Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB750 => Topic started by: ziggy stardust on August 10, 2017, 04:14:40 PM
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I've been monitoring CB750s (K2s to K6s) on eBay for the last few weeks and it's quite noticeable that they are not selling well at all, some good machines out there getting no bids or not getting anywhere near their reserve.
Anyone else noticed this? Anyone have an explanation?
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On the basis that anything will sell at the right price, they must be overpriced.
Also, the end of the (classic) riding season is fast approaching...
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I've been monitoring CB750s (K2s to K6s) on eBay for the last few weeks and it's quite noticeable that they are not selling well at all, some good machines out there getting no bids or not getting anywhere near their reserve.
Anyone else noticed this? Anyone have an explanation?
Some of the bikes on Ebay are not as good or even the model they claim to be. Exceptionally well restored CB750's, especially UK K2's are fetching high prices but these bikes are not usually advertised.
Also agree with Steve, not many weeks riding left for this year, only a little over 7 weeks and it will be October !!
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As previous post, well into biking season. Also August is a big holiday month.
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Hi Lee.
Thought you'd lost interest in 750 fours. What have you been up to lately?
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Hi Mike how's things?
I did loose some interest then I wasn't too well and sold off my final bike my second Bridgestone 350 GTR and then in a change of direction I bought a good MX5 and stuck that in the garage. But now I simply miss not having a bike, I may not ride as often as I used to so I want something reasonably collectible and pretty like a K2.
I have a few feelers out at the moment so will see if anything comes of it, but as I wrote in my post there seems to be little demand at the moment but I think if sellers were to reduce their asking prices then sales could possibly creep up.
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Not thread hijacking but CB400 fours have increased in price quite dramatically over the past few weeks....well, the nice ones worth having have ;D ;D
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Good CB750's are definitely selling..
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This is the best one I've seen recently http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CB750-SOHC-K2/322624823147
I was the highest bidder, it fell well short of the reserve. I chatted with the seller who was surprised at the lack of interest and concluded that people just weren't prepared to pay anywhere near what he wanted for what he considered to be the best.
I see freddythefatfrog hasn't sold one either while I've been watching, but there's hope as I know of a K2 coming up shortly.
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;) totally agree with james
Good CB750's are definitely selling..
i took one of my good CB750 k0's for a MOT the other week the tester offered me 7 grand cash for it there and then i politely declined . i like to think most people here at least know the true value of these bikes. its not often you will get a bargain, them days are long gone,you can thank the internet for that ,you want to check out the big bike jumbles they are a joke ,at stafford this year a guy wanted 12 grand for a very scruffy gold k0 i told him it aint worth anywhere near that .he said it would be worth 20 grand when its restored. ::) dream on
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Well I have an eBay watch list full of good unsold CB750s, I spoke to the seller of one attractive K4 dressed as a K2 that did sell but he had to let it go for under £6k.
I've noticed on the http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/501/cb750/ site that some good examples that didn't sell have been re listed at a lower price, cheaper one's that need work I don't pay attention to, same applies to KOs.
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Well I have an eBay watch list full of good unsold CB750s, I spoke to the seller of one attractive K4 dressed as a K2 that did sell but he had to let it go for under £6k.
Yes, but I think you have answered your own question there. If it was a K4 pretending to be a K2 then it wasn't a K2 and should not expect to make K2 money. I suppose it depends if you want a pedigree or a mongrel. I have seen the bike you referred to in Middlesbrough, it is a very nice bike. Did you go and see it?
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Some of these CB750's you see are not what they seem. I am sure some vendors use the same cameras as the estate agents, went on a 340 mile round trip to authenticate a bike which looked great from the pictures and the vendor had it advertised as very good condition.
On arrival I could not believe it was the same bike from the pictures. I advised the vendor who I was and what I do for a living, whereupon the vendor agreed that I could test ride the bike ( with trade plate fitted) after that he shied away and locked himself in his house and never said a single word to me.
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Julie, the K4 dressed as a K2 was just an example I posted of what's available at a lower price and sold, that's not what I want. I know bikes are never as good as in the photos and sellers do tend to exaggerate as to their condition and might possibly forget to mention certain changes from standard that have been made along the way.
The Middlesbrough bike in my opinion is the best and most correct I've seen recently, the seller has done a number of these restorations and had nothing but positive praise. I haven't seen the bike in the metal as it's over 300 miles away but speaking to the owner I was happy with what he told me.
You say you have seen the bike, so what do you think? Is it as good as he makes out and model correct?
