Here in the UK I can get classic bike insurance on my 86 8v K100RS ! even though it's an everyday workhorse & generally bikes over 15 years old now qualify for that status.
I think that it's up to the individual to decide what they think is classic & what they want to ride. My personal view is that I want low production run 'sports bikes' not tourers or commuters in the garage. EG R69 & 69S rather than R50 or R60.
Peter
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25 years makes a classic... or is it just used?
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Darryl.Richman
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25 years makes a classic... or is it just used?
Good point. What will it feel like in only another 4 years when the first K100s become Classics? 
--Darryl Richman
25 years makes a classic... or is it just used?
The fact that the G/S bikes are now entering the Classic era made me think of an exchange I had recently.
A friend managed to get a great deal on a 1928 R62 motor, transmission, and gas tank. It seemed a bit strange to get just those pieces, and the photo he sent showed a driveshaft with something odd about the back end of it.
Turns out that he got it from an estate sale. The former owner had bought the complete R62 in the 1950s, and used the drivetrain to power a boat of some sort. He threw the rest of the stuff away.
"Threw it away?!" I exclaimed. My friend looked at me a bit puzzled. "Well, yeah. It was only 25 years old then, and just a used bike."
I have to admit that that thought hadn't occured to me, and yet, my first "classic" bike -- well, that may be stretching things just a bit -- was a 20 year old Montgomery Wards Riverside (made by Benelli in Italy). I got it for almost nothing, and that's about what I thought it was worth. I gave it away to a friend, but by the time I was able to find the title to sign over, he had given it to a friend of his!
A couple years ago I was perusing eBay, and what should I find being listed, but a similar Wards Riverside! And the seller had a $500 initial bid on it! I couldn't believe it, what a piece of junk. Who would buy that, at that price? But I watched the auction out of morbid curiousity. Not only did the seller get his $500 openning bid, but it eventually sold for over $1100. I was in shock.
The moral of the story for me is that the difference between a classic and old junk is in the eye of the beholder, and that eye's perception changes over time!
A friend managed to get a great deal on a 1928 R62 motor, transmission, and gas tank. It seemed a bit strange to get just those pieces, and the photo he sent showed a driveshaft with something odd about the back end of it.
Turns out that he got it from an estate sale. The former owner had bought the complete R62 in the 1950s, and used the drivetrain to power a boat of some sort. He threw the rest of the stuff away.
"Threw it away?!" I exclaimed. My friend looked at me a bit puzzled. "Well, yeah. It was only 25 years old then, and just a used bike."
I have to admit that that thought hadn't occured to me, and yet, my first "classic" bike -- well, that may be stretching things just a bit -- was a 20 year old Montgomery Wards Riverside (made by Benelli in Italy). I got it for almost nothing, and that's about what I thought it was worth. I gave it away to a friend, but by the time I was able to find the title to sign over, he had given it to a friend of his!
A couple years ago I was perusing eBay, and what should I find being listed, but a similar Wards Riverside! And the seller had a $500 initial bid on it! I couldn't believe it, what a piece of junk. Who would buy that, at that price? But I watched the auction out of morbid curiousity. Not only did the seller get his $500 openning bid, but it eventually sold for over $1100. I was in shock.
The moral of the story for me is that the difference between a classic and old junk is in the eye of the beholder, and that eye's perception changes over time!
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