Wow DS wants £7.5k for a restored 400

[AshimotoK0]

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[paul G]

Anyone want a Red one fully restored £7250 

[Laverda Dave]

Gez! I wonder if they will sell, that's a shed load of cash.

Funnily enough I was reading a piece in Classic Bike the other day composed by Mark Bryan of H&H Auction's. He rightly states that people in their 50's (some of us maybe ???) with disposable incomes were brought up on Jap bikes and are now therefore looking for early jap bikes we could only dream of in our youth, namely early CB750's, Z1's, CBX etc.  Considering there are not many of these around at affordable prices the more 'cooking' jap bikes are now appreciating at a faster rate (he quotes £7k for a Yamaha XT/TT 500 as an example, not sure if I agree with that figure?).  People buying Brit bikes are getting much older and the number of buyers in that market is shrinking. The blue chip investments such as Vincent's, Brough's, Goldstars etc are still there but these sell for stupid money and are bought by collectors and speculators never to be used.
The classic bike market is changing rapidly and it's the Jap bikes that are now increasing in value. Buy the bike of your youth/dreams before it's to late and a Fizzy costs £8k (oh yes, they have already reached that figure ).

[paul G]

Can't tell on that picture if the exhaust is OEM or one of his crappy copys.
I have one of the the Motad stainless copy systems fitted but have a mint OEM one wrapped up under the spare bed 

[Nurse Julie]

I don't think those prices are stupid at all. If they have been done properly, including the engine / gearbox etc, I think it's an ok price. We all know how much it costs us to restore our bikes properly and fully and if we DIY, our labour cost nowt, where Long John Silver has had to pay the wage of the people that did it. I don't know if it was his in house people who did them or if he subbed the work out to his usual chap but either way....Sliver had to pay. But, at those prices, they need to be 100% spot on, none of the Sliver superseded x 10 parts he seems to sell as OEM these days 🤔🤔🤔

[THUNDERDOWNUNDER]

Talking of DS Spares .I bought a new front guard for my 400/4 which does not fit .Emailed them to let them know and they said yes they are a bit tricky ! Hmm .

[AshimotoK0]

I don't think those prices are stupid at all. If they have been done properly, including the engine / gearbox etc, I think it's an ok price. We all know how much it costs us to restore our bikes properly and fully and if we DIY, our labour cost nowt, where Long John Silver has had to pay the wage of the people that did it. I don't know if it was his in house people who did them or if he subbed the work out to his usual chap but either way....Sliver had to pay. But, at those prices, they need to be 100% spot on, none of the Sliver superseded x 10 parts he seems to sell as OEM these days 🤔🤔🤔

Agree Julie but I would want all NOS or refurbed OEM parts for that money.

here is web description:

Stock number: 101307
Arrived -
Added: 18/06/2019
Make: Honda
Model: CB400F SUPER SPORT
Year: 1976
Colour: Red
Origin: UK
Speedo: 27,464
Docs: V5 & MOT
Price (OTR): £7,500
Price (AS IS): £-

"Full restoration using our replica and NOS parts. Full list of replaced parts is available".

I do know that the guy who runs his museum told me last summer that he was restoring a pair of Red and Blue bikes for somebody .. perhaps the buyer backed out or similar. There is a term in electronics 'BER' Beyond Economical repair . I guess for a bike showing nearly 30k miles, that was the case with that red one. 

[K2-K6]

If you compare to three year losses on most new cars through deprecation, then it certainly forwards a different position. You'll still have a 400 left after same period,  both examples whether you use them or not 

I suppose the argument is about the difference in cost of this one compared to another at lower cost too,  which isn't going to be that much really.  Probably what some may pay out on a phone contract annually.

[MrDavo]

If done properly with proper parts I can see them selling for that, I find it hard to get my head round the fact that my 50 year old CL450 is worth more than my 14 year old 1200 Harley, but it is.

I remember going pillion on a CB400 with swinging arm mounted footrests, they give your legs a good workout, something I'd soon get fed up with.