[rickmillertx]

I saw this on another forum I visit. Pretty cool bike.

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43682

 

[Macdesmo]

That bike is a great find and it's in good condition.
Ian

 

[DesmoDog]

Looks like a fun bike. Nice comments on the bike over on that forum though. They're talking like it's a rust bucket, I'm thinking it's in great shape for a 50 year old bike... it also shouldn't have cost all THAT much!

 

[thevin]

I'd take, even with the goofy points cover..

 

[Smoke'Em]

saw this on ebay a couple weeks back, it had been raced in south america. the guy wanted 8500 us dollars for it. i would have gladly paid it if i wasnt as broke as i am. if i was the owner i sure as shit wouldnt restore it.

 

[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

Yes I saw the same bike on ebay as well..... never seen that color scheme but it sure would look good restored.

 

[bevel450]

Just a personal view mind ya !

Yes I saw the same bike on ebay as well..... never seen that color scheme but it sure would look good restored.

Couldn't disagree more.

Clean it up. Fix what is broken and ride it. I can see a restored version of this bike any weekend of the year here in SoCal, but to see a fairly original and well used bike is a great occasion. If this bike had been at the ProItalia show in Glendale ( where Miguel Galluzzi was a judge ) a few weeks ago this bike would have brought the house down.

You can buy a restoration but you can not buy period cachet and once it is gone....that's it.

Imagine if you will what attention this bike would get in a line up of similar Duc singles of the era ? The other bikes would just 'disappear'. Certainly that is the public reaction of enthusiasts when they see my Norton in it's mods, graphics and patina over them all.

 

[Smoke'Em]

i think that restoring it to its original condition, even keeping the stock paint scheme murders the character of the bike, which is what is so appealing about it in the first place.

 

[flynbulldog]

Frankly, there's a lot wrong with that bike - the seat, the shocks, the pipes just to name a few of the most obvious.
The bike is worth nothing as it is except for a restoration starting point but it looks like a good starting point.

Unless it has some sort of world championship pedigree Keeping it as is has no value.

This is similar to what the bike should look like:

 

[Mad_Duk_Man]

Looks like a fun bike. Nice comments on the bike over on that forum though. They're talking like it's a rust bucket, I'm thinking it's in great shape for a 50 year old bike... it also shouldn't have cost all THAT much!

This is NOT the case anymore-

175's are fast becoming the holy grail of Duck singles- fetching WAY more than that $8500 price, in lesser condition, with way more missing/incorrect parts!!

That bike is worth as it sits in those pics on the trailer EASILY that amount- because it is not that far destroyed/ molested.

Other than a Mach 1 or Mach 1S, and MAYBE a 24 Horas, none of the 250's will ever be worth what any 175 is now or ever will be worth-
The 350's are less sought after (except Mark3D) and 450's even less desirable (except silver shotgun)-
160s are never gunna touch what a 175 is worth now, or even in 50 more years, because or how mass produced they were-
Now from what I have seen BOTH types of 200 are pretty damn rare and they are on a league equal to a 175- there was a early 200 that was based on a 175 and then a "type-B" that was more like a Monza or Dianna engine.

Id have given Both my 350's and my 450 for that 175 and still not been upset if the guy wanted further cash! LOL-

But I own what I own,(my projects) and here they sit, some mostly finished, some not even started - I was going like gangbusters on my 450 and my 860 projects and then I bought some crazy jap bike and got sidetracked and who knows when I'll ever get back on them-

For SURE I'd trade a kidney, my soul, maybe even one of my daughters for THAT GUYS 175 in the pic.......

 

[DesmoDog]

This is NOT the case anymore-

175's are fast becoming the holy grail of Duck singles- fetching WAY more than that $8500 price, in lesser condition, with way more missing/incorrect parts!!

I didn't mean that the bike wasn't worth $8500. IIRC what I was talking about was the comments on the other forum. Some guys there seemed to think the bike had cost a mint. I meant that $8500 isn't all that much for a vintage Duc. (I've already got $5k into a 350 Bitsa that will never be worth what a 175 is, and my 350 is still in that parts gathering stage!)

A '74 750ss costs a lot of money. A 175, not really (even if it does cost $10k)