Investment Bikes

[KungFooBob]

I'm chatting to my local friendly bike shoppe owner today (while he was doing my MOT), now he only runs a tiny independent shop, but he owns five RGV250's, three RG500's and a hand full of British classics (so that's his pension sorted).

He's convinced that the K5/6 GSXR1000's are going to be the the desirable classic that everyone wants in another 10-20 years. He's bought the best one he could find and is locking it away until his investment matures.

That model GSXR was a game changer, the bike everyone wanted to beat and the bike BMW used as a benchmark for the S1000RR, in much the same way the first Fireblade was. I just can't imagine that it's going to be worth much more than he's paid for it in ten years time?

If you had the space, the budget and the inclination not to ride it, but keep it as an investment, what would you buy?

[Yorick]

S'funny as I found the K6 a bit cramped . K7 and K9 were better.

[weeksy]

Mmm errrm. KTM 950smr.

The 690 supermoto seem to hold value well.

I guess it depends how long were talking and how much profit.
If it's making a grand in 15 years, then let's be honest, it's irrelevant

[Mr. Dazzle]

There are very very few bikes which would be a serious investment i think.

Ultra rare exotic stuff is almost a given. Racing V4 Hondas of various flavours, Desmosedici, that £60k Panigale, R7 and so on. Maybe the really fancy Fireblade or R1 they did a few years back?

Maybe original Mk1 R1s or 1992 Fireblades?

There's nothing at the moment which I would expect to increase massively over the years which is not already 'kin expensive.

RS250s represents the very end of an era (they were probably the last 2 stroke tarmac oriented 'real bike'?) so they'll always be a bit special.

There are probably a lot more bikes which will go up a bit in value but I wouldn't say investment per se.

[MingtheMerciless]

K1 GSXR 1000, ZX7R and. KTM950 SMR (carb’ed version).

[KungFooBob]

I watch early GSXR's on Ebay, a decent 1991/2 GSXR1100 is probably worth £5k. The Slabbies are nearer 8-9k for a real minter.

I can't see a K5/6 that you can pick up for £6k today being worth much more in 20 years?

[v8-powered]

Despite not actually liking them much, a 916/996/998 special edition of some kind.

Mate of mine has a 998S Final Edition that he purchased new in 2004 and I scoffed at how much he paid for it, now 16 years down the line with 5000 miles on the clock I'd guess it worth more than he paid....

[KungFooBob]

What about shit bikes that no one bought?

At one point you could pick up a low miles Yamaha BT1100 (Bulldog) for £1800. They've already gone up a couple of grand.

When there's fuck all of them left in 2035 will someone pay £15k for one?

[Mr. Dazzle]

Despite not actually liking them much, a 916/996/998 special edition of some kind.

Mate of mine has a 998S Final Edition that he purchased new in 2004 and I scoffed at how much he paid for it, now 16 years down the line with 5000 miles on the clock I'd guess it worth more than he paid....

Worth more in absolute or real terms?

I.e. if it was £20k twenty years ago it'd have to be worth £35k to actually have made a return yet. I've honestly not looked, but I doubt old 998s - even really special ones - are worth that?

[JackyJoll]

Despite not actually liking them much, a 916/996/998 special edition of some kind.

Mate of mine has a 998S Final Edition that he purchased new in 2004 and I scoffed at how much he paid for it, now 16 years down the line with 5000 miles on the clock I'd guess it worth more than he paid....

Worth more in absolute or real terms?

I.e. if it was £20k twenty years ago it'd have to be worth £35k to actually have made a return yet. I've honestly not looked, but I doubt old 998s - even really special ones - are worth that?

A similar thread on a previous forum had someone working out that the the shed had gained more value than the collectors’ vehicles in it.

[demographic]

I usually think the other end of the market makes for a classic that more people have misty eyed nostalgia for.
Thats the learner/first bike type.
So historically they would be FS1Es and LCs cos masses of people had them and grew older, had kids then wanted their old toys back as soon as the kids flew the nest.
More modern ones might be Peugeot Speedfights and ER600s? I suppose the bigger bikes have also increased in value (GSXR1100s and FZR100s?) but they've always cost a bit anyway so the value doesn't increase as much.

Also I reckon these things have a life cycle of maybe 20-30 years of large increase followed by a slower increase cos many of the people who want them get grandkids to spend their money on.

