The New Vincent Black Shadow

johncrispin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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....
 
Last edited:

Albervin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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.:rolleyes:
 

johncrispin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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.:confused:
 

VinParts

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
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 :D

Russ
 
Top