[Michael Bryce W]

Nobody is going to get rich investing in a Triumph Bonneville no matter what the provenance. Once a title is in your name "mess" with it until you drop. You are going to be dead for a long time and if are fortunate enough to have a bike you like, keep it and make it better in your eyes until you drop. Even if you sell your bike with Mr. Bloor on the back of it, it is a Bonneville. When you go to sell it, the value is what I want to pay for it, if I want it. Nobody will ever need it. This limited edition stuff, anniversary stuff, and pre/ post Hinkley fire stuff is also b.s. as riding around with the ashes of Elvis, Bud Ekins, or Steve McQueen rubbed onto the tank will stilll make it a used Bonneville. Your documentation makes for a great conversation piece as to the bike, but will not translate into dollars. It is not eye candy...it is a motorcycle. Ride it and get it dirty. They are vehicles meant to ride and maintain and/or repair. If you want an exercise in preserving the pristine, buy art and hang it in the house and do not let riff raff like us see it. 500 miles for a hamburger is what that bike needs, not a fan base. This is my bike on the way back from having my Canyon Cycle wheel and tire and brake and chain package put on. I hope giving the cast wheels to a guy on this site who needed them after buying a crashed bike does not affect my resale. You have a screamer of a cool bike modified by you and for you so it is even more than one off. Ride it like you stole it.

 

[Johnrockerldn]

Nobody is going to get rich investing in a Triumph Bonneville no matter what the provenance. Once a title is in your name "mess" with it until you drop. You are going to be dead for a long time and if are fortunate enough to have a bike you like, keep it and make it better in your eyes until you drop. Even if you sell your bike with Mr. Bloor on the back of it, it is a Bonneville. When you go to sell it, the value is what I want to pay for it, if I want it. Nobody will ever need it. This limited edition stuff, anniversary stuff, and pre/ post Hinkley fire stuff is also b.s. as riding around with the ashes of Elvis, Bud Ekins, or Steve McQueen rubbed onto the tank will stilll make it a used Bonneville. Your documentation makes for a great conversation peice as to the bike, but will not translate into dollars.

spot on mate, my thoughts exactly.
most i presume are just looking for a bike to ride and not caring what number it is etc.
I alos prefer a bike as standard as poss so i know where i start.

 

[MarlinSpike]

Nobody is going to get rich investing in a Triumph Bonneville no matter what the provenance. Once a title is in your name "mess" with it until you drop. You are going to be dead for a long time and if are fortunate enough to have a bike you like, keep it and make it better in your eyes until you drop. Even if you sell your bike with Mr. Bloor on the back of it, it is a Bonneville. When you go to sell it, the value is what I want to pay for it, if I want it. Nobody will ever need it. This limited edition stuff, anniversary stuff, and pre/ post Hinkley fire stuff is also b.s. as riding around with the ashes of Elvis, Bud Ekins, or Steve McQueen rubbed onto the tank will stilll make it a used Bonneville. Your documentation makes for a great conversation piece as to the bike, but will not translate into dollars. It is not eye candy...it is a motorcycle. Ride it and get it dirty. They are vehicles meant to ride and maintain and/or repair. If you want an exercise in preserving the pristine, buy art and hang it in the house and do not let riff raff like us see it. 500 miles for a hamburger is what that bike needs, not a fan base. This is my bike on the way back from having my Canyon Cycle wheel and tire and brake and chain package put on. I hope giving the cast wheels to a guy on this site who needed them after buying a crashed bike does not affect my resale. You have a screamer of a cool bike modified by you and for you so it is even more than one off. Ride it like you stole it.

Not everyone will agree with your statements. Some like to admire their bikes like an art form, AND ride them and keep them pristine.

 

[Michael Bryce W]

We can all agree to disagree. If somebody out there thinks of their Bonneville as art, by all means do so. How do you ride a bike and keep it pristine? The most I can do is "well cared for." We all can admire our bikes to a certain degree, but we can only take it so far...sort of like staying home with your daughter who did not get asked to the highschool prom and telling her "well daddy thinks you are pretty."

 

[Vindo310]

It’s a gorgeous bike but to get big money classics need to have original parts. At this point this bike isn’t the 4th that rolled off the line. It used to be but now it has been poked and prodded.

