Topic: Is there a Honda CB "bubble" or something?

[xsmooth69x]

Ya the 1200m3d came out in 97 lol but they stoped making making the 1200 series for good

i have 2x technic 1200m3d are those vintage? still have the original boxes too!

Check out the "Determining the age of an SL-1200"  for that one here. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_SL-1200#Determining_the_age_of_an_SL-1200

Good units, but due to the high volume and current production, not quite considered "vintage" yet I wouldn't say.

[DJ_AX]

....
i have 2x technic 1200m3d are those vintage? still have the original boxes too!

I've got two technic SL1200 MK2s ... (of course I do ;-)
Two of the few things that may actually out run my Hondas. :-)
... or not lol ... but they'll all probably live longer than me!

[Gregorymoto]

I live in San Francisco CA. For the last 9 years old CB's have gone way up in price. Not just hear but all over CA and WA. You can still find some deals in OR. I just bought a 1970 CB350 with 3,ooo mi on it for $200. It is in do-able condition. I had to drive 12 hrs to get it.

[robdrobd]

Yeah, deals are still out there, but if you're not the first responder its gone gone gone!!

[Goldbug]

I love the hipster blame. I know one hipster with a CB. A dead stock but immaculate CB350T. Truth be told most of the hipsters I know can't afford any bike. Unless it's a single speed road bike. Nearly every person building a cafe racer I have ever known would probably gravitate toward the yuppie / square side. People who can afford $250 cafe seats, people who have garages to put on clip ons, rear sets and stretch tanks, etc. etc. It's not going to be a hipster in an apartment that stays up until 5am every day and gets stoned immediately when they wake up before they go to their bartender job. The interesting thing about both yuppies / squares and hipsters is nobody thinks they are one. They're all externally identified by people who probably are also a yuppie / square or hipster. Hipsters building cafe racers are not driving up the market. Everyone building cafe racers is. And most of them ain't hipsters.

Now I can see if you're some middle aged dude who went to like every Doobie Brothers concert in the 70s and owned a million bikes of all types and probably bought CB750s in the 80s and 90s for $150 how you could maybe be pretentious toward the younger generation- yuppie filth or hipster scum (who probably all look the same to you)- pricing you out of your hobby. But if you're like 30 and #$%*ing about hipsters building cafe racers it's really laughable.

EDIT:
Sorry for the rant. I just keep seeing people mention hipsters and cafe racers any time there's a discussion about the bike market. Then we look at this board with thousands of people, some building high dollar cafe racers. Either hipsters aren't the problem or there are A LOT of closet hipsters around here.

[754]

 I have been around CB 750s since 74 ish.
 Not too much has changed.
 The economy took a hit, things are getting a bit better and prices go up.
 There are still good buys, dont expect to find them in the same media as the masses are checking daily.. look st other ways to find them.
 There are still barnfinds happening, will be for decades to come.. just wont be everyday.
 Although most prices are fairly high, still hearing of a few 300-500 bikes showing up..

[Duke McDukiedook]

I don't get that comment- the economy is still absolute #$%* and another bottom is waiting to fall out.
I guess if you are listening to the ballonheads on the evening unnews the economy is just chipper though.

But if you talk to the average dude on the street he'll give you some nervous, shifty look and tell you it ain't so great out there.

I think what is driving costs up is nostalgia for older boomers that got freaked out by the last market collapse and know that next CB might never come when the next one hits- and it will- sooner than you think.

20 and 30 years old now mostly don't have enough cabbage or a job to even sweat buying something like a CB at this point.
 

[754]

 I have not watched the evening news in years.
 let me explain the comment.. I really meant that regardless of the economy, some people are so tired of being shy of buying that
they are finally unclenching their wallets and finally spending.. I mean you cant not-buy forever..
 The question everyone is missing.. is missing a season of riding, worth the possible price difference..??
 There are a lot of people that want to be bike owners, more than being a bike rider..

[Operator]

  There are a lot of people that want to be bike owners, more than being a bike rider..

+1

[Goldbug]

Has anyone ever been employed, with cash in hand and chosen not to buy something because the economy is bad?

[Really?]

Has anyone ever been employed, with cash in hand and chosen not to buy something because the economy is bad?

Often!

[Radam]

Has anyone ever been employed, with cash in hand and chosen not to buy something because the economy is bad?

Often!

Are you sure you didn't buy because the economy is bad, or was it because the wife said not to?

[Really?]

Funny, lol.

We have separate bank accounts.  Been that way for a dozen years.  So, as long as we pay our bills, we spend as we wish.  We have had no monetary related arguements whatsoever.

So, nope, the wifey did not tell me no. 

I have thought about 8 bikes in the last few months and decided against it.  Thinking about an XS1100 Special that is available but might just say no to that one too.

[Radam]

You must teach me your ways, PLEASE!

