WHEELERDEALER
A CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE PROMISES TO BE A FAR MORE INTERESTING PROPOSITION THAN STOCKS AND SHARES WHEN THE WEEKEND ROLLS ROUND FOR SOME INVESTORS, a classic motorcycle has the edge over more traditional funds. If you sink your savings into a machine from the Golden Age of the British motorcycle industry then you don’t just receive [...]
A CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE PROMISES TO BE A FAR MORE INTERESTING PROPOSITION THAN STOCKS AND SHARES WHEN THE WEEKEND ROLLS ROUND
FOR SOME INVESTORS, a classic motorcycle has the edge over more traditional funds.
If you sink your savings into a machine from the Golden Age of the British motorcycle industry then you don’t just receive a share certificate to file away. You take possession of a real, rolling motorcycle – a snapshot of engineering heritage, one that you can fire up and ride. In an ideal world you can take it out to play at the weekends and watch it appreciate in value throughout the year. So does reality live up to that expectation?
“There are some significant gains to be made at the premium end of the market,” says David Hawkins, the motorcycle specialist for auction house H&H. “However, where the potential reward is high then so is the risk.” As with any stocks or shares you need to predict where the market will rise in future, and avoid buying into a model which has already seen solid growth.
A decade ago you could buy an iconic Vincent V-Twin for £15,000, and sell it now for £30,000, but that doesn’t mean that in another 10 years it will be worth £60,000.
“The market for exotic motorcycles is governed by collectors,” explains Hawkins. “So it’s a supply-and-demand situation. Where there are plenty of available machines, like the workaday British bikes of the 1960s, then the prices only inflate very slowly. For the rarer sports machinery and genuine racing motorcycles then you can ride a wave of growing enthusiasm – as with the Manx Norton. These 1950’s machines have really sparked some interest recently, and if you have one with its factory build record, details of where it was raced and its provenance intact, then it might go for £25,000 this year. A clubman’s example of the same model, though, a journeyman machine used all year round and without any special heritage, won’t attract a collector, nor is it of much interest to a classic racer, so its value would be nearer £10,000.”
Just like every other area of investment, the classic motorcycle market fluctuates and adjusts itself to accommodate periods of feast and famine in parallel with consumer confidence and available cash. “There was a big boom at the end of the 1980s,” reveals Hawkins, “which pushed up the price of classic motorcycles across the board. Since then the market has evened out, but it took 10 years to iron out that big bubble.”
The market experienced another mini-bubble in recent times, following the fire at the National Motorcycle Museum in 2003. Some 600 of the 900 motorcycles in the collection were seriously damaged, and these were replaced
throughout 2004 and 2005. This led to some extraordinary one-off rises in the values of unusual machines. While this situation is extremely unlikely to happen again, museums are always interested in “zero miles” machines; those bikes which have somehow survived 30, 40 or even 50 years without ever being ridden.
In general, however, you won’t damage a classic motorcycle’s value by riding it. In fact, you will add to its saleability if you can demonstrate that it is in good working order.
Frank Westworth, author of The British Classic Bike Guide, is particularly attracted to original and unrestored machines: “There are any number of well restored old bikes available at any time but every time a motorcycle is restored, it inevitably loses some of its originality. This makes original and unrestored machines increasingly rare and desirable. Were I personally to invest in classic motorcycles, I would look at unrestored examples of iconic marques: Norton, Matchless, AJS, Triumph and, of course, Vincent and Velocette. There is no future return available from buying, storing and selling workaday machines even if they have been restored to insane levels of shine. As with competition machines, demand for unrestored motorcycles outstrips supply. If you are lucky enough to discover a ‘barn-find’ bike, which hasn’t been altered since it left the factory, then you could devalue it by restoring it.”
“My favourites are the affordable, more recent Italians,” adds Hawkins from H&H Auctions. “But whatever you go for, it is best if you buy a bike which you like – one which you want to enjoy for itself. If owning the bike is a reward in itself then any financial gain will be a bonus.”
throughout 2004 and 2005. This led to some extraordinary one-off rises in the values of unusual machines. While this situation is extremely unlikely to happen again, museums are always interested in “zero miles” machines; those bikes which have somehow survived 30, 40 or even 50 years without ever being ridden.
