Is the bubble about to burst?

[NJH]

Watches exactly the same, I have a really nice 70s Heuer Carrera and mid 80s Omega Speedie neither of which have gone up much in several years, however I also have an old Tudor sub the ones with the Rolex oyster case, bracelet and crown and those have doubled in price over the same period. Its all a nonsense really.

[mollytherocker]

NJH said:

Watches exactly the same, I have a really nice 70s Heuer Carrera and mid 80s Omega Speedie neither of which have gone up much in several years, however I also have an old Tudor sub the ones with the Rolex oyster case, bracelet and crown and those have doubled in price over the same period. Its all a nonsense really.

Of course its all nonsense. We are talking about boys toys here. Nothing that really matters.

Thing is, in this complex and challenging world we all live in, we need some nonsense in our life.

In fact, I might suggest that its even important.

[harleywilma]

I have over the last 3 years been selling my collection of classic bikes as I fancied a change and just found myself wondering why I had all these beautiful machines just sitting under covers year in year out,I suppose they made me feel some sense of worth as they were all my dream machines of when I was a young lad and I thought that I would never be able to afford such Items,however time changes and boredom sets in and I guess although I made a good buck on them that wasn't the reason for collecting them, I was just very passionate about motorbikes and it was good healthy fun searching them out over the years.Now I've transferred those feelings towards cars again,unfortunately so have the masses.

[drmark]

harleywilma said:

I have over the last 3 years been selling my collection of classic bikes as I fancied a change and just found myself wondering why I had all these beautiful machines just sitting under covers year in year out,I suppose they made me feel some sense of worth as they were all my dream machines of when I was a young lad and I thought that I would never be able to afford such Items,however time changes and boredom sets in and I guess although I made a good buck on them that wasn't the reason for collecting them, I was just very passionate about motorbikes and it was good healthy fun searching them out over the years.Now I've transferred those feelings towards cars again,unfortunately so have the masses.

Good point. Half the fun is tracking down a good car / bringing one back to life. Once you had it a while the passion fades and it ends up sitting under a dust cover. Time to sell and repeat the whole process with something different. I would be sitting on a goldmine if I had kept all my air cooled pork, but I have a wandering eye. At least when it comes to cars. I have never bought as an investment, and if you factor in all the true costs, few every work out that way however good the market.

[Legacywr]

harleywilma said:

I have over the last 3 years been selling my collection of classic bikes as I fancied a change and just found myself wondering why I had all these beautiful machines just sitting under covers year in year out,I suppose they made me feel some sense of worth as they were all my dream machines of when I was a young lad and I thought that I would never be able to afford such Items,however time changes and boredom sets in and I guess although I made a good buck on them that wasn't the reason for collecting them, I was just very passionate about motorbikes and it was good healthy fun searching them out over the years.Now I've transferred those feelings towards cars again,unfortunately so have the masses.

Spill the beans, what did you have?

[mollytherocker]

harleywilma said:

I have over the last 3 years been selling my collection of classic bikes as I fancied a change and just found myself wondering why I had all these beautiful machines just sitting under covers year in year out,I suppose they made me feel some sense of worth as they were all my dream machines of when I was a young lad and I thought that I would never be able to afford such Items,however time changes and boredom sets in and I guess although I made a good buck on them that wasn't the reason for collecting them, I was just very passionate about motorbikes and it was good healthy fun searching them out over the years.Now I've transferred those feelings towards cars again,unfortunately so have the masses.

This is a revealing and honest post. I think we might all recognise elements of it in ourselves.

I offer no advice. Just to recognise these things.

[NJH]

mollytherocker said:

NJH said:

Watches exactly the same, I have a really nice 70s Heuer Carrera and mid 80s Omega Speedie neither of which have gone up much in several years, however I also have an old Tudor sub the ones with the Rolex oyster case, bracelet and crown and those have doubled in price over the same period. Its all a nonsense really.

Of course its all nonsense. We are talking about boys toys here. Nothing that really matters.

Thing is, in this complex and challenging world we all live in, we need some nonsense in our life.

In fact, I might suggest that its even important.

