Parts vs Bike

I originally asked if it made economic sense to buy a frame and assemble a bike from a bunch of pasts I already have. Or just sell the parts I have. Complicating factors include that I already have four Commandos and too many projects (bikes and everything else).

It is always instructive to listen to the collective wisdom of the list (with editorial license):
-it is immoral to part out a Norton
-some of us benefit from parting out Nortons
-some of us would rather not know where the parts come from
-we all have Norton parts, and more parts equals more happiness
-a lot of our parts are shite and even we wouldn't use them
-we all have Norton bikes, and more Norton bikes equal more happiness
-you get more $ for Norton parts as parts, less $ as a bike
-there is nothing economically sensible about Nortons, either in parts or as bikes

So if one wants to be mercenary, the best thing to do is to sell our bikes as parts. But not all at the same time!
ps At this point I am leaning towards buying the frame, just in case. Knowing that this makes no sense (but might increase my happiness).

Stephen Hill
Victoria, BC
1968 Fastback
1971 Roadster
1972 Combat
1973 Interstate
and maybe a frame

As none of motorcycling over 250cc class makes any economic sense just toss that factor right out the widow and get down to what does matter ones best happiness vs money and time to waste on it. My next [if ever] Norton will be bought up as separate parts as already know how much is just wasted effort to uncover in a basket/non runner case. This way spend directly on selected or hopped up items with lease left overs. I've destroyed one factory Combat for sake of making a splash with Norton name but slavaged another Combat from Katrina loss and kept factory example. So nullified my Norton club karma. My only desire for another Norton Commando is if its a righteous hard tail molded stretched out king/queen throne chopper that offends everyone but the 1%'rts

Economically it makes more sense to part it out. However we all know that economists are completekly full of shit. For all their advanced degrees they can not predict the bust of a bubble, even given 20/20 hindsight.

Build it. Ride it. Put the idiot grin on your face. Again.

Greg

Every Snorter parted out is one less on the road. But then it's like a kidney transplant ,you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. All of this is a dilemma.

The original post states that it isn't a question of the parting out of a bike, because there isn't an original bike to begin with. It's a motor and a collection of garage effluvia. The question is to stop right there and sell the parts he had or go to the trouble of creating a new bike from what he had plus the cost of what he would need to finish it, and what the relative values of each would be.

Oh,well then get to work.I love spending other people's money.

This bike's fate hung in the balance. After weeks trying to assemble a complete engine from a bunch of individual ebay purchases this came along as a potential engine donor. But, "God's Teeth!" (anybody here know Ogri?) all it needs is an exhaust, some thing to keep small birds out of the carbs and a couple of other bits and pieces and it would be reprieved; ready to provide years of riding pleasure.

Well, I've taken the bait: not going to spend much on it, just enough, initially at least, to get it running. $65 (ebay) for a 2-1 exhaust, $150 for a nice seat from another forum member (the one in the pic looks ok, but its glass fiber base is shattered).

Just what I needed, another bike.

Cheers! ~ Gary

I can tell you for sure, that even if you get great deals on a bunch of parts, and even a few bits and bobs for free, building a Norton from parts is NEVER cheap.

Engines in buckets ALWAYS need more in tiny bits that what you pay for the first box of donor core parts.

Still, it's FUN.

two edge sword here - as even more expensive is rebuilding a supposed "rebuilt" bike - as unfortunately sometimes the "experts" on ebay or craigslist/forums try to pass off their skills to unsuspecting newbys - always proceed with caution!

grandpaul said:

I can tell you for sure, that even if you get great deals on a bunch of parts, and even a few bits and bobs for free, building a Norton from parts is NEVER cheap.

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I'm up to about $800 and still need 1 major part and a few minor parts, should work out at a little over $1,000 without a crank, rods or pistons, which I don't need. Probably about what complete engines have been going for on ebay right now.

Gary

Many many moons ago--in California---there was a person who restored/refurbished & performed services on BMW's. When ever the parts accumulated to the point that he could assemble a complete bike together with all the extra parts--bingo---a few extra bucks came rolling in and the whole process started over again. The bikes sold were comprised of used and cosmetically reconstructed/repainted--etc--and were hard to tell they were not new. I wouldn't be surprised if there are still some out there still racking up miles. Can this be happening still---with Nortons--Triumphs---HD's---probably so.

ggryder said:

This bike's fate hung in the balance. After weeks trying to assemble a complete engine from a bunch of individual ebay purchases this came along as a potential engine donor. But, "God's Teeth!" (anybody here know Ogri?) Gary

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Nah, don't remember him !

