I got my 88 Springer for 4k 4 years ago. Came with a ton of stuff including a lift, helmets, leathers, saddle bags, extra oil…etc. I got a pretty good deal. Evo has 88 k on it and still going strong. What I have done is listed on my posts—trans, rewiring, carb overhaul, etc. I love these old Evo bikes.

 

I saw a 97 wide glide with 14000 pristine miles just like mine in Iowa on FB it was clean. I haven’t looked yet this morning.

 

Future classics. They all go through the stage of being just an old bike and not worth a lot. Then they seem to disappear and when they resurface, prices shoot up. My Dad sold a good running Knucklehead for about $50 - in 1947. Nobody wanted them when you could buy a brand new in the crate 42WLA military surplus. My uncle sold two Vincents for about $100 back in the 50s or 60s when nobody wanted them. Worth a thousand times that now. Skip to my generation and 1970s Honda 750 fours that sold for $400 in the 1980s go for $25,000 for the right one.

I'm hanging on to my Evo Road King. Buy em while they are cheap. It won't last.
The added bonus with Evos is you can actually seriously ride them as a daily rider and long distance tourer. with minimal maintenance and utmost reliability. Try that on your $100,000 Knuckle or Vincent.

 

The problem comparing Knuckles/Vincents/Etc to Evos is quantity. Only so many Knuckles built back then and lots were lost to scrap metal drives during the war. They built a lot of Evos and a lot of them have low miles hiding in garages. As stated earlier, limited edition models like a 90th Anniversary bike, maybe some decent money. But they will never reach the lofty values of bikes that were built in the 100's VS 100,000's.

That said, I love both of mine that I still own since new. Arguably the best motor they ever built for longevity and ease of use. Yes the kids 30 years from now will be all over them long after people forget how to work on a Knuckle. I do not see as many of them listed in my area or at the local watering holes as you would think, they are all still hiding. One day soon they will flood the market, which will be a good thing for riders, but bad thing for investors.

 

A motorcycle, if you’re not riding it, is not now or has it ever been a good financial investment.
If you just like looking at it in the garage, that’s fine, but you’re paying to have it sit there.

I knew a guy with a limited edition Sturgis model, belt primary drive and some special paint and badging. He wouldn’t ride it much… because he didn’t want to ding the value. He finally sold it 30 years later… bragged it brought double what he paid. If he’d taken those same funds and bought a S&P 500 fund, it would have been 8x his investment. So even if they go up in value, still a lousy return as an investment.

 

about 3 months ago i bought a 1996 springer fxsts for 4k .was the reason for this post about 10 years ago i bought a 1995 wideglide for 7k they are less now.

 

i have 3 harleys 2 are evos, i ride them all. i think 4k for a beautiful harley is a bargain and want to buy more , i was just curious about values. its hard to imagine a clean evo ever being less than 4k

 

You'd be surprised. Help my friend pick up a 2014 FXDF over the weekend, 40k miles needs a rear tire and some cleaning.....$2500. Watched the money change hands. No BS.

There are stupid deals to be had.

 

Yep.Guy I know was quite proud of his $4000 investment in 1977 in a brand new Ducati 900SS. Worth $125,000 today.
But when I punched $4000 and 1977 into an online stockmarket historical calculator, it showed he would have $280,000 today if that was where he had put his four grand.
--But nowhere as much fun as riding a 900SS as only a 19-year-old can ride it. There's accountants and there's bikers.

 

I couldn’t agree more!

I have 2 EVOs and TC88 in the garage… they aren’t going anywhere. I don’t care about their sales value.