>Bruce Thomson wrote:
>Is this bike right for anyone? With the poor paint job, the extra braze-on
s,
>and todays cost of restoration would it not be just better to keep the fork
and
>throw the rest of the bike away?? I mean who would bid on it? BT
Well, about ten people so far...
According to my records this bike sold for $1,000 in 2003, $1,250 early 2004 and $1,358 in June 2004... the first was a private sale, the second two we re on eBay and in each case there were a good number of bidders. Since Masi prices have gone up quite a bit in the past three years, there should be at least as many bidders this time around. In other words, I don't think that a few brazeons and a repaint will keep the seller from making a good return on the bike (and he seems confident enough about that, since the bike's out there without a reserve).
A few folks have asked me about the bike off-list so for anyone who's intere sted, here's what I know about it... since the last time it was on eBay, the logo on the saddle has seen some wear, the world logo hoods have been repla ced with shield logos, it has a shorter stem, different bar tape and cable h ousing, much nicer pedals (the old ones were quite rusty and had pretty beat dust caps and toe straps) and the Masi pump is gone. The ebay handle of th e seller is not the same as the winner of the last auction so it may have ch anged hands one or more times since '04. Overall, the bike's in nice shape, and since it has quite a few good-condition original components, including the Martano rims, I'd say this bike still has a lot to offer besides the low serial number and the twin plate crown.
I'm not sure the photos in this auction show the actual color of this bike v ery well... they seem a bit contrasty and overexposed, giving the paint a ki nd of electric blue color (except maybe for the first photo of the bottom br acket). The bike's color in the photos I have from previous auctions looks closer to the standard Masi light blue metallic (though the particle size of the undercoat is larger than the original Masi paint, and the overall tone is a bit greener). Decal placement is good and it has the correct seat tube bands and the two-color downtube decal.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA