I was adding up the cost of building my bike and it's roughly $500.
I'm not gonna break it all down, but to show how much it adds up, i started with a rusted old bike as a platform for $80.
Add the motor, Worksman wheels (which i got for $50, they'd cost $200 new,) tires, seat, different throttle and levers, incidentals like hardware, gaskets, tools, fuel, etc...
Not counting the 2-3 weeks to restore, paint, modify everything and put it together right...
to build another one, depending on the condition of the donor bike, it'd cost about that, $500-600.
I've had 3 serious offers from people to buy mine outright for $1000, which I think is a pretty good deal, compared to what some other so-called "custom" bikes cost, and mine, I think, is way better than 90% of them, and a million times better than the turn-key bikes based on a cheap china bike platform.
I don't want to sell mine, at least not now, but my question is;
Would YOU be willing to pay $1000 (or more, depending on your choice of parts) for a bike like mine?
You'd be guaranteed a quality job, and as trouble-free a bike as could be hoped for, since i'd work out the bugs for you, and by now, I would hope that i've got a good enough reputation around here that people would trust me, so? would you buy one?
My plan, is finding old bikes, mostly pre-war, made in America, heavy duty steel, and converting them into antique looking motor bikes. each bike would be basically one of a kind, unless i find 2 matching bikes, then, y'know, they'd be two of a kind, but each bike would be different, and waaay different than almost any bike out there.
I'm not doing Choppers, Lowriders, Stretch Jobs, or RePop Board Trackers. My goal is to leave the bike as original as possible. it just doesn't feel right to cut up and weld a vintage bike. i don't want to do anything to them that a wrench couldn't undo.
Mostly they'd be what motor bikes were 100 years ago, a cool, heavy duty bike with a motor on it.
I'm just looking for some input before i start spending all my money and end up with a garage full of old bikes.
here's a before and after comparison of my 1939 Colson, in case you haven't seen it already...
I'm not gonna break it all down, but to show how much it adds up, i started with a rusted old bike as a platform for $80.
Add the motor, Worksman wheels (which i got for $50, they'd cost $200 new,) tires, seat, different throttle and levers, incidentals like hardware, gaskets, tools, fuel, etc...
Not counting the 2-3 weeks to restore, paint, modify everything and put it together right...
to build another one, depending on the condition of the donor bike, it'd cost about that, $500-600.
I've had 3 serious offers from people to buy mine outright for $1000, which I think is a pretty good deal, compared to what some other so-called "custom" bikes cost, and mine, I think, is way better than 90% of them, and a million times better than the turn-key bikes based on a cheap china bike platform.
I don't want to sell mine, at least not now, but my question is;
Would YOU be willing to pay $1000 (or more, depending on your choice of parts) for a bike like mine?
You'd be guaranteed a quality job, and as trouble-free a bike as could be hoped for, since i'd work out the bugs for you, and by now, I would hope that i've got a good enough reputation around here that people would trust me, so? would you buy one?
My plan, is finding old bikes, mostly pre-war, made in America, heavy duty steel, and converting them into antique looking motor bikes. each bike would be basically one of a kind, unless i find 2 matching bikes, then, y'know, they'd be two of a kind, but each bike would be different, and waaay different than almost any bike out there.
I'm not doing Choppers, Lowriders, Stretch Jobs, or RePop Board Trackers. My goal is to leave the bike as original as possible. it just doesn't feel right to cut up and weld a vintage bike. i don't want to do anything to them that a wrench couldn't undo.
Mostly they'd be what motor bikes were 100 years ago, a cool, heavy duty bike with a motor on it.
I'm just looking for some input before i start spending all my money and end up with a garage full of old bikes.
here's a before and after comparison of my 1939 Colson, in case you haven't seen it already...
