original vs. restored

[Sandman]

So as a newbie with an original 1970 bike with 3900 miles on it, what would you say is an acceptable quantity of riding. I want to ride the thing as much as possible with as minimal effect as possible on historical and monetary value. I was thinking about 500 miles per year. Is that reasonable? if not, what SHOULD be my target?

[rwm]

ride it when you can

[exeric]

Not for nothing but you would be surprised how much work goes into original paint machines. Nothing against restored bikes but I have only been interested in orig paint machines for over 20 years and I can tell you I never stop working on these things. Nothing takes short time to do it right and correct against a judging scorecard. Just because a bike is original paint in no way means that the rest of the machine does not need serious attention- original paint bikes that have sat for awhile need tons of painstaking work and research as well, especially against the fact many of these jewels have sat untouched or loved for many years. It is also painstaking to find original paint parts with the right patina where invariably parts get changed over the years. Some parts also take literally 5-10 years to hunt down and just the "hunting" is tons of time with meets, phone calls, classifieds and the newest source, Ebay. Reworking original mechanicals in my view is also harder than starting with fresh aftermarket parts. Also worth noting that some of these cash strapped owners save countless cash to pay the prices rare original paint parts fetch, which again comes down to the owners sweat equity in many cases (although I understand some guys are more fortunate than others in the cash department!!). Again not at all knocking restored bikes and the amount of time needed to complete some of these beautiful restorations. I'm just pointing out that it is seldom you find an original paint bike that scores 95-100 points without a TON of effort on the part of the owner. Sure there are instances where you get lucky and find a true untouched gem that needs little time, but that really is a needle in a haystack.

Nothing you have said is any different than restoration. For instance; my '51FL was a chopper and needed everything that was disgarded for a chopper. I found genuine parts and it's all genuine minus the perishables. My '16F restoration started as a motor only. I've found all genuine stuff but I'll leave it as a "patina" bike. My '48FL started out as a pair of tanks hanging from the ceiling rafters. My '16 Excelsior started out as fenders, and a motor and I went all over the country scaring up parts. Every Henderson I've had was a scavenger hunt and I've made friends all over the world through correspondence. This is just me; look at what SloJo is going through on his '14 H-D project, or Matt and Ryan's 45 project. As I said before; OPB's are a treasure and a window to the past that benefit all of us but if there's enough there to call it "original paint" then it's an easy project compared to the stuff I've resurrected.

Sandman, I think your Sporty is beautiful and again, a valuable specimen for those who will need it to help them with a restoration. I think that responsible riding and pleasure should be your goal because it needs to be used.

[moon wolf]

So as a newbie with an original 1970 bike with 3900 miles on it, what would you say is an acceptable quantity of riding. I want to ride the thing as much as possible with as minimal effect as possible on historical and monetary value. I was thinking about 500 miles per year. Is that reasonable? if not, what SHOULD be my target?

I think you should ride it exactly as much as you want to ride, be that 500 or 5000 miles a year. There are enough bikes in museums already. Of course, you should maintain it, repair it, and treat it as a special old bike, but if the spirit moves you, you shouldn't hesitate to ride it from coast to coast.

[T. Cotten]

The difference between "restoration" of a classic, and 'conservation' of an original paint relic is that the former destroys history in an attempt to re-create it, while the latter preserves the real hardware.

The museums are full enough of embalmed machines to suit me.

Let us preserve vintage motorcycle-ing instead.

That means destroying motorcycles mile by mile,.. just like they were intended,.. restored or not.

...Cotten

[c.o.]

Well said Cotten. I love to stumble across old bikes in museums but I can't help but thinking how I could spring them from "prison" and see them out on the road....

[Chris Haynes]

It is only original once. It can be restored countless times.

[parkerize]

Eric- I am not one of those dueling email lords but I respectfully think you misconstrued my original email. I was only responding to your quote that "Original bikes are a treasure and a touchstone for restoration but there sure isn't much work on the part of the owner." The amount of work on the original piece found all depends on the condition of the machine. Having put 3 OP bikes in Winners circle this past year and 2 other original painters in senior this year, I can tell you they were a ton of work to get them there, countless worlwide conversations, searching etc for many years, as well as painstakingly rebuilding worn mechanicals in many cases, as well as matching patinas on scarce parts that were either missing or wrong. What I was not at all implying is that OP bikes are either more or less work than restored machines, circumstances and owner skill sets vary and in my mind it is irrelevant. Again all I was responding to was the statement that there sure isn't much work on the part of the owner of OP bikes, that's all. Happy Holidays and hunting to all and be safe, lifes too short already. . .

[exeric]

I know a few people who have built original paint bikes from 50% examples and you are right; it's a ton of work and very expensive and time consuming. Your window of intrusion is very narrow. Probably like building a ship in a bottle. I apologize for dismissing it as simple. I was thinking of a judging experience I had a number of years ago. My restored bike was judged next to the exact same year and model OPB bike. [Each bike judged on it's own merits of course.] The owner got the bike from a relative a few months earlier and only knew the obvious facts about it. The fact that he was an obnoxious drunk didn't endear him to me either.

[Chuck#1848]

Well said Cotten. I love to stumble across old bikes in museums but I can't help but thinking how I could spring them from "prison" and see them out on the road....

Ah....yes,Cory now that to was well said...kind of like seeing a greyhound in a dog cage just begging to get out and run