I am with you Ray. My biggest problem with these bikes are I am terrified that when I am working on one of them I will put a scratch or mar a decal on one. My best story was I just finished rebuilding a bike that just got back with a new paint job and original decal set. I used the park holder that goes inside the frame. I hung the bike up and later the customer called and asked me to do something to it and all my thoughts about that new decal set went out the window. I lightly clamped the frame did the job and took it back down. Oops no letter S on the bike. Latter the week, on beer night, I had a customer tell me he would have hit me when he saw that frame decal. I told him I would never work on his bike now that I know that. The owner of the bike said no problem and got an other decal set. It is hard being a mechanic on these bikes one mistake and pow to the moon. Steven Willis 1778 East Second Street Scotch Plains NJ 07076 908-322-3330 http://www.thebikestand.com
> I think all of us would agree on one thing. Beauty is in the eye of the
> beholder. In all honesty I can not understand the whole price level that
> the MASI brand brings at auction today but that is me. Others must see the
> value better than I and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has
> that special feather that tickles them and it is all good. I just know
> that I own a lot of bikes that have drastically changed in value over the
> years. When I was into the Balloon bikes my Schwinn Phantom was in the
> $2000 range at auction, today you would be hard pressed to sell one at
> $800. Similarly, my Schwinn Grey Ghost Sting Ray bike went for well over
> $2000 not more than 2 years ago, today it is hard to get 1G for it. Tastes
> and values change over time. One of the attractions on the classic road
> bikes to me is that they seem to hold their values and are more stable.
> Still that is no guarantee but I can also ride the classic road bikes a
> lot better than the two I previously mentioned. The last time I asked
> about the seemingly high value on a MASI GC I was told that "hey it was in
> that movie, that's why". I am sure those of you lucky enough to own one
> would probably have a more sophisticated explanation but it still escapes
> me.
>
> Ray Homiski
> Elizabeth, NJ