Truly Original Topaz Orange 1970 HK0

Adam-NLV

Adam-NLV

Well-Known Member
Gotta agree with everything you said...except the head light bucket being toast? It's obviously sun faded but still can be used and fresh paint will de-toast it. lol
A 44 year old bike comes with 44 yrs of wear and tear, scratches and scuffs (don't overlook the broken tail light).

I still gotta stick by my original title to this thread; 'Truly original Topaz Orange 1970 CT70 HK0' It did sell for $1.6K too.


If I may respectfully interject; perhaps the early HK0 4 speed models (that have their original equipment & orig paint) are getting rare and harder to find these days. Seems like when they do pop up, the seller want near 2k for em too. A possibility is we may be seeing a shift in the market for early original HK0 bikes.

I still think that sticker on the chain guard is a dealers application decal that some bikes have. My 79 has one.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
The vintage original headlight shells are perishable and that one's been through a long, tough, siege. The plasticizers, of that era, were volatile and once they go away, the plastic becomes brittle & crumbly. Any idea why the plastic headlight shell is faded waaaaay beyond anything else on the bike? Chemical reaction is the only logical answer; the headlight ears got just as much UV. This is one of those little telltale signs an "expert" will notice. This one, by itself, doesn't really matter where a repaint is needed, however. There's really no way to strip one back to a virgin, paint-free, surface without sacrificing a lot of casting detail. A minty-new headlight shell is no-brainer, cheap too.

The market is always changing. 15 years ago, any non-running, mostly complete, H model would bring $850, minimum; running examples were a 4-figure proposition. A lot of `em changed hands in the mid-teens. Then the bottom dropped out of the market, as well as the US economy, circa `03; it's taken about a decade for the rebound. Plus, the huge number of bikes that were parted-out during that time has left a significantly smaller pool of (mostly) intact specimens from which to choose. Considering how the market has also matured with age, it's logical that demand will continue to outstrip supply. On a market value graph, with a 20-year-timeline, this is probably about where a similar quality example would be expected to sell, circa 2014...maybe even a bit on the low side. OER & NOS parts have steadily grown more dear and that, imho, has added a mercurial element to the proceedings.

That said, while this may be the "new normal", my thinking is still far closer to Pat's. It'll take time & 20-20 hindsight to settle the issue. At this late date, I'm pretty well done with buying bikes and I don't scan auction listings like I used to do. Still, I purchased a one-owner, all-original, HK0 last year for $750. This was a CBG example and in far nicer condition than that CTO shown on feebay...so little fade that there were no tan lines left by the decals & sidebadges. The chrome was nearly pit-free, mileage was similar. It was also titled. The bottom line...everything had to be gone through and redone, from scratch, same as any other resto project. Every part on the bike had some significant cosmetic problem, the engine needed an overbore, along with the usual rebuild items and new shift forks, the seat pan was the only part of the original seat assembly that was reusable and only after major work. New tires, tubes, bearings, brakes, cables, decals, exhaust, body & paint work, chrome, electrical parts, misc. plating, machine work...it all adds-up...likely well beyond what you believe, at present. Sold for only a few hundred less than JPT is asking, that one paid McWages. Reality can sometimes be hard to recognize, in the near-term; but, it won't be denied.
 

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OLD CT

OLD CT

Well-Known Member
Now that is nice CTO H! Seems to me and this is just my opinion,it's way better to wait for something that had a quality restoration rather than taking on the task of doing it yourself. The budget always is way higher than anticipated. Usually the quality restored examples will sell for ''way lower'' than what the owner put into the restoration.
 
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