The Fun Of Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 8:32 pm
Just thought I would share this for anyone who's interested.
I bought my '72 H2 in May as a project that I knew was going to take up alot of my time and a fairly serious cash investment to get it how I want it. Seven months on and I'm on track to having it on the road for spring and a trip to the Blackpool rally.
Being an organised person I've kept a log from day 1 of what I've done and when, what parts I've bought, who from and how much they cost, along with the shipping costs as they can really mount up. Then there's the customs duty and Vat for some of the parts that come from overseas.
I've recorded all this in a diary and the costs are on a spreadsheet but up until last night I've never bothered to add it all up. Now, some people might say it's better not to know and to some extent I agree with that but when it's finished I'd really like to know how much it's all cost.
I'm sure non of us do what we do to make money at it. It's a hobby that takes up hours and hours of our time but is done purely for the enjoyment of seeing a bike make it back onto the road. There's nothing like the satisfaction of that rebuilt engine firing up for the first time.
Well, I added it all up and got quite a surprise. And a nice one at that. I still have about another thousand to spend but it's going to be under what I originally thought and less that you can buy a new 600 sports bike for.
During a recent trip to the NEC I noticed that the new Kawasaki ZX10R is almost £12,000, or with ABS £13,000 which will probably depreciate to about £8,000 in a couple of years. These classic triples will continue to appreciate and we get to enjoy them and have some fun along the way.
Appologies if I've rambled on but I just wanted to share that.
Andrew
I bought my '72 H2 in May as a project that I knew was going to take up alot of my time and a fairly serious cash investment to get it how I want it. Seven months on and I'm on track to having it on the road for spring and a trip to the Blackpool rally.
Being an organised person I've kept a log from day 1 of what I've done and when, what parts I've bought, who from and how much they cost, along with the shipping costs as they can really mount up. Then there's the customs duty and Vat for some of the parts that come from overseas.
I've recorded all this in a diary and the costs are on a spreadsheet but up until last night I've never bothered to add it all up. Now, some people might say it's better not to know and to some extent I agree with that but when it's finished I'd really like to know how much it's all cost.
I'm sure non of us do what we do to make money at it. It's a hobby that takes up hours and hours of our time but is done purely for the enjoyment of seeing a bike make it back onto the road. There's nothing like the satisfaction of that rebuilt engine firing up for the first time.
Well, I added it all up and got quite a surprise. And a nice one at that. I still have about another thousand to spend but it's going to be under what I originally thought and less that you can buy a new 600 sports bike for.
During a recent trip to the NEC I noticed that the new Kawasaki ZX10R is almost £12,000, or with ABS £13,000 which will probably depreciate to about £8,000 in a couple of years. These classic triples will continue to appreciate and we get to enjoy them and have some fun along the way.
Appologies if I've rambled on but I just wanted to share that.
Andrew
