The sum of its parts: Vintage motorcycles worth more torn down than running

When it comes to vintage motorcycles, certain parts can often be sold individually for high prices, leaving little incentive to keep bikes complete and together, even if they're fully functional. This can create some uneasy feelings for people like me, vintage enthusiasts who love to ride old motorcycles and want to see other people enjoying them.

To illustrate the dilemma with a semi-hypothetical example, picture this: A relative knows you're interested in vintage motorcycles and shares that they still own their first bike, which has been sitting in storage for many years. The motorcycle in this example is a 1975 Honda CB360T, complete as it came from the showroom, but infamously "running when parked." Now, the questions pile up. What is this thing worth? How much might it take to get it back on the road? What should we do with it?

Every motorcycle will be different, and I just chose this example for the purpose of discussion. I would not claim any any opinion to be absolutely right or absolutely wrong, but these are the questions to be answered.

What is this thing worth?

I understand that what something is worth is ultimately dependent on what people will pay, which varies depending on market supply and demand, etc. For the sake of simplicity and brevity, I looked to the used landscape (Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Cycle Trader, etc.) to get a baseline answer for my example bike.

In my area, searching for a Honda CB360T yielded about 15 results (so anecdotally not especially rare), ranging from fully restored examples to parts bikes that had seen hard and pirated lives. The best, "turnkey" examples seemed to command between $2,500 and $3,000, while the donor machines could be had for $750. For sake of argument and round numbers, we'll assign our imaginary little Honda a value about in the middle and assume it would sell as-is for $1,500.

How much might it take to get it back on the road?

This is a hard value to pin down perfectly. It can probably be safely assumed that carburetors will need some level of cleaning and attention, that wear components (i.e. chain and sprockets, tires, battery, etc.) will be replaced, safety systems (brakes) should be gone through, and that a few unexpected gremlins may show up. Depending on your mechanical ability, available free time, and tolerance for trial and error, this may be intimidating or a relatively fun weekend project.

Between the cost of replacement parts and maybe a few hours of a technician's time at your favorite vintage shop to help diagnose the last few quirks, there is an investment that needs to be made to fulfill the dream of riding the 1976 sweetheart of a bike again. While each example is different, it's a good general rule that the grand total cost for parts and repairs will rival or even exceed the selling price. Again, everyone is different, but that may be discouraging to some, especially when a newer and better-performing model could be bought instead. Why spend that much on an old model when a Kawasaki Ninja 300 that's a few years old might be just a few hundred dollars more?

What should we do with it?

So here's the fork in the road. Would it be better to sell it or spend the time and money needed to return it to service? Of course, there is also a third option that has become increasingly popular in recent years that has to be evaluated.

While searching for used bikes to compare prices, I also came across many individual parts for sale. Here are some average asking prices for some of the more expensive parts for our 1976 Honda:

• Exhaust: $400
• Gas tank: $200
• Luggage rack: $175
• Side covers: $150
• Carburetors: $100
• Gauges: $50

Woah. This presents a dilemma; just these few parts, if sold separately, would net almost as much as could be gained from selling the whole bike. The only barriers are 20 minutes and a 10-millimeter socket. And after those parts are gone, the bike could still be sold for the remaining parts.

On paper, this seems like a viable and even advantageous option. And you can also see how it removes one potentially usable motorcycle from one prospective new vintage owner.

I'm not the only one who sees this issue, either.

“I’ve certainly seen an increase in the number of classic motorcycles being taken apart and sold rather than being kept together,” said Brady Ingelse, founder of Retrospeed, a shop that performs work ranging from routine maintenance to award-winning concours restorations, and has built a devoted vintage customer base throughout the Midwest and the United States.

He also provided an even better example than my 1970s UJM Honda.

“Brands coming from Europe didn’t have the resources that the Japanese ‘big four’ did and tended to share common parts between models much more," he said. " As an example, the Ducati GTS isn’t an overly collectable or valuable model, but shares tons of part numbers with the Ducati 900 Super Sport. The Super Sports are commanding high prices in the collector market, so parting out a GTS can return two to three times the price.”

Is this good? My two cents

I'm in no position to advise people how they should set their priorities, spend their money, or steward inanimate objects. The market decides what practices are common and successful, and there have to be parts available individually to keep other bikes going. Vintage motorcycling can't be reduced to cost sheets in really any context.

In recent years, more owners than ever before have opted to sell parts individually for higher profits, especially on rarer models. This may be because the internet has made selling parts to buyers anywhere in the world easier, because fewer people are interested in riding vintage motorcycles and more interested in thousand-point restorations requiring niche OEM parts, or any number of other factors.

As someone who loves to ride vintage motorcycles, and loves to see others riding them as well, this trend is hard to stomach at times. I admit frustration that an entire bike is not available to be purchased and enjoyed because a few parts could be sold for a higher return.

I'm like that motorcycle reviewer who believes motorcycles are more than the sum of their parts, and I’ve encountered many other enthusiasts who share that sentiment. There are still sellers who appreciate their motorcycle as a whole and want it to stay that way for a new owner who's excited to give it a second life.

I can't control the vintage motorcycle market or tell other sellers what to do, but that's what I appreciate, and what I'll advocate for any way I can.