Project for the un-initiated novice and son...??

[WmC1911]

I can give you the names of 2 AMCA members in the Owensboro/Evansville area that may be able to help give you some guidance. You are also welcome to come visit our Music City Chapter in Nashville. bselph116@comcast.net

Bob,
I would appreciate that very much.
Thank you.
Wm. Covington
Member #35521

[WmC1911]

Philosophy aside William, try to expose Will to as many brands and types as possible. Not your preference, but his. It is all about keeping him engaged. Depending on what you find, he can be involved much more if it is in his realm and he can research, communicate, and interact on levels (social media) he is comfortable with. Jaded old shits like us mean nothing!

Hahaha. Will do. Thanks.
Wm. Covington
Member #35521

[bselph]

I can give you the names of 2 AMCA members in the Owensboro/Evansville area that may be able to help give you some guidance. You are also welcome to come visit our Music City Chapter in Nashville. bselph116@comcast.net

[Rubone]

Philosophy aside William, try to expose Will to as many brands and types as possible. Not your preference, but his. It is all about keeping him engaged. Depending on what you find, he can be involved much more if it is in his realm and he can research, communicate, and interact on levels (social media) he is comfortable with. Jaded old shits like us mean nothing!

[T. Cotten]

With apology for swerving a little off thread track, I recall reading Pirsig's book at a time (several years ago) when I was also exploring Herman Hesse and Tom Robbins too.
Must say his motorcycle journey was usually more engaging than the philosophy. I still have it too. (Ommmmm)
John

Got into Hesse of course, John!

Robbins must have been after my time.

Now I'm studying George Schebler, and I'd have to be a medium to grasp his genius.

(That didn't sound right...)

...Cotten

[jcrawford]

With apology for swerving a little off thread track, I recall reading Pirsig's book at a time (several years ago) when I was also exploring Herman Hesse and Tom Robbins too.
Must say his motorcycle journey was usually more engaging than the philosophy. I still have it too. (Ommmmm)
John

[T. Cotten]

.. Interestingly a guy wrote a book about an adventure of a father, a son and a BMW that was the subject of the book. The book is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. His boy rode behind him on the saddle. They camped some and stayed in motels some as they traveled. The book is mixed in with some philosophy and I kind of steered around this for the human and motorcycle interface. Somewhat interesting since it relates. ..

I've got a free spare copy!!

But its boring, and I wouldn't do that to Will
(without a PM and a postal address.)

...Cotten
PS: My other copy sits under the soap dish by the shop commode.
Nobody touches the soap, either.

[ihrescue]

Can't emphasize enough the value of attending a national swap meet to look around and talk to people. The season is winding down now but check the AMCA website for schedules and a Chapter near you. Contact the Chapter and make connections locally if at all possible.
Like you I came here in my antique bike infancy and folks told me to attend a swap meet and join a chapter. I had done homework online on my own but actually meeting and talking to people with experience was a significant important step in making sure I bought the right bike. Since then I have seen others buy the wrong bike because they didn't get educated and it ends up being a bad experience for them.
Don't buy a basket case starting out. Those are for guys with a garage full of parts (or a friend with a garage full of parts) and years of knowledge in the hobby. Buy the best running bike you can afford and trust me, there will still be plenty of projects for you and your son to work on. Good for you wanting to get your son interested in the hobby.

Jason's advice is good and how nice would it be for you and Will to take a couple day trip to Smyrna FL for the Sunshine Chapter National Meet the weekend of March 6-7? https://sunshinechapteramca.yahoosit...onal-meet.html

Roughly its a 15 hour trip by vehicle.

Mike Love

[ihrescue]

Many thanks Steve Slocombe. I very much appreciate your experience and input. It's been tough to find anyone locally with any antique motorcycles, but if I expanded my search area... say 90 mile radius... I'd assume that this will provide some leads...
Great advice and many thanks for your time to help further educate myself & son...
Wm. Covington
Member #35521

William and Will - Good luck. You have some very good advice here. Interestingly a guy wrote a book about an adventure of a father, a son and a BMW that was the subject of the book. The book is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. His boy rode behind him on the saddle. They camped some and stayed in motels some as they traveled. The book is mixed in with some philosophy and I kind of steered around this for the human and motorcycle interface. Somewhat interesting since it relates. I did some look up in the member roster and yes you are a few miles from AMCA members but I found two listed in the Clarksville area of Tennessee to your south. The Lincoln Hwy Chapter #24 of AMCA is to your North East and the president is Scott Baumgardner who lives in Owensboro KY. They cover a pretty big region but getting with the insiders will lead you to other insiders. Finding the folks that can help you is not unlike finding the bikes and parts themselves until you start building the network of contacts and acquaintances. I will send you an email for Scott. I recommend you touching base with him as one of your first contacts.

