Jeandr said:
I would much rather see a rich guy like for example Jay Leno buying, restoring and using old bikes than seeing him squandering his money on coke, booze, gambling and whores :!: Jean
I would rather see them spend their time and money on drugs gambling and whores instead of turning old motorcycles into "trading cards" and a commodity and driving the prices of them up out of the reach of the average citizen.
Whenever there is something the common man has sincere and real fun with, as soon as bored millionaire's and "businessmen" latch onto it and use it to fill their empty lives and souls they take it away from those who have a real history or connection to that thing that is contemporary with it.
That is why now a common man has to be very lucky to own most pre-eighties classics, and he can forget ever owning or riding many of them. I know old racers and riders that would not mind having an old Goldstar etc. sitting around or to take for rides, well too bad for them, they are no longer motorcycles anymore, they have been converted to currency and ego-filler for those with more cash than heart.
And Grandpaul, businessman, you DO have a reputation to maintain, it is called Pandering. You are a salesman and nothing you have to say has any more meaning than any other commercial on network television.
For each classic marque there is a millionaire or businessman that has taken it and purposely turned it into a commodity for the sake of profit. Is that something you do to something you love? Your family? Then why anything else? Oh, you love money, well there you go then.
John Steel in Ohio turned xr750 racers into a business, Herb Harris turned Vincent motorcycles into a business, the list is endless, and so is the list of bikes that can not be enjoyed by most who would like to, they have been turned into toys for and by the top 2% of our population.....
All I am doing is pointing out the fact that when people who's lives revolve around money get involved with something, they change it and it is never for the better, it is for themselves.....