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I think his restoration of that bike and the others he has done that I have seen are very good. I didn't go over it with a view to buying it, I was looking at another one of his bikes he had for sale (not a CB750). I also think the prices he asks for his bikes are a bit on the low side. Just because the one you bid on didn't meet his reserve, it doesn't mean it's overpriced, just no one was prepared to pay what the owner thinks its worth. As a seller, there is little point in devaluing your product, there are plenty of other people out there that try and do that for you!!
In my experience, the right bike will always sell for the right price, maybe not today or tomorrow but, it will sell.
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Take this as another true example.
I first saw the Middlesbrough bike priced at £11,000 on the carandclassic site, too much I don't want to pay that. It was removed after it didn't sell and then appeared on eBay, so I watched it and after all the silly bids became history and bidding went over £8,000 buyer interest quickly faded so I put in a bid of £9,500 with seconds to spare at the end, there was no last minute rally and the highest bid was £8,650 so I was the highest bidder at £8,750 but the reserve was not met, yes I told the seller of my £9,500 bid. The bike is now back on carandclassic for £10,000.
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So in reality your only £500 apart. I'm sure there is a deal there somewhere ;D ;D
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So in reality your only £500 apart. I'm sure there is a deal there somewhere ;D ;D
Well, only £100 apart on the e-bay reserve! I don't get e-bays ways sometimes, so despite your top bid of £750 over and above the reserve, because nobody else bid up on you, you missed out? Think I would have messaged the seller and got a phone number, then called him and offered to buy direct from him, then he would be better off, no rip off e-bay fees as it officially didn't sell!
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I agree Julie but I have to have a limit and then there's the good K2 that's in the pipeline that I need to see when it's ready shortly and it will be cheaper and from a reputable source, so I'm in between.
Hairygit, I'm told by the seller the reserve was £10,500 so my winning bid didn't meet it, I was the highest bidder at £9,500 the second highest bid was £8,650 so by eBay rules I'm the winner at £100 higher than him but as it didn't reach the seller's reserve there's no sale. The seller is aware I'm prepared to pay £9,500 as I told him, he wouldn't have seen what my high bid actually was on eBay.
Probably cost around £175 to transport it as well.
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I'm sure you will find the 'right' bike eventually. Out of interest, are you looking at both UK and USA K2's?. Only asking as USA ones don't sell for anywhere near as much as good UK ones. The USA ones may represent better value for money on the surface.
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It all depends on condition really, would be nice to have a good U.K. bike but U.S. ones as we know are usually in better condition with low mileage and quite possibly original, nonrestored U.K. well used ones can end up as mongrels.
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It all depends on condition really, would be nice to have a good U.K. bike but U.S. ones as we know are usually in better condition with low mileage and quite possibly original, nonrestored U.K. well used ones can end up as mongrels.
I have found that most USA 750 engines with only 10.000 miles are in the same condition inside as a UK with 50.000 miles.
All rubber seals are brittle and the seat foam has dried out that much it has turned to dust with USA units.
I would rather go for a fully checked out engine, because these are not cheap to rebuild.
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That's interesting Trigger regarding the engine, something I'll have to ponder on when the time comes. I'm no stranger to re building engines but the 750 lump is too big for me to handle now mainly due to lack of space.
I know what you mean about dried out seat foam, I once removed a cover from a U.S. bike and it as you said it just crumbled away and a few unrecognizable little critters escaped into the garage.
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It all depends on condition really, would be nice to have a good U.K. bike but U.S. ones as we know are usually in better condition with low mileage and quite possibly original, nonrestored U.K. well used ones can end up as mongrels.
I have found that most USA 750 engines with only 10.000 miles are in the same condition inside as a UK with 50.000 miles.
All rubber seals are brittle and the seat foam has dried out that much it has turned to dust with USA units.
I would rather go for a fully checked out engine, because these are not cheap to rebuild.
I am pretty sure that most USA imports (unless you import them yourself) are clocked quite dramatically, and your observations of internal engine condition appears to bear that out...... I have looked at a number of imports with less than 10k on the clock, that look like 10k the second time around. Some of them are so wound back it's obvious........... My own 350F (avatar) has covered less than 9k and many will remember the condition of that when I started.
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First think I look at is the clocks. Do they match, do they have the same degree of fade, are they fitted with all the rubber mounts, are they even connected!? Tell some of the story. My experience was good and have three imports (500/550). Recently reinforced by a letter from the original US owner of one (with pics and docs) guaranteeing the <5k miles. (I had a title). But where the air is thin it can damage seat foam/rubber bits more than our thick stuff.
Regarding restored bikes, Trigger and others build to high quality, but I am often disappointed by the sound of some home restos.
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Thats really great when you can get some history from previous owners, can enhance the bikes value no end (especially photo's). I had the Ohio title on the 350 but was unable to contact the named owner. Could have moved/died/prison or just couldn't be bothered who knows. I wasn't too bothered on mine as I paid virtually nothing for it so wasn't expecting much. Not sure what you mean about the 'sound' of home restorations Phil, is that audible sound, or sounds like they are not built well?
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seen this on ebay and seems cheap? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1972-Honda-CB750-K2-3-700-miles-Amazing-Condition-/202021762629?hash=item2f096f7645:g:Gq8AAOSwnnVZkqeH
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This is a scam listing. That's actually one of my bikes that sold recently...:-)
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Personaly,
I see a great deal of USA imports flooding the market and this may 'dilute' the value of K's across the board - particularly K0's at the moment. There is quite a lot of choice of all imported models up to K6's and if you pick up a good one (??!!) at a reasonable price, K3 and upwards, one then has the benefit of Honda's improvements/mods. Except for the far too quiet 341's and the reduction of intake roar - sacrilous in my opinion!
I beleive there is still a lot of valued mileage in the K's in general, particularly the Brit ones (rarity being the primary reason) but, as has been said before here, it's down to the standard of the restoration and how much work you may be faced with having to correct items yourself, as I've found to my cost previously on my US K0 - God, the carbs! Got it sorted in the end. Engine work - new timing chain but still with the old tensioner!! Much quieter after that. But left me uneasy..
Nige. (K3)
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I remember that that nice looking 750K0, have some pictures of it, bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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Baaaaa,
God,
The problems I had with that. 'Seemed' to run ok but then 2nd gear failed, (this is 4 years ago now) went back and they replaced it. (Dublin - gone bust thank God!) got it back and carbs started too go out of tune, as they they do, but the wrong intake rubbers were fitted, letting in air. Difficult to set up with the splitter also. Timing chain couldn't be adjusted anymore, stripped it and found a new timing chain but still with the old tensioner and bits falling off it as sooooo brittle!?! So, that was it, a further strip and a new sleeve then had be fitted into no 4, along with other things the US had done or not done - heart breaking. Some of the problems were probably in the US and some crap stuff (on the cheap) done in Dublin. Learn't my lesson there Trigger.
Sorted it and she went to a new owner at £15,000. Miss her but, after Dream machine had got her hands on her, (fab job! Candy red) she was almost to good to ride. What an adventure that was! You never know what you buy when old and particularly in the States as I said earlier. I still envy those with them these days and saw one down Poole Quay recently, a bit tired but a rare sight there indeed or anywhere these days! Heh Ho.. Still have the photos..
Nige.
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Called into DKs the other day as I was traveling north just for a look round, loads of junk CB750s, in fact loads of junk.
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What a confusing market we are in with regard to what appears to be a stagnation/slow down on the sale of some Classic bikes (Brit and Jap) from my recent observations. Asking prices on EBay and C n Classic etc and the time to sell are rarely being achieved and taking a very long time, if at all.
I'm looking to purchase another 750 to join my K3, possibly a K1/K2 (even that UK K0?? And that's not moving at that price either??) and wondering what's going on? Surely it's not just the time of year? In the words of a local Classic bike dealer, "the time of year makes little difference, it's the price and condition - we go through troughs and crests". I wonder what we are in - I'm a little nervous on paying top money in what maybe a more realistic market? The no of US imports coming in and look at the number of K0's and K1's hitting the UK - some absolute rubbish but some look ok and therefore must be be influencing the UK market?
At last, some owners/dealers are accepting low prices which now allow for realistic engine investigation and bike restoration, particularly on US bikes which, as Trigger speaks with authority, confirms these engine are often in poor condition compared to UK ones.
Hmmm, what to do.. Is that UK KO really going to sell for less than £6000?!?
Wondered what other members' experiences are over the last 3/4 months?
Nige.