Maybe.

[G.P]

Mmm errrm. KTM 950smr.

The 690 supermoto seem to hold value well.

I guess it depends how long were talking and how much profit.
If it's making a grand in 15 years, then let's be honest, it's irrelevant

I don't think there is any road KTM that will be considered a classic except Maybe an RC8R as their only superbike.

Some of their older MX or Enduro bikes might already be really popular for classic off road racing and continue to be.

[weeksy]

Mmm errrm. KTM 950smr.

The 690 supermoto seem to hold value well.

I guess it depends how long were talking and how much profit.
If it's making a grand in 15 years, then let's be honest, it's irrelevant

I don't think there is any road KTM that will be considered a classic except Maybe an RC8R as their only superbike.

Some of their older MX or Enduro bikes might already be really popular for classic off road racing and continue to be.

Tell that to the 950 super enduro.

I nearly bought one for £7000 new in 2008, the last one I saw sold had 19,000 on clocks and went for £8700.

[G.P]

The proper classics like Black Shadows, DB34 BSA's and pre-war bikes are better than money in the bank IMO.

However, my crystal ball.

The continued increase in value of older superbikes like RC30, ZXR750RR, 916SP etc. Yeah, I know you can pay £17k for an RC30....

Ducati 999s seem to be pretty cheap and can only rise in value IMO the 999 won more WSB than any other Ducati and the looks seem to become more tolerated if not loved in time.

70's and 80's Jap trail bikes, although they seem expensive at the moment I reckon are a pretty good buy.
My problem is that I want to ride them, not lock them away.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Mmm errrm. KTM 950smr.

The 690 supermoto seem to hold value well.

I guess it depends how long were talking and how much profit.
If it's making a grand in 15 years, then let's be honest, it's irrelevant

I don't think there is any road KTM that will be considered a classic except Maybe an RC8R as their only superbike.

Some of their older MX or Enduro bikes might already be really popular for classic off road racing and continue to be.

Tell that to the 950 super enduro.

I nearly bought one for £7000 new in 2008, the last one I saw sold had 19,000 on clocks and went for £8700.

7 grand in 2008 is about 9.5 in 2021, so you're still effectively losing money. Pretty shoddy investment!

[weeksy]

I don't think there is any road KTM that will be considered a classic except Maybe an RC8R as their only superbike.

Some of their older MX or Enduro bikes might already be really popular for classic off road racing and continue to be.

Tell that to the 950 super enduro.

I nearly bought one for £7000 new in 2008, the last one I saw sold had 19,000 on clocks and went for £8700.

7 grand in 2008 is about 9.5 in 2021, so you're still effectively losing money. Pretty shoddy investment!

Not if you've had 19,000 miles of fun too

[Mr. Dazzle]

That's just reducing the price of said fun, its not an investment.

[G.P]

I forgot all the limited edition and anniversary model Ducatis.

At the bottom end of that market IanB bought his Superlight in around 2012 for 2k. Its now worth north of £6k.
My standard 900ss I paid 1800 and £2k for in 2014 /2015 and in stanard trim the bike would be £4k each so not bad..

[Skub]

Anything with an internal combustion engine will be a curiosity in 20 years time.

It won't matter to me though.

[mangocrazy]

Ducati 999s seem to be pretty cheap and can only rise in value IMO the 999 won more WSB than any other Ducati and the looks seem to become more tolerated if not loved in time.

There was a time when you couldn't give them away secondhand, but I think that folks have spotted that they are (or were) a bit of a bargain, especially the limited edition R models.

Unless you're talking stuff like Brough Superiors, HRD Vincents and the like, you'll wait a long time to realise any improvement on your investment. I have two personal examples; I bought a brand new 350LC in 1980 at a cost of (ISTR) £1100. It's probably worth around £6000-7000 now if I find the right buyer. So 5-600% profit, but it's taken 40 years. I'll bet the stock market would have given better returns over that period.

The other example is my Ducati 888 SP3, bought secondhand (1400 kms on the clock) in 1992 for an eye-watering £12,500 (new price was close to £15k). Hard to know what it's worth now, but I doubt it's even doubled in value, probably worth a bit under £20k. So over a period of nearly 30 years, that's a very poor investment.