I was given a "matching numbers" Comet basket case by a friend about the time JL was discussing giving his bikes (also basket cases) to friends. (Many people seem to imagine a file of pristine A Rapides and SS100 Broughs being wheeled out of a showroom, not tea-chests of bits being loaded into a van.) My giver knew perfectly well what the price of a fully restored Comet was, and, because he was neither stupid nor inexperienced, what it would take in time and money to restore what he gave me. And that if he wanted to see another Vincent on the road, which is what he did want, in the hands of a friend, which is also what he wanted, I was a better bet than eBay - or HMRC. (Might be out next year. Eight years - a quick restoration, then...)
Luckily he didn't think of Vincent basket cases as being worth the price of a fully restored bike. Nor do I. Even a complete basket case Comet, all parts usable, "requires assembly only", ho, ho, at say £5000, is no bargain if you add in the cost of your own realistically costed labour. (Garages here charge labour at £90 per hour when all they ever do is swop out modules).
Whoops! The notional profit on "a bike worth £10,000" has just evaporated. Restore bikes for love, as I do, but don't do it for money. I've never made any, and I have bikes "worth £4000" which I bought for £40, and bikes "worth £6000" for which I paid nothing.
And since they were my friend's to dispose of exactly as he wished, and he did exactly as he wished, as, it seems highly probable, did JL, I don't see what business it is of anyone else. Even if I disapproved of what he did, which I don't.