Topic: How much $$$$ have you invested in your bike?

[sparty]

Members, 

How much money have you put into your bike (hard parts) since you bought it?  I bought my 1972 CB750 K2 in May of this year and in hard parts so far I am looking at:

New Exhaust & Seals $260
Dyna S Ignition $128
1 Side Cover $35
Chain $80
Taillight/plate hanger $60
Drag Bars $26
Master Cylinder $61
Fuel Hose $4
Fuel Filters $10
Front Brake Pads $33
Oil Filter $8
Bullet Winkers $32
K&N Air Filter $46
Gasket Set for Rebuild $80
New SS Screws and Bolts $41
Grips $10

Total $914.00

I hope that I am not alone in feeding the economy.

Sparty

[Patrick]

I have made it a point not to figure out how much I have sunk into my 1975 CB750K over the past two years.....

[nippon]

I think it's better for me not to know how many bucks i have spent for my restoration until yet.
Further things I need: new set of HM300, new paint job, new rocker arms, a big bore kit, new fenders,.....

nippon

[Rushoid]

Bought mine in Feb. this year. So far I've replaced the ignition sw., choke cable, front tire, fork seals, points/condensers, plug boots, oil, filter, fuel line and needle jets (or was it jet needles ). Total=$247.83 including misc. sprays, cleaners, & lubes. That's a Grand Total of $1102.83 with the bike itself. I'm not done with it by any means. But this is what it took to make it reliable. It was not running when I bought it.

[cmorgan47]

my wife asked the other day, so i kind of know....and it's pretty low so far

battery $30
plugs  4x$3
coils   free (i found them on ebay and the seller's a friend)
carb rebuild kits  4x$20
tires  $80
air/oil filters $20

throw in oil and i'm at about $250.....the bike was about $800.

[fang]

For my first dozen or so of my SOHC CB750's (of various vantage) I usually spent about $150 to $700 on each of them and roughly sold them for around $1200 or more.  But I was working at/ managing a bike shop and did the work myself, (mechanical and paint, etc) usually making them into mild café bikes.

For my current one I know I have more than $5000 invested; last time I calculated It seems it was around $7000 or $8000, but that just seems like too much now as I sit here typing it!  It has extensive machine work and lots of expensive parts...  Plus it is a '69 sandcast hybrid.  The scary thing is that I am not yet finished!!!

Saying all that these bikes often can be purchase in running condition with no serious problems for $500 - $1000, depending on how good they look, and They often will need another $400 to $600 of work to get them running perfect -- for carb kits, battery, tires, chain & sprockets, some tune-up stuff, and maybe some cables.  Of course for a $1000 bike I would expect that all/most of that stuff would already be sorted out, and a $1200 - $1500 bike should 100% and not need anything. 

In my book you only pay more than that for specials (i.e. café, chopper, really cool paint job, highly modified, sandcast, touring, etc), quality restorations, or especially nice and/or original specimens.  Unless of course you are a freaking madman like me and are trying to build something special, then you'd better be ready fo a 2nd mortgage!

Hope that helps!!
Peace and grease
-fang

[marvsho17]

um,
some flat black paint sale at wally world 5-6 bucks
sheet metal  10 bucks
drag bars 25 bucks
battery 40 bucks
fuel line 5 bucks
various electric charging stuff off flea bay 30 bucks
total w/ purchase price of bike ~ 350 bucks

[Green550F]

So far a total near $300, or atleast that's where it'll be when the rearsets and cables get here. Still need to invest in a battery and seat construction. Target was $500 done, but tires and paint will kill that by a long shot. New (moving) target is $750.

The scrambler was free and in so bad condition it wasn't worth "restoring" so it's goingto be insired by the cafe racer look!
The origional pic looks great and hides alot! It is what suckered me into driving two hours to pick it up!
Once I get the pegs and cables on it, I'll take more pics.

[Jonesy]

I started to tally up everything I'd spent on the bike, but I got too scared to continue midway through...

[ProTeal55]

I bought my scoot for $800
I made that back and then some with everything I removed from the bike and sold on Ebay 
I was on a low budget, untill I decided to "kick it up a notch" and splurge on things like the dual disc setup with the 21'' front wheel - 16'' rear wheel  - Brand new 4 into 1 exhaust - Custom Copper V-Stacks - Killer Cafe Seat - etc..

I would say , without doing some hard math, I have got to be around $2000 in the hole on this bike thus far, but I enjoy it, so it's worth it....
From this ----->
To this------------->

[jtb]

Martha told me 2 years ago that I had $2,500 in a bike that I couldn't ride yet.  I don't even want to try to figure up how much I have hidden from her since then.

[cmorgan47]

proteal....nicely done. 
much improved.

