Topic: Farm auction 1972 BSA

[upperlake04]

 Another old couple selling the farm and a lifetime of treasures on  Saturday the 30th.  Ad says "72 BSA 650 Lightning, weathered but complete running bike"  Its possible there will be few buyers. What would it be worth?

[seaweb11]

Def worth a look

[scunny]

what's something worth.....only what you are prepared to pay. As for aforementioned  BSA, go have a look, don't get too keen and see what the bidding is like. You do realise the cost of the bike will be the cheap bit..

[Sterling2]

 Just for something to start from, the NADA Antique Motorcycle book value for a 1972 BSA Lightning in # 4 condition is $1,225 and # 3 condition is $2,075.  These bikes can be bought in the $3,000 to $4,000 range in nice running condition, so back out your estimated repair / restoration costs from there and you'll have a realistic figure. One note of caution - for some reason BSA's don't bring near the interest / money that Triumphs do, so don't value it like a similar year Bonneville.

[bill440cars]

BSA's don't bring near the interest / money that Triumphs do, so don't value it like a similar year Bonneville.

Strange but true. Personally I'd kill for a Norton, BSA, AJS, Ariel or Vincent.

            Ditto on that! Even thoughI'd have to add a Royal Enfield Interceptor to the list (even though some don't like them, I always have liked all those that El has mentioned and the Enfield).

                                                    Later on, Bill

[csendker]

There's two of the newer R/E's for sale at a used car lot I pass every day on the way home (~$4,700 each).  They do look nice though.

[KB02]

Well, they get panned in the reviews because they are comparing them to modern bikes. The RE's are basically veing produced with the exact same parts as they were back in the 50's.     If you compare a 50 year old motorcycle to a modern one, of coure its going to loose out.

they are starting to upgrade them, though, finally. They still havr that coll retro feel to them. That's kinda the mark that they are hitting.

As for the BSA, I say go for it. It look like a great project to play with. My cousin used to have a BSA. He had a pile of old motorcycles at one time. There were some SOHC honda's, some Suzuki's, and a blue BSA (60's? 70's ish?). I think he had collected from various junk yards or people that didn't want them on their land any more. They were bundled together with rope on a few wooden palets. He evntually hauled them all off to a junk yard. I was only like 14 at the time, but had I known then, what I know now, I would have scoffed up a couple of them myself, including that BSA!! 

[ChrisR]

The BSA  looks nice and would be a good project. But I once rode a friend's old Lightning and must say I hated it. It vibrated so much things were dropping off all the time and your fingers went numb within a few minutes. It was rough as hell.
I don't think those 70's BSAs were very good which is why prices for Triumphs and Nortons tend to be higher. The BSAs were too long in the tooth, crudely made and development had stopped in any meaningful way years before.
I wouldn't want to ride one for any distance but they are fun in a rough and ready sort of way.
Just my humble opinion based on limited experience - tell me where to put it

[upperlake04]

hmmm... $300. max.

[Terry in Australia]

Those old Beeza's were nice bikes mate, every bit as good as Trumpy's, and every bit as bad for the same reasons. (oil leaks, Lucas electrics etc) Buy it, and restore it, but keep your Honda as a daily rider. Cheers, Terry.

[mrbreeze]

I thought it was British Small Arms? Whatever.......I still like em.In the early 70's, a guy up the road had a Beezer that looks exactly like one pictured in this post.He later traded in for a Rocket 750 which was the 3 banger.Just like the Triumph Trident. I like the way the center pipe splits the frame on those bikes although I remember hearing that center cyl. had overheating probs.If I could have any of the old brit bikes,it would be.....#1.Norton...#2.Triumph...#3.BSA.......Of course I would take any of them if the price was right.

[ChrisR]

How did the sale go, upperlake?

[bill440cars]

I don't think those 70's BSAs were very good which is why prices for Triumphs and Nortons tend to be higher. The BSAs were too long in the tooth, crudely made and development had stopped in any meaningful way years before.
I wouldn't want to ride one for any distance but they are fun in a rough and ready sort of way.
Just my humble opinion based on limited experience - tell me where to put it

            When was the last time you priced the old early to mid 50's Gold Star? On the average, you could buy a couple of Triumphs or Nortons for that price. Also. I believe a decent BSA Super Rocket would bring a decent price. There are a few others that are coming right on up also (Firebird Scrambler and Lightning come to mind). Never have been much on the Triumphs (guess they are all right). Now Nortons, Matchless and AJS are a different story (not much difference between the three).

           Oh, by the way back when the BSA C15 Starfire 250 StarFire Scrambler came out, they were winning the 250 class in track racing against the Triumph Tiger Cubs (200cc) and even with a 250cc conversion! At least doen here in Arkansas, they were.   

                                                       Later on, Bill

[supersport_CB400F]

My mate has a BSA 650 all I can say about it is.... it’s loud, leaks oil and most of the time it's in the garage being mended….I wouldn’t piss on one, if it was on fire…….ex BSA owner myself I learnt a lesson and went jap! 

[ChrisR]

Hi bill - the Goldies are lovely and fetch very good money - it was the 70s twins I was refering to. The smaller singles are quite sweet things too and make good trialers.
What bikes fetch doesn't always bear any relation to how good they are. A few years ago (well, more than a few years ago!) old British iron was being given away, scrapped or hacked around fields all over Britain - no one gave a damn about most of the mainstream British stuff because the Japs were better. But with rarity comes value.
I had an early (1949) AJS 500cc competition machine a few years ago. It was worth a few bob then because it was a 'comp' even though it was basically a standard road bike with alloy mudguards and a few other mods. It typified all that was good and bad about many British machines - it was simple, honest and rugged but also unreliable and under-developed and far too heavy to be competitive. For ten years AJS/Matchless fitted these bikes with a primary chaincase cover made of pressed tin, sealed with a rubber band held in place with an alloy strip. No one could ever get them oil-tight and everyone complained about them. They constantly leaked and drove grown men to tears of frustration. It took until the sixties before they changed to a bolt-on casting. Ten years to do an elementary piece of development! They had the talent but the organisation and management seemed to stifle everything. The story of post war Britain really - only just starting to recover
What I would like for Christmas, though, is one of the Matchless or AJS CSR twins - a 750 CSR would be nice, the one with the Norton engine. It was the defining factory cafe racer in my opinion - beautiful and a good bike too. Also rare - only about 600 of the 750s made I believe.
Check out this article about British bike prices, especially AMC bikes. Written by a PhD   http://ijms.nova.edu/March2005/IJMS_ArtclWard0305.html

Cheers Chris

[upperlake04]

well - back from a great ride   427K (267m) on paved two lane rural prairie highways - almost no traffic, clear blue sky, warm, and fall colors at their peak. The F3 purred along at 55-60mph and 52mpg and seemed to say 'put a windshield on me and I'll take you anywhere you want to go'
 
oh yes, the auction - very well attended, several hundred people, probably the local areas big social event of the season. The BSA went for $2800. Cdn    ($2507.USD, 1339.GBP, $3841.NZD, 1976.EUR, $3360.AUD)    I actually was late and missed it, but was told the guy that bought it never took his hand down   But I had a good day - I like my $100. Honda ( plus a few more fixing it up)  

[seaweb11]

ya must have bought something?

[bill440cars]

          Hey Chris, Yeah, I have to agree. The older BSAs were better and I can see where you're coming from about the 70 models. My Grandfather and my Dad sold BSAs (and a few others) back in the 50's and 60's and they seemed to do quite well back then. I remember when they went to unit construction and popularity seemed to start dtopping off. 250 and 350 Ducatis were showing up and the Hondas and Yamahas were starting to show up. 250 Yamahas were shaking up the streets and 305 Super Hawks were doing dome damage too. Things haven't been the same since.

          biffta, Everyone has experiences and opinions. You have yours, I have mine and other folks have theirs and ALL of us (including you) are entitled to them. I won't get rid of my Hondas but, if I had a chance to get a deal on an old Gold Star or a 650 Super Rocket, I'd get it.

                                                       Later on, Bill  

[ChrisR]

Upperlake, Sounds lovely and what a great picture - I can imagine the breeze softly swishing through the grass. I'm jealous.
No bargain on the Beezer, then? Just think, you could by a similar vintage CB 500/550 in immaculate condition for that much here and probably haggle them down a bit too We'd better get them while they are cheap.

[toycollector10]

The thing with any auction is that some people "own" the item before the bidding has even started. So the guy that never put his hand down, he owned it. But at what cost? Always set your top bid in your mind and stick with it. I call them "pissing contests", which is what they usually are.

[nickjtc]

Yes, those old Brit bikes have a lot of allure. And of course I am biased. But let't face it, if it wasn't for modern updates (electronic ignition for one), they would still, in some cases, be the unreliable, under developed, machines that they were when new.

The only reason a Commando, for example, is a viable daily rider, is because of the immense spares backup available and the hugely enthusiastic owners clubs and forums out there. Even without either of those I would still have bought mine (because, like a lot of my generation, it was an emotional purchase driven by the lust for wanting one for many, many years) but I would not have been as comfortable about the actual day-to-day reality of ownership as I am now.

To those of you who say that you would like an old Brit bike I would say, just be patient. There are deals to be had out there, and the chances are your investment will be just that; or at least you won't lose money. However, be prepared for a completely different experience to the engineering excellence that is part of the joy of sohc ownership.