Project bikes

[nightrider]

Been looking for a while now to try find a project bike to work on over winter , have bid on a few bikes mainly Honda twins and the odd 500-4 , but it seems like it's not to be , the prices they sell for and the work need doing just never adds up , it seems that a pile of scrap is £1500 min , how does anybody find a bike to do ,,

[BigAlan]

Your not the only one, last year I went all over the place to find either a Honda 750 or 550, GT 550 or something from the 70's I could strip and have a play with, the cheapest I could find was a 550/4 in five cases of bits plus a frame and three rusty wheels for £400.

I passed on his generous offer and still I look but to no avail, even joined Honda owners club but imports from the USA which look clean but need a refurb still seems to fetch best part of £4K plus I would have to spend some recommissioning it and registering it, and there are differences USA and Europe models.

Oh well

[O.C.]

this is something that I can comment about based on years of experience.

It all depends on what you want at the end of the project,  do you want a show bke that you can ride occasionally on hot dry days, or are you happy to accept a 'rider' type end result, you must decide about this BEFORE you start looking for a donor bike, as it will dictate what make and model of bike you select,

Obviously your personal preferences will influence your decisions. .....do you like 70s or maybe 80s vintage bikes.

At this stage you will find that certain makes and models are more desirable than others BUT be very careful because parts can/will be a major factor,  some bikes are very difficult to obtain parts for,, consequently such parts can be hugely expensive (don't ask me how I know)

OK, enough of that........make your decision about what you fancy and immediately register on an owners forum, introduce yourself and ask for help from 'those that know' this will save you time and expense

Personally I love my Kawasaki Triples, which are iconic easy to work on as they are Two Stroke fantastic to ride BUT can be costly to restore

Remember that old bikes are just that OLD, they dont like modern ethanol laced fuel, they dont like being left unused for long periods

If you want more Triples information then send me a P.M with you contact number and I'll happily provide as much info as I can.

Good luck. 


EDIT:Forgot to say. ..DO NOT RUSH IN, DECIDE AT LEISURE     

[flatfour]

I would look at a Honda CB250/350 twin or four from the early 1970's. If you check Oxford Classic Honda's website, Charlie has a 1973 CB250 K4 in quite original condition that was ridden to France in 2015 for a classic gathering for sale at £2,295. There are, at the moment, also quite a few 350/4's around looking for a new home, usually for a few hundred pounds more.

In respect of parts, for new or replica items availability is good through David Silver (located in Suffolk) or CMSNL (Netherlands). There is a very active owners forum (SOHC Forum) where parts are often sold cheaply between members to keep a machine on the road and DK Spares also break a lot of older bikes for parts on a regular basis.

I have restored (for my own use) most makes (Benelli Six, all Honda fours except for the 400, Yamaha YR5 etc.) and have consistently found Honda to be the easiest to obtain parts for and the most reliable in use afterward. All of my bikes are used and the "old stuff" has been to Wales, Scotland and further.

[doebag]

I think you are looking at the wrong time, in a financial cycle way.

Interest rates are virtually zero, and lots of people who started biking in the 1970's are now retiring and wondering what to do with there pensions and lump sums, and deciding to revisit their youth.
As prices of things like Z1, CB750 and RD's go higher and higher, they drag the rest of the market up with them, so now bikes like the Z900/ Z1000 are increasing to silly levels. It happened before in the  1980's with classic cars, then the recession hit badly and people were trying to sell their classics at prices no one wanted to pay anymore.
If you are not too bothered about a particular make or model, then do your homework with the internet/magazines/books and pick one that is well catered for in the spares market.
A lot of the smaller engine bikes can be harder to source spares for as they were ridden to destruction by teenagers and less have survived, making second hand parts rarer and less profitable to make new parts for.
My own classic is a Kawasaki Z1100 , probably the most unpopular model in the Z1 owners club. Engine / running gear spares are easy to find, body work less so. But in it's day it was very popular in Germany which is a better place to find spares for my particular model.

[Boomer]

For a winter project you are often better off with something less desirable or more recent.
Everybody wants Kawi-triples and XS's and CB's and GS's and the bigger Zeds so the prices are stupid
Go for something like a an 80's superbike or a tatty 90's nekkid bike.
Plenty of those available cheap and parts are easy to find.
I have been tempted to get big nekkid like a GSX1300 or the ZRX1100/1200 but don't have space for a 3rd bike.

[doebag]

Boomer's mention of 90's naked bikes reminded me of an example from my post

1990's Kawasaki Zephyr 550 and 750. Lovely little bikes, plenty of spares as a lot of them are shared with other Kawasaki's BUT the petrol tanks are rarer than Unicorns. They are notorious for rusting through due to poor steel and being left empty so condensation corrosion sets in. If you needed to buy a replacement tank the seller would be able to set his own price and be pretty sure of getting it or more.
If you had not done your homework, a project might have fallen at the first hurdle.
There is a guy on the Zephyr forums on a project to construct replacement composite fibre fuel tanks.

[zedmeister]

I would love my ZRX 1100 lawson rep back, wish i could remember the reg no ( V Reg )  to see it was still alive and kicking.

[ChrisB]

 I have a complete but very, very tatty 1967 BSA Bantam D10 sport in bits but I guarantee it is 100% complete. The bike was given to my son as a barn find 5 years ago. He got it home, pulled it to bits and got bored. I know the history of the bike, it in full working order when it was put at the back of a friends garage when he moved house 35 or so years ago. It was covered up and never moved until my son helped him clear his garage and the bike was given to him. I have turned down offers of £400 but will consider any offer made here as I promised my friend that if the bike was sold, the proceeds would go to charity. The bike is still on the DVLA database but the V5 has been lost.

[Boomer]

GS750 on fleabay for £700.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/motorcycle-suzuki-Gs-750-/302182826616?hash=item465b800278:g:ngsAAOSwA3dYYq-L

[Burchy]

I picked up a 1979 Suzuki GS850G last summer for not a lot (actually nothing, except delivery)  Spend a thousand or so on it to the point that its just about a runner, BUT this doesn't include a paint job.  Just needs one more decent carb.  The frame and paint aren't too bad and I have in mind to bring it back to a sort of original, but not restored p[osition.  Trouble is, even a good one is only worth about £1750, but it does give me plenty of fun spannering about.

They are about but you have to be diligent and patient ( and a bit lucky)

[Wookie]

Tell you what I do ... I pop into the local breakers .  On the hunt for complete bikes (last one was a fazer mk 1)..never paid more than 300 quid ..... and it's a winter full of fun .. specially sourcing fairly easy parts cheaply ...
Then sell it when finished in sprig ..the fazer went for 900 quid 

[nightrider]

Have been looking on eBay today  and enquired about a Kaw z900 with 3000m on the clock all original, in excellent condition going for buy it now at £3100 , says he will deliver it for free if I pay upfront through PayPal , what a nice man , also a Ducati 450 Desmo single for £2500 also excellent same fella , it just shows there's bargains out there ,