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General Chat (Vincent Related)
advice for a new boy
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<blockquote data-quote="Monkeypants" data-source="post: 1682" data-attributes="member: 2708"><p>Steve, if you have not aldready done so, it would be worth your while to join the club and get to know some of the club members prior to purchasing a bike. This is the source of much Vincent knowledge and will most likely help you avoid purchasing from a snake oil salesman.</p><p></p><p>If the club members are familiar with a machine that is for sale, it is likely someone will know the gory details of it's mechanical condition.</p><p>It is not uncommon for a Vincent to be cosmetically beautiful and still be a wreck internally. </p><p>I would far rather purchase something that is in tip top mechanical shape but might be in need of a bit of cosmetic work. The cosmetic problems are in plain view to all and are generally quite cheaply dealt with.</p><p>Internal problems are much tougher to spot and generally much more expensive to deal with. Purchasing a wreck and doing a complete restoration as has been suggested is one way to get first rate mechanical condition, another is to purchase a machine which has already had the work done. In this case you might want to rely on club members familiar with the machine, or , failing that, club members who can vouch for the integrity of the seller. </p><p></p><p></p><p>I purchased my first Vincent four years ago in Australia from an ad in Flogger's Corner. It was cost prohibitive for me to go to Australia to view the bike, so all I had was a photo and the seller's description. On my behalf, one of the club members here in Canada queried an Australian club member about the character of the seller and the condition of the bike.</p><p>He was told that the member in question was a standup fellow having a long association with Vincents, although the Australian member was not familiar with this particular bike (the seller had owned 16 Vincents over the years)</p><p>The seller claimed the bike was in very good mechanical shape, but was not a councours machine, although it looked very tidy in the photos. </p><p>The description was entirely accurate and this machine has performed extremely well for me, in fact it has been virtually trouble free in sixteen thousand miles we have covered with it, mostly loaded two up with gear.</p><p>We did do a top end redo shortly after purchase, however this was done in part to bump the compression and in part to add the oil seal modification to the inlet valves (greatly reduces oil consumption) and was a matter of choice rather than a required repair.</p><p></p><p>I have since purchased a second Rapide, again relying on club info for the history of the machine. This one has had a total internal and external resto done by a local Vincent whiz, but had only covered 550 miles in 20 years due to an injury the seller received in a car accident.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Monkeypants, post: 1682, member: 2708"] Steve, if you have not aldready done so, it would be worth your while to join the club and get to know some of the club members prior to purchasing a bike. This is the source of much Vincent knowledge and will most likely help you avoid purchasing from a snake oil salesman. If the club members are familiar with a machine that is for sale, it is likely someone will know the gory details of it's mechanical condition. It is not uncommon for a Vincent to be cosmetically beautiful and still be a wreck internally. I would far rather purchase something that is in tip top mechanical shape but might be in need of a bit of cosmetic work. The cosmetic problems are in plain view to all and are generally quite cheaply dealt with. Internal problems are much tougher to spot and generally much more expensive to deal with. Purchasing a wreck and doing a complete restoration as has been suggested is one way to get first rate mechanical condition, another is to purchase a machine which has already had the work done. In this case you might want to rely on club members familiar with the machine, or , failing that, club members who can vouch for the integrity of the seller. I purchased my first Vincent four years ago in Australia from an ad in Flogger's Corner. It was cost prohibitive for me to go to Australia to view the bike, so all I had was a photo and the seller's description. On my behalf, one of the club members here in Canada queried an Australian club member about the character of the seller and the condition of the bike. He was told that the member in question was a standup fellow having a long association with Vincents, although the Australian member was not familiar with this particular bike (the seller had owned 16 Vincents over the years) The seller claimed the bike was in very good mechanical shape, but was not a councours machine, although it looked very tidy in the photos. The description was entirely accurate and this machine has performed extremely well for me, in fact it has been virtually trouble free in sixteen thousand miles we have covered with it, mostly loaded two up with gear. We did do a top end redo shortly after purchase, however this was done in part to bump the compression and in part to add the oil seal modification to the inlet valves (greatly reduces oil consumption) and was a matter of choice rather than a required repair. I have since purchased a second Rapide, again relying on club info for the history of the machine. This one has had a total internal and external resto done by a local Vincent whiz, but had only covered 550 miles in 20 years due to an injury the seller received in a car accident. [/QUOTE]
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