Tallannie's 1951 panhead... !

[tallannie]

I have been offered a trade of a 1951 panhead .... restored by some guy in Florida in 2007 and has sat in a garage since..... for my Chang Jiang sidecar rig. The Chang is probably worth $6000..... opinions ? sound like a deal ? anything I should know or ask?
I am thinking even if I dont keep the thing ( 1951 is my birth year ) that this should be easier to sell than a chinese sidecar rig...



and the sidecar for reference...


Annie

[Motorcycle Forum]

[Dave Nadeau]

Hi Annie,
Does it have an electric starter? I noticed that it has a suicide shift.....learning curve could be interesting. Does it hae an automatic spark advance? This unit is a dinosar but would make an interesting project bike. I would convert it to a foot shift and hand clutch soon as possable. As far as value...I don't think thtaa it is worth anywhere near what your side hack rig is worth. Maybe 3k to me any way.

Dave

[DrBob]

Well, I guess you are right in that it would be more in demand than the Chinese sidecar rig. But with the economy in the toilet prices have really fallen on these old bikes, so I doubt it will sell quickly, and you will not get $6K for it. It will sell though, either on Craig List or Ebay, rather quickly at $3500- 4000.This assumes a clean title.

If you are looking for something fun to keep and ride, this is NOT it. "Tempermental" is an understatement. Panheads were lousy when it came to reliability and longevity. The top end oiling system was the problem: they make zero oil pressure at the top end until well above idle, so the motors need a top end rebuild every 20K miles or so. The electrical systems were lousy, the ignition systems suspect, and they leak more oil than some small countries. No rear suspension, suicide shifter, springer front end, no signals, kick start only- not a recipe for comfort and safety. At least it had front brakes, and disks. Has it been converted to 12 volts? Was the motor rebuilt to run on today's pump gas, or will it only run if you add lead substitute and octane booster? If it will run on pump gas, this bike is acceptable for short trips, but you will have to tinker with it just about every time you ride it, and get real used to changing the plugs and gapping the points to get it to start.
If you want a project to play with, and have something else to ride leaving this for bar hopping, sure. If you want to flip it, maybe. If you want to ride it as your only bike, forgetaboutit.

[omegajim]

I only noticed that it was missing a front fender and the exhaust system has been transmogrified from original to something somebody thought "looked cool".

Problem with these bikes (and it has already been addressed) is that bike prices are down, but more importantly, the bike is not original or very close to original condition - and then the changes from original are subjective. AKA, some people will like the changes from stock but most will not (unless it is the obvious, foot shifting, electric start - gizmos that make the bike more user friendly) but even then, changes from stock usually lower the price of what the bike can fetch.

I guess it depends how long you can sit on the bike before selling, pardon the pun.

[tallannie]

love the word "transmogrified".... I think that was Calvin and Hobbes? that made that word common? LOL

I am finding out more... it is in good shape apparently and does run on regular gas and my son in law is going to put a clutch and foot shifter on it....
he is a long time harley guy and so I think we trust his judgement. He says it will sell just on style points in the next bike week at Daytona where he lives.
Definitely going ahead with this... nobody wants the Chang....

thanks again guys...
Annie

[DrBob]

Yeah, if it had the same level of work to it as a restoration instead of a bobber, it would fetch $15-18K depending on if the motor is the correct one or not. But at this point it would cost more than that to buy it and then return it to stock, so your market is old school biker types who want old iron and take pride in the fact that they are a challenge to keep running. problem is, most of them would rather build one than buy one. I would love to put together something like that out of spare parts and a basket case frame (I'll use the knucklhead engine I have sitting in the shop though), but I'd never buy one already finished- the fun is in the building, not buying.
Personally, I think the BMW clone sidecar rig is cool as hell. But I would not want it as an only bike.

[Y2K]

Well, I guess you are right in that it would be more in demand than the Chinese sidecar rig. But with the economy in the toilet prices have really fallen on these old bikes, so I doubt it will sell quickly, and you will not get $6K for it. It will sell though, either on Craig List or Ebay, rather quickly at $3500- 4000.This assumes a clean title.