 

[Michael Bryce W]

It will always be the 4th bike. Poke and prod your bag off. That is not the point. Even with factory air in the tires, there is little value to the bike if you are not enjoying it.

 

[ND BonnieT100]

Personally, I think being the 4th off the line adds a coolness factor to the bike. I don't think it makes it a huge collector's item with a high price tag unless it is all original and stored appropriately like a museum piece. However, I think it would add a few dollars or pounds to the going price.

 

[Vindo310]

It will always be the 4th bike. Poke and prod your bag off. That is not the point. Even with factory air in the tires, there is little value to the bike if you are not enjoying it.

If you take two 1964 1/2 Mustangs and one is chopped and hot rodded and the other has all original matching numbers the one with the original parts is going to fetch way more money.

I agree that there is little value in something you’re not enjoying.

I was just saying it was a cool selling point but I wouldn’t say it adds much if any value. The condition and looks of his build would probably add more value than being the first retail bike. It’s stunning.

 

[JBT120]

I would take it to Trifest 2023 (just outside Bristol) and stick a "For Sale" notice on it. You will soon find out what it's worth.

 

[Michael Bryce W]

I agree with both of you in the last 2 posts. The lack of originality would compromise the bike's true value as a classic...if you believe the bike ever was a classic. I don't. This thread is enjoyable civil discourse, but it is based on a false premise. There is no classic bike within reach of this discussion. In 200 years all of our bikes will be classics. I hope I can drive it across the auction block...now that I reflect on that notion, I will put shock extenders on it and eventually cartridge forks. This whole pedigree does not define this bike as a classic, so whoever is out there with the 5th bike...don't quit your day job. Mr. Bloor's number one bike is not worth much more than mine even with his DNA on the grips. These bikes are fun to own, ride, and work on. Their only value is what is it worth to you when you are riding it. Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen were cool. Buy a Bulitt or Great Escape poster. My bike is a 2013...I am positive that some anniversary attaches to that year. I am still glad that I junk the oem junk and make the bike better than it ever would have been otherwise.

The real question is what would this bike have been worth if it sat in the garage under a blanket with no use? Perhaps less than mine after the Canyon Cycle stuff. I question if it still would have a significant value. I think about the bikes I read about from time to time about bikes found in crates from 30 years ago. They only command so much money and I have never seen it significant. A 1937 Vincent found untitled in a dealer's grandson's garage would be a find worthy of discussion. A Bonneville that was 4th off the line with a letter from Triumph is a killer conversation piece, but my best guess is that even in the best case scenario, it would have been a low dollar find. Today is the best case scenario as it is real. This thread is about the most attention this bike was going to garner. It makes for good conversation and some civil discussion and debate. With that being said, I am glad the owner built it and rode it for him. I would only criticize the owner if he denied himself five minutes of saddle time under the falsehood that it artificially decreases the value of the bike. Put a for sale sign on it. How much money are you going to get and what are you going to get from the money you make. Money is worth nothing unless you are using it to make more money.

 

[Sal Paradise]

Those are nice mods. These bikes aren't really that kind of collectible. Someone won't want it because it has knee pads? They come with knee pads from Triumph. Its fine. Same with a grab bar or an LED light. Fine, In my humble opinion I value that stuff, just not as much as they cost. But still they are a positive. Just my opinion.

 

[unclescratch]

I would suggest you sell it for whatever you can get for it...probably in the $4,000 to $4,500 (U.S. $) range and invest the money in the business you are looking at. Buy another or a later year air cooled bike when you can afford it and don't look back. I doubt you'd find any bank interesting in giving you a loan on the bike, it really isn't all that special. Usually aftermarket pieces/parts you don't recover what you spent on them - if you removed this or that, those pieces are not worth all that much - I know this is hard to believe, but that is pretty much the reality on bikes. The '01 was nice, but later years were probably better machines. My '08 carb model (U.S.) is far better than the '01 Bonneville that I had purchased new. Good luck with all of this...

It seems to me that there is sometimes more demand than supply on aftermarket parts for older Triumphs. If I ever part w/my '05 America I'm pretty certain I could sell the footboards, custom seat and other items for a good profit. JMHO