commando price!!!!!!

What I cant figure out is why a triumph bonneville is worth more than a norton commando.(and yes I have restored and ridden both)

MCNS, my theory is the Triumph has far greater name recognition, which translates to some degree into a larger market and from there supply and demand rules take over.

I like Meriden Triumphs myself but everything I've ever heard or understood is to the effect that the Commando in virtually all respects is a superior machine. And with a little fettling, in ALL respects can be.

I think this price is just an aberration, or someone bidding the price up, there are a few more Commandos on E-Bay UK at the moment at the usual price of around 4,000 pounds. There is also a nice Seeley framed Commando although I'm sure it will go for a decent price.

The cost of buying a Commando has not risen significantly in years and they are probably undervalued when compared to what else you can buy for the same money. If you look at the classic car world things have gone up considerably in the same period and in our own sphere the rarer bikes like Vincents, Brough Superiors, Triumph X75 Hurricanes etc. have skyrocketed in price. Hopefully our own preferred model remains affordable when we need to buy one and outrageously expensive when we have one to sell!

IMO the prices of classic bikes seems to be partially because of their 'rarity' (Bonnevilles excluded). There were about 17000 Triumph Tridents produced but only about 6000 Rocket 3s hence Tridents fetch £3500 - £4500 and Rocket 3s £5500 upwards. There were about 1200 X75 Hurricanes thus £12000+ !!. Norton produced circa 55000 Commmandos thus I suppose prices of £3500 upwards is fair by comparison (given that they are one hell of a rideable 'classic').

[/quote]I think this price is just an aberration, or someone bidding the price up,
Yes it would be interesting to know if the buyer pays up. No low mileage Commando that is not absolutely original is worth that unless it maybe had some history as a 'Company' bike for Peter Williams or Dave Croxford. But even then.......

My one-owner MKII is insured for $10,000 US. I supplied the insurance company with a copy of an eBay sale of a similar machine that sold for $10,200 as justification.

My brother bought a '72 Roadster in excellent running condition for $5,000 US a couple years ago. So it all depends on condition, like any other classic vehicle.

The average price for a recent Commando here in Europe is allways around 8500 € to 9000 € AND ITS GOING UP everyday
gosh
you're still lucky in the U.S where u can find a lot of good ones for 6000 to 7000 $
best
Frank

I cannot confirm this high average prices for Germany. Well, if you see adverts you just can read, what the owner wants. But you don't know, what they really get until you are the buyer or give them a ring sometime and ask.
These days a good Commando in Germany reaches 5000 to 6500€, and a low mileage original one, which is a rarity around here will go up to 9000€.
In general I think each bike is worth what someone wants to pay for it.
Nevertheless, I am happy I got mine last month for a (as I find) good price! And she will be ridden!
Any bike which is just bought as an investment should turn out as a pile of junk! In my mind bikes are built to use and not for standing around and earning money.

Cheers, Andy

Like a lot of things in life the price of a Commando is relative. I mean you can't see the rock hard iso's or the dabs of hammerite on a rusted frame or the soft cam lobes on a MK III from a photo onFleabay. The fact that many of these bikes get bought sight unseen for this kind of money is obscene. A good well restored MK III with all the proper mods could easily be worth that kind of money but an unrestored low mileage original bike well thats another story. You see the bits and pieces age even if the bike isn't ridden or abused. The paint dries out the rubber and plastic bits harden and crack. The demon rust worms attack the unprotected metal and corrosion takes it's toll. A proper resto will easily clean your bank account of $5000 and thats assuming your lucky and don't do anything fancy and you do all of the work yourself. The moral of the story is that you've just got to see the bike upclose and if possible ride it to determine its worth. A few years ago I passed up a clean well restored MK II that sold for $4500. I'm still kicking myself on that one!

Scooter

''What I cant figure out is why a triumph bonneville is worth more than a norton commando''

It is only the early 650's that go for good money (the 120?) in Britain from what I can see. There are plenty of T140's for sale around the £2000 mark, and you could use or restore I guess. The bike shop across the road from my office has a 1970's 750 with US bars and tank for £2350.
A Vincent went for a huge sum recently, more than a Brough which some see as a parts bin special (not me)!
I nearly gave up last year and put my Commando in one of the monthlies and I am still getting calls for it after I decided to keep it. Mainly from Europe where the Euro is much stronger than the pound. If commando's go for 6000-7000€ in the Euro zone, £4000 in Britain is a bargain. The more that go abroad only pushes the price up here in the UK.
We were getting a lot of bikes from the US about 10 years ago, again the currency helped us then and I bought an A65 off a dealer for £1200 and it was in good shape, now I expect that would go for £3000.
I just like riding mine now it works! Wish i had bought an interstate rather than the roadster as i am a big bloke but i could always change the tank/seat and panels?
Also, I have never seen a Hesketh in the metal, never mind rode one, any of you out there? Are they any good or were the press right?

Once a vehicle reaches collector status, strange things can happen.

I worked in a restoration shop about 30 years ago, where we specialized in Mustangs, Shelbys and other classic Fords. Around 1980, Mustangs suddenly became very 'hot' and prices skyrocketed. We had customers come into the shop who had paid $20,000 for a 'restored' '66 convertible, and were shocked to learn that the car was unsafe to drive - the frame rails were so rusty. Because these cars were unit construction, a repair like this meant cutting out the rusty bits and welding in new integral frame rails. I remember one customer so upset (he thought we were pulling a fast one on him) he stormed out of the shop and jumped into his car - only to have his seat fall right through to the ground!
After a couple years of wild speculation, prices plummeted and people became much more informed about what was 'correct' or 'incorrect'.

Shelby Mustangs became so valuable, more than one was resurrected by pulling a Mustang apart, installing the Shelby bits, including the VIN plate, and passed off as 'restored'.

I also can't get over the discrepancy between 289 Cobras and Sunbeam Tigers. For decades, Cobras were trading at 10 times the price of a Tiger, yet both were small British sports cars with Ford V8s, and properly tuned, were pretty comparable in performance. Doesn't matter much to me, though, I can't even afford a '66 Mustang, much less a Tiger

Now, when I go to a classic car meet, I can't get over how 'incorrect' many of these early Mustangs are, and how much they're selling for. It seems everybody forgot those lessons of the '80s.

In my mind, the ideal value of a classic vehicle should be a little less than the cost of restoration, if it is 'correct'.

BillT, Since you also live in South Florida you know all too well there are a lot of "collectors" down here that jump on the latest hot collectible shown in the Robb Report or Dupont whatever. These jokers are usually not buying the bike or car or whatever because the truly love or appreciate it, but because it's cool or in theory will go up in value. If they even ride or drive their purchase it's only as a piece of jewelry to show off. "PLEASE LOOK AT ME" is their pitiful cry, please see how cool and hip I am because I have something you don't. Without knowing anything about what they are buying and having more money than brains they usually pay way too much thereby driving the prices up for everyone. Granted a proper restoration done correctly will easily be worth $10 k or more for a Commando, but a lot of the cosmetic restos are bought by the unknowing for that kind of money making the market value a crap shoot. The old rule; Caveat Emptor has been forgotten.

Want some real world numbers? Here's the link to the Daytona auction results: http://www.batorauctions.com/

Scooter

"Black Bikes have more fun"

The difficult part is that what is correct is not always good. If you have a pure show bike that is not ridden (what good is it?) then I suppose it is OK to have a correct head steady about to crack, a correct tail light bracket about to break, a leaking tach drive, etc, etc. As new, these bikes needed a lot of work from Day 1. New Combat Roadster in the USA was $1784 in 1972. My main bearings lasted 4700 miles.

The trick is to keep the soul of the bike but have it work too. Everybody's idea of what this means is different. CNW does a pretty decent job with this concept except for the painted fenders and Corbin seats. (Why why why? ...my opinion... sorry!)

As far as buying I guess we just take our chances and pay market price as determined by eBay. Scary. I still would not buy anything without visiting it and talking directly to the seller first.

The Bonneville was a legend back in the 60s and early 70s. All the guys that wanted one then have money now. Thank Marlon Brando.
When I started riding a Norton in 1966 in New England they were pretty rare, I don't think I saw another one until the early 70s.
The Commando changed that I believe. I must have gotten a decent deal, seems like I paid about $1100 for mine, a bit more because I had to finance it.
A bike would have to be a real steal before I'd buy it unseen. There are cases where I would though. If I was planning on going through everything anyway it would not matter much.
Now that I think about it all I saw of my Chang was pictures until it got here from China.

I found out the hard way that what might seem like a good deal sometimes turns into a constant flow of money to upgrade and fix problems that you can't see. My 71 looked great on ebay but $5000 dollars later and it's still not totally finshed. But after going to bike night at the local hooters last night I can truely say that all the money was well spent. People pass right by $30,000 harleys to see a decent commando. I didn't buy this bike for the investment but if it goes up in value thats good by me.

commando prices

mcmarvelous said:

I just like riding mine now it works! Wish i had bought an interstate rather than the roadster as i am a big bloke but i could always change the tank/seat and panels?

Click to expand...

I would consider swapping my interstate bodywork for your roadster bodywork. If interested pm me.

Steven, It sounds like you have ended up with a nice bike and the satisfaction of getting it up to scratch by your own efforts. To paraphrase Debby consider the purchase price to be merely a down-payment. It's your entry fee for hours of fun and skinned knuckles!

I would consider swapping my interstate bodywork for your roadster bodywork. If interested pm me.

Well chief Deal, i wasn't expecting that!

What colour is the paintwork, condition etc?

I'll have a fresh look at the guys Interstates on Monday week (club night) and mail you again.

Cheers