The New Vincent Black Shadow

[John Smith-Daye]

I just wondered what had happened to the new Shadow - has it found a new owner yet? It would be interesting to know what price was commanded - presumably this information is available to VOC Members as I understand it is a VOC asset? I was not in a position financially to enter the sealed bid process, but am extremely interested to know the outcome, as I'm sure are many others!

 

[Ken Tidswell]

New Shadow

Bidders for the new Shadow have failed to come up with the necessary funds.So if you want to organise a raffle feel free. My guess is is it will go for auction. Ken Tidswell

 

[Albervin]

I want to know what they did about the tool kit & tyre pump. Are they available or did they buy the parts from enjoyinvest?

 

[Graham Smith]

Alyn

As far as I know, the majority of items (including the pump) are available from the VOC Spares company. I don't think the grease gun is available though.

One thing I can guarantee though, is that they DIDN'T buy anything from 'enjoyinvest' who advertises on eBay!

The whole point of the 'new' Black Shadow Project was that all of the parts used had to be new and available.

 

[petermb998]

If there is no tool kit or pump with the Shadow then there is one of each on e-bay from you know who. Item no.170165930441 for the pump and item no 170165929933 for the spanners. Both items have a reserve price on them.

It will be interesting to see what price he will get for these items this time.
£1000.00 for the tool kit??????
Why do people pay such prices for these tool kits from this rip off merchant?

regards Peter

 

[Graham Smith]

I didn't say there wasn't a toolkit with the 'new' Black Shadow.

As far as I am aware (please correct me if I'm wrong), there IS a toolkit with the 'new' Black Shadow.

All the toolkit items are available from the VOC Spares Company Ltd.

 

[John Smith-Daye]

Bidders for the new Shadow have failed to come up with the necessary funds.So if you want to organise a raffle feel free. My guess is is it will go for auction. Ken Tidswell

I find that a little bit distasteful, people taking the mickey by bidding when they can't come up with the dosh. Perhaps naming and shaming would stop them from doing it again? In my opinion, auction would be the fairest way to go about disposing of the machine, and would hopefully command a good price for the VOC.

 

[BlackLightning998]

Why not let it go to the highest bidder who can execute then....

I'm assuming that the person who offered the highest amount cannot/will not pay for his/her bid.

On that basis, name them and move on to the next highest bidder.

Give them a period of time (48 hours) to demonstrate that they can settle their committment to purchase the bike.

If they cannot - name them and move on to the next highest bidder.

Give them a period of time (48 hours) to demonstrate that they can settle their committment to purchase the bike.

If they cannot.............

Someone will have bid a decent amount and will buy the bike - surely. Eventually they may get down to my bid price and I'll buy it........

Stuart

 

[Glenliman]

The story as I heard it (approximately, the figures might be +- a bit) was that a high bid of 80,000 GBP was received but the bidder was only imagining he had the money.
The next bid down was something like 50,000 GBP, but that person was also delusional about his bank balance.
That left a bid which did not even meet the reserve price.

In the meantime, enter Glyn Johnson with a big ad in MPH advertising new built to order Black Shadows and now the Club bike, which was promised to be the one and only, is no longer at all unique.


I agree that the people who enetered the false bids should be identified. I have dealt with people like this and it is quite annoying , even financially dangerous if you lose a solid buyer while wasting time with a grandiose dreamer.

This experience does seem to support a survey I read of which shows most people greatly overestimate their own net worth and their income level.
In part, this is how the Subprime mess developed, borrowers were permitted
to simply list their income level without any formal check done by the lenders.

 

[naulahka]

Yes I agree with Monkeypants that Glyn Johnsons efforts to sell new
Vincents has taken the shine/cachet off owning the supposed 'unique' new VOC Shadow'.
However the introduction of new machines into the market will probably ease this obscene hyperinflation of prices and prevent future saleable bikes from being condemned forever to the museum,or worse still the 'private collection.'In the late eighties a similar thing happened with Ferraris ,where any old battered vehicle in Corsa red was selling for obscene amounts,and now despite limited production of certain models are fetching sundry prices.

 

[johncrispin]

Raffle

It is a pity that the bidders turned out to be bogus for the clubs sake.
I still think the raffle option is worth considering, I appreciate it is a bind for a variety of reasons, but I am sure (as an ex section organiser), S.O.'s could have sold raffle tickets to members and kept on selling them until the kitty to cover the clubs costs were met, that way everyone has a chance of ownership and the hole in the finances is gradually filled in. As it stands it is a very expensive( albeit much admired) exercise presently and until such time as a buyer is found it remains so.

 

[BlackLightning998]

The VOC does continue to surprise me............

I'm surprised that more than one club member appears to have forgotten what their own disposal income/bank balance looks like and it would seem have offered to enter into a binding contract to purchase without having the necessary funds to execute.

If they are simply forgetful than I'm very sorry for them.