[aghartha]

I rode my piece of #$%* CB550 the other day and got an offer for $2000 as I was leaving the watering hole.  I don't care what the market does but if someone will happily give me that much I'll take it.

[Goldbug]

So did you sell it?

I am going to put my bike up for some ridiculous price perpetually. See if someone will eventually buy it. If they do, good. If they don't, good.

[Really?]

I wonder if Anti Johnny sold his bike for 2k.

[robdrobd]

I put it up for about a day and then realized the title had an error on it. I applied for a new title and now have to wait about 30 days. The funny thing is, after I started this thread I also started my own bank account (thankd TipperT). I told the wife it would make her birthday and Christmas a lot more fun. Anyway, if you check my other posts you'll see that I actually got a great deal on a 76' 750k for $500! Now this post seems silly because that price was amazing. Of course I responded to the ad within 5 minutes of it being posted. 

[Gordon]

Funny, lol.

We have separate bank accounts.  Been that way for a dozen years.  So, as long as we pay our bills, we spend as we wish.  We have had no monetary related arguements whatsoever.

So, nope, the wifey did not tell me no. 

My wife and I have the exact same arrangement and it works amazingly well.  It's been that way since we first started living together ten years ago and we figured "why mess with a good thing" so kept it that way even after getting married.  The main thing that causes problems in a marriage is money, and this system eliminates almost all potential money arguments.

As far as having the cash but deciding not to buy something because of the economy, I don't think that's ever been a factor for me.  While I don't make all that much money, my job is pretty secure and very recession-resistant, so I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll have a job next month or next year.  If the economy were a bigger factor in my employment I would definitely take it into consideration when thinking about making larger purchases. 

[oldk6guy]

bought my cb750k5 for $400 with a title.  it wasn't running(still isn't) but that didn't really matter to me anyways as the plan was big bore, whether i t was a running bike or not.

[burmashave]

Here's all the proof anyone should need on this subject.

http://trends.google.com/trends?q=cafe+racer&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0


Supply & Demand.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. What I wanna know is what caused the massive spike in interest in 4th quarter of 2010? Clues?

[Really?]

Bet that Cafe Racer show had at least a little to do with it. 

[burmashave]

Ahhhh, didn't see it, but heard something about it. All mysteries solved, I can go to bed and rest easy.

[Tete]

** Bored at work rant **I can say without a doubt hipsters have had an effect in my area.  ( grab popcorn) I got into bikes because after I pretty much lost my ass in the housing slump and ecomnomy crisis I was forced out of my car and house etc.. this ill fate left me with few options in 2008.  I had a new born and no income and one car.  So i decided to get the cheapest means possible until I could afford another car for me.  I picked up a Yamaha XS400 on the cheap that ran great.  got great gas mileage and got me to school and my new job.  Even in the AZ sun i rode that thing to death.  became a lifestyle change and just rolled with it.  sold it and got a BMW r65.  This was great to.  I did little mods to both , bars , lights etc. because I felt the mini apes where ugly and because I ride road bicycles I felt more comfortable low.  Not fixies with fruity colors but more like Lance armstrong stuff ( with fruity colors) .  Spiderman suit and all.  Then at school I began to get all kinds of questions about my bike, a few real road hogs but mostly the " Fixie " crowd talkinbg about getting a PUCH magnum and putting my style handle bars on it.  Then I visit my hipster friends in SF and they are all trying to get cmall CB's to " Cafe"  them out.  They said they were great for bar hopping and they could chain them to the post like thier fixie. I tell them the big difference is on a MC you more likely will die when hammered and riding, and that it is no joke.  No problem of course.  until they start calling me and asking me whats a good deal.. some would ask if this cb175 that needs carbs tuned w no title is worth 2200$.  I started laughing.  thinking is for real?  But these are  the same guys that took a old track bike and put Lious Vutton upholstry on a bicycle seat and different colored bolts all over thier " Fixie".  more and more of them have gone from over priced track bikes to over priced moped or motorcycles.  which I guess is fine but the fact is they are a trend.  Where I'm at its ok if you watch CL like a hawk.  But to say its not a bubble is crazy.  It's cool tho.  I think like every trend they will come and go and there will be some good some bad.  There have always been ugly motorcycles before and after hipsters.  Maybe this will cause a positive in manufacturers making parts for bikes that before had few options.  Harleys are also becoming a trend with the sportster being the main one.  The " fear the beard crowd is all about them out here. And in Oakland I've notice the old style purple rain Kawasakis bikes with the huge fairing and speakers everywhere  are showing up with the OG's.   It's all good.  the more people ride the better I guess.  BTW i'm selling a " cafe CB200" for 1800$ if you have a local hipster in AZ that is interested. 

[aghartha]

So did you sell it?

Dude gave me his number, so if he calls I'll totally sell it.  If not, no big deal; I still have a bike to ride.