The nonsense bit is why and how some things end up gaining a lot of monetary value. Tudor is a case in point, they pulled out of the UK market as no one was buying them, the submariners that were like a cheapo Rolex sub often sat around for years and some mega bargains were had back in the day. Now though because of the tenuous links to French military and Rolex parts/design those watches have suddenly become very sought after by collectors. Frankly there a bit pants nice crown apart, a nice mid 70s Heuer automatic chronograph however is a thing of real beauty with a stunning micro-rotor movement but again the nonsense there is that if it came in a square case (Monaco) its worth 3x the money of the exact same watch in a rounded Carrera case because again of some tenuous link to Steve McQueen. The world is IMHO chock full of people that know the price of something but have no idea about value, they pays the money because so many people with vested interests keep telling em how great otherwise fairly normal things are and pumping the image like crazy.

[harleywilma]

Legacywr said:

Spill the beans, what did you have?

1973 Kawasaki z1, 1975 kawasaki z1b, 1975 kawasaki H1b500, kawasaki kh250,kawaski s3 400,1978 Honda 1000 cbx,z,Honda Rc30,x2 1976 suzuki gt 750's suzuki 380gt ,1980 homogolated suzuki 1000 katana, 2x Triumph T160.s one that was 1976 and the other 1978 cardinal.1967 triumph T120 bonny,Triumph T140 1976 us spec,1972 Triumph T150 front twin leading shoe,Norton commando 850, And The bikes I still keep are the Triumph T140, Bmw 1976 R100s,Ducati monster 900 last of the aircooled, and last but not least my favourite,A last model 2002 RD07 Honda xrv750 Africa twin that can get me anywhere.

Edited by harleywilma on Wednesday 11th November 08:29

[graemel]

harleywilma that was some bike collection you had there. Awesome

[roygarth]

drmark said:

Good point. Half the fun is tracking down a good car / bringing one back to life. Once you had it a while the passion fades and it ends up sitting under a dust cover. Time to sell and repeat the whole process with something different.

So true.

[Legacywr]

graemel said:

harleywilma that was some bike collection you had there. Awesome

Agreed, start a thread!

[drmark]

roygarth said:

So true.

Sadly

[harleywilma]

I realise now that I do not miss them at all as it was such a huge responsibility, keeping them all in tip top running and cosmetic condition,I made a decision to scale right down and free myself from the responsibility,It was hugely cathartic and Strangely I now feel free and less cluttered in my life as I have scaled down all my possessions, but at the time it was what I was about for many years.I have a friend that buys Ferraris but does not drive them in fear that they will devalue, so I guess that spurred me on to buy a Porsche 911 as it was a car that can be used along with my remaining Motorbikes.

[Mousem40]

harleywilma said:

I realise now that I do not miss them at all as it was such a huge responsibility, keeping them all in tip top running and cosmetic condition,I made a decision to scale right down and free myself from the responsibility,It was hugely cathartic and Strangely I now feel free and less cluttered in my life as I have scaled down all my possessions, but at the time it was what I was about for many years.I have a friend that buys Ferraris but does not drive them in fear that they will devalue, so I guess that spurred me on to buy a Porsche 911 as it was a car that can be used along with my remaining Motorbikes.

Did you have one of those Sultan of Brunei style cavernous underground garages?? How on earth did you fit all those bikes in. Any pictures of the collection?

[Legacywr]

harleywilma said:

I realise now that I do not miss them at all as it was such a huge responsibility, keeping them all in tip top running and cosmetic condition,I made a decision to scale right down and free myself from the responsibility,It was hugely cathartic and Strangely I now feel free and less cluttered in my life as I have scaled down all my possessions, but at the time it was what I was about for many years.I have a friend that buys Ferraris but does not drive them in fear that they will devalue, so I guess that spurred me on to buy a Porsche 911 as it was a car that can be used along with my remaining Motorbikes.

What do you still have?

[harleywilma]

Legacywr said:

What do you still have?

Ive kept the T140 bonny,Bmw R100s, Ducati Monster, and my favourite XRV africa twin..

[harleywilma]

[harleywilma]

Mousem40 said:

Did you have one of those Sultan of Brunei style cavernous underground garages?? How on earth did you fit all those bikes in. Any pictures of the collection?

I have some large outbuildings mancaves converted into garage and workshop,its surprising how many bikes you can squeeze at a push.

[harleywilma]

[harleywilma]