Hoarders?

Thomasa said:
Mr. Marsh, are you married? My wife has a passive-aggressive way of discouraging hoarding. She mixes camping gear, old ski boots, and bicycle gear in amongst the Triumph air cleaners, brake rotors and such, which disrupts my organization system. I do have a drawer that is just old MKIII starter parts and another with springs of different rates that I no longer know what they go to or the color codes, and another with BMW electrics, much of which I can no longer identify, then there are engine plates to ?, mirrors, levers, cables, peices of 530 chain, bars for British and European bikes, some crash bars, a complete 19" commando wheel and drum brake assembly, many far out-dated tires, some NOS some just abandoned for a better tread pattern, it goes on and on like that. I deliberately hoard spark plugs because NAPA no longer stocks (even in the warehouse) such once common things as BP7ES or AC 42 or Champion J6J. What if I die before she does? She has no idea what most of it is. The bikes she has a pretty good handle on but there's a limited number of them.
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Widower. When my wife was alive you can be sure there was none of it in the house!
 
Hoarders?
bikeshedtimes.com

The man they call Toad, and his lifetime collection of bikes that no-one wanted

He started with six Harley Davidsons when he was just 16 years old CLASSIC motorcycle buffs dream of what they call ‘barn finds’ – original old bikes, covered in dust and cobwebs,…
bikeshedtimes.com
 
Slight twist to this, I used to save all the bits that had hurt me! "Sacrifices to the gods of speed" 😂 I had a shelf of melted pistons, conrods that were shredded. Two crankcases, one with the front punched out & the other with no crankcase mouth. A set of barrels with no base. The peace de resistance lol a Triumph oil pump! Lots of broken bones with that one. Came to my sences during covid when I sorted my garage & cleared them out.
Well I needed the space for more parts.
Chris
 
Now it's hard to find any body that wants any of it.

I too am a victim of this as when I started used parts were valuable. Now they are about worthless. Thanks Andover....
 
Chris said:
Slight twist to this, I used to save all the bits that had hurt me! "Sacrifices to the gods of speed" 😂 I had a shelf of melted pistons, conrods that were shredded. Two crankcases, one with the front punched out & the other with no crankcase mouth. A set of barrels with no base. The peace de resistance lol a Triumph oil pump! Lots of broken bones with that one. Came to my sences during covid when I sorted my garage & cleared them out.
Well I needed the space for more parts.
Chris
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Same here. And same outcome !

Bet my collection was bigger than yours…
 
Mark Savage said:
I used to save parts but now I look at them and ask myself, " Would I ever put that back in my bike?"
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And here in lies the question I have to ask myself..
why do I save things like worn valves and guides ?
I’ll certainly never put them on my own bikes and would not advise anyone else to do so yet I can’t seem to toss them in the bin . May be time for some psycho analysis.
 
Somebody said that nature hates emptiness. All empty spaces seems to be filled with something. In the process of trying to clear up at least one barn filled with might be useful things.
For some unknown reason, more things seems to fill up space just cleared. When partially clearing the attic, I found a Concentric from a Victor Special. Didn't remember why it was taken off the bike before it died in a barn fire in -83. But sometimes I've thrown away things like a Rootes cabin compressor from a fighter jet that a friend wanted many years later.
So I'm hoarding but trying to fight it.
 
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I'm in the same boat, I have a few cases that have been welded up (I'll never use), old pistons, valves etc.. I'm planning on boxing all this up and bringing to scrap metal yard.

Ebay used to be an option, but the conditions for selling now are far too cumbersome, Kijiji is useless as well
 
acotrel said:
A BSA A10 frame is worth having.
I have almost a second 850 motor and a gear box. A start of a project. However I do not do bike things for money.
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I have an A10 frame if you're interested. 1957 swingarm, modified for roller bearings in the swingarm and fitted with a Kawasaki GPz 750 forks with dual disc brakes. Could make an interesting track bike for you.
 
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Hoarder? I think we all are, especially if you rode the bikes back in the 60's & 70's. Between the internet, swap meets and companies supporting our hobby parts are easier to find. I sold my first bike (a 1951 Indian Arrow) shortly after I bought it (about 1963) because I couldn't find piston rings and I made a quadrant selector spring for my 1967 Victor from a 6" machinist scale because the BSA dealer had little inventory. As a result, old habits die hard and I'm slowly trying to sell off parts (especially 71-72 OIF Triumph parts). Seems like what I have no one wants and I continue to trip and manage used parts wondering how I ended up with so much. I go to swap meets knowing I need nothing but end up coming home with something else that end up on the shelf...it's a disease!
 
Cant help ourselves can we?
Another little diversion. I went to my first autojumble at 18 & found on a stall finned carb inlet mounts. I didnt have a bike to fit them to! I spent three weeks with those rubber shaped polishing blocks cleaning them up.
Forty Six yes, 46 years later, they are still on the shelf😂 been offered up many times but never fitted. Future buying.
 
Richard Tool said:
And here in lies the question I have to ask myself..
why do I save things like worn valves and guides ?
I’ll certainly never put them on my own bikes and would not advise anyone else to do so yet I can’t seem to toss them in the bin . May be time for some psycho analysis.
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I have started doing it so I have a known OEM/good pattern part for reference. (Not all features are worn)
With some of the poor quality stuff I've purchased, it's good to refer to.
I also have NEW junk parts, not fit for purpose.
 
The wife has a rule. Anything not touched in a year goes out. So I have devised clever ways.
Dan Stone told me you need Spares for your spares.
Yes I'm a hoarder.
 
Mike40M said:
Somebody said that nature hates emptiness. All empty spaces seems to be filled with something. In the process of trying to clear up at least one barn filled with might be useful things.
For some unknown reason, more things seems to fill up space just cleared. When partially clearing the attic, I found a Concentric from a Victor Special. Didn't remember why it was taken off the bike before it died in a barn fire in -83. But sometimes I've thrown away things like a Rootes cabin compressor from a fighter jet that a friend wanted many years later.
So I'm hoarding but trying to fight it.
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Vacuum or something like that. Nature Abhors ?
 
A scrap crankshaft would make a dandy little boat anchor. And I have seen these creative sculptures welded up using miscellaneous scrap parts. I have yet to see one which makes any sense though...
 
I wish I could rummage through all the stuff you feel is worthless. I know plenty of people that can't afford new parts. I need lifters and rocker assemblies, any special bolts etc. I used to find at swap meets the filthy cardboard box with odds and ends for cheap. That kind of stuff saved me hours and day of time.

I remember going to a friend's house looking for something or other, there was 3 of us. His wife (everybody in their 40s) came through and very coldly said "I don't like motorcycles or the people connected with them". His life must have been hell.
 
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