The estimate seems a little low at £20-40K plus the new owner is probably going to have to shell out at least £10K to recommission it, if they ever intend to ride it. https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/2...-rec16991-3-kempton-0726?pn=1&el=36878&pp=100
Blimey, 15% plus vat on hammer price They know how to charge… And yes, will probably require an engine rebuild if it’s to be ridden. Unless of course it was meticulously preserved before being wheeled into the living room…
Crikey! the poor old owner would have been better off using it! I had a look at some of the other lots in the auction, some early 50's Vincent's with estimates around £30k... The classic bike market really is having a 'readjustment' at the moment, certainly interesting to see what they go for on the day, if they sell....
Certainly ride it once you've bought it. You might be dead tomorrow, and very few bike values are worthy of the term "investment". I'm curious to see what this actually sells for.
@nelly rebuilt one last year due to inactivity. Pot liners corroded by old coolant rings a bell… It was a total rebuild I remember that…
At least 10k I'd suggest. That's assuming the coolant was drained and hasn't split out to water and corr0ded the faces of the barrels and heads. + a set of 17 inch wheels... if he wants to actually ride it. Better off buying mine - ready to go... #hint hint
Yeah, it can't possibly go for 20k...if it did I'd be interested, and I'm tighter than a goldfish's asshole.
I remember when they first came out. Because I’d recently (at that time) bought a 999R, I was invited to buy one. Unfortunately I was skint so wasn’t in a position to purchase. I went to Ducati Lincoln to see one in their showroom. Very impressive too. The sales guy told me it was sold to guy in London who had bought 3! One for road use, one for track days and one to sit priddy in his office
I notice joey's Castrol rc30 is on the listings too. I think that's just sold recently in another auction, along with his rc45. Obviously not bought by an enthusiast, more like a flipper
A neighbour of mine had one in his Lounge for a while, but now has an MV of some kind, which is far more Blingy. He doesn't even have a Bike License.
Read post #7. It may well be okay provided it was correctly preserved in storage. Quite a few of these bikes were bought and stashed as investments. I’d suggest this being one of them with virtually zero miles on the clock. Not everyone with pots of money is technically minded and if the fluids in this bike have been left to stagnate for 20 years, it may well require a comprehensive rebuild.
Agree that coolant might be a problem. On a totally different level, I had a 1980's KTM 2-stroke, 500 crosser that I hadn't used for a few years and when I tried to resurrect it, it wouldn't start (t'was always a bastid to start mind). Close examination found the engine full of coolant, it having eaten through the water pump housing and drained into the crankcase. The repair was fairly simple, only requiring a new pump housing and a good clean but it was no fancy MotoGP replica and parts were cheap and plentiful at the time.
Indeed it was with 60 odd hp and minimal weight, only had 4 gears (but would wheelie off the throttle in any of them) and was completely impractical. I bought it as a cheap off-roader for green lanes/fields etc. but in reality it was too much for just bimbling around on, it was a pig to start (left side starter with a viscous kick back and would trap your foot between the starter and footpeg) and very high maintenance, it seized up on me when the little end failed - the rollers fell out, got sucked in through the ports to get wedged between the piston and cylinder stopping it so suddenly that it bent the conrod - I had to use a lump hammer to remove the piston from the barrel. The classic reply for anyone asking if they could have a go was "if you can start it, you can ride it", not many managed. I fixed it after the coolant episode but hardly rode it again, in the end I gave it to a friend who's Son was an up and coming Motocrosser.
