Yep, because by the time the Triumph hits the scene the Castrol will be getting up in miles. Obviously I'll then have the problem to choose a regular ride and the cycle will start all over again. The VTR was to be my regular ride, but I got so engrossed in the V-twin which led to the RSV etc, etc . . .
No way. It would be just my luck I'd be snapping lugs of the fairings left, right, and centre. I'd propose a price with and without OEM fairings included, BUT this is miles away. There is no definitive info available about the Daytona. Given the time of year now, I reckon they'd hold back for a 2019 release with all the NEC, EICMA, and pre-season hoo ha.
@nigelrb I have a solution for your bike storage woes. Simply crate them up, ship them to me and I will store them in my den, which is massive and empty save for some furniture and a bar. I could seriously fit 50 bikes in this room. I'm willing to give up this part of the house for you. You're welcome.
@Spygoat do you think there’s a limit on discounted BMW’s you can get? Sounds like you’ve loads of room - no need to sell your repsol at all
I spoke to a pal of mine who is a honda dealer about just this. He said that the blade is just too common and too reliable a bike to become collectible in his opinion. Will hold value at the bottom until ice s become defunct was his opinion, but little more. He thinks that a lot of "collectable" cars and bikes will end up leaving a hole in your wallet as ice are gradually squeezed out, and only the rare exotica will appreciate. That's what he said fwiw.
'Forecasting' future values of bikes is not a science - it is merely speculation given a set of current facts and past history. Today's Blades (post 2004) are common. The 900 series of Tadao Baba are now 'collectables' by virtue of their being discontinued and the fact that few 'mint' examples remain. This gives the effect of raising prices on the remaining good ones. A perfect 900, 918, 929, or 954 is now worth more than its original list price. For example, a 1992 FireBlade had a list price of £7390. Today, on ebay, a 22,000-plus mile example of that bike is offered for sale for £7495: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283269713289 Sure, this is a dealer price, but an accurate reflection of market pricing. The 2004 Blade was a new step in the Blade's direction, and whilst 'collectable' as the first of the 1000cc bikes, it has nowhere near the cash retention of the 900 series. The 2004 might never be sought after because of the volume by which they were sold. However, like most bikes, those maintained in good condition with low miles will hold their value (excluding insurance and tax costs) perhaps at the same rate as paltry bank interest rates. Interestingly, the Ariel Square Four was once 'too common' and questioningly reliable. In 1952 it cost £652. Today, on ebay they range from £13K to £35K : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1931-Ari...659150?hash=item1ed93ccc0e:g:aq0AAOSwIhxZZ5gx (I have posted this link before.) Quite often it is the interest factor or limited production (especially with numbered yokes) that makes a bike collectable. Then there is the 'attrition' of the range - and here we can refer to current Blades. After thousand have been smashed, thrashed to death, and destroyed in divorce proceedings, the remainder will become collectable - because everyone wants a piece of history. So @Flatty , welcome to the forum!! This, of course, is merely my opinion as a Honda devotee. But I would relish the opportunity to be introduced to your dealer friend, because I now know that should he receive an early Blade as a part-exchange, I would be assured of purchasing it at the 'bottom value'. Would be a win/win for us both!
I agree with Nigel on all of this. All depends on your time horizon. Right now a nice 2004-2007 bike will hover around the £4-5k mark. Same in a couple of years. But go 10 years down the line (legislation permitting) and you might find it’s worth £6-7k. 40 years down the line, should it remain in identical condition to how it is now - who knows? £20-40k? (assuming no inflation) You have to wait long enough for the numbers to dwindle. The blade is an iconic bike and in 40 years there won’t be such a distinction between a 2002 and a 2006...
Sorry bud, I just bought it, however, you to an extent agree. Its only the rare ones which appreciate, and even at that they need to be well-maintained. The problem with the stock blades, is that age in itself does not make them rare or collectable. The elephant in the room for me at least, is the likely slow but inexorable death of the ice, which nobody takes into account, but itll happen slowly but surely (it'll actually accelerate imho) There will always be a demand for exotica, but a standard blade may well never be rare enough. Old cars and bikes are selling for a lot of money in part due to poor returns elsewhere, in part due to the absence of cgt on them, in part because money is unprecedentedly cheap, and in part because its trendy. Its a perfect storm, which the genuinely special stuff will weather, but which will leave some folk getting burned. Getting burned bothers me not a jot. I have a couple of classic cars which on the surface look like stellar investments, but they are not for sale, and when the cost of keeping them pristine is factored in, they more than break even, but only just.
Fair point. The government moves mountains to plug holes that allow the mere 'man in the street' to profit or even keep pace with inflation when he sells an asset. And then there is 'death duties'.
cant see a 2004 ever going for 7g, when its took 36 years for a 92 plate to reach 7.5g in a dealership
The thing is when the odd dealer offers a 92 Blade for £7.5k it means nothing and you could point at them as being greedy, however when that dealer has quite a few of them at a similar price and others then price theirs accordingly then the used market comes up too and starts to reflect the same. One of the lads on the 900RR forum the other week was asking £5500 for a 30k white and purple one. It sold last week. The guy who purchased it sold a restored Urban Blade in the last year for near the same money and there are quite a few Urban Blades about around the £5-£6.5k mark. Less than 6 months ago I was watching a 94 White and purple one for £3.5k. Go figure. Then again, I sold a 28 year old clean sympathetically restored CBR1000F for £1300 last year and it's probably worth around £1500. You can't second guess it. My Mk1 GTE Astra sold around 8 or 10 years ago for £2.5k in good nick, they're fetching £6-£16k just now, condition and number of owners dependent and there are only a small number of them remaining. I can't see an 04-07 Blade every fetching £20k personally. RD's are only worth £5k and they're 35 years old.
