As ive had triumphs since 2000 ive started to fancy a old 70,s bonny like me dad had..
I want to find one in rusty poor condition,poss a non runner just left in the back of the shed by some old boy that had died several years before.. questions
1- what is a price i should pay. 2- will i find one 3- were do i look or search 4- iam i barking in the wrong direction
i want aproject for a couple of years,but only want a complete bike to learn from not a boxed bike were you find most is missing. thanks for any help browny
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Best place is EBay. Beware a lot of restoration jobs seem to sell for very similar money to a nice running bike. Too many old farts looking for a project has driven the price of projects through the roof. Try and find a runner with poor chrome and paint as you will be painting and replacing the chrome anyway, should find one for around £2250. If it's running at least you can ride it to check what works and what need work. Restoration basket case seems to go for £1700ish. Best time to buy is in the early summer, by the end of the season the old farts are out looking for that winter project so they can hide in the shed away from the wife and kids.
A common fault on the T140 is that the main oil in frame tank is prone to cracking at the base. Sometimes they only leak when the oil is hot so another reason to try and get a runner.
ta for that advice but i wanted to be the old fart in the shed... but was hoping to keep the price down to buy have been on the bay but silly prices, nearly more than a new one. will look in summer good idear, but wanted a real shed as going for cafe racer look , always want sumit different. will take on info about oil in frame, remember my dad lost all his on m6 but he forgot to do up cap properly, doh..
Fairly complete 68 T100 there for £1500. The 500 twin engine was a good un. no OIF ugliness either. Or for £1750 theres a nicely painted one in need of engine parts etc.
Could be nice bikes either of them if you are going to put the time in.
still wantin more of a shed at cheaper price, i want to do all the work paint, powder coat and chrome.
just want a long term project to spread the cost, has nobody noticed you can by a new bonnie for less than some second hand ones. keep chuckin info my way
Thats the Classic bike world mate. Its no good comparing the price of a classic bike to the price of modern bikes. In every measurable way modern bikes are better but classic bikes are rarer, they were made in smaller numbers and only a proportion of them survive. rarity pushes up prices plus they are desirable in a different way to modern bikes. Classic bikes cost and Classic Triumphs cost more than the equivalent BSA or Ariel etc.
But have you ever noticed , when you want to sell yours, nobody wants em , they are owt of fashion, so you get a piss poor price. when you want something, its at the top of its price??
I remember my dad selling his back in the 80s he got 1800 and its was a 1 owner, no lodgic...
at least this way i will have more of an idear what to expect when iam looking for one. ta
but back in thye 80s a T140 was the equivalent of a ten year old Hinkley Bonnie so it wouldn't have made the money. Now its considered a classic bike. (over 25 years old) is out of production for a good while so has become more sought after.
Theres no logic mate. Its a heart over head thing!
Problem is any bike thats actually out of production these days is a "potential classic" therefore folk think that they can ask silly money for what could be a pile of festering tat... for example.... look at the prices of a Benelli Sei nowadays.... I saw one going for £6k in a classified and to be frank they were a pile of cack, dodgy electrics, crazed plastics, furred ally and rusting fasteners.... theres a sensible price and then there's taking the piss
Like I say theres no logic just accept it. Comparing the price of a Meriden built Triumph from the late 60s to early 70s to a second hand Hinkley bike is pointless.
Better to look at the prices of late British production 650 or 750 twins from other manufacturers at the time, and compare those. Thats why I ended up with a Starfire BSA. Wanted to dip a toe in the classic bike scene, compared prices, Triumphs always carry an increased price tag over BSAs etc (except Gold stars RGSs etc) decided that £650 for a 250 BSA was a much better price than near double for a Triumph of similar vintage in simillar condition.
What started me off on getting the TBS was my friends with old bikes often asking me why I didn't get an old bike.
Thought about it but then remembered the TBS and decided that was the bike for me as it has elements of an old bike i.e. spoked wheels and tank design etc. but had the advantages of a modern bike and of course you are getting a lot more for your money.
I know it's not the same as a proper old classic but when you are riding through the countryside on a sunny day it does it for me!
Never say never though as from time to time I do start considering one. Maybe in a couple of years time when I do finally sell the CCM?
rebuild, then do it again on a weekly basis if you intend riding it..
as i get older, i want to spend more time riding than 'spannering' whilst i still can.. this was confirmed when i had a moment of clarity yesterday as i was sat on the shed floor covered in s!$%e trying to refit the back wheel to my laverda
NeilD: rebuild, then do it again on a weekly basis if you intend riding it..
as i get older, i want to spend more time riding than 'spannering' whilst i still can.. this was confirmed when i had a moment of clarity yesterday as i was sat on the shed floor covered in s!$%e trying to refit the back wheel to my laverda
