My eyes are watering £10,989

[kevski]

As nice as it can be for a 400/4 and i never liked them, Frank is just a greedy bugger. Best four for me will always be the 350/4, love these more than my Zed thou.

[Trigger]

Not over the top. Just add up 100 hours labour @£65 plus parts 

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

As nice as it can be for a 400/4 and i never liked them, Frank is just a greedy bugger. Best four for me will always be the 350/4, love these more than my Zed thou.

Being just over 6ft with my height due to long legs rather than a long trunk I find the 400/4 a bit on the small side.

[bobv7]

You said it all with"Best four for me", and that applies to any personal choice we make in life.

[Rozabikes Tim]

Not over the top. Just add up 100 hours labour @£65 plus parts 

Oh you have lowered you rates then Graham!!!!

[TrickyMicky]

Y'know, a lot of us have owned our bikes for quite a while, and over the course of time we lose track of how much we have actually spent on them, myself included.
   However, starting from Mid March this year, I wasn't  physically able to do much riding, so I thought I would replace a few bits which were showing their age, or wanted tidying up. NOT a restoration, just so as to keep it rideable and presentable.
  To Make life easier - Hydraulic Ramp  £470
  F & R Dunlop K82 tyres, tubes and rim tapes £210
  F & R DID Rims and spokes  £286
  Nice local chap built both wheels and fitted tyres for me £100
  New genuine (Yes genuine!) front mudguard and stays  £260
  Pattern Master Cylinder £44
  Pattern Brake Hose Kit £35
  Genuine Banjo Bolts and Washers £34
  Pattern Front Caliper  £130
  Total spend £1569
  Bear in mind that in normal times, these parts (except the lift) would have been purchased in bits and bobs, and the cost would have been diluted over time, but because I had not a lot to do I was able to log the costs, and don't forget, these costs are not for anything major, so, a complete bike that's been done top to bottom by someone in the trade???

[taysidedragon]

Any bike is only worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it.

That bike will either stay unsold at an unrealistic price or he'll have to drop the price.
Commercially it makes no sense to put so much labour and resources into a vehicle if the costs take it way over the final value.

Or some mug with too much money and no idea actually buys it! 😄😄

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I know exactly how much I have spent as I have an Excel spreadsheet on the bike. I have cheated a bit by entering some items as garage consumables instead of rebuild costs. Scary!

[MrDavo]

We've boggled at Frank's prices on here many times.

However they are good restorations on the face of it (I notice the forks were chromed and ground by Philpott's, as recommended by several people on here) whether done in house or by the owners selling on commission I know not. They must also sell some bikes at those prices, or they wouldn't stay in business. As I know from studying the classic car world, there is a lot of loose wedge out there looking for a good home, however skint the rest of us may feel. The 36 grand (or so) CB750 sandcast has gone, though whether sold or pulled I don't know.

I just noticed he has a Mk2 Jaguar for sale at £54.5K. They are now relatively rare classics because they all rotted for fun when they were worth nothing. I turned a 3.4 Mk2 down for £35 when I was still at school, mainly because no one would insure me in it at that age (17). Like with all the Dodge Chargers written off filming jumps in the Dukes of Hazzard, the villains in The Sweeney nearly always had a Mk2 Jag, which usually ended up on its roof after a car chase.

[bobv7]

And the E Types in the "Italian Job". Mind you they were all rust buckets anyway so it didn't matter.

As has been said, if the bike has been restored to as good as new and someone wants a 44 year old model (and who doesn't!) then one is available and good luck to them.

[kevski]

As nice as it can be for a 400/4 and i never liked them, Frank is just a greedy bugger. Best four for me will always be the 350/4, love these more than my Zed thou.

Being just over 6ft with my height due to long legs rather than a long trunk I find the 400/4 a bit on the small side.

Well i am a dwarf at only 5'5" and these bikes suit my short legs well, just never liked the style of them, motors are lovely, they handle fine.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

And the E Types in the "Italian Job". Mind you they were all rust buckets anyway so it didn't matter.

As has been said, if the bike has been restored to as good as new and someone wants a 44 year old model (and who doesn't!) then one is available and good luck to them.

I might be wrong but I thought the E types that were tipped down the mountain were all supplied new by jaguar but had no engines or gdrive train in them so they would tumble down for the camera!

[bobv7]

That's not what I heard from one of the drivers in the film. Rotten as a pear, but of course I wasn't there.

[MrDavo]

Certainly the Lamborghini Muira was an engineless shell that had already been crashed - they weren’t going to trash a good one. The actual running car was a brand new undelivered one with the speedo disconnected, it has recently been rediscovered, restored as it was in the film, and of course is worth a not so small fortune.

We’ve been on that road, although in a coach, the driver couldn’t wait to tell us about the Italian Job. At the end when they are chucking Minis out of the coach, if you look closely they have stopped being Mini Coopers, they only have one petrol cap, not two. And they thought I’d never notice 😉

I refuse to watch the remake, and never will unless I’m strapped down with matchsticks holding my eyes open.

To get back to the original post, I’d like a 21 year old model, but I don’t think the wife would be too happy about it. 40odd year old  motorcycle though, not a problem.