As many who follow this website know, we love Triumph Bonnevilles.
From the beginning of our collection, we set a goal of trying to obtain a pristine or original example of every Bonneville model from the start in 1959 through 1970, when Triumph unfortunately made the decision of going to the oil in frame design.
As of last year, we almost had them all … just the illusive 1963 T120R was missing. Now we can happily report that we have obtained a ’63 Bonneville and it is half way through restoration by Dave Wedlake. It is scheduled for completion next spring (2010) when it will complete the full range of Bonneville "R"s in our collection. We’ll report more about this particular project in an upcoming posting.
We are always on the lookout for ways to improve the quality of our collection where it is necessary. Certainly, our restored Bonnevilles by Terry Clark (1960 TR7A), Gary Chitwood (1962 and 1964 T120Rs, 1964 T120C and 1967 T120TT) and Dave Wedlake (1965 T120R, 1965 T120C East Coast, 1966 T120R, 1966 T120TT, 1967 T120R and 1969 T120R) are all pristine examples. Also, we are very satisfied to have a fine original 1959 Bonneville and an exceptional 1970 T120R.
However, neither of the two remaining Bonnevilles, the 1961 T120R and 1968 T120R meet our pristine criteria.
Our 1961 Bonneville’s restoration was completed back in the ‘90s and it was driven to shows by the previous owner before we obtained it. This motorcycle is a very rare machine and is still “too nice to restore” yet. We plan to keep it as is until we ever find another ’61 T120R to restore. Then we will probably sell it.
Upgrading the 1968 T120R in our collection is the current focus of our attention. Our existing machine, which we obtained in 2005, is an extremely nice restoration completed in the late ‘90s or early 2000s. But like our ’61 Bonneville, it has been ridden to shows and is not what would be called a “pristine example”. So, for the past several years, we have been looking for a suitable '68 T120R to restore to replace the one in the collection. We have finally found one and determined it meets our criteria for purchase and restoration. We plan to restore it over the next year and have it in our collection by next summer. We have already had someone step forward and express their interest in buying the ’68 T120R now in our collection. We hope to complete the sale in the next month.
The remainder of this posting details the general methodology we used to determine a Triumph project is a suitable candidate for purchase and restoration. We used this methodology in the evaluation and purchase of the new 1968 T120R project. We''ll discuss the specifics of that in our next posting.
Our Evaluation Methodolgy:
Whenever we find a Triumph that we would consider restoring, we check out certain items that may eliminate its candidacy for restoration. Here they are:
1. Frame and Engine numbers: Do the numbers on the engine and frame match? Are we certain the numbers are original factory stampings? Is the bike’s frame/engine number in the range manufactured that year? A quick check of David Gaylin’s books “Triumph Motorcycle Restoration Guide” or “Triumph in America” answers any questions. As a rule of thumb, if we are going to spend good money for a full restoration, we require matching numbers.
2. Assuming the bike passes test number 1, we move on to the engine/gearbox: Are there any fins missing or broken? Is there any case damage (for example throwing a chain)? Repairing case damage is costly and difficult. It takes a talented individual to get the repair right, including texturing where required. If any crankcase damage is too bad to repair, the casing may be replaced if one can be found, but using an NOS or used part takes away the “matching numbers” of the bike so we don’t recommend replacement of the crankcase for that reason.
3. Are there any difficult to find parts missing from or too badly damaged on the bike? Some parts are just impossible to find … made of “unobtainium” as some restorers like to say. Even though a thriving reproduction parts market for vintage British bike parts, some things can’t be found … or the current reproductions are of such low quality they aren’t worth using.
A couple of examples … until recently the clearhooter horns for the 1969 (puck shaped covers) and 1970 (windtone) Bonnevilles were almost impossible to locate and very, very expensive when you could find them. Fortunately, very nice copies are now available from England. In fact, you can see a set on the 1969 Bonneville that Dave Wedlake restored for us. They are just like the originals and were not all that expensive.
Another example … the silencer for the ’61 TR5AC we are restoring is a very rare part that was impossible for us to find new. We think it was one year only and for this model exclusively. With only 6oo of that model ever made, finding an NOS silencer was not possible, so we believed the silencer was destined to be the major item that would ruin what would otherwise be a beautiful restoration. Fortunately, our chromer in El Paso was able to do a wonderful rechroming job on this part and that will result in us succeeding with a completely accurate restoration.
A big problem area regarding reproduction parts is that many of them are not of high quality. For example, we have found that almost all non-British made reproduction headlight buckets and rims are of very poor quality. We have a very difficult time mating the rim with the bucket once the headlight reflector has been installed. In general, we try not to use any reproduction buckets and rims and always try to go with rechromed originals or NOS parts. We have been fortunate in finding what we need so far, but suspect that in the future, this may be a roadblock to successful restorations.
