Restoration B105P 1967

[kartboy110]

Hello, this is my very first thread so cut me some slack here haha

Recently I have taken ownership of a 1967 Suzuki Bearcat B105P with only 2800 miles on it when I first got it. There is quite a story behind it, I got it out of a grown in aircraft hanger. The bike was parked in the back of this hanger for over 20 years without being touched.



That is what it looked like the night i brought it home.

This bike was sad but complete.

The very next day, with out even taking the carb off, I threw some gas in it and a couple kicks later, it was smoking up my driveway.



It was the best feeling ever to be driving around my yard after this bike was abandoned after 20 years.

I am currently restoring this bike so that I can ride it back and fourth to my high school to save on gas. This is a nice bike!

[Motorcycle Forum]

[kartboy110]

for some reason it wont show my pictures. just check them out in my profile!

[drgibson]

Nice find, amazing what a little elbow grease can do.

[4Nines]

Any updates?

I just picked up 50cc M12 that looks almost identical to this bike. I'm going to start a new thread on my restoration here soon

[TheShadow619]

I have a 67 B105P Bearcat I want to restore. Can anyone give me a rough idea as to the value of these bikes? NADA says the bike is too rare to establish a value.

[DrBob]

These old Japanese bikes have little value: they are too small to be of interest to most people. People looking for a driver don't want them because they are too small and obsolete, and two-strokes really turn most people off. Collectors do not want them because they are not rare, not significant, and not something most people find to be visually or mechanically impressive. High-end bikes cost more new and are worth more as collectibles, so this era Suzuki in particular is not collectible, because they were traditionally the "value brand" sold based on having a lower price than the competition, and not on the leading edge of performance or technology. They are a novelty, not a collector bike, and do not sell quickly or for much money. Non-running ones are more likely to end up as a decorator piece than to be worth restoring. In terms of collectible cars, your Suzuki two-stroke is like showing up at the Barret-Jackson muscle car auction with a Nash Metropolitan or AMC Pacer: a few of people will chuckle and say "I remember those," and someone might buy it for sentimental reasons if they can get it cheap, but most people will have zero interest.

As for the Bearcat specifically, I saw one sell not to long in all original condition, running, a perfect candidate for an easy light cosmetic restoration, sell for $650. You can buy them all day long in very good running/ driving condition in the $1200-1500 range, and I don't recall ever seeing even the most perfect example sell for more than $2000 lately, maybe $2500 a few years ago when the collector market was at its peak.

If you want to fix it up because you enjoy wrenching or want to learn, that is fine. If you want to fix it up because you think it is going to be worth something when you are done, forget it.

If you want to restore motorcycles for fun and profit, develop your skills, then stick to rare or high-end brands like the Japanese Rikuo, pre-1984 Harleys, pre-1953 Indians, pre-WWII BMWs, or extinct brands like Henderson or Excelsior (not to be confused with the 1990s era Excelsior-Henderson). These bikes continue to make collectors drool and dig deep into their pockets, even in these hard times, yet they are not too hard to restore because parts are not impossible to find.