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Styling is subjective, but I'd generally agree with you that it also contributed.I'll add that I think the return and then leaps forward in performance probably means we are seeing future classic cars again, but we're too close to "see" it.Either way the comparison still doesn't hold.
The classic car market sees 1974 as the last "great" year, as after that styling was no longer entirely determined by the stylist or manufacturer. Government regulations required changes even beyond obvious "Federal" bumpers.Still, modern cars are better than ever.
...Now is the time to buy Italian sport bikes of the 90s.
The classic car era extends only through the early 70s then ends abruptly due to regulations from that time and their impact on low volume models and producers. The same thing is happening with motorcycles, delayed to maybe pre model year 2000.
Right idea but I think incorrect analogy. First, lots of 70s, 80s, 90s cars are collectible, to wit: Maserati Boras, Meraks, Khamsins; Lamborghini Countach, Espada; Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer, 288GTO, Testarossa, F40; Porsche 959, 911 Turbos through the 993 series, most air cooled 911s, and more; Audi Quattro; Aston Martin V8 Vantage and regular V8's; etc. and so on. You are correct that most of the smalltime coach built manufacturers took a heavy hit in the early 70s, like Iso Grifo, Jensen, Alvis, and tiny producers like that.Tiny motorcycle manufacturers like Bimota (still here), Harris, Rickman, Moto Martin, and others, were killed off by the major motorcycle manufacturers producing motorcycles that did all the things the coach built bikes did – performance and handling – as well as or better than the bikes from the small makers, but with much better reliability and build quality. Makers like Bimota, Harris, and Moto Martin during the 1970s took terrific Japanese engines out of their ill handling frames and shoved them into great handling chassis, providing the only products available for the discerning bloke who wanted a true sports bike on the street.But, the writing on the wall was written during the 1980s by the Kawasaki GPz900R, Yamaha FZRs, Honda Interceptors, and most notably by the Suzuki GSX-Rs and the 8V Ducatis. By 1988 or so, there was no reason to buy a Bimota or Moto Martin, especially as you had to suffer with dodgy tuning, inferior build quality, and poor part support.
The same skills and intuition that would allow one to predict which motorcycles would be "classics" in the future would also allow one to predict what companies have share prices that are going to triple or quadruple in the next few years.Lemme know if you figure out the secret ... !!!Lannis
We're doing a good job of analyzing the past and figuring out which bikes back then have become expensive "classics" now, and WHY ... but nobody back then knew which ones they would be.
People don't throw away Harleys for instance.
Orange XR1200SV1000s (first gen)My Tenni Green SE of course!
There was a tie when "collectible" cars were going up in price so fast, a group of investors bought a 300SL and planned to store it for a period. There would be a payout at liquidation.Then the big crash came. Wonder what happened next? Did they hold through the next big thing? And the next crash?Bah-we can't tell. Frankly the glow of the current favorites strikes me a bit like stolen valor. Guys who bought Vincents, or V7 Sports, had a very different view of the bikes and had experiences that current buyers can only wish they had.
Wonder why either of these two amazing specimens haven't been mentioned yet?