What's a SILVER TAG CT70 frame worth?
- Thread starter THX138
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Dezdan
Well-Known Member
Just the frame? Titled? If it is just the frame, and no other silver tag parts, about the same as any other K0 frame +$10.
It's all supply and demand, and really, if someone is looking for that particular VIN. I don't see many going out of their way for a silver tag frame, unless it has matching engine and parts.
It's all supply and demand, and really, if someone is looking for that particular VIN. I don't see many going out of their way for a silver tag frame, unless it has matching engine and parts.
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kirrbby
Well-Known Member
I have one, #10123x I think. Its in very nice shape also. I like to think it's worth about $200. But I've had it for 5-6 years and keep mentioning it, no one is knocking down my door to get it. I've been looking for a "matching" engine all the while and recently found a lower end that's within 200 or so. That makes it a much better part IMO. But still, maybe 250 for the frame and matching left side case. All someone would need is every other silvertag specific part, and every other regular ol CT70 part to build it into a bike. Easy...lol. It's worth a fortune to the guy who really needs one. Same a everything else.
I have a silvertag, complete bike #1046xx that has all the correct parts on it, and a dent in the frame. I've considered swapping all the parts over to the earlier frame and engine, to end up with a lower # bike with no frame damage. Worth the effort?? Probably not. I'm not big on collecting these days. Better to pass this stuff along to someone who is. Selling it for a premium...silvertag price, in my own mind, means it is going to be treated as special, rare collectors type stuff. Sell it cheap and it may just become another beater. Why should I care?? Well...I just can't help it. I'm not a collector, but I want someone else to be.
I have a silvertag, complete bike #1046xx that has all the correct parts on it, and a dent in the frame. I've considered swapping all the parts over to the earlier frame and engine, to end up with a lower # bike with no frame damage. Worth the effort?? Probably not. I'm not big on collecting these days. Better to pass this stuff along to someone who is. Selling it for a premium...silvertag price, in my own mind, means it is going to be treated as special, rare collectors type stuff. Sell it cheap and it may just become another beater. Why should I care?? Well...I just can't help it. I'm not a collector, but I want someone else to be.
Adam-NLV
Well-Known Member
I have a Silver Tag frame too. Was pretty excited when I got it, now looking back, I was pretty naive. The parts that go on that thing are unique and rare. Even rarer is finding them in good shape:20:
After learning that, I wouldn't mind parting with this one to the right collector. It does have a damage seat latch area or I probably would have sold it by now, must get that fixed. So a ST frame w/out orig parts is pretty much a frame....
After learning that, I wouldn't mind parting with this one to the right collector. It does have a damage seat latch area or I probably would have sold it by now, must get that fixed. So a ST frame w/out orig parts is pretty much a frame....
That's pretty well it...in a nutshell. For the right collector, or someone who wants the challenge it's worth a small premium. Any other K0/HK0 is a lot easier to restore, with the factory correct parts. For someone who wants the novelty of an early SN, it's basically just another CT70 K0 frame, on balance. For anyone else, it's the least desirable of the K0s and K0 frames are somewhat prone to stress cracks on either side of the triangle, between the upper & lower sections of the welded-in bracing. The earliest (and rarest) STs didn't even have the crosspiece that forms the bottom of the triangle.
Anyone looking to build a non-stock bike, from a bare frame, would be better off sourcing a K1-later as those are all inherently better frames.
I dunno that I'd go that far. The later STs and early BTs, with the tail light wiring routed through the top of the frame, are otherwise just garden-variety K0s with low VINs. The STs are worth restoring however, it's mainly the super-early ones...with all of their unobtainium present & intact...that I'm talking about. The ones sans a cross brace might be rarer than perfect K3-76 headlight ears and those frames are decidedly at-risk. By all indications it appears that less than 500 were made...probably a LOT less. And the unique details are well-documented for these bikes. Ultra-rare and fragile is more consistent with a true museum piece, the kind of machine (and I can scarcely believe that I'm saying this) that should be preserved as a showpiece.
