My Uncles Barn bike, Value??

Tin Man said:

It's a little late for Christmas, but your uncle's heart would grow larger if he gave it to you.

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Maybe just promise to let him ride it when your done.

:lol: :lol:

gortnipper said:

Tin Man said:

It's a little late for Christmas, but your uncle's heart would grow larger if he gave it to you.

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Maybe just promise to let him ride it when your done.

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Gortnipper is a genius.

Jus' thinking, the OPs question was 'What's the value?"...

Well... put it on ebay, with a reserve of $20,000 so it will not be met and start it at 99 cents.

Whatever figure the bidding reaches... is its value totally impartial, and as defined by 'the market'.

Simples!

It is cheaper to buy it done than to do it. The only rub is you have to know whether or not
the job was done right or the bike is a real original peach.

Welcome to the forum, we absolutely dribble with opinion.
Uncle you say?
He is either quite distant or acting in your best interest. I wager the latter.
Sadly, by the time you finish there won't be much, if any of the family relic left untouched.
"This is Uncle Ben's old Norton, the front valve stem cap and the left seat knob are original "
Anything can be done, it's only a matter of time, money and motivation.
If you really, really want a Norton why not take your dad's off his hands. He's likely to be far more accommodating what with being your dad and all.
For those cold days I think the fairing is dead on.
Market conditions will have bearing on value, rarity alone won't turn coal into diamonds though.
Keep in mind they weren't parked and forgotten about without good reasons.
There wasn't even enough love to cover them over with a piece of corrugated.
$2500 for both if buying (that's not an offer). There's an ass for every seat if selling.
I'm not in your position so my opinion is worth what you paid me for it.
I do like that fairing.
All the best.

eskasteve said:

Based on personal experience with a barn find '72 I'd pass on it. Even if you got it for free, which doesn't seem to be the case, expect to spend at least $8000 to get it up and running and also looking good. Norton parts are not cheap. Expect to have to do a complete engine and transmission rebuild, plus the isolastics are going to be shot. Paint, new tank or line the glass one if it's still serviceable, wiring and ignition are probably toast, all that polishing, plus chroming has gotten so pricy that just purchasing new parts is a viable alternative. New chromed parts from Europe have probably been chromed elsewhere since chroming has all but been banned in Europe. Quality has plummeted. Rusted swing arm pivot pin, rusted shocks and fork tubes, front brake will need to be rebuilt.... on and on. As most folks have advised your money could be spent much wiser. That all said value is probably around $1000.

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When I restored my 70 Roadster the chrome cost me the better part of $1000. Having the timing cover and primary polished can cost around $200, vapor blasting the head, cases and cylinder I would guess around $125 to $150. Even the little things cost lots of money.
I used to work for a very large municipality are the parts for a KZ 1000 police bike were far more expensive than the equivalent parts for a Norton. Think real hard before you pull the trigger on the deal.
The last bike that I worked on that wasn't mine didn't go well. At first he wanted it "completely" restored, then it was get it running, then it was I can't afford this anymore.

John in Texas

To become a millionaire restoring old Nortons, start with two million.

A matching frame/engine/gearbox numbers original Combat registered and titled bike has some true value out there.

It would be a real shame to see it parted out, as probably the separated parts are worth more than the total.

If he thinks it is so valuable, why wouldn't your uncle want to restore it himself and ride with his brother?

Alternativley, why wouldn't he let you restore it for him and pay you for the parts?

Then he gets to ride out with his brother, your dad, and since we assume he has some decency since he bought a Commando once, he lets you ride out with your dad as well.....

Which is more important to you here, ownership?, or doing the restoration and seeing it run?

It's amazing how inexpensive old beaters pop up when you're broke; then when you have play money, the prices are thru the roof...

You guys talking the price down to a grand, IF IT WERE YOURS, would you REALLY sell it for a grand? I thought not.

grandpaul said:

It's amazing how inexpensive old beaters pop up when you're broke; then when you have play money, the prices are thru the roof...

You guys talking the price down to a grand, IF IT WERE YOURS, would you REALLY sell it for a grand? I thought not.

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NO,... Most of US would spend another $5,000. in parts and machine work, then add $3,000. worth of OUR labor time to end up with a really nice norton that was mechanically reliable, average paint, and now worth about $7,000. for a net loss of $2,000. from a valuation point of view. The reason most of us would do the restoration at a loss is because we value riding our nortons more than we value owing some valuable "object".

