Sad

[ROBOB100S]

Well, I made it to the outskirts of Portland to see the barn queen.
IÔÇÖm not sure if I was sad at the shape the bike was in, or sad at the fact that it's
over my head, and it would take years to get her down the road.
Some of the low lights.
Gas was sludge in the bottom of the tank, the petcocks open to reserve.
The kick starter would not engage.
Front fender and support hit.
The oil looked like a mocha.
Rust everywhere, had sat outside on the Oregon coast.
Seat full of pin holds.
Head light and bucket hanging open.
chrome side panel dented.
He was firm on the fair price of $2000. I offered $1200. I hope that the bike ends in hands of the right person. At 17000 miles, and it really looks like that was good number, one owner. Someone will bring her back. Robert

 

[535IS]

I think you were too generous ...

 

[bikerfish1100]

yeah, with an offer of $1200, i'd be hoping i never hear back from the owner. some things you just have to say "no" to. this looks to be one of them.

 

[Rinty]

The sadness is from the thing not being anywhere near what you had fantasized it might be.

And barn finds are the eternal fantasy. Tom Cotter even wrote two books on the topic: "The Cobra in the Barn", and "The Hemi in the Barn."

But you might feel better in knowing that even Matt Parkhouse probably wouldn't want it, at any price.

Rinty

 

[NEALART]

Look on the bright side - you were smart enough to walk away!

Also, you still have the fantasy of the potentiality of discovery.

If you bought that bike it would be like the old joke about how you have the ax George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree.

You had to replace the handle...and later on you had to replace the head...but it takes up the space in the universe of the ax that George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree.

Now, let's pause while everybody explains that George Washington never actually chopped down a cherry tree.

 

[crazydrummerdude]

Were the sellers initials W D? I think I might know that bike.

 

[beemerguru]

I'm doing a complete rebuild on an '83 that was in similar shape. Original estimate was $6K. Halfway done. Asked him why..it's for sentimental reasons..other than that no way to cost justify.

 

[HankPfister]

RobBob,
That guy is nuts! I'm sure the bike holds lots of sentimental value to him, but geeze, $2000??? He has no clue what needs to be done. The old /5 would be worth putting back on the road, but its gonna take a huge investment. Even doing a lot of the grunt work, you are looking at $3000 to $4000 for a minimal resurection. Tranny needs going thru. Engine too, at least the top end. Carbs completely taken apart, gas tank boiled out. ...etc...... $500 max for the bike.
I'm in the middle of a frame up /5 project, a barn queen find also. I'm doing much of the work, but farmed out technical stuff like engine, tranny, and bearings (swing arm, steering head, wheels), and paint. I haven't totaled my costs, but I'm sure I'm close to if not over $4000. It has been a fun project. And will definatly be worth it for me, when its done. Especially since I'm doing so much myself. I'm not a great mechanic, but with a couple of manuals, and taking my time, its going well. If you feel up to a project, I'd go back and talk some sense into the seller. Get some figures on tranny and engine work (2 to 3000 dollars), paint, etc.
I have a thread up on my Barn Queen project:
http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=22579

 

[47512]

Over the past 30 years I have restored many motorcycles of diferent brands, Several fresh barn finds, some good most not so good. I restored a R60 awhile back for a guy, It did not run, and was in sad shape, He did not say what he paid for it. But It was mostly there. I asked do you want a rider? or a show piece? To make a long story short he ended up with a $10,000 bill, It came out very nice and he was quite happy, it's possible he might be able to get back what he's got into it. He probbaly could have found a nice running /2 for less and been money ahead. Europen motorcycles can be expensive to return to running condition, BMW's can be near the top of the list. Sometimes you just have to walk away.

Ken G.

 

[ROBOB100S]

Thanks guys

Thanks for the heads up, and the good advice.
I will always to be looking, for her,
just around the corner.....Rob

 

[lonelobo]

Good on Ya!

You did the right thing. I can tell you this from the perspective of someone who probably did not do the right thing concerning the delusional Previous Owner of my current project bike. I've only doubled my investment in the bike in parts and may or may not feel vindicated.....if I get it started. After all, a day on the side of the road with a Beemer is better than a week on the road in a cage. Fish when appropriate! YMMV

 

[osbornk]

Fixing this bike would be a financial disaster if the bike were free. If you want to restore it for the personal satisfaction of the challenge and money is no object, it would be a good project. Having been there and done it with cars, the best way to have a nice restored older vehicle is to buy one that is already done. It's cheaper but not as satisfying.

Ken

 

[barryg]

Barn finds

I had posted this web site earlier, so U may have already seen it. It's a good site on barn type finds for an eclectic collection of bikes brought back to life by my friend Peter Guldan. It starts with a Red Vincent Rapide. At the bottom of the site he gets to his other bikes in the collection, which includes a couple of 60's BMW's and a sidecar, Indians, and Harley's. It shows that with patience and persistence barn finds can be brought back. He rides his bikes when completed and are not just show pieces to be looked at. U might find this site enertaining and informative. I get the chance to see him and his bikes quite often when he's out riding on weekends and he's quite intertaining discussing the finding and the restoring of his bikes.

 

[barryg]

Peter's web site. sorry. http://www.patwilliamsracing.com/vincent/

 

[108625]

I had posted this web site earlier, so U may have already seen it. It's a good site on barn type finds for an eclectic collection of bikes brought back to life by my friend Peter Guldan. It starts with a Red Vincent Rapide. At the bottom of the site he gets to his other bikes in the collection, which includes a couple of 60's BMW's and a sidecar, Indians, and Harley's. It shows that with patience and persistence barn finds can be brought back. He rides his bikes when completed and are not just show pieces to be looked at. U might find this site enertaining and informative. I get the chance to see him and his bikes quite often when he's out riding on weekends and he's quite intertaining discussing the finding and the restoring of his bikes.

Brings to mind to very entertaining books by Road & Track's Tom Cotter:
"The Cobra in the barn", and "The Hemi in the barn".
Yes, they're about cars instead of bikes, but the collected stories are fascinating.

Bob

 

[barryg]

2 wheels,4 wheels; same thing. I'm basically a bike guy, but I had the oppurtunity to be on a vintage car racing team for 10 years. Got the good fortune to help bring back to life quite a few unique historical cars, some of them vintage race and rally cars. They came to the shop in all kinds of conditions; sometimes I was the one sent to retreive them. Then got the chance to take them to races and rallies and drive some of them in vintage races and rallies. Also had the good fortune to inherit a collection of bike and scooters from a deceased friend. It was quite exciting pulling/dragging those bikes and scooters out of an old storage facility in downtown Memphis. I like Peter's site because of the variety of bikes he's tackled. Barry