Jeff,
Sorry for my general statement. I was referring to the situations in
the past when certain things, French classic bikes in particular, were
going to Japanese bidders who were offering REALLY high bids for that
sort of thing. The effect of that was that the eBay prices on the
stuff got to be astronomical. In addition to that, once the bikes and
parts went to Japan, us here in the states where the stuff was being
auctioned, and where much of it spent it's service life, would not be
seen by the collectors here at the shows and rides ever again.
It seems that maybe that condition has lessened in recent years; but I
don't follow eBay very much. On account of eBay, many of the people
have become familiar with others in the hobby and have taken up
dealing amongst themselves these days.
No offense meant to any foreign country; not even Japan. I would
assume any owner interested in buying the stuff would give the objects
a good home. But once the stuff leaves, it rarely comes back to the
States and we hardly never see the stuff in the collections.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Brian,
I agree with almost everything you say. "The "opinions" vary
widely
amongst all of us" - couldn't agree more! Most times I see a CR post
talking about the high price an item got on eBay, I'm thinking "Gee,
that
doesn't sound too outrageous". There's a downside to all this sun and
surf
and whatnot in Australia..... Anyway, I'm not too sure about this
though:
"Finding the right home for the bike is more important to the people
who
really care about these bikes. If the highest bidder gets the stuff,
much
of the important bikes and parts will leave the US forever".
Many/most of the bikes owned by CR members were built in
countries
other than the US. Many Italians, Brits, French and even Aussies
might
have a thing or two to say about how these bikes ended up in the US in
the
first place (highest bidders??). Are we foreigners incapable of
providing
a good home? Oh well, perhaps I am just hoping that more nice
bikes/parts
are to be found in Australia at some point!!
Wishing I could go to Cirque....
Best, Jeff Melb, Australia
> Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 13:19:52 GMT
> From: "brianbaylis@juno.com" <brianbaylis@juno.com>
> To: romeug@comcast.net
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Cc: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]When is a restoration not a restoration?
> Message-ID: <20070607.061952.18731.0@webmail08.lax.untd.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Precedence: list
> Message: 1
>
>
> Gabriel,
>
> I'm with you. Just to begin with, the logistics of getting people
>
> together to communicate on the issues, of which there will be
>
> thousands, and the opinions of each person, are already next to
>
> impossible. The "opinions" vary widely amongst all of us. Who is
going
>
> to "win" the debates? The values, once established, will be obsolete
>
> next week.
>
> I have way more than enough work to do for the rest of my life.
>
> Honestly, I need time for my other hobbies of playing drums in surf
>
> and oldies bands, making handmade knives, and making gas powered air
>
> guns. Now I have a 1957 Lambretta to restore; and I can already tell
>
> this won't be the last one.
>
>
>
> I'm not certain the next generation will have the same appreciation
>
> that we have for these bikes. Until "we" came along, most of the
stuff
>
> was tossed in the landfill or abused to death by the original owners,
>
> who used them for what they were meant for. The enjoyment of riding
>
> them. It's our generation who sort of cares because they are the
bikes
>
> that we either owned or wanted to own when we were younger. I sort of
>
> doubt that there will be too many classic bikes collectors in 50
years.
>
> Sure, my knowledge and that of many others here is of importance to
>
> us. And would be important to others in the future as well. But we
>
> seem to be doing fine just the way we are. Furthermore, many of us
>
> sell or trade stuff amongst ourselves and the money involved is not
>
> the primary issue. Finding the right home for the bike is more
>
> important to the people who really care about these bikes. If the
>
> highest bidder gets the stuff, much of the important bikes and parts
>
> will leave the US forever. Parting out bikes will be the most
>
> profitable way to off an exotic piece; and no one in their right mind
>
> would do that for the money. And yet it happens still; by people who
>
> collect bikes for profit. Forget profit and respect the surviving
>
> bikes, give them good homes, and ride them whenever possible.
>
> I suspect you (George) will become comfortable with the system the
way
>
> it is as time goes on. Encouraging the value study will do harm to
the
>
> hobby in my opinion, just as Gabriel has mentioned. Let it be. Save
us
>
> all a lot of work and arguing. Ride and enjoy the bikes for what they
>
> are.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
> Still looking for the valve caps with the matching serial numbers to
>
> complete my 1968 Ollie Ozone bike. I can not rest until I find ALL
the
>
> correct original parts. ;-)