They're still out there!

I got a call yesterday to see a buddy's Craigslist score. He had to drive a couple hours to the wilderness of southeastern Ohio, but came back with a '69 Commando basketcase for the princely sum of $300.

The engine and trans are complete and in the frame and all numbers match. Chrome parts are there, but are painted and probably not worth salvaging. New head pipes. Wheels and rims are very good. We are thinking this may have originally been an 'R' model. 20M3 motor, fastback oil tank and side cover, but Roadster tank, seat and rear fender. Z-plates, front fork tubes and legs, cables, and a wiring harness are the only missing parts we noticed.

There was no title, but the seller had the name and phone number of the person he bought it from several years ago. Called the number and the original owner answered the phone. He thinks he might still have the title but if he doesn't he agreed to file for a "lost title"! He bought it new and had torn it down to restore it 15+ years ago, but lost interest and sold it.

We used to find these treasures often 10-15 years ago, but they have gotten much more scarce. But this proves they still exist!

I tell you what else is out there is the great people willing to do what it takes to bring these back to life. God knows it won't be cheap. Worth it, but definately not cheap.

Inspiring to hear stuff like this. Hope we get to see the evolution.

Ron L said:

...came back with a '69 Commando basketcase for the princely sum of $300...this proves they still exist!

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Congrats on a great score.

300 buck's! May i brorrow your tardis?..or was it a 16 gauge?

What a great score! If that was on our local CL it would be sold within 15 minutes. And it would probably reappear the next day for $5000. Lot of flippers looking to make a quick buck here.

debby said:

What a great score! If that was on our local CL it would be sold within 15 minutes. And it would probably reappear the next day for $5000. Lot of flippers looking to make a quick buck here.

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Usually I'm the guy that pays $5000.00 for something and then finds out that it's only worth $300.00...... :roll:

That's about how it usually works for me, too! :roll:

debby said:

What a great score! If that was on our local CL it would be sold within 15 minutes. And it would probably reappear the next day for $5000. Lot of flippers looking to make a quick buck here.

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Good point Debby. I think the flippers are more responsible for escalating Commando prices than the "collectors". In another string I stated I would not pay collector prices for another Commando. Change that to "flipper prices". True for whole machines as well as parts

Usually I'm the guy that pays $5000.00 for something and then finds out that it's only worth $300.00......

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You took the words right out of my mouth...

debby said:

What a great score! If that was on our local CL it would be sold within 15 minutes. And it would probably reappear the next day for $5000. Lot of flippers looking to make a quick buck here.

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Probably worse than that are the cannibalizers who would cannibalize this complete bike for parts to sell on ebay.

If the ppo comes through and helps get the registration I hope your friend rewards him for his trouble. I bought a bike at auction once. The auctioneer went on and on about how legal the sale was and explained the circumstances but when I went to register it I was told I had to contact the registered owner and get a bill of sale or transfer of ownership from him. He was disgruntled about how he lost the bike in the 1st place and wanted an exorbitant amount for the transfer. While I legally had possession the bike ended up rusting away because I couldn't get affordable registration. It sounds like you're dealing with a real straight shooter who's going to save you a lot of hassles.

oh, and congrats on your scoop!

RennieK said:

I bought a bike at auction once. The auctioneer went on and on about how legal the sale was and explained the circumstances but when I went to register it I was told I had to contact the registered owner and get a bill of sale or transfer of ownership from him. He was disgruntled about how he lost the bike in the 1st place and wanted an exorbitant amount for the transfer. While I legally had possession the bike ended up rusting away because I couldn't get affordable registration. It sounds like you're dealing with a real straight shooter who's going to save you a lot of hassles.

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Two years ago I bought a really nice 1972 Hodaka Ace 100B from a friend of mine for $150. No title. He bought it at a farm sale along with a bunch of old bicycles that he was after. Somebody had removed the exhaust, and it had set in a corn crib for many years, motor was stuck. I bored it, put some new bearings and seals in the engine, and found a NOS correct exhaust on eBay. I liked it so much, I thought I'd do a title search, and either try to get a duplicate title from the owner if I could locate them, or a bonded title if I couldn't. So I sent my registered letter to the owner of record. I was surprised they were still around in the same house, or even cared to answer my letter. But they did - in a way. It was reported stolen in 1983! I was contacted by that county's sheriff, and then the Nebraska State Patrol came out and seized it. Along with my new piston, exhaust, all that. There wasn't time to start stripping it, if you know what I mean. It ended up at the original owner's garage for a year, and they did nothing with it. I didn't give up, and it was finally agreed that they would sell it back to me for $400. Since I had offered them $300 for the title back when all of this mess first came up, we ended up doing about what I suggested to begin with, save all of the screwing around with the Sheriff and State Patrol. The bonded title would have cost me $160 in Nebraska, so I ended up spending another $240 on the "deal". I'm still not afraid to buy things with no titles, but this just goes to show that it's not always as cut and dried as it seems. Craigslist and eBay are loaded with people saying things like "it's easy to get a title", and all that noise, but even on a $150 dirt bike, things can blow up in your face. The irony of all of this was that the people at the State didn't even want to do a title search on it. They told me "oh, these old dirt bikes very seldom have titles". Should have said "oh, OK, and left."

Along about 1993, a guy offered me a nice 850 Commando for $300. No title. Owner was in jail, and this guy was owed $300 by the owner. I'm sure that would have worked out well!