norton's there's lots of stuff that's unwritten from the manual's so been a bit like a sponge trying to get as much info as I can for the years to come. Buying all the books to read an study an luckily some people have been passing there experience an knowledge on. Who knows maybe in the years to come I'll be able to help the next generation after mine keep these beauties on the road somehow.
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Unfortunately it's real. I am lucky enough to make my living on classic motorcycles. The last 3 years I have tracked a large decline in interest and money coming in on TriBeezNorts. 10 years ago I could afford to buy nice socks... Now my socks are air cooled. My buyers are literally dying (sad to loose friends)
The kids coming in are not at all interested in Brit iron. I am making a good profit on Japanese machines from the late 70's now. Buying British bikes for resale is no longer a guaranteed business. The kick-starter scares most of the folks my age (38) let alone all the stories of unreliability and lack of parts (we all know otherwise, they don't)
My customers selling Brit bikes are calling me weekly frustrated they are loosing money on their "investments"
Example in the car market: A gent I know in the pre-war car market showed me a sharp decline in civilian vehicle values in his sales. He just purchased a flawless '29 Ford truck for 8k that had over 70k in receipts..the grandchildren that were responsible for the estate were not interested in it at all and had no success selling it on ebay or Craigs.
Key ingredients (in my opinion)- Rarity and impact at time of release - If it was a mass produced machine it seems it will eventually stabilize in price.
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I really prefer a stocker that is properly set up. I look at modified bikes the same as a modified car - the Previous owner most likely messed something up that will ruin my fun in the middle of a long ride. "Stock is the best by any test" said the boss (maybe the test is biased)
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You would be the exception to the rule so good on you.
Mechanical ineptitude has been a part of motorcycling since day one so it is not a new thing.
A portion want to learn even if for financial reasons, the majority do not and can not.
I still have a few Kawasaki H2's tucked away from the days when you could buy them for under $1000.
Even my 1973 Ducati 750GT cost a pittance to what they sell for (in bits) these days.
Some things get higher asking prices than the day before, some lower, at the end of the day a house was the bet for the profit minded but of course a house nowadays is an expensive waste of money and a good deal of the 'younger generation can see it is not only hard work financially but kind of silly to purposely get a life sentence from the bank... Plenty of shiny cars sitting outside run down rental properties.
If you had stored a brand new Norton Commando and sold it now in perfect condition you would lose money (Well maybe not on that US$114000 1983 Kawasaki 1000 S1 that sold recently) or most other bikes.
If you rebuild a Norton Commando to a proper level you will not get your money back, its how it is and how it has been for a long time.
But hows those matching numbers as the future years go by.
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