We demystify the classic motorcycle investment market with our customers. We bring clarity to an opaque market which is inhabited by movers of metal who will try to convince you that anything on their showroom floor is a great investment. The world is just not that simple and collectibles just do not work like that. This is why we hold hardly any stock and hunt down the motorcycles our investors require. That way we have no agenda other than protecting your investment. We are here to bring clarity to the opaque market, to junk all of the smoke and mirrors and work transparently with you. There are reasons why motorcycles increase in value and they are to do with context, rarity, how may machines were built and how many people had motorcycles licences at the time that motorcycle was around. Supply and demand.
The demand for motorcycles, with some exceptions, during 1985-1996 is far less than those manufactured between 1975 and 1983. That is because sales of new motorcycles in the UK between 1975 and 1983 were between 225,000 and 315,000. By 1994 the UK only sold 44,000 new motorcycles. There were just less people who were affected by those machines from 1983-1996 than those produced between 1975 and 1983. The Japanese and Italian manufacturers also produced super bikes in small numbers between 1975 and 1983 and made loads of the things from 1984-1996. My UK sales figures are from the MCIA and I wrote about this back in 2015 and I recommend reading that article here. If you are thinking about investing in these machines then please read this article, as we are here to help you invest safely and information is power. There are dealers trying to convince investors that Superlegerras and any modern limited edition Ducati is a great investment, it is not. They have gone down in value and there is just not the demand for them, there may be in twenty five years, but that’s a long time to wait for a return. We talk our investors through which motorcycles they like and create portfolios around those motorcycles according to the demand for them. We hold the relevant classic motorcycle data to make an informed decision about which classic motorcycle to invest in.
Context
Once we’ve worked together to understand which motorcycles to go for, it’s all about context and authenticity. It is pointless trying to find Carl Fogarty’s championship winning F94 916SP, but it has to be brand new, because that machine just does not exist. You can buy that motorcycle, but not new and in the crate. We have examined several “prototype” Sandcast and Z1 900s that were not what it was claimed they were. The same is true of racing motorcycles, there are plenty of fakes of those around and some have come from the factories themselves. Expecting to find forty year old motorcycles that were painted in cellulose paint with that paintwork in perfect condition is just not realistic, due to the nature of the way cellulose paint degrades over time. Many classic motorcycles that are claimed to be unrestored, and perfectly preserved, are in fact very well restored and not unrestored at all. You can only buy what is really available in the market, not what is not available and doesn’t exist. There is also a booming trade in fakes. Green Frames, MV Agusta 750S, Z Stripe Ducatis, 888 SPS, 916 SP, Ducati 750 Sports, Ducati 750 and 900 SS are just some of the motorcycles that have delivered a booming trade in fakes. It also doesn’t help when manufacturers are not forthcoming with their records and often have flawed data anyway, if at all.
Authenticity
We spend our entire working lives investigating the authenticity of classic and vintage motorcycles. Over the years we have seen some very clever and deviously put together motorcycles and heard some incredible stories and justifications. We have also found some incredible motorcycles for our investors, as well as preventing them from making some terrifying mistakes. I helped identify some very expensive fraudulent racing motorcycles in the 1990s and saved my client several hundred thousand pounds. We had to behave like detectives and work through all sorts of stories until we could prove one way or another whether or not these machines were genuine. They were not, but they seemed so authentic and real, just oozing history as we stood next to them. Whoever built those machines delivered pure works of art, but they were not what they were not the motorcycles they claimed them to be. That was a very good grounding for our work at The Motorcycle Broker.
Authenticity is also vital when motorcycles are restored, there is a powerful backlash against the shiny magpie fodder in the market and for good reason. Such motorcycles are not at all authentic and are a facsimile or Dinky toy version of the real thing. No motorcycle manufactured at any time had mirror smooth paint, it all had a level of orange peel in the finish, which is a slight mottling. Paintwork was never super shiny, as it was cellulose which had a slight dullness compared to two pack paint. We have developed a way of making modern two pack paint look exactly like cellulose and to mimic the orange peel finish. Two pack is far more stable than cellulose, ages better and is much tougher. We will be making some videos, and writing further articles about this in particular. We are very proud of our classic motorcycle restoration work and the way our machines look like brand new motorcycles rescued from a time capsule. Every classic motorcycle comes with a proven due diligence file. However, we declare that the machine is a restoration and deliver the owner a photographic and written file of each and every process of restoration for that motorcycle. We work hard to recreate the original factory finishes of the time and it takes much longer than making our machines inauthentic. There is an artistry in authenticity and we pride ourselves in this work. The trouble we have taken, the time we have taken to develop our techniques and the amount of time our paintwork takes is quite shocking. You have to actually watch the work to understand how it is done as there are no short cuts at all.
It may sound like the market is a difficult one to invest in, but we are here to make it clear and to deliver the best quality classic and vintage motorcycles to deliver you the excellent returns and the joy you desire. Speculators always come unstuck, especially in difficult times, but wisdom and quality always prevail. We do not encourage our investors to gamble, we go through the motorcycles that have always consistently delivered profits and the reasons why that is. We work out with you what you like and track down the correct investment grade classic motorcycle and complete classic motorcycle portfolios. All machines are set up for you to enjoy, going through our rigorous workshop processes so they are set up as they were when brand new from the factory. You get a due diligence file with proof that your machines are investment grade and a workshop file proving showing all of the work we have done. You can store your machine, or portfolio with us and even use our classic motorcycle concierge service. We will deliver your classic motorcycle ready to ride and enjoy, wherever you want it. When you have finished with it, we will collect it and put it back into storage ready for the next time you want to enjoy it. When you want to sell your classic motorcycle we will list it free of charge and sell it for you. We offer the only bespoke end to end classic motorcycle investment service.
If you are interested in investing safely in the classic motorcycle market, then call The Motorcycle Broker on 01803 865166. You will find a no pressure environment in which you can ask questions and understand how the market works. We are not high a pressure sales driven shop. We want our investors to understand the classic motorcycle investment market as well as we do.
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