New 850 Commandos-Still In Their Crates!

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Let me be philosyphical for a moment.
I know I can see the incoming fire now!
It all depends on the beholder and anothers interpretation of what he will do with it.
If you are not a hoarder or compulsive collector you may crack open that crate and have a
very unique experience as you will be teleported back to the 70's and get to experience what a new bike
prep guy got to experience say at Berlinners back in the day. I personnaly would go this route as why would you
spend all that money and save the bike till you die only to preserve that experience for a complete stranger.
Life is too short and you have an opportunity few will see.
I say crack it open prep it and ride it. You now have braggin rights and keepin the packing crate is proof enough.
Now if your Jay Lenno, buy one for display w/ the side of the crate removed as in the picture we saw
and have another one assembled next to it to show it assembled and ride it with a big shit eatin grin.
I'm not going to Belguim for one but would love to hear from the future buyer(s) who do end up w/ one.
Please share the experience.
Marshal
 
ludwig said:
I knew the old Podevyn well .
like 79X100 said , you had to be VERY polite when walking into his shop !
I also had a few 'incidents' with him about parts .
He knew I got my bikes from parallel importer Leon Liekens , wich was enough to make him very hostile towards me .
The story about his stock of new Nortons has been going around for ages , but this is the first photografical evidence I see .
Personally , I wouldn't pay too much for one of these bikes :
everything rubber has to be replaced anyway , and as soon as you ride it one km , it is no longer " new " .
But I'll go take a look at the other stuff .
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I thought the same thing regarding all the rotted rubber after 35 years. These are museum pieces and will likely and should go to collectors. I'm not affluent enough to spend large sums for artwork. :)
 
Does anyone have an idea how one of these could be brought into the USA? Is it possible to bid on one , and have it shipped here without having to travel to Belgium?
 
As far as getting one into the US you need is to "hire" a bidder send him/her to the auction and give them your maximum bid to work with, make sure that they are bonded. The "bidder" will need a local check made out to the auctioneer the balance can be wired. Give the go9od folks at at RGM a call, I'm sure they can suggest somone to represent you. I'm reasonably confident that RGM can also suggest an exporter, if they can't handle the deal themselves.

In the 70s I worked for a local Norton dealer while in college. My instructions, after uncrating, were to practically dissamble the motorcycle and check all adjustments, including the alignment of the clutch basket with the engine sprocket, very thorough. Anyone who purchases one of these that came out of King Tutt's tome should be prepared to strip it to its core and do things like replace the rings after a honing, lap the valves, pull the clutch apart, if you can, repalce all the rubber parts...and then to change the oil about every 30 minutes (engine, tranny, primary) until all fluids run clear, including a brake system rebuild...you get the idea.

Might as well take them all apart and start from the bottom up if you want them to last. The cruelest thing you could do would be to pour oio and gas in and try and start one, that would sure to make it a parts bike rather quickly.

Best of luck bidders,

RS
 
ludwig said:
RoadScholar said:
( Ask Paul . Unlike me , he is a really, really nice guy and I am shure he will be happy to help you out ! )
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:shock:


Herewith I renounce former signs of endearment that are for the responsibility of the author.


:roll:
 
Alrighty, I'm registered and ready to bid! :D

I want to buy me a new in the crate Commando! Anybody can buy a CNW bike. All you need is money. How many people have the opportunity to own a new in the crate Commando? Not very many! I'll be part of a very exclusive club indeed. :mrgreen:

A friend of mine has a second home in France. I think I'll keep my new bike there. It can keep his Laverda company, and then I'll have my own bike to ride when I visit.

Whee! I can't wait for auction day!

Debby
 
Debby,

Once you ride it you will no longer have a new Commando in the crate. Can't have your cake and eat it too. I agree, it's a cracking idea to buy one, but not to ride.
 
JimC said:
Debby, Once you ride it you will no longer have a new Commando in the crate. Can't have your cake and eat it too. I agree, it's a cracking idea to buy one, but not to ride.
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If i could afford to buy one i would liberate it from its crate, some like to collect, some like to ride, i like to ride, theres room for all. :D
 
So what do we think they'll make? I'm registered as well but aint going to get sucked in to a mental bidding war (and remember there's 17% commision to get added on the hammer price!
I'll take a stab at £12K each?
 
Gino Rondelli said:
I'll take a stab at £12K each?
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That sounds like a fair guess. I was going to say at least $20K USD.

I'll be following the auction, and perhaps placing a bid or two, but I wasn't really planning on bidding to win.

Debby
 
I would think they will go for more than that, I was thinking more like $30,000. But who knows money is not as easy to come by as it once was, And fewer people will be willing to spend it I guess. It will be fun to see though. Good luck Debbie and Gino, It really would be fun to have one.
 
What people forget is that to their bid price there is an added premium for the auctoneer (17%) plus Value Added Tax (21%), so if you bid, say, 1.000 Euros you pay in fact 1.4157 Euros, i.e. nearly another 50%!
 
"I would think they will go for more than that, I was thinking more like $30,000."

I would think at least that and frankly, I was thinking it will be nearly double that. It will be interesting to see. I saw a basket case Black Shadow 5-6 years ago that truly was just baskets of parts that the seller said he "believed" they were all there. That went for 40k USD. I realize these are not Black Shadows but being new in the box is a (rich) collector's dream. Unless one person buys several of them, I can't imagine anyone will buy one and actually ride it. Heck Jay Leno, or somebody like him might just buy the lot!
 
Sure there was a crated MK3 on ebay last year, went for someting like £8000 and was listed at least twice, there might be a bargin to be had here but count me out.
 
kommando said:
there might be a bargin to be had here but count me out.
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Oh, where's your spirit of adventure? Imagine the anticipation and excitement when you open the crate. What will you find - dry, crumbly rubber bits? A locked up motor? A fuel tank that is solid rust inside? Or a pristine bike that has miraculously survived the ravages of time and now awaits your loving touch so it can go out on the road as it was intended to (soft cam, bad layshaft bearing and all) :?:

Debby
 
Ah all true Debby, if I win the lottery before I will join in, but current circumstances mean I will have to be a interested bystander. Just had my powdercoating back today so will be concentrating on getting the 850 ready for the parade laps at the Bob McIntyre Annual Memorial races at East Fortune, fresh Interpol tank in Black with radio cutout where a video camera will be mounted for videoing the laps. So I am going to have fun but on the cheaper end of the budget :mrgreen:
 
ZFD said:
What people forget is that to their bid price there is an added premium for the auctoneer (17%) plus Value Added Tax (21%), so if you bid, say, 1.000 Euros you pay in fact 1.4157 Euros, i.e. nearly another 50%!
Click to expand...

I clicked on a few and saw.
VAT 21%
Mark-Up 17%
Mark-Up VAT 21%

59% add on????????????????????????
OUCHY :roll:
 
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