Commando prices...

Time spent maintaining your Norton is not wasted... It is an investment in the future. ie; It won't be PO'd and leave you perched on the side of the road. Remember you're keeping your value up so buyers offer the big bucks for it. Can't you hear them beating the door down with a fistful of cash quarreling over it.

Fast Eddie said:

There has been a few very nice Commandos advertised on here, and eBay, in the USA that haven’t sold. Some max out with low bids on eBay, some receive no serious bites, etc.

Has the market dipped in the US recently?

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You can go back to the start anytime.

Access Norton and eBay (Neither are the centre of the Norton world) are far removed from the real world, if they don't sell here or there the right person never saw the advertisement.

Prices have been high for years as the price to restore one rose and as per usual a well done bike will sell for less that what it cost to build, prices are pushed just like houses, just as prices can rebound on occasion.
I have seen plenty of good bikes even here where the seller did not have the initiative to put time (short but precise with clear pictures) into the advertisement so got back what they put in.
Plain and simple unless at a near giveaway asking price.

I spent $6,500 in parts and paint job to build my bike 2 years labor I reckon is 'free' since it SuperBitsa but used best stuff I could source I am done with derelict machines following me home

I always just looked at my Nortons as an investment -in my sanity.

They will never bring me, in money, the value of the enjoyment they have given me for the past 50 years.

There, is that back on track.

Commando prices will always rise and fall on spot markets and seasonally; but with global economic influences and general inflation as a given (barring world war or worldwide catastrophe) they will GENERALLY rise.

comnoz said:

I always just looked at my Nortons as an investment -in my sanity.

They will never bring me, in money, the value of the enjoyment they have given me for the past 50 years.

There, is that back on track.

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Well put!

I like working on my British and German classics as much as riding them. When I get one of my "builds" to where it is broken-in and fully sorted to the point where I can offer a prospective buyer a limited warranty I let it be known that it could be for sale to someone cool enough to own it. I always lose money on these sales, but always come out ahead when I consider how much enjoyment I got out of doing the work.

I don't have the in-house machining capability as some of you do; I could never justify purchasing such when there are individuals out there with the equipment and can give me what we agree to in a V 1.0 setting. I have developed relationships with INDIVIDUALS that could be classified as being part of "cottage industry". When I bring parts to these people the setting is as much social as it is technically. When we shake hands on parting we both have the same expectations for the finished result(s).

If you are looking for an excellent book on the subject of how important working with your hands is to mental and physical well being read: Matthew B. Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft".

I've know for may years that I am P+, the virus that causes the infected to push for greater levels of Perfection. Many of you have this disease; noticeable in your posts, and you know it. You can get some temporary relief by watching the news on TV or by carefully administering chemotherapy in the form of imbibing your favorite premium distilled libation, which should always be taken neat; no longer an option for my liver...

Best

This thread started question of Commando prices; it has meandered into other territory with me being as guilty as any...So here's the opportunity to help my customer get a "qualified" and focused idea of what his 1974 Commando 850 Roadster might be worth on the market today. This is a one owner with clear MA title, having 15,300 miles. There is evidence that the cases have been split and the machine would like a wiring harness, although everything works. With the exception of the single Mikuni and the drilled brake rotor everything is stock, including points ignition. Runs well, rides well. So what do you think is a good shake hands price for this?

Road Scholar sez
"When I get one of my "builds" to where it is broken-in and fully sorted to the point where I can offer a prospective buyer a limited warranty I let it be known that it could be for sale to someone cool enough to own it. I always lose money on these sales, but always come out ahead when I consider how much enjoyment I got out of doing the work".

This pretty much says what a Commando is worth. Especially the "cool enough to own it" part.

6 to 7K?

About 6.5-7.3 US without the ape hangers. It is a very clean and apparently well stored bike.

Agreed getting rid of the apehangers and sissy bar would be a good investment.

Just noticed sissy bar.... Dumping those items is a plus for sale I believe to sort of folks interested in this type of scoot.

RoadScholar said:

This thread started question of Commando prices; it has meandered into other territory with me being as guilty as any...So here's the opportunity to help my customer get a "qualified" and focused idea of what his 1974 Commando 850 Roadster might be worth on the market today. This is a one owner with clear MA title, having 15,300 miles. There is evidence that the cases have been split and the machine would like a wiring harness, although everything works. With the exception of the single Mikuni and the drilled brake rotor everything is stock, including points ignition. Runs well, rides well. So what do you think is a good shake hands price for this?

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That all depends if..

The “did you bring cash? A plate/trailer?” I need room for my next project price?

Or... “drop off your cool kid resume, I’ll be reviewing them next Saturday. I’ll notify the lucky contestant in person at the unveiling cotillion” price?

Concours wrote:

"That all depends if..

The “did you bring cash? A plate/trailer?” I need room for my next project price?

Or... “drop off your cool kid resume, I’ll be reviewing them next Saturday. I’ll notify the lucky contestant in person at the unveiling cotillion” price?"

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti would not sell his up-scale autos without a weekend visit by the prospective buyer; he, out of hand, refused to sell a Royale to Hitler (read the "7th Royale"). During the weekend Ettore would decide if the buyer was a match for the Bugatti he wanted.

As I do not need to sell anything, I am picky, to a degree, about who I sell to. It is important to me that the buyer's expectations are on par with what I deliver. I had a buyer in France for my red '72 Combat, he was willing to meet my price and after speaking (Skype) I felt comfortable with the sale. He wrote me and asked if I could add an electric starter, he'd pay; no problem. Next he wanted different bars, again no problem. The last request was to change the color, it was also the last exchange.

I have had the usual Nigerian inquiries, and the low ballers and the shoppers, easy to screen out; I spent 35 years recruiting executives and upper end individuals for various Hi-Tech companies; It's always better if I can make eye contact, but I know tones, hesitations, avoidance tactics...

When I get to the "close" I'm happy to take a personal check on a handshake.