Restoring the later STs is challenging enough, when the rare bits are AWOL. But, at least the frames aren't fatally flexible above the top engine mount, the speedo dials, which are supported in two spots, don't break with use and you're not married to the goofy early-style muffler, or the early fenders. There's also a lot of uncertainty as to which running changes were implemented & when...so the restorer/owner has some leeway. These later STs typically command a modest premium. OTOH, they're not going to be worth less than the BTs, so it's not like there's a risk that you're investing in a lemon, either.
Now then, all of that having been said, bare frames...what the OP asked about...aren't likely to vary all that much in price. With the possible exception of an unbraced frame, or just the right buyer who wants a specific VIN range in tip-top shape, I'd reckon that clean, straight, & titled matters more...in dollars. In very broad, generalized, terms I'd peg a clean title at $200-250, depending upon locale, and likely to increase in the future.
As for bare ST frames, I don't see any motivation to start melting `em down. They're just not the precious ore that some had hoped they'd be.
Restoring the later STs is challenging enough, when the rare bits are AWOL. But, at least the frames aren't fatally flexible above the top engine mount, the speedo dials, which are supported in two spots, don't break with use and you're not married to the goofy early-style muffler, or the early fenders. There's also a lot of uncertainty as to which running changes were implemented & when...so the restorer/owner has some leeway. These later STs typically command a modest premium. OTOH, they're not going to be worth less than the BTs, so it's not like there's a risk that you're investing in a lemon, either.
Now then, all of that having been said, bare frames...what the OP asked about...aren't likely to vary all that much in price. With the possible exception of an unbraced frame, or just the right buyer who wants a specific VIN range in tip-top shape, I'd reckon that clean, straight, & titled matters more...in dollars. In very broad, generalized, terms I'd peg a clean title at $200-250, depending upon locale, and likely to increase in the future.
As for bare ST frames, I don't see any motivation to start melting `em down. They're just not the precious ore that some had hoped they'd be.
kirrbby
Well-Known Member
My frame is numbered 10236x and it does not have that brace...bottom of the triangle. It doesn't have the heat shield in that area either. It seems to have survived, straight and crack free. The closest matching engine I've found for it is 270 numbers lower. I would think it should be closer...maybe 100 or so for such a low VIN bike.
I have quite a few of the rare parts that it would need too. Maybe a good plan would be to sell off the frame along with all the correct parts I can find for it. That would make for a much more attractive sale, and I think it would leave out only a few of the hard to find parts. Getting the frame titled should raise the value and all but guarantee the bike would be whole again someday. It might still take a while to find the right buyer.
I have quite a few of the rare parts that it would need too. Maybe a good plan would be to sell off the frame along with all the correct parts I can find for it. That would make for a much more attractive sale, and I think it would leave out only a few of the hard to find parts. Getting the frame titled should raise the value and all but guarantee the bike would be whole again someday. It might still take a while to find the right buyer.
Good info on the brace & heat shield. When you consider that, on average, the were cranking out just shy of 350 units daily, those first running changes were implemented with lightning speed...even allowing for much lower production speed during the first month. Kinda makes one wonder if the earliest frames, which lacked those items, were a mistake/oversight. Even if the change came after the first month, how much testing could have been done in so short a time, let alone implementing corrections based on it? Documenting early running changes is an ongoing and far-from-exact process. Translation: educated guesses based on longterm observations.
FWIW, I agree with your plan. This one might be best treated as a longterm investment. The closer you get to a complete set of unobtainium bits, the easier it'll be to sell. And the more likely that it'll end up a complete, show-quality, bike.
FWIW, I agree with your plan. This one might be best treated as a longterm investment. The closer you get to a complete set of unobtainium bits, the easier it'll be to sell. And the more likely that it'll end up a complete, show-quality, bike.
kirrbby
Well-Known Member
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kirrbby
Well-Known Member
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