I just smile and nod when people tell me how much they spent on thier bike, when I know I can hit CL with a $100 cash and a few calls get someone's prime condition/barely ridden bike as quickly as I can get there.
In '93/94 $, the bike I motorized retailed for close to $2k. I got it new as an insurance replacement for a $200 bike a room-mate took for a night ride and left outside the store for too long. To me, it's been a great bike since I got it, and it took well to the motor but I would never have spent that much money on a bike. I was happy with the $200 one I that got stolen. For $2k then I could've bought a pretty decent used car, or an okay one and one of the same for parts.