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Same old observation, people looking at bike's that don't sell. I have a list of customers looking for the right bike and if the right bike comes up that meets their criteria, I make a phone call. Every bike that meets the criteria had already sold in the past six months ;)
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I have always said on here over the years and been shot down for it, that my UK CB750K0 which was one of the first batch 0f 20 (14 in fact) into the UK in Jan 1970 is worth £10k tops fully restored and if I ever came to sell it (unlikely but who knows what happens in life) and I got that for it I would be fine with that, any more would be a bonus. I have seen all sort of bikes advertised at inflated prices like the 'Franks' (Motorcycles Unlimited) of this world but they are just a bunch of 'bread-heads' as that old hippy Neil in the 'Young Ones' used to say in my book. I have never seen a sales Invoice for a CB750 diecast that states 'Sold blah blah £££££ for greater than £10k' Maybe someone on here has such a receipt to share with us. I mean outright sale not PX or horse-trading deals.
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Go back a few posts and Sparrow sold his for £15K very easy, as it was all up together.
As I have said before, I will give you 10K once the K0 is all together as I have a customer wanting one for his collection. He has asked me over the past 4 years to find him one, restore it and he would pay top £££ but, I just don't have the time to do one for him.
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morning trigg.
do you have anyone waiting for a 500k0
my gold one may be making space soon
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Ah!, another opportunity for me to do my forboding of doom post, in 15 maybe only 10 years the classic bike market will die in the U.K. due to the demographics, there I said it (again), I feel much better now 😄👍.
Yours (stating the bloody obvious) Mark.
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Thanks for that Mark. And my stamp collection has dropped in value because of ebay. But I did make quite a bit on the children's Lego. (thanks to ebay that time). But the flood of imports from populous countries to the small UK market must have an impact. When I bought my 500 in 2003 I thought they were rare!
morning trigg.
do you have anyone waiting for a 500k0
my gold one may be making space soon
Woodside, is your 500 KO finished, or still a project? Any pics.
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Thanks for that Mark. And my stamp collection has dropped in value because of ebay. But I did make quite a bit on the children's Lego. (thanks to ebay that time). But the flood of imports from populous countries to the small UK market must have an impact. When I bought my 500 in 2003 I thought they were rare!
morning trigg.
do you have anyone waiting for a 500k0
my gold one may be making space soon
Woodside, is your 500 KO finished, or still a project? Any pics.
Ha, no worries, it will hit me as well, my 900ss has doubled in value since I bought it, but it will slide back down again in a decade or so, who cares though, bikes are for riding not sitting in garages gathering dust as potential investments, IMO of course.
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Ah!, another opportunity for me to do my forboding of doom post, in 15 maybe only 10 years the classic bike market will die in the U.K. due to the demographics, there I said it (again), I feel much better now 😄👍.
Yours (stating the bloody obvious) Mark.
Thats good news as I am looking for a cheap R69S.
Market for those should already be dead in UK, demographicaly.
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Ha yes, I'm looking fwd to being 70 years old, I'll be able to afford a Kawasaki H2 triple then 👍
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Its a good job I did not buy my bikes as an investment then.
just enjoy them for what they are.. 8)
No investment is safe or guaranteed & I can tell you i have had personal experiences to prove it... >:(.. :'(
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Trigg,
What I didn't say, was that I also let a spare brand new set of 300 pipes go with the K0 that I had snapped up from Slivers when they came up for £2000 2 years ago. Doh! How d'you spell PRATT...😏😡
Now there's an investment in a particular market! 😳
A confused Nige.
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I know that this topic is old and that may prevent me from being slaughtered, as no one may read it but what is so special about a 'UK bike'? I have been tinkering in this subject for about 25 to 30 years and have often heard people selling a bike, try to promote it as a 'Genuine UK Bike'. So what! To the best of my knowledge, no manufacturer, in any country employed anyone to walk down the line selecting the best examples for the UK. In the UK, it was more likely the export bikes would be better, especially for the lucrative US market. I know that a lot of stuff now coming from the US has a dubious history but a friend, who has a large stable of 60's Triumphs, assures me that we have no idea just how much was sold in the US, compared to Europe and especially our tiny market. On the initial subject of pricing, maybe the problem is e-bay? There are so many tales of 'victims' that people are becoming wary. I was wary but in a moment of madness got caught anyway and panicked into buying a 1970 model (my favourite). Now I don't even look at e-bay.
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As with any bike that is made to be sold in different countries it is fundamentally the same bike apart from territorial differences, rear light assy, handlebars, indicators etc. So basically a US or UK bike apart from these differences is the same.
However, in the classic market a bike that was originally registered in the UK will generally always command a higher price for that very reason alone. Also because there are less of them on the market and the subtle differences that make it a UK bike will therefore, command a higher price when compared to an US or other imported bike.
