Harry wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2020 1:31 pm
So if you had the cash in the bank would you buy one?
No.
It will only maintain value if in totally as new condition and no miles. So how frustrating would that be.
It's a different matter if you consider it just disposable cash.
Try an insurance quote too.
Then there is the small matter of world financial melt down, what value will such toys have in a year's time. How many loaves of bread and packets of toilet roll will it be worth next year ?
Nearly three years ago I bought a 1983 CB1100RD - it was mint, had 6200 miles on it, but with dodgy brakes, 2004 dated tyres and had covered minimal miles in the hands of its previous keeper.
Granted it wasn't Desmosedici money but it cost as much as a modern superbike at the time - >£13k - which I found by liquidating some pension monies.
The old girl now has 7700 miles under her wheels and, after sorting basic servicing and the above issues belies her age and, on a private road, will still see the red line in top and indicate 145.
I know that some of the parts are now unobtainable and I dread the day the standard black chrome exhaust system gives up the ghost but I will continue to put 500-750 miles pa for as long as I can.
I'm sure I can get my money back today but, if I couldn't, I've had good value out of those pension monies.
You pays your money and you takes your choice........
Will do, as soon as I can - am on "light duties" at the moment, due to a recent health issue. No lifting, driving, riding bikes for a month but my sons are helping me re-arrange the garage later in the week and I'll post some up then.
I think plenty of bikes will inevitably gain value, I can remember buying air-cooled RD's for a few hundred quid, in 1994, I bought an immaculate 250 LC for £700, it'd be worth about 6 grand now!
I sometime hear of bikes that are bought as new and have never turned a wheel in anger, sod that, they were built to be ridden.
Having seen them when they were new having loads of warranty work and things like £8k carb manifolds I wouldn’t touch one. I agree they won’t depreciate but I can imagine you’ll spend thousands keeping it on the road if you actually use it. A panigale R would be a much better bet. Having ridden a desmosedici too apart from the noise they aren’t that good to ride.
A work colleagues mate has one, he was also friends with someone high up in the works team. He got an ex-Stoner cast off works race exhaust on a good deal. Apparently it's so loud it hurts to follow him (mate has a 996 with a full termi system). At its first MOT it was ridden into the garage compound, everybody came out for a chat and look. The MOT tester did his stuff and it got a years ticket.......
"Of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?"
"My dear Doctor, they're all true."
"Even the lies?"
"Especially the lies."
I know a bloke who has 2 .... they live in a warehouse with all his other rare bikes that he is keeping as investments (4 x NR750's , 20 x RD500LC's for example). Never ridden and drip fed back onto the market so as not to hurt the values
Dave who used to own FWR in London used his as a daily ride and also as a touring bike to GP meetings and track days ..... sadly lost to us in 2010 and i know a fair few from here knew him well
As was sat in traffic on the A64 a few years ago and one filtered past me. So some people do actually ride them rather than just buying them as an investment.
My concern would be parts and servicing, the grease monkey in your local Ducati stealership has probably never seen one.
Yorick wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:41 pm
I saw one crashed at Donington.
As an instructor, I felt it my duty to go have a proper look. Oh, and make sure rider was OK
KungFooBob wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:29 am
I'd rather an RC45 or an SB8R...or both.
I rode an RC45 at Donington once, sublime handling, but the 600s were coming past me down to the Esse's. Even Simon 'tell me how it feels' Crafar had a go and parked it.
They were sold, IIRC, with a 5k miles/3 year full service and warranty package. So servicing and failures were zero cost to the owner. And the engine needs a full rebuild at 5k miles, so the best thing a canny owner could do was smash in the first 5k miles and get the engine rebuild FoC and then lay it up or barely ride it.
I saw one a couple of weeks ago in a Ducati specialist where the owner had done more or less this....
...the problem was it had not been laid up with due consideration to the fact there's an awful lot of magnesium used inside the engine and the cases had basically rotted away and it was pressuring the coolant system within seconds of the engine starting.
The Ducati specialist didn't want to touch it. Apparently there's a specialist is Australia who's got a Desmo in that's done exactly the same and the bill is already over £40k...
I have some money in the bank and wouldn't buy any vehicle with the hope of making money on it.
I did look at it a few years ago just as JDM 250s and 400s were starting to go up in value. It sounded like it could be easy money and a bit of fun but once you factor in storage, insurance, maintenance (eve if you don't use them) and the chance of an accident like me dropping a rake on one, it didn't really make sense.
I do look at very tidy early BMW R1150GS Adventures but that's because I like them and they mean something to me, I wouldn't buy one as an investment.