If they think they are being funny or mischevious - then so might losing their membership be, strikes me the behavious is malicious. Come on then - let's have their names so we can all let them know how funny we think they are. Maybe Mr H who sold the White Shadow could put some of the cash to good use and buy the Shadow? (Oops - letting out that hot potato again) - his profit must have been £40K plus even after commission and catalogue fees.

I'd be up for the raffle idea - I've bought a few from the VMCC for the Comet and I guess with a bit of hard work we'd get more than the reserve price (which was what do you reckon then?)

Alternatively we could rent it out - I'd pay a decent fee for a weekend just like the specialist classic car rental clubs do. Or sell it to fractional ownership that can be passed on in your will, £1000 for a weekend on a 99 year lease might work and have tradeable value.

Stuart

 

[Albervin]

I believe the original top bidder thought the exchange rate was £2 to 1 US$ i.e. a**e about. He thought that $40,000 was a fair price but did not realise he actually bid $160,000!!!!!!!! Oh boy would he have been embarrassed....

 

[Albervin]

I'm surprised that more than one club member appears to have forgotten what their own disposal income/bank balance looks like and it would seem have offered to enter into a binding contract to purchase without having the necessary funds to execute.

If they are simply forgetful than I'm very sorry for them.

If they think they are being funny or mischevious - then so might losing their membership be, strikes me the behavious is malicious. Come on then - let's have their names so we can all let them know how funny we think they are. Maybe Mr H who sold the White Shadow could put some of the cash to good use and buy the Shadow? (Oops - letting out that hot potato again) - his profit must have been £40K plus even after commission and catalogue fees.

I'd be up for the raffle idea - I've bought a few from the VMCC for the Comet and I guess with a bit of hard work we'd get more than the reserve price (which was what do you reckon then?)

Alternatively we could rent it out - I'd pay a decent fee for a weekend just like the specialist classic car rental clubs do. Or sell it to fractional ownership that can be passed on in your will, £1000 for a weekend on a 99 year lease might work and have tradeable value.

Stuart

All well & good Stuart............for members in the UK.

 

[BlackLightning998]

Good point well made....

You are right, without shipping it to Oz for a year or so I am not sure of how it could be done. Apologies I didn't consider that - and having re-patriated my own Rapide from Oz in June this year you'd have thought I would have. As I seem to recall c50% of the production went overseas it needs to me a more global solution - although had the miscalulating US member bought it it would have cost another US$2000 to ship I imagine. Have you any thoughts on a fairer way of parting company with the Shadow, seems a shame for it to languish?

S

 

[Albervin]

Stuart, a couple of C Shadows have sold in Australia for about $85.000 which is £ 36,700. These were nice old bikes but not perfect. This bike is perfect but new.... problem. It was not made by PCV! In my experience you do not make money from restoring a bike (unless you are the company being paid by the owner) unless you keep it for a number of years. Replicas are a strange beast, check out replica D Types or Bugattis & you will see what I mean. A D Type with history will sell for £1 m + but a perfect replica will be half that. I think the VOC may have been a little naive to think they could get ALL their money back from this project. The answer is they CAN get a lot of publicity with it if they keep it for a couple of years. They do not need the money as they are very liquid so why not just flaunt it at shows, events etc.

 

[johncrispin]

Albervin & Stu
You are right about the response at shows John. I do not think the penny had quite dropped yet that the bike was new earlier this year. Then after the MCN road test the crutch rocket mob seem to notice the Vins now, and many non Vin owner classic buffs ( they do exist) have remarked how much of an achievement it is.
When we had it at Kempton next to another very smart Shadow (a PCV one). People kept gawping in a kind of glazed over way like oh yeh there is another flash dude Vincent, until you told them this is the new one.."Waddya mean new??? " .. I mean new, as in 2006 anyway, we replied. ''Weell I'll be ??? " etc etc. So you would start a whole new topic of conversation and interest centred on that bike (our bike actually?).
A previous contributor mentioned it caps the value, albeit high, it is capped thank goodness. You can see people contemplating the viability of ownership in a new light, this could pay huge dividends to an ageing club , ( not you Stu) if we could keep it a while longer, and I suppose with things as they stand we might just have it a while longer.

 

[Len Matthews]

Various methods have been suggested as to how to find a way of disposing of this machine but to my mind one major question goes unanswered-what did it cost to build? Spares prices are at their highest ever level and as Glyn Johnson's labour charge is not known it would good to know the final cost. If it finds itself a private owner will he/she have a problem with adequate insurance cover for a machine that clearly has a higher value than an existing fifty-plus year old Vincent? What started off as a worthy project has become a wee bit of a farce.

 

[VinParts]

for a machine that clearly has a higher value than an existing fifty-plus year old Vincent?

But does it? As it has not sold the only way to find out is to bung it in an auction.
The last Shadow got £50K ?????, The White Shadow we all know about but what would this get?? And more to the point would it get more if you could not just pick up the phone and order one and did the ad in MPH put people off bidding, it would have me but as I own a real one I did not bid

Russ

 

[Len Matthews]

Same here!