In general, however, you won’t damage a classic motorcycle’s value by riding it. In fact, you will add to its saleability if you can demonstrate that it is in good working order.
Frank Westworth, author of The British Classic Bike Guide, is particularly attracted to original and unrestored machines: “There are any number of well restored old bikes available at any time but every time a motorcycle is restored, it inevitably loses some of its originality. This makes original and unrestored machines increasingly rare and desirable. Were I personally to invest in classic motorcycles, I would look at unrestored examples of iconic marques: Norton, Matchless, AJS, Triumph and, of course, Vincent and Velocette. There is no future return available from buying, storing and selling workaday machines even if they have been restored to insane levels of shine. As with competition machines, demand for unrestored motorcycles outstrips supply. If you are lucky enough to discover a ‘barn-find’ bike, which hasn’t been altered since it left the factory, then you could devalue it by restoring it.”
“My favourites are the affordable, more recent Italians,” adds Hawkins from H&H Auctions. “But whatever you go for, it is best if you buy a bike which you like – one which you want to enjoy for itself. If owning the bike is a reward in itself then any financial gain will be a bonus.”
WINNERS & LOSERS
Few classic bikes actually decrease in value over the years, but some can fail to keep pace with inflation. Even 10 years ago you might have considered buying any of these machines, and here’s how well they would have performed:
-TRIUMPH HURRICANE Built 1971. Value in 1996: £5,500. Value now: £15,000
-NORTON CLASSIC Built 1989.Value in 1996: £6,750. Value now: £6,000
-NORTON F1 Built 1990. Value in 1996: £8,000. Value now: £15,000
-VINCENT RAPIDE D Value in 1996: £14,950. Value now: £30,000
-TRIUMPH SILVER JUBILEE BONNEVILLE Value in 1996: £5,500. Value now: £5,500
-BSA ROCKET 3 Built 1969. Value in 1996: £2,750. Value now: £3,995
WHEELS OF FORTUNE
-Buy the best you can afford: the cost of a restoration will outstrip any immediate rise in the machine’s value.
-Do your research; join the appropriate marque club and keep in touch with current prices from trade and private ads in enthusiast magazines.
-Avoid semi-complete projects or machines stripped for restoration.
-Seek out motorcycles which have been in one family for several decades and make sure you collect all the paperwork, which forms valuable provenance.
-Stick to machines from your own country. Classic British bikes sell well around the globe but European marques are worth more in their country of origin (so MV Agustas are sought after in Italy while vintage BMWs perform best in Germany). Classic Indian and Harley-Davidson machines sell well in the USA.
-Stick to four-stroke engines. Some two-strokes are desirable but you need expert information to sort wheat from chaff.
-Don’t borrow to buy. You are unlikely to make any profit at all if you’re paying interest on the purchase price. -Avoid small capacity motorcycles. Few of 250cc or less are aspirational so they are inexpensive to buy but their values remain obstinately low.
-Later classics from the 1970s onward are a risky choice. The market is rising but is has been over-hyped and only a very few models will achieve significant gains.
-There is no classic market whatsoever in recent retro-styled bikes such as the Enfield Bullet or Triumph Bonneville. These tribute bikes are modern machines and subject to exactly the same depreciation as every other current model.
-Aim to find a pre-war motorcycle from the late 1930s or early 1940s, ideally with foot gear-change (not hand-change). 350cc and 500cc roadsters from the less flamboyant marques are developing a following with modern riders and their prices are set to rise. Our choice? A 1939 Velocette MAC or a Norton ES2.
Rowena Hoseason writes for RealClassic magazine; www.realclassic.co.uk
CLASSIC CONTACTS
-H&H Auctions: www.classic-auctions.co.uk; 01925 730630
-Andy Tiernan: www.andybuysbikes.com; 01728 724321
-Venture Classics: www..ventureclassics.com; 01460 52355
-The Vintage Motor Cycle Club: www.vmcc.net; 01283 540557
-Bill Little: www.classicbikesuk. com; 01666 860577
-Honoroak Motorcycles: www.honoroakmotorcycles.co.uk; 01754 762927