[flyin_]

I paid $520 about 2 months ago:
Wiring harness $36
Regulator $11
Rectifier $50
4 carb kits $73.50
Points plate $46
Battery $32
Steering head bearings $40
Cables $50
Headlight $20
blinkers $20
Filters fuel lines etc. $30 or so

$520 + $410 = $930

Hopefully I don't need much more to have it on the road and reliable.  My goal was a $1000 bike until I really start to modify it

[nickjtc]

$2000 for the bike (plus the governments share), carb work (new air cut-off valves....farmed it out, but should have done it myself) $300, chain and sprockets, $180, plus tune up stuff, $50-ish. New rear tyre on its way, $120. And so it goes on. But I cannot complain because I've already put well over 5,000km on her in the two months that I have owned her.

Oh yeah, then there are the extra costs that an anal type like me incurs every time I buy a bike: got to have period road tests articles (found on eBay), $50, and period brochures, $20. It never ends!!

[sparty]

Looks like I am on the same path that ProTeal is on.  I may end up putting another $1000 into the bike before I am happy with everything.  I am still debating the Cycle Exchange carbs @ $499.  Maybe I'll get them this fall.  Also, I am having Carpy build me some oil hoses and I'll grab a few of his decals.  I am also having the seat redone by Sarget this winter @ $220.  I purchased my bike with the intent of building it into a mild cafe bike.  I figured that even if I have to put $3000 into the project it is still much less expensive than my SV650 was.  I had about $8000 saved up for a new Buell, but I put about $4500 into my house with a new wood floor, which made the wife very happy.  Now, she thinks that my bike rebuild is a bargin.   You can buy this bike and spend a whole lot at one shot: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gorgeous-1975-Honda-CB750K-Original-Motorcycle_W0QQitemZ250011448574QQihZ015QQcategoryZ80647QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sparty

[seaweb11]

Including cost of bike, powder coating, custom paint, seats, and extra bikes to make them, I put $5000.00 each into both of my restoration jobs

[Sam Green Racing]

£12,000......$21,000......

[angeldeville]

So far I have a $2500 into this



And about $2000 in an almost completed 72 350 twin, (pics soon)

I'll probably have about $1500 into a 69 CT90

I'm expecting to spend about $3000 to $5000 on a radical CB chopper project.

Plus a couple more F's and K's at around $2k each

PLEASE.... don't tell my wife.....

[supersport_CB400F]

I've spent at least 25 quid bringing my 400 back to life already....and I draw the line at 50 

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

3/75 Cost new $1800.

Since then maybe multiply that by 4 or 5.

And it ain't over yet as I'm still living and breathing and working on an old Honda probably until the grave.

[Sam Green Racing]

I've spent at least 25 quid bringing my 400 back to life already....and I draw the line at 50 

Prefer to spend it on beer, don't ya

[angeldeville]

Boo Restoration.... Hooray Beer!

[Sam Green Racing]

Yes, but English beer

[Dunstall_74]

Initial Investment- 1974 cb750K- $850.
Dunstall Tank- $200
Cafe Seat- $170
NOS switches, finned clutch cover, Alternator cover, points cover- $185
Marzocchi Shocks- $140
Set of Gauges- $40
Side covers- $60
Tail light/Liscence plate mount- $25
Clubman Bars- $29
Napoleon Bar end Mirror- $30
Pod Filters- $37
Grips- $13
125 Main Jets- $10
Fork Seals- $24
Fork Oil- $8
Brass Vaccum Guage adapters- $32
New Float Bowl Needles and seats- $28
NOS K0 petcock- $35
NGK spark plugs- $10
Oil- $10
Cables(clutch, speedo, both throttles)- $45
New Clutch and Brake levers- $20
Primer and Paint(rattle can)- $20

Grand Total-  $2,061.00

Getting closer to completion, but I'm guessing I'm at least $500 away including decals, paint, dyna ignition, etc. 

[CB500_k2]

Well, with some fear I summed up the cost so far to bring a gift "parts bike" back to life.

CB 500 restoration

Bike in a basket                             0.00
Used handle bars, center stand and seat       55.00
Carb. rebuild kits                           65.00
Battery                                   26.00
Seat cover                              40.00
Intake and exhaust manifold gaskets and seals          54.00
4 to 1 exhaust                                185.00
throttle and  clutch cables                    50.00
Rear shocks                              55.00
Sprockets and chain                           136.80
Engine gasket set                         38.90
Wheel bearings and retention rings                105.70
Air filter and battery strap                      42.00
Steering head bearings                            43.50
Tires                                         220.00
Tach and speedo cables                           37.00
Barnett clutch friction plates                     85.00
Iridium spark plugs                           41.00
Ignition coils and plug caps                         110.00
Title                                      75.00   
Total so far                                  1464.90

Way more than a new one would have cost in 1972.  This does not count the time, sweat and love that went into the process.  All in all well worth the effort to have a sweet singing small four to run around in.