The guy's Uncle thinks it's an object of value well over $5,000. but he doesn't understand that it costs more money than that to make the bike worth anything at all.

YOU see the value in the bike because you would be all over it because it's a "complete" bike. YOU would make it into a "runner" for much less money than a full restoration, then see if there's any money left in it to either finish it to sell "completely restored", flip it as a "runner", or sell your 401K and have yet another bike in your stable.

If we're talking family, Uncle cheapskate should GIFT the bike that HE let turn to SHIT to his nephew, because HE let the value slip to a shadow of it's potential. If we're talking respecting your uncle and paying him something for his roached bike, offer him $1,000. because you love him, but don't give him more than $1,500. because HE neglected to maintain HIS bike so it lost a lot of value...

Using the greedy Uncle calculation method, my bike is worth $20,000....

I paid $3000 for this similar badly stored '72 Combat Roadster a year and a half ago. The general consensus on here was that price was a little high, but it wasn't known it was a matching number Combat at the time. I'm very happy I got it, but I'm also purposely not keeping a tab on what's being spent on it as the rebuild progresses. Labor of love kind of thing.
Bill

grandpaul said:

It's amazing how inexpensive old beaters pop up when you're broke; then when you have play money, the prices are thru the roof...

You guys talking the price down to a grand, IF IT WERE YOURS, would you REALLY sell it for a grand? I thought not.

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If it were mine it wouldn't have been allowed to fall into such a state of neglect and disrepair. Both the uncle and the dad need to spend some time in the bad boy corner.

Hi,

You will spend every penny of $8000 USD restoring that Combat once you start. The memories you make with your father restoring the bike, and the Norton friends you will make during the process will be priceless.

Have your uncle sell it to you for 1 dollar, with a promise that you will never sell it, and give your uncle access to it to ride with your dad.

I would also keep a few “No Reserve” Norton Ebay listings in my watch list to soften your uncle up with a reality check first

Gatsby

Restoring to what ? Museum Quality ?

I don't care what is mechanically wrong with that bike,
I could make it into a respectable rider for a whole lot less than 8K.

Mark said:

Restoring to what ? Museum Quality ?

I don't care what is mechanically wrong with that bike,
I could make it into a respectable rider for a whole lot less than 8K.

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Totally agree ,if you restore it back to factory condition would you ride it ? Personally I'm not a lover of restored bikes I don't go to many shows I just got sick of rows of bikes that look the same never get ridden etc ,far more interesting to chat with someone in the car park with a bike covered in road dirt but each to their own, the difference with this is the family connection I hope he gives you the bike and I hope you re build it with your dad and ride it they really are great bikes to ride ,this site is invaluable if you are going to re build it, don't be afraid to ask dumb questions on here you may get an occasional snide remark but all in all very helpful , good luck with it if you do go ahead

If we're talking family, Uncle cheapskate should GIFT the bike that HE let turn to SHIT to his nephew, because HE let the value slip to a shadow of it's potential. If we're talking respecting your uncle and paying him something for his roached bike, offer him $1,000. because you love him, but don't give him more than $1,500. because HE neglected to maintain HIS bike so it lost a lot of value...

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yes!

Print a copy of this thread and hand it to your uncle.

Let's forget about money for a minute and think family history. Ask your Uncle to will it to you when that inevitable moment comes. If he says yes , I'd like you to own it ,then have a pen and paper handy in your pocket. In the other pocket have a full can of WD 40 to spray all over the rust heap ,then leave the garage but fast. :roll:

I agree with Gatsby. Present your uncle with pictures of current listings of Nortons and their prices. Then a few estimates of rebuilding and parts. See if he will just give it to you as long as it stays in the family. The smart way to go if you really want a Norton is to buy one already gone through and ready to ride...you will at least be getting a few hundred hours in free labor. There are 2 truisms when restoring a vehicle..."It will take far longer than you ever imagined" and "It will cost far more than you ever imagined"...be willing to accept this if you wander into this project.
If you go ahead with it and your uncle gifts it to you, I would make it a really good runner and not worry at all about restoration...You will shave many hours and many $$ off the project.