If you could restore a bike to look NOS

[MarianoC]

I think it also depends on the state we find the bike in, many can be brought back to life with many hours of cleaning, polishing and maintenance. Others, on the other hand, are in such poor condition that they can only be recovered with a complete restoration. And no doubt both will find a new owner.

 

[Sparkplug]

What about restorations made to look like original survivors?
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As a matter of fact that is what I am doing with my 1967 Stingray that I’ve had since I was 10 years old. I was going to restore it to like new. Then I decided to make it look more as if someone had taken good care of it for 50 years.

 

[PlasticNerd]

I like original bikes, restored bikes, custom bikes, etc. I’ve done several patina restorations and paint match work for rare parts. If I show or sell them I always disclose that it’s been repainted- not trying to fool anyone, but most are fooled when they turn out to look old snd original. I did the tank on my Hiawatha, a complete Autocycle, several parts matched motorbikes, and have also “refurbished “ original paint bikes to bring them up a few notches. To each their own. Ride and enjoy them, if they get scratched oh well “character “!!

 

[Drosentreter]

NRCS members have said that there’s more 427 tri-powered vettes out there than built. Some are close to fooling even the best collector. So it comes down to the paper trail. I’ve seen collectors hire professionals to inspect vintage cars. They spend hours going over just the paint thickness. I’ve always wondered what they charge? If you’re collecting to make a buck or to go out and enjoy your new found find and not worry about a flat tire on a reproduction? There has to be a place for the caretakers

From what I have seen it’s normally around 2k or 10 percent of the cars value from there up.

 

[Miq]

what is it about restored bikes that you don't like?

I have never restored a bike but I have completely disassembled them and refurbished them. I'm not an expert and I don't know every detail of every bike, but I have seen a fair amount of OG old bikes here, and there are few things I've seen lately on restored bikes for sale that I don't like. I'm posting examples (after biting my tongue for a while) but my intent is not to shame anyone, especially the people that worked on these bikes. It's their choice to restore it however they like. These things are just not my cup of tea. Restore, to me, means the same as it came from the factory, NOT better than factory built.

Triple dipped chrome that is way too over the top. If the metal looks like it's been stuffed into a chrome pillow, that's too much! This chainring looks twice as thick as it should with chrome IMO.

Paint so thick that it start to obscure the details in the metal below it. The E in Delta and the K in Rocket are disappearing! That's not how it looked when it was new. Delta would never do that to their own branding. I won't go into how over the top the clearcoat is.

It's the details that are really important like using hardware and materials that makes sense for that time. Hex head bolts for chain tensioners? It's not like it's extremely hard to find NOS square drive bolts that were made for this application. Hard to tell if these were ground down at the tip like the OG bolts. Are the threads digging into that fender brace?

This brake strap is strange and I can't figure it out. Maybe I'm being picky but the felt and the gap at the top and the hex head bolt sticking down vertically all look odd. Is that how they were equipped at the factory? Really?

Electrical wiring should look period correct, right? Using modern 7mm PVC insulated spark plug wire is not OK to me, even if it has a "woven" exterior. I have worked on a lot of vintage electronics and I have never seen this style of wire.

Using a rubber boot to hide the modifications that were necessary to the lamp to fit this odd wire is not convincing me. It's not hard to find examples, here on the CABE, of the correct looking wiring and the correct machined metal wire entry to the lamp. That OG domed metal nut shown below is a beautiful part of this lamp's design, now replaced with a rubber magneto boot?...

How far can you rotate the handlebars to the right before you run out of slack? When products leave the factory equipped with accessories, or when owners equip their bike with new aftermarket parts, they are set up to be ridable, not just for show.

Not trying to be petty with this dissection of the choices the restorer made, but when people put this much time and money into restoring something, the potential buyers might notice stuff like this. Especially when being asked to part with $1000s to own it. I'm not drawn to restored bikes but I do notice stuff like this and understand some of the reasons why I'm not.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Good post.
You pretty much summed what a lousy example looks like when it comes to “restorations”.

Some people see only the glitter though and think these poor examples are fantastic.

 

[MarianoC]

Here is a bike that I have not painted or chromed, just spent many hours rescuing the surfaces that were covered in dirt and rust.

I did not have the regulator at the end of the gearbox command cable, so I made it by hand at home, imitating the original as best as possible (these spare parts are impossible to find in my country).