Mike Love

[T. Cotten]

Its not a loss, Chuck,..

Until you have to cash it in!

...Cotten

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Your puppy might not have been as sick as most, Chuck!

They were often an 'entry level' machine, if you know what I mean.
So often they suffered from near zero maintenance, sold, punished some more, sold,.. etc.

Unless you find that rare example,
(I'd even jump at that...)
You would only take on all the sins of past owners.

Anyone with tools and resources can take a twenty-five hundred dollar sportster, sink twenty-five hundred dollars into it, and have a great twenty-five hundred dollar sportster. It will mean much more than that to you, of course.

....Cotten

No disagreement.

However, let's talk about the math and acceptable loss, so as to help our original poster continue informing his opinion.

Yep, it's a loss -- some of the time.

Yet, it's not necessarily a complete loss, depending on your goal.

We can certainly agree a $20k big twin will hold value and more than likely increase well. Conversely, the number of guys with 20k cash to quickly buy a bike off me vs $2500 is substantial. This is highly dependent on geography. In Chicago, the time difference between the high and low end buyer is pretty small. Middle of Kansas or Wyoming might make it far easier to find a 2500 guy in a month vs four months waiting on the 20k guy. Not to mention a guy looking to spend real money is going to be far less likely to get junk drunk and over pay. So, if you see the bike as a commodity, the ability to easily convert the commodity to cash should be factored into the loss.

Then there is depreciation, or amortization, depending on your goal. If I'm 5k in and have corrected the sins, I now have a reliable, fun to ride bike I can use daily. If we go by your math, my "cost" is the loss of $2500 as the value to purchase cost ratio is 1:1. So, I would amortize that money. Let's do it over ten years. That means the bike costs me 250 bucks a year to write down.

On the other side, give it ten years and now I've got 15k miles on the sporty, it owes me no money, and is now worth more than my $2500 purchase price. By amortizing my cost, I now enjoy the total profit above $2500.

I also have had the $15,000 difference between that $20k big twin and the $5k money pit jingling around in my pocket.

15 large is a lot other bikes, paying down the mortgage so I don't have to eat cat food in my old age, paying health insurance, and a million other things, etc. I agree the big twin will certainly be worth more, but I also have to tie up more capital upfront to enjoy it.

So, there is more to think about when deciding if a loss is acceptable.

It's all in how you want to look at that $2500 loss.

[knuckcrazy]

WmC1911,
I did the same a while ago with my son, 13 at the time (search Austin's bobber build) in parking lot chatter.
We are also from Kentucky but further east.
Not much activity on this side of the state, feel like the lone ranger sometimes.
His tastes have expanded to Women, Lifted Diesel Trucks and yes he still throws a leg over a motorcycle every now and then.
The WLA he built is still in the shop although technically it is mine as he hocked it to me for above Diesel truck.
Actually he is a good businessman as he still gets to ride it when he desires for free along with my other bikes .
Now his weapon of choice is a KTM 1290 Super Duke rocket..
He still works in the shop powder coating, wrenching, welding and etc.
Austin is in his third year of Millwright apprenticeship and travels the country working in Automotive plants.
He makes more than any of his college bound buddies will probably ever make with health insurance and a pension for when he hits 48 years young.
I guess what I am saying is I am happy to hear you are going on this adventure with your son and wish you luck.
You never know what fire you might start with a little bit of Love, effort and an old Motorcycle shared between a father and son.
It worked well for me.
Bob Williams

[T. Cotten]

Some of us like our sportsters -- a lot.

Your puppy might not have been as sick as most, Chuck!

They were often an 'entry level' machine, if you know what I mean.
So often they suffered from near zero maintenance, sold, punished some more, sold,.. etc.

Unless you find that rare example,
(I'd even jump at that...)
You would only take on all the sins of past owners.

Anyone with tools and resources can take a twenty-five hundred dollar sportster, sink twenty-five hundred dollars into it, and have a great twenty-five hundred dollar sportster. It will mean much more than that to you, of course.

....Cotten

[chuckthebeatertruck]

(Anything but a Sportster, I hope...!)

....Cotten

Some of us like our sportsters -- a lot.

[T. Cotten]

What's Will want, William?

(Anything but a Sportster, I hope...!)

....Cotten