In reality it us, the people who buy the bikes (or anything else) that force up the value because so many of us want an original registered UK bike and for the reasons given above (and many others the are important to the buyer) it simply comes down to supply and demand.
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I know that this topic is old and that may prevent me from being slaughtered, as no one may read it but what is so special about a 'UK bike'? I have been tinkering in this subject for about 25 to 30 years and have often heard people selling a bike, try to promote it as a 'Genuine UK Bike'. So what! To the best of my knowledge, no manufacturer, in any country employed anyone to walk down the line selecting the best examples for the UK. In the UK, it was more likely the export bikes would be better, especially for the lucrative US market. I know that a lot of stuff now coming from the US has a dubious history but a friend, who has a large stable of 60's Triumphs, assures me that we have no idea just how much was sold in the US, compared to Europe and especially our tiny market. On the initial subject of pricing, maybe the problem is e-bay? There are so many tales of 'victims' that people are becoming wary. I was wary but in a moment of madness got caught anyway and panicked into buying a 1970 model (my favourite). Now I don't even look at e-bay.
Interesting little write up. I will always go for the UK units because there is not so many of them about, I can get a container load of US units any day of the week. I have totally restored many UK units over the years and few USA units, and what I found is the UK ones had all the rubber and plastic parts in good condition compared to the USA ones that just fall apart or had gone as hard as nails, start adding up the price on all new rubber parts and you will be amazed at the replacement cost.
It is a little bit of swings and roundabout when comparing the two different units,most the UK ones after 40+ years have been attacked by the dreaded rust but, if you find a good one it is so nice to work on and the engine internals are always in much better condition. I put this down to the owners in the UK seems to look after his bike a lot better than the yanks, who had them as toys. I have always been amazed that I have never had a UK 750 in for a rebuild, with the hole damage to the crank case from the chain I see on so many USA units.
I also like the challenge of finding the correct parts that make a UK spec bike, the switch gear, correct handlebars, rear mudguard and taillight bracket.
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+1 on that Graham....I do know of at least 3 early UK K0's that suffered crankcase breakage though. A nice bloke who worked as a mechanic in a Lincolnshire dealers in 1970 told me recently that the first CB750 they had in for repair on the engine was one that had ingested a fastener from the air filter casing mounting hardware (as detailed in an early Service Bulletin) (see dropbox links).
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May I go off at a tangent for a moment? According to something I read from 'Nurse Julie' the other day, this is permitted. Is it possible to restore rubber parts? In addition to the CB750, I also have a GT750 awaiting new crank seals. The rubber unions either side of the carbs would make a good alternative to Chobham Armour. In a copy of Practical Sportsbike several years ago, an article said they had soaked rubber parts in a chemical solution that had softened them. In fact they overdid it and made them too soft but the point is, it softened the rubbers. I doubt that this is a secret, so why do so many members replace rubbers, as mentioned above by 'Trigger'? Is it to do with the elasticity of the rubber or degradation?
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I have softened quite a few inlet stubs and other external parts for members on here but I wouldn't do it with engine internals 'just in case'. I use 'Refos 508' though, which is hard to get hold of by Joe Public. UK parts, even if rock hard seem to soften quicker than USA ones in my experience. Some people use essential oils like wintergreen but I opted for my own method as I knew somebody who could get me Refos, which is used in the rubber processing industry.
This video clip i did shows an inlet rubber that was rock hard and then treated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1kVSlLnR8k&feature=youtu.be
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May I go off at a tangent for a moment? According to something I read from 'Nurse Julie' the other day, this is permitted. Is it possible to restore rubber parts? In addition to the CB750, I also have a GT750 awaiting new crank seals. The rubber unions either side of the carbs would make a good alternative to Chobham Armour. In a copy of Practical Sportsbike several years ago, an article said they had soaked rubber parts in a chemical solution that had softened them. In fact they overdid it and made them too soft but the point is, it softened the rubbers. I doubt that this is a secret, so why do so many members replace rubbers, as mentioned above by 'Trigger'? Is it to do with the elasticity of the rubber or degradation?
I think you have the wrong end of the stick, I was referring to plastic parts like headlight bowl, the kill switch ( had one that just fell in half as I turned it), side panels, chain guard, early air filter boxes, early clock cases and rubber parts such as clock mounting rubbers, headlight ear rubbers, tank rubbers, battery box rubbers, tail light mounting rubbers, seat pan rubbers and so on. You can't soften a rubber that has perished ;) Even with Wintergreen that doesn't work :(