I came to the conclusion a few years ago that you can actually own too many motorcycles, so guess what i did about it, absolutely nothing!
Hoarding of Vincent Parts? Come On - Own Up!
- Thread starter Speedtwin
- Start date
The problem of transferring a hoard of Vincent parts from a willing old 80-year-old codger to an eager young 75-year-old whippersnapper in the UK, where there are 10,000 Vincent owners (estimated), all of whom live within 5 miles of each other (also, estimated), is different than in the U.S., where there are only 100 Vincent owners (est.), no two of whom are closer than 500 miles (est.) from each other.
My State alone is 1.3× larger than that entire island, and I doubt if there are even 10 Vincents (I know of just five) within an area that's the radius of London-to-Birmingham. This means the number of Vincent hoards within a 400-mile drive (the distance to Los Angles) has to be tiny compared with that of the UK, and the distance that would have to be traveled to visit one of those hoards is large.
That leaves eBay, where either the parts would have to be listed one-by-one, or the entire hoard offered all at once. But, even if a hoard appeared on Ebay that looked like it might be worth $15k, how many people would bid even $5k sight-unseen?
So, those of you who are trying to shame us hoarders into giving up our piles of worn-out rusty parts need to come up with reasonable suggestions that would make that possible (nb. I used Cyborg's quote because it was useful, not because I believe for a second anyone but his descendants are going to release his hoards).
I've had this theory about folk who have large collections of parts, and/or bikes or anything similar of a mechanical nature. Why do these older folk hang on to these seamingly precious things pretty much till they are no longer with us.......only to leave their family/freinds with the massive task of sorting it all out (Could be a real issue for folk like me who repair/rebuild these bikes, how would my family know what belongs to who......??? ) Anyway, all of this topic has been in my life forever......I've been working on and restoring things from lawnmowers/chainsaws to classic Aircraft........We all know that blokes (well mostly) like to have hobbies/interests........something that our parteners/wives struggle with.......Well these "toys" are like our babies.........we spend so much time and effort with them no matter how much grief they give us, and that is an understatement for all of us.........This I believe, is the main reason for all this.......It is something beyond personal, it is part of you and anyone you know will know you for this........As selfish as it might seem, for some silly old bugger to keep all this "Junk" in the shed till they die........if you took it away from them, then they loose that spark........Not indifferent to loosing a child......it is a major part of who we are........after all this time I now finally get it, as to why this happens........Some forward planning might help with family sorting it all out........most people probably just run out of time.
Well, if you're going to get serious about this…
I learned several relevant concepts from the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (easier to pronounce than you might think), who died last year. One is "flow" which, greatly oversimplified, is engaging in an activity that, although it might be difficult and challenging, has the right balance to bring significant pleasure and satisfaction. Depending on the person, that can apply to aspects of rebuilding an engine, or assembling a gearbox.
Another concept is that of "signifiers," which can be centripetal (drawing one towards home) or centrifugal (drawing one away). I just got a beautiful new chess set yesterday that I'll use when playing with my granddaughters. That's a good example of a centripetal signifier. The Vincent I'm restoring is another example, as are the piles of parts that go with it. A kayak, for an outdoorsy person might be a centrifugal signifier, as is one of my functional motorcycles. Anyway, we're attracted to signifiers, and a signifier that has more than one attractive attribute, a "multivocal signifier," has an even stronger hold on us. Anyone who has ridden a beautiful-looking motorcycle on a curvy road past a newly-mowed field knows a motorcycle "speaks" to our senses of sight, sound, touch and smell. As a result, people who like motorcycles tend to really like them, and vice versa for people who dislike them.
Important for this discussion, a signifier also "stores" memories. An inexpensive vase once owned by your now-deceased mother might remind you of pleasant memories of childhood, making it much more precious than one at the store that sells for $1000. The Vincent that a 90-year-old no longer can ride holds any number of memories for the owner, so why would they want to sell it if they have the space for it and don't need the money for living expenses? A Rapide might sell for, say, $50k at auction, but to that guy it could be priceless.
Sorry, Greg, you're the one who got serious.
I couldn't agree more Greg. These machines are part of our life story, how we acquired the bits to assemble them, who we acquired them from ,trips we made on them ,memorable fines we received while using them are all part of our life. I have only purchased two running Vins, any others have been built from bits or been "basket cases" .When I ride my bikes, I tend to think back to other trips I have made to rallies etc. and the other riders and machines I have met there. Riders who started out riding in the 60's as I did, didn't consciously set out to 'hoard'. The problem then was that you could not obtain those needed parts for love or money, so whenever anything useable turned up, it was for 'later on' ,or swapping, just in case of a future disaster. With this happening, eventually the bones of another bike would appear. And so it begins!
When the day does come, it’s more likely than not that some valuables will end up in the trash. About a month ago, a long time friend won his class racing a Yamaha 500 flat tracker. A few days later, back at home he was cutting the grass and dropped dead. I had the unenviable task of helping his kids shovel out the garage. Both the kids have busy lives and just aren’t equipped to deal with the volume of stuff. Homes were found for the big lumps and thankfully they wanted to keep all the hand tools. In the past, I have thought about buying some parts tags and at least tagging the valuable lumps. The 32mm TT’s don’t look like much to the uninitiated. Although…. if the bride happened to see that particular tag, it could be the beginning of the end.
Every once in awhile I walk my son through my shop and point out the things to keep ( Snap On) and what to toss Crafstman etc. I also point out what certain Vincent original parts are worth and how many video games he could buy with the loot. On some of the rocking horse shit I have put a tag onwith a ballpark value. But mostly I impress on my son to call ROBERT WATSON the same day I kick the bucket.
I am lucky that my son is into motorcycles and my wife has sat through enough auto jumbles and auctions to know whats what.
Back in 2019 I passed my road 1000 to my son (now I have to live 3 more years to cheat the tax) every one knows what he has done with the bike since so I can still share in its progress. (another benefit of a non matching number bike it can be changed)
I have sold some bikes and parts but thats more to do with downsizing than what happens when I go the the great scrutineer
Back in 2019 I passed my road 1000 to my son (now I have to live 3 more years to cheat the tax) every one knows what he has done with the bike since so I can still share in its progress. (another benefit of a non matching number bike it can be changed)
I have sold some bikes and parts but thats more to do with downsizing than what happens when I go the the great scrutineer