Let me start by saying that I have built most of the motorcycles that I have owned and ridden since I was in my early 20's. I would start with a frame and engine and piece it together as I could. I always thought that I was saving money. This is a common misconception in vehicle restoration as well as home remodeling. I have had my General Building Contractors license since 1987 so I've seen a few things.
Recently I have been looking at acquiring a motorcycle to build for The Moto-Cancer Project. The bike will be ridden on long distance rides to raise funds for cancer survivors. I want to do the old three flags ride starting in Mexico up through California, Oregon, Washington and then end up in Canada.
I started out looking at Harley Davidson VL's and JD's and found that the prices are through the roof. I do know the antique motorcycle market pretty well, but we are talking about a motorcycle with a fresh engine, drive train, etc. A restored JD or good VL run about the same as a post war Indian Chief. Yes I know...you either love them or hate them. To me they are one of the most beautiful bikes ever built. A good machine built by someone who knows what they are doing will run between $20,000 - 40,000 with a few real good one in the mid-30's. So going back to my roots I did the math on piecing one together and found that it costs about the same as buying one already built !! No surprise right ? The only clincher is that I just turned 60 and don't have the years to piece one together before I get too old to ride the thing.
Stay tuned.........................