4. Are we paying a reasonable price to acquire the motorcycle? A typical rule of thumb we use is that for any 650 Triumph, it needs to be a complete machine in decent shape and cost us $4000 or less. If the asking price is more than $4000, the bike needs to be a rare or highly desirable model. If the asking price for the bike is less than $2000, it may be a great deal … or it could have significant problems that would be best to avoid.
Experience has shown that 500 models should cost about 2/3 what the 650s cost.
A recent example where we made a costly error was the 1967 Daytona T100R that Dave Wedlake is now completing restoration of. Even though we only paid a bit more than $2000, we didn’t realize at the time that the front end wasn’t the type which originally came on this machine. It has now been over two years since we started the restoration and much of that time was spent acquiring the correct and somewhat difficult to find parts for the front end. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have bought this bike. Several’67 T100Rs have become available to us over the past two years and any one of them would have been a smarter choice. Ours will still be a beautiful bike when it is done, but our total cost will likely be well above its market value.
How to determine the value of a restored motorcycle …
If the bike passes all four tests, we can then move on to develop a restoration budget to determine if the project will actually be financially viable.
We obviously want to know as closely as possible what the total bike will cost us (including acquisition, restoration and transportation) and what it will be worth when done. Of course we’d like it to be worth more than it costs but unfortunately that isn’t always the case.
How do we find out what the bike is worth when the restoration is complete? As with any other item, a bike’s value is determined by supply and demand in the open market. Restorations of rarer models always command higher prices. Better quality restorations command higher prices than lesser restorations.
Unless we have personal knowledge of the value of a particular model, we have found the best way to determine what a bike is worth is by checking recent auction prices, especially the latest Midamerica auction in Las Vegas, which is the largest motorcycle auction in the world. Midamerica auction results can be found at http://www.midamericaauctions.com/recentauctionresults.asp. Auction prices are important because potential buyers have had the opportunity to actually see and evaluate each bike before it is sold. With few exceptions, a well restored bike will sell at auction for close to what it is actually worth. The exceptions are usually on the high side where two or more bidders have a special attraction for a certain model (had one when they were young, for example) and they bid the price above the bike’s actual worth.
Note 1: Our experience has shown that if a bike is rare or highly desirable, its potential value will probably be high enough to warrant a full restoration assuming the acquisition price is reasonable.
Note 2: Typically, our experience shows that 650 and 500 Triumphs in comparable shape cost about the same to restore. But restored Bonnevilles will be worth much more than the single carb 650s (with some rarer models being the exception, of course) and 500s will be worth even less than the 650 single carbs when restored.
Our Budget methodology:
Once we have determined the likely value of a restoration, we will then develop our restoration budget to determine if the project is a good investment or not. If the cost is likely to be too much greater than the value, we will probably not buy the bike and undertake restoration.
Our major budget categories are:
1. powder coating
2. painting
3. chroming
4. cadmium plating
5. engine/gearbox rebuilding
6. gauge rebuilding
7. parts acquisition
8. disassembly labor
9. reassembly labor
Typically, disassembly, powder coating and cad plating are the least expensive and most predictable expenses. We usually spend $300-400 on disassembly, $300-400 on powder coating and about $150-200 on cad plating.
Painting usually runs about $800-1000 for tank, fenders, side cover, oil tank, fork ears, steering damper, chain guard and heat sink. All other black parts are powder coated.
Chroming costs vary depending on what needs to get done. Typically 2 wheel rims, 2 badges, fork nuts, dust excluders and exhaust collars is $450-500. We may or may not rechrome exhaust and silencers depending on their availability and quality in the aftermarket.
Gauge rebuilding usually costs between $150-200 per gauge.
The categories above assume you yourself coordinate the activities like we usually do. If you have someone else managing them, you will need to add in the cost for them to do it.
The three categories that are the most expensive and toughest to estimate are engine rebuilding, parts acquisition and reassembly.
Engine rebuilding and reassembly vary directly in relation to the price per hour you are charged for labor. We have our engines rebuilt by Dave Wedlake, Leroy Turner or Garry Chitwood and so have history on how much each of them has charged us in the past for a comparable engine rebuild. That amount is what we will plug in our budget.
For someone who is developing a budget for the first time, we recommend using the Countyside Cycle website to estimate engine rebuild cost. Their website is: http://countrysidecycle.com/default.htm We haven’t had Countryside do any work for us, but the description of the work they do and their pricing appears to be very competitive and is a good estimate for a budget.
Regard reassembly, we know from experience that a full restoration on a British bike takes about 100-120 hours. You can probably deduct about 50% for disassembly, parts research and acquisition and engine rebuild, leaving about 50-60 hours for reassembly.
How did we actually determine that our newly acquired ’68 T120R was a good candidate for restoration? We will discuss its evaluation, budget and the decision to purchase the bike and restore it in our next posting.
