An investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame is becoming harder and harder to find. I work very closely with Ian Falloon and we have both found it tougher each day to find the right example for our customers as they find their way into stronger and stronger hands. Nearly all of them being offered now have some of the unique parts missing which are impossible to find, and if you do find them they can be prohibitively expensive to acquire. It is always best, and most costs effective, to buy an example with all of those components present. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Full house green frame
A full house green frame is now a seriously big ask and sellers know what they have. It’s not just about rims, carbs, headlamps, bodywork, forks and brakes, it’s also about the nuts, bolts and finishes. So many of these machines have not been started for years and assuming the motor is in great condition because you were told so by the seller just isn’t enough, as everything is so expensive to fix on these motorcycles. Engines should be up and running properly, brakes can be very costly too if not resolved and they really do need to be the correct components. Thinking you can just pick up these impossible to find unicorn parts means you’ll spend years of frustration and it was just much cheaper to buy a full house example to start with and a lot less heart ache. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Green frame compromise
There will need to be a green frame compromise due to the scarcity and cost of investment grade examples available. Ian Falloon and I have discussed this at length, and very soon, customers will have to compromise on accepting full house green frames and settle for ones with replica parts. We are already finding ways of replicating certain unicorn parts and we will maintain a register of which machines are genuine and which have replica parts. Customers will just have to get used to paying more for genuine full house green frames and paying an awful lot for the replica parts to ensure that quality is maintained. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Better to ride them
It is better to ride them than park them up, as all of these motors are really suffering from lack of use. The longer these machines are not run, the more expensive it is to bring them back to life and riding them really does keep them in good condition. Owners often worry that running up mileage will devalue their motorcycle, but this is not the case. These motors are fine for 100,000 miles between full rebuilds, so riding them 1,000 miles a year will take 100 years before a full rebuild is required. Using the machine in such a way will keep them in great condition and less vulnerable to component failure. This idea of motorcycles having to be low mileage, or under 5,000 miles, comes from British motorcycle ownership. Most of the British machines, not Broughs or Vincents, need the valve guides replaced every 5,000 miles which is where this myth comes from. You can see videos of some of the work we had to do to the Amelia Island green frame which had been laid up for twenty five years on our Youtube playlist. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Green frame paint
Green frame paint is an extremely complicated issue with conflicting information everywhere. We are very fortunate to have been working on the Amelia Island green frame which has 5,000 miles from new and is mostly unrestored. The owner wanted us to retire the bodywork, while it still has integrity, and to completely reproduce the patina using modern paints on replica bodywork. This is a very wise move which adds great value to their motorcycle while preserving and conserving the original paintwork and bodywork. We have spent weeks trying to recreate the silver and turquoise of the bodywork and the frame. We could not charge for over half the work we did, as it would just be way too costly and we have spent weeks researching paint. One thing we learned was that the lacquer had a yellow tinge to it from new, compared to modern clear coats, which may have been the UV protection additive. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
All green frames are a different colour
All green frames are a different colour all over, although they used the same or similar paint through out production. The paint will vary hugely depending on what carrier was used, whether it was cellulose, thermo plastic acrylic, two pack, or synthetic enamel. We will know shortly what was used as the paint is being analysed in a laboratory. Moreover, the same colour in the same paint carrier will vary hugely depending on the humidity in the spray booth, gun pressure, gun fan, which spray gun is used, how quickly or slowly the paint is applied, how thin the paint is and how heavily the paint is applied. Each of these factors will wildly change the colour, the way the metallic lies and the depth of the paint, especially with the silver and metallic turquoise. Every one of these machines will have varied in colour and the metallic would have varied greatly too, which affects the colour. They would have looked similar, yet very different and each one unique. When buying a green frame which has been restored it is extremely likely that the entire motorcycle will need respraying as modern paints do not look anything like these old paints without some extreme work to create the colour correctly. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Buying a restored green frame
When buying a restored green frame it is extremely likely that the entire motorcycle will need respraying as modern paints do not look anything like these old paints without some extreme work to recreate the colour correctly. Green frames do have a very particular look with their paintwork and it really makes a big difference to the authenticity of the motorcycle. Over time the finish will become more and more important, in fact we are even respraying a restored green frame we bought for a customer at our own expense. Unfortunately the colours are just not convincing enough. also the filler they used has started to sink, there are lots of inclusions, it’s way too shiny and some of the paint is already de-laminating. This is way below our standards and we ensure machines we supply as investment grade are brought up to standard, included in the purchase price, when you buy an investment grade green frame from The Motorcycle Broker. We will be writing further articles with links to evidence about these trends soon. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Frame is not green
The frame is not green on a green frame, so if you’re buying a restored example and the frame is green, then the colour is wrong. It was a metallic blue used for Ducati’s outboard motors called Azure Blue (sky blue). Recreating these metallics with modern paints is almost impossible, but with a lot research, colour match attempts, and hard work it is possible to get very close indeed, and it may be that what we’ve created is spot on. The reason we have to be a little vague is that the original paint has aged and will have slightly lost some of its brightness and metallic sparkle. However, the metallics were incredibly flat and had very little flop in this period in history. By flop, we mean the colour you see in a modern metallic when looking face on is lighter than the colour you see when you look across the colour rather than directly face on. When the silver or blue are viewed on a curved surface, the flop is really noticeable. The lacquer is also crazed on the old paint which refracts the light and kills off some of the brightness of the colour and sparkle of the metallic particles, which are small pieces of aluminium. So we recreate the level of metallic we can see, match the aged colour and reduce the flop, all of which sounds simple. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame
An investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame is becoming extremely hard to find now, and has been becoming harder and harder over the last ten years or so. Such examples are now in very strong hands and buyers have to pay what sellers want for them. There is a lot to understand about these machines and it’s best to take them to workshops that really do understand them, as they were all hand built and there’s a lot to know. The first two hundred bikes had the camshafts incorrectly drilled which put the valve timing out by up to sixteen degrees. This requires having the bevels moved correctly to re-time the motor correctly. Old oil turns to a very hard varnish which blocks up oil ways and some machines from new had oil ways incorrectly drilled through when new. To read the full version of this article, click the link here and subscribe free to The Inside Line. Once logged in, go to market analysis and scroll to the end of the page where you can find a much more detailed and longer version of this article.
Buying an investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame
If you are serious about buying an investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame, there are no bargains. Owners know what they have and there are no bargains, as owners are not having to sell them to pay their electricity bill. Be very wary of “bargains” as they are certainly bargains for a reason. Always ensure your due diligence is spot on and don’t take anything for granted. Thinking you can find impossible to find parts later is delusional and always results in disappointment. If you’re buying any green frame with a green frame you will need to remove the frame and get it correctly painted, as they were blue. If you want to be sure that you have found an investment grade 1974 Ducati 750SS green frame call The Motorcycle Broker on 01364 649027 or 07971 497615, Email [email protected] or fill out the form below.
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