Daily commuter or potential classic?

My current bike is 17 years old, just under 20K miles and still totally original apart from 2 tires. Well looked after but it is still my daily commuter....I'm curious whether at this age and condition I should stop using it, in the hope that eventually the CB500S will gain 'classic' collectable status...or is it not that kinda bike and I keep using it every day all year?

Personally I believe Bikes still deteriorate if they're not used. What you need to do is balance it's potential future value as a Classic against the pleasure you get from riding it plus the cost of buying a replacement to commute on. For what it's worth I would "winterise" it as best I could, clean and maintain it as I had been, don't ride it if weather conditions and common sense dictate otherwise and it should still realise a reasonable "bottom out " price should you want to sell it.

Can't see these great bikes ever gaining the prestige to sell for £10k then!?

Sadly I don't. Although they are indeed great bikes and posess a bit more character than most Hondas, at the end of the day they were just a progression from the earlier middleweight twins with no outstanding design features or characteristics to mark them out as Classics that would attract that sort of money. A bike for those of us in the know to ride and love until legislation or lack of suitable fuel  forces us off the road.

Oafski wrote:Sadly I don't. Although they are indeed great bikes and posess a bit more character than most Hondas, at the end of the day they were just a progression from the earlier middleweight twins with no outstanding design features or characteristics to mark them out as Classics that would attract that sort of money. A bike for those of us in the know to ride and love until legislation or lack of suitable fuel  forces us off the road.

 
I agree, can't see these going up in value anytime soon unfortunately! I guess that does have some advantages though, you can enjoy it guilt free! Legislation will likely force me to get rid of mine once the ultra low emission zone comes in next year in London which is a shame. Does anyone know what the co2/km figure is for the bike so I can compare it to something that will be ULEZ exempt? Surely it chucks out less that the vast majority of vehicles that are permitted? Even my battered 2003 Audi A4 is exempt.

Hopefully MAG will get the same result they have achieved in  Birmingham and common sense will prevail.

In 20 years time, good ones will command a good price. I don't believe mine will ever be worth £5k, but it already draws an admiring crowd.

I have semi retired my 20,000 mile original to dry miles only. I now have a 2nd CB for using in the rain.

Daily commuter or potential classic? Yes, it's both.

The CB5 functions as good as any modern equivalent if not better.  It's appearance is not dated as the retro look is currently back in fashion.  With the right tyres and clothes it can be ridden all year round subject to snow ploughs and gritting in your area.  So yes, it is a daily commuter.

Potential classic? Absolutely.  Any vehicle that has survived when the majority of the same period have rusted away must be a classic.  A 60's Austin A40 will never have the value of a Porsche 356 but they are both classics.

When I was younger, a vehicle over 30 years old was classed as Veteran and over 40 years old as Vintage.  The DVLA class a vehicle over 40 as Heritage and there is zero road tax.

I have no doubt that a properly maintained CB500 that has rust dealt with before the damage has been done will be a desirable Classic bike regardless of mileage.  In the future when the majority are riding detuned eco friendly two wheelers who would not want a CB500.  Though I predicate that equivalent Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawazaki's will be rarer and command higher prices as a lot of money will have been spent to keep them running.

I also predict that someone who can manufacture replacement swing arms for the CB500 could have a nice little earner for years to come...

If time is to be considered it would take more than 40 years for the cb  to become exciting like true classics are, maybe a few million years, like for a fossil- then people will look with interest at it.

So maybe any parts stored now should be put in amber.

I wouldn't stop using it unless you are actually planning to put it on display (like in a museum) and do the correct things to preserve it.

If you want to use it in the winter then you can do worse than a coat of ACF50 on fixed/clean bits and grease on moving/dirty bits - wash it all off in spring and recoat next year.

Yeah its always a year round bike.
Just getting worried about everything being original and almost 20 years old! Not the miles more than just the age of all the parts.

yes mine was a 1999 model with 66000 on the clock and ran like a bird I just wish that I could have kept it at the time I thought it was a heavy bike but I was told that I had arthritis in my shoulders and that was the problem it was a great bike

I hope to be the same when I get a little older than I already am . I never want to give up motorcycling as it brings such a smile to my face, when I don't meet nutters in cars......which in Scotland is almost every day!

Mr Messy wrote:Yeah its always a year round bike.
Just getting worried about everything being original and almost 20 years old! Not the miles more than just the age of all the parts.

Most of the metal parts are OK, give or take a bit or corrosion, which can probably be dealt with.  The fork springs might be a bit saggy after 20 years, but you might be able to fix that with a larger spacer (or new springs).

I'd be more concerned about the rubber bits (carb rubbers, coolant hoses, bushes etc etc) as they really are 'on the way' after 20 years (well, mine are and my bike was made in 1997).

I sometimes think a lot of this kind of wear and tear is dependent on how much bad weather a bike experiences. Particular when that includes wet winter riding when there's salt on the roads. If a bike has only been used 95% of the time in the dry, and - also - garaged, I think all the materials will be in reasonable-to-good nick even after a couple of decades. Obviously, high mileage bikes will be a bit different. But even then.

One thing is for certain.   Good ones are becoming REALLY hard to find.

My thoughts are that it is just about to turn from being my everyday commuter, into a fun bike that gets garaged and doesn't get subjected to any more british winters. Mine has 85k on it and that will be about 95k when it gets retired from daily duties. 

Mine is certainly not the finest example but it is very solid and presentable for a bike that is about to roll over it's odometer.

Also, any bike that is old enough is a classic. Can you think of any bike from before 1980 that isn't considered a classic. The Honda certainly makes it's case since its the last of the old skool bikes. No electronics except ignition control. Carbs, no abs etc. That era of bikes are the most refined that the old technology got before ride modes and electronic suspension and all that stuff came along

Yeah it’s just one of those bikes, I can’t see it ever gaining much in value. Currently really nice and totally original condition, maybe worth a grand (ish) but I keep thinking is it worth spending properly and getting it fully serviced, replace all the rubber bits with new etc.

I’ve always kept it original…even though I’d love to swap for smaller, better looking indicators!

I sometimes even wrestle with chopping into a café racer type styling, spend money hoping it increases its value………but so many ways to go!...I used to be indecisive and now I’m not too sure. Haha!

Still end up swaying towards just keeping it nice and standards - its a great bike after all.