Amazon122 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:53 am
thank you guys. I'm glad I've entered this forum. I have found that it is very difficult to find and buy an original panhead.
So maybe the 1953er is still the best buy. There are not many Panheads to choose from in Denmark.
Maybe I should drop my panhead thoughts and be content with my 1919 J modelFaak annette ole korrig.jpg
That's sure a nice J-Model...!
On the panhead, it all depends on what you want to achieve. Certainly, the value lies in originality. How much would you expect to pay for an all-original '53 in Denmark? Do they even exist?
From that lofty benchmark, how low do you go? If you "just want a panhead", that pile you showed can (eventually) be made into a panhead motorcycle. However, the real monetary value will be low, for the reasons already given. A sale once completed would likely not cover the costs to assemble it.
Many (younger) guys aren't that concerned about the 'value'; they "just want a panhead", it's their first vintage bike, they "don't care about the value", it's "not going to be judged", etc etc etc. And in the end, they will have assembled a decent running, fun, rideable *totally incorrect* 'bobber ' style bike, and will have learned a lot about owning and working on an old panhead, and had fun doing so, riding it all over the place. They are young enough that it's all written off as tuition; payment for the lessons learned and the fun it brought them. And they will have time later in life where they can move on into a more original, more valuable machine.
Now back to your quest- if you want a machine that holds it's value, obviously you need to find something much more original. (And agonize over the lack of available machines, how much they cost, how will I get it here, etc etc etc...) But if you just want something to put together with whatever is in the pile, have fun riding it afterwards, not worry or give a damn about 'correctness' or 'originality', then there are probably a lot of piles out there like this one. The trick will be to not over-pay.
You just have to know which direction you want to go.
Those are just my thoughts, which may not mean a damn thing.....................