Jerrys question is one we have visited before Peter W updating one of his older bikes is still built by Peter Doug repainting a pair of his is the samething Brian building a MASI replica is a Bayliss not a MASI
Restoration is an interesting thing as I call on a number of Auto Restoration shops specializing in European and American race cars of the past. Its pretty common to take a car that was heavily modified over its life time and return it to original condition, I dont think these cars are any less respected. At Concours these cars are usually displayed as such. Recently one of my customers has been doing a lot of Indy Roadsters (Jim Hurtibese fans raise your hands) these cars were usually heavily modified over the years to keep them competetive. My customer returns them back to original or some other point in its history. I have seen a "birdcage" Maserati have a whole new frame built as the old one was patched togeather over the years, its still a Maser. I have also seen a Daytona Ferrari changed to a Competition version complete with new chassis plate, definately not what it is displayed as. In fact forgeries are some what common as you can take a 60s GTE of low value ,hammer out a Monza body and walk away with 5 or 10x the investment (this is a lot harder to do today than in the old days where these cars were said to have a Venezuelan "racing" history. I dont think we have seen much of this other than the "Confente" of a couple years ago . I have always wanted a Track bike to go with my Bianchi Team bike. Sadly I have only seen one for sale my size and thought $1500 was to much for it (con dente pedals and all) I am now concidering a "replica" as life is to short.
real question might be how many tubes you can replace before its not what it was?
BOB FREITAS
out the door in MILL VALLEY,CA USA