Topic: should I sell?

[phil71]

Hi everyone. Kind of having a dilemma I didn't expect, and I'm wondering what some of you would do in my shoes. I have always wanted an early CB750, and resto'd&flipped a few other bikes till I found a the bike I have now.  My original plan was that I'd just find one that ran, and turn it into whatever I wanted.
   Instead, I bought a non-running but 'all there' 71 with low miles and high hopes.
I got pretty into it, and pretty thorough. Now I have, what I think is a really great bike.
BUT, in the time since I bought it, the K1s seem to have blossomed in resale value, especially ones that haven't been refinished (like mine). I think a lot of you, like me, have been stunned at some recent ebay sales.
   I've been riding it a lot, and it's now painfully obvious that I'm spooked to park it outdoors (I'm in Brooklyn), or leave it anywhere on the street for very long for fear of the careless car parker knocking it over (it's happened to me on every bike i've owned here).
  In some ways, this isn't any fun, and I kind of wish I had a little less precious bike. With the option to do some performance updates that I wouldn't do to this one.
   If I can fetch even close to the 10k that similar bikes are fetching on ebay, that'll be a really tidy profit, and a bit of a robin hood scenario for me.
  I've also located a solid, but kinda bastardized '72 for very little money.
Am I crazy for considering this? Can these K1s possibly go higher, or does this feel like a 'peak'? Is this the back door solution to the wealth distribution problem tearing this country apart?
Any opinions are welcome..
 

[Johnie]

Phil...I have also been watching some of those K1's there, but I saw a candy gold one that could not fetch more than $4,400 a couple weeks ago. He had listed it again and it never made his reserve. If you want to sell it just get your reserve where you want it and see what happens. I saw another go for over $10,000 a month or so ago. Prices seem to be all over the place lately. Good luck with your sale...

[Bob Wessner]

But do think long and hard about this. Once done, it's done and you might kick yourself a couple of years down the road.

[dhall57]

If I had a nice K1 I would have to hold on to it. But difference strokes for difference folks. I still kick myself for letting a all original K0 slip through my fingers several years ago at a estate auction sale

[Johnie]

Ouch...how did you let that KO get away from you Hall? What did it go for at the auction?

[Gordon]

IMO, if you're looking at something you own from the perspective of what it may be worth to somebody else, then it's no longer "yours" anyway.  It's just a commodity to be traded, and you're constantly having to worry about the fact that what you do to it or what happens to it will affect its resale value.  There's nothing wrong with that, but you have to make the decision for yourself if the time and effort you've put into that possession is for your own personal benefit, or if the monetary value to someone else is worth more to you. 

When it comes to my K1, I've put so much of my own blood, sweat and tears into it, not to mention the miles, that someone would have to offer me enough money to pay for both of my kid's education before I would even consider selling it.  Since that's never going to happen, I'll just keep riding and working on it until I can't physically do it anymore, and then I'll pass it on to whichever of my children wants it more. 

The only two bikes I regret selling were my 350F and 400F, and I only sold them to fund the purchase and rebuild of my K1.  So in my mind, they're all wrapped up in this one bike. 

[phil71]

That's constructive.. I guess I need to project how much longer it'll be before I can move to somewhere less hazardous where I won't worry about it getting banged around by the stupid and inconsiderate. Perhaps I'll buy a beater. I'm more a rider than a collector, but the more people who fawn over the k1, the more I think maybe it SHOULD be in the hands of a guy who has a museum.. As opposed to being 2 subway stops from the museum.

[daley]

Have you thought of putting it in a museum without selling it? It would still be yours but others would get to enjoy it. Climate controlled etc. Lot of the bikes at the AMA museum are privately owned. Just an idea.

[lucky]

Have you thought of putting it in a museum without selling it? It would still be yours but others would get to enjoy it. Climate controlled etc. Lot of the bikes at the AMA museum are privately owned. Just an idea.

I like this idea!
Some local HONDA dealership may be interested.
I know if I owned a dealership it could be valuable to show customers what value they get. 33 years and very solid.

[Terry in Australia]

Geezus guys, I think we're getting a little silly here. It's just a K1, and great bike that it obviously is, it's just one of thousands built, and there are plenty left on the road, and more being restored every day, due to the vast numbers of spares still available.

Sell it, make some money, and restore that poor "bastardized" K2 with some of the profits. K2's are great bikes too, and are increasing in value, so you won't lose. Cheers, Terry.