(07-06-2015, 11:00 AM)warrior Wrote: Yep I sold a TD1C Yamaha for around £140, several TZ350's for next to nothing, and a beautiful TZ750 for £2000, but in those days just as now you had to fund the next bike somehow.

And as someone once pointed out to me when crying into my pint over them, you would need a very large garage to keep them all.

I once met an old guy who had kept his Manx Norton in the garage for around 30 years after he retired, his missus had tried to pressure him into weighing it in for scrap many times as it was by then worth next to nothing and getting in the way, he almost succumbed to the nagging but luckily couldn't bring himself to do it, he said they had countless arguments over it.

Then the classic scene really took off and he said he'd recently sold it and cleared the mortgage with the proceeds!!

I had Carlo "Ubiallis"? world championship winning 125  that MV sold to Bill Webster of Crewe on condition that Mike Hailwood raced them in South Africa, Bill bought the 125, 203 and spares, Pat Walsh my mentor then bought the lot and raced them for a few years in the TT, I bought the 125 in 1966 for £125 sold it the following year for £150 to buy a Bultaco TS 125/

Sold the TZ250 and  350 Maxtons that I sponsored Charlie Williams  on that won the 77 Junior TT and second in the 1000 Classic behind Grants 750. the 250 finished 2nd in 78, I had two identical Maxtom TZs of for own my use, all were sold for about a £1000 each with tons of spares.

CR93 £400, T500 production bike that won the NNW200 TT and Thruxton 500 miler for £500 plus loads of other now rare bikes, plus a rare one off special Jenson CV8 with the chassis no JM 1 that I bought at a Jenson factory Auction in West Bromwhich, sold it for £800.

With hindsight and the funds and storage to keep all the stuff in good condition, this ind og kit is a great pension fund.

I also had first refusal on the Stuart Graham Ex works Suzuki 125 disc valve twin 10 speed gearbox that was being sold by Eddie Crooks on Stuarts behalf, I was tempted but it had been banned from use with a 10 speed gearbox and it was  £1,500 less than the price of an new E type Jaguar.  

(06-06-2015, 09:26 PM)desmophile Wrote: In my experience the hard up privateer runs his (or her) bike for a few years until it's completely obsolete and then sells it for a song, only to see it worth 0000's in years to come.

Or to put it another way, why did I sell my Tz350 for £900,  Tz750 for £1400 and my worst ever mistake a Harris framed TT F1 duke with 4 spare wheels for £3500!!!

Add to that the Jota and Z1a road bikes, countless rd250s and x7s for pennies and an rd400 for £300.

Hindsight is a blessing and a curse...

Me too! Wish I'd kept several bikes,including Honda benly Early sixties,Fs1 e, mint condition,triumph Bonnies etc,however, my worst regret was in the 80s,selling a mint split screen VW Devon camper van,for £800, as these go for 30k now.