If you are looking for something fun to keep and ride, this is NOT it. "Tempermental" is an understatement. Panheads were lousy when it came to reliability and longevity. The top end oiling system was the problem: they make zero oil pressure at the top end until well above idle, so the motors need a top end rebuild every 20K miles or so. The electrical systems were lousy, the ignition systems suspect, and they leak more oil than some small countries. No rear suspension, suicide shifter, springer front end, no signals, kick start only- not a recipe for comfort and safety. At least it had front brakes, and disks. Has it been converted to 12 volts? Was the motor rebuilt to run on today's pump gas, or will it only run if you add lead substitute and octane booster? If it will run on pump gas, this bike is acceptable for short trips, but you will have to tinker with it just about every time you ride it, and get real used to changing the plugs and gapping the points to get it to start.
If you want a project to play with, and have something else to ride leaving this for bar hopping, sure. If you want to flip it, maybe. If you want to ride it as your only bike, forgetaboutit.

I'd beg to differ,maybe Pans go for cheap down South but you can't touch one for that kind of money up here and TA is in my neck of the woods.
Heck they want $3000 or more for old Ironhead Sportsters up here,you might pick up a cone motor Shovel for $4000 in need of some TLC but not a Pan.
I'd bet that Pan would bring $5000-$6000 just as it is pretty easy round these parts.
I'd sure love to have it.

[Dave Nadeau]

Hey Annie, LOL I told you a few years ago that you'd come over to the DARK SIDE.....I just did not figure that you go that dark.

[intimid8er]

love the word "transmogrified".... I think that was Calvin and Hobbes? that made that word common? LOL

Yes.

[tallannie]

make you a deal sir...

I'd beg to differ,maybe Pans go for cheap down South but you can't touch one for that kind of money up here and TA is in my neck of the woods.
Heck they want $3000 or more for old Ironhead Sportsters up here,you might pick up a cone motor Shovel for $4000 in need of some TLC but not a Pan.
I'd bet that Pan would bring $5000-$6000 just as it is pretty easy round these parts.
I'd sure love to have it.

[omegajim]

run with it; if somebody is willing to trade you for something you can sell at a decent price, great.

If I traded for said bike, before changing, fiddling or any other transmogrifications, I would be most tempted to sell it as is.

Failing that, then I would make changes and sell.

But you might find yourself inclined to liking such an anachronism in this day and age.

Drove an old bike with a kick start, and got really used to using the kick start and lived with all the shortcomings of said motorcycle.

[DrBob]

If you are going to try and sell it at bike week, do not put the hand clutch and foot shifter on it., The foot clutch and hand shifter are correct and original for this bike, and by taking them off not only will you further bastardize it and lower the value further, but you also remove a lot of the style points that will make the bike sell.

Ironheads command good money everywhere, because unlike the pans, they are actually pretty decent bikes that you can ride, so there is still good demand from people looking for an entry level Harley. If that pan would sell eassily for $6K, then the shop would not be trading it for a very low demand Chinese bike, would they?

I bet both parties are equally happy with the deal, and both are sure they got the better end of it. So everyone is happy. Welcome to the darkside: make sure you get your cookie.

[tallannie]

if it wasnt in florida...and me in Oregon... I would definitely try to ride it as is.... but money is getting short the longer I am unemployed...and so for sale at bike week is definitely the plan. It is actually not a shop... just a buddy of my son-in-law who rebuilt it and then had some medical issue and couldnt ride. He thinks he can ride a sidecar rig tho and wants to try it so he can get back into riding. At least that is the story... We are trusting the son on this one.

MMM me like cooooo keeee.... and, hey, mr. cookie monster, I gotta thing for cookies meself...and I love the way your eyes wobble too.. you gotta girlfriend yet ?

[DrBob]

Rumor has it Cookie Monster is shagging an area rug.

[tallannie]

oh well.... I can dream cant I ?

Rumor has it Cookie Monster is shagging an area rug.