Hypothetical bike
- Thread starter red baron
- Start date
- Tags bike hypothetical
Most people build custom motored projects just because they want to and because they can but these custom projects usually are worth less than you have in them. Imagine replacing all the parts on your car with parts you bought at the parts store you would have a lot in your car but nobody would buy it from you for the amount you have in it 
I wonder if their is a financial advisor somewhere that builds minibikes :blink:
I wonder if their is a financial advisor somewhere that builds minibikes :blink:
Well...that was an answer. Or did you prefer and exact amount price on a bike you didn't even bother to mention the name or brand or even take the time to post a picture because you were too lazy. This forum has the "no values given" rule for people like you. If you wanna know a value or need to get money out of something...get another hobby. This one is full of many losses and very few gains when you are truly a collector or really here for the hobby. I never bother adding up the amount I spend on builds...honestly I don't care. Cause at the end of the day it is mine and won't be leaving anyways. And as far as the Craigslist adds and Ebay making fun of stuff...ya that is just a bunch of idiots who think they can get rich from mini bikes while driving up the prices. And the fact I have been collecting these things for over 35 years..yes they make me chuckle...and they deserve to be made fun of. So if you wanna quote someone or call them a troll...you better actually know something or at least know more than them. So far I seen neither from your posts.
Ok...very simple. If you plan on keeping it and riding it...then 700 is not bad. If you plan on some day selling it...you probably won't get that money back out of it. You may get most....but not usually. Now if you part it out after you have your fun with it....you will normally make more money than selling as a whole.
Hey Red Baron,
I see you are new here for a month. Welcome to the forum. It's always good to see new people. Sometimes we tend to chase some of them away. Please consider staying and spending some time. There are some amazing people here. You will learn volumes!
As far as your hypothetical bike, You will most likely lose money. If you took a reasonably popular vintage bike and restored it back to factory, well you can probably make your money back and then some. Custom bikes don't usually bring your investment back. Having said all of that, if it's for the kids then my opinion (which isn't worth anything) the investment is worth it. If you just want to have some fun and come out whole, mmmmm,,,,,probably not. The old saying "If you want to dance, you gotta pay the band" is invoked lol!
Again, welcome to the show.
Doc
I see you are new here for a month. Welcome to the forum. It's always good to see new people. Sometimes we tend to chase some of them away. Please consider staying and spending some time. There are some amazing people here. You will learn volumes!
As far as your hypothetical bike, You will most likely lose money. If you took a reasonably popular vintage bike and restored it back to factory, well you can probably make your money back and then some. Custom bikes don't usually bring your investment back. Having said all of that, if it's for the kids then my opinion (which isn't worth anything) the investment is worth it. If you just want to have some fun and come out whole, mmmmm,,,,,probably not. The old saying "If you want to dance, you gotta pay the band" is invoked lol!
Again, welcome to the show.
Doc
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At what point did I say "fishing" in my initial response? The response was..."not even in the same ballpark" So being so eager to call someone out for calling someone out for fishing...you quoted the wrong guy. Feel free to apologize at any point. And as far as "bitch"...that was a meme off the internet...and was quoted to a friend in a general response to what he said. Wow you maybe should pay attention.
I think I answered your question without being a smart ass. It does all depend on how much you spend. If you put cheap grips, cheap chain, cheap tires, cheap seat, slap a basic Predator engine on it, etc, etc, etc, then no it won't be worth $700. But if you buy a quality seat from Karen, put an amazing paint job on the frame, cool tires, build up the Predator engine with some good hop ups, add a chrome clutch guard, chrome fenders, etc, etc, etc then sure you could possibly get $700 for a bike like that. So to answer your question you aren't going to sell a bike you spent $200 on for $700 but you will most likely sell a bike you spent $1000 on for $700.
Tom you weren't a wise guy, it's all good. The reason the money is an issue is the fun of it for me is the build. I don't hang onto many of my completed projects because I generally I need to sell the project to fund the next. I lost my shirt on the last project I did and it takes me a long time to re coup play money. I can't seem to get a handle on what has value and what doesn't so I made this post.
Thank you for your help it's good advise
Thank you for your help it's good advise
Red, unless you are doing show quality restorations you will probably lose your shirt every time. I stopped counting at $1100(and that wasn't every thing I spent) when I rebuilt my Wards T555 trike :doah: I traded it roller for roller for a bike I really wanted and I haven't even kept track of what I have spent on it :thumbsup: I have come to realize that I need to only get bikes I want to keep, restore/redo them as I have the money to do it and I never plan on getting back what I have into them :doah:
Building and restoring a minibike is just like building and restoring a car. You'll have twice the money in it then it is worth when done.
Parting it out as has been mentioned will most times net you more money. Sad but true. The crowd that pays high dollars for restored and completed minibikes is a very, very small crowd. Good luck finding them...
What is amazing is people will pay a lot for a minibike that needs a lot of work. Yet they won't pay much at all for a restored one. They want to do the work and pour buckets of money into it themselves. Kinda like what I do...
Danford1
Parting it out as has been mentioned will most times net you more money. Sad but true. The crowd that pays high dollars for restored and completed minibikes is a very, very small crowd. Good luck finding them...
What is amazing is people will pay a lot for a minibike that needs a lot of work. Yet they won't pay much at all for a restored one. They want to do the work and pour buckets of money into it themselves. Kinda like what I do...
Danford1
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If funding needs to come from your current project to finance the next one, choose something other than minibikes. In fact, choose a hooby other than restoration. It's not that it can't be done. It's just that it doesn't happen with regularity.
As others have stated, whether it's cars, motorcycles, classic tractors or minibikes, you will most likely have way more money in them than you can recover.
I make money on used cars. I rebuild transmissions (used to have a shop), so I watch craigslist and Facebook Market for deals on vehicles with smoked transmissions. I have to pass up on 99% of them because the owners want too much, or the repairs will exceed the value of the car. On occasion, though, I find a good deal and grab it. I don't make a killing. Sometimes I even take a beating...but I did have a car to drive for a while.
The problem with minibikes is that even if you got them for free, by the time you got done restoring it, you're likely to be in the hole. for most of us, it's a labor of love.
My 2 cents.
Joe
As others have stated, whether it's cars, motorcycles, classic tractors or minibikes, you will most likely have way more money in them than you can recover.
I make money on used cars. I rebuild transmissions (used to have a shop), so I watch craigslist and Facebook Market for deals on vehicles with smoked transmissions. I have to pass up on 99% of them because the owners want too much, or the repairs will exceed the value of the car. On occasion, though, I find a good deal and grab it. I don't make a killing. Sometimes I even take a beating...but I did have a car to drive for a while.
The problem with minibikes is that even if you got them for free, by the time you got done restoring it, you're likely to be in the hole. for most of us, it's a labor of love.
My 2 cents.
Joe