I should work out at a little over $1,000 without a crank, rods or pistons, which I don't need. Probably about what complete engines have been going for on ebay right now.

Gary[/quote]


Should be lighter without them , & shouldnt pressurise the cases and leak oil like that . Probly use less fuel too . . :mrgreen:

Back in the late seventies when my brother still had his '70 750 S (which he had traded his '69 Super Sport Chevelle w/396 & Muncie 4 spd. for it----it did have a wrecked rear quarter panel and he was having trouble getting the 1000 dollars he needed back out of it---man how time change!), anyway I was poking around in one of Houston's motorcycle junk yards looking for something or other that I needed for my Yamaha and came across a Norton engine for 25 bucks. I bought it thinking that it was a 750 Commando motor and took it home, I said to him "hell if nothing else it was worth it just for the head. Well that was the start of it for me. A year or so later I found a '69 commando frame for about 10 bucks, then a fiberglass fastback tail section painted in the same fireflake blue as his 750 fo 15 dollars (which I gave to him as an x-mas gift). Next over a long period of time came a gearbox housing an oil tank, stainless steel rear fender, timing side cover, cracked fiberglass side panels , chrome front fender and a few more things all cheap and all tucked away in boxes in the corner of the garage where they stayed. Fast forward to about 2005, my brother had long sold his Norton, I'd been married for 5 years and had two kids at that point and everytime I'd start talking to my wife about getting my Norton together she'd jump in and say "you mean PARTS of Norton" just to urk me and get me going. Then we moved again and in November 2010 I said I think I'm gonna buy another bike because it'll be quicker than starting to source all the missing parts for my basket case & she said go for it. I found a '75 MKIII that could afford (2500) I then went crazy and spent about a thousand more on parts from E-bay that I really didn't need and a few months ago bought another MKIII with a blown motor for 1000 bucks. So recently I've been asking myself if I should part out the Blown engine bike ( matching numbers) I know I can get more from that way but I really like seeing it over in the corner of the garage and thinking about which direction to take the build.......anyway I think you should find a frame.....or build one, heck... JS Motorsports has a book of plans on how to build a trellis style one you know. Cj

My 2 cents
My learned friends have pretty much made all of the good points; let me add two more.
There is a big difference between what is paid for common parts verses what is paid for hard to get parts, take a look at what cosmetically strait tach drives for early Commandos are going for verse a tach drive for a 1970 and later engine. There is also a big difference between what is paid for a random set of Commando parts verses what a correct set of Commando parts bring (matching numbers or not)
Second point is what do we mean by assembled? If I take the random collection of Commando parts and make it run and get it licensed, I have a moderately valuable rider. If I take a correct set of parts and meticulously overhaul/refinish/blue-print each assembly and go to the trouble of documenting the build I would have a machine that would bring CLOSE to what a low mileage original would bring because I could sell it to the enthusiast instead of an investors documented original. Remember the only guy that will pay top dollar for a documented original is the investor/speculator because he isn't going to use it. The enthusiast will only pay top dollar if he knows it is strait and has everything he is looking for. If the enthusiast can buy it he has to build it.

Matt Spencer said:

I should work out at a little over $1,000 without a crank, rods or pistons, which I don't need. Probably about what complete engines have been going for on ebay right now.

Gary


Should be lighter without them , & shouldnt pressurise the cases and leak oil like that . Probly use less fuel too . . :mrgreen:

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I've been studying the arguments for the various alternative crankshaft arrangements: 180, 270, 284 and my calculations tell me that the the only thing guaranteed to vibrate less than a 360 is no crank at all.

No rods or pistons is a logical extension of Jim Schmidt's discovery that less weight in those parts equals less vibration.

Gary

Unless a bike is really rare, and Commandos are far from it, then it does not make a lot of sense to me to scratch and claw one together from oddball parts that have to be searched for unless you are going to build some custom or race-bike that is going to be completely gone over anyway.

If you want a nice original Commando then you are way ahead buying as nice a one as you can afford and saving yourself hours of hunting for parts. Then the only hours you will spend is doing the catch-up maintenance skipped by previous owners.

Guys that are into old bikes only for money are scumbags, and that certainly goes for those who take matching-numbers bikes and part them out unless the bikes are bad wrecks etc..

Going with the them of the title of this original post - what does this photo show?

Parts or a future bike?

PS - there are no wrong answers.

probably be a "great candidate for restoration" on ebay :roll:

pkeithkelly said:

Going with the them of the title of this original post - what does this photo show?

Parts or a future bike?

PS - there are no wrong answers.

Click to expand...

It isn't missing much, so I think it is a bike. It probably ran before it was taken apart.