If vintage, classic, or just plain old motorcycles turn your crank, there is one essential new entry in the Ultimate Motorcycling Rider’s Library you must have: The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024/2025 Edition.
The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024/2025 Edition continues the line of authoritative vintage motorcycle price guides we’ve told you about in the past. This edition contains the latest price data for more marques than ever—115 in all—with model years from 1901 to 2005 covered. In some cases, the latest Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide also includes data on quantities manufactured by model, as that information becomes available.
The book has a detailed guide on evaluating the condition and value of a given motorcycle, using the same criteria used by vintage motorcycle experts.
Condition is rated from 1 (showroom/new) to 6 (poor/non-running/incomplete parts bike). Exactly how to determine where a given bike falls in the range of condition ratings is described with tips on what key things to watch out for, good and bad.
Current pricing data is gathered from more than 450 vintage motorcycle experts worldwide. The data is not merely personal opinion—it is driven by auction values, swap meet sale prices, dealer sales, online sales, private transactions, and other sales data. The pricing data is collated for each make, model, and year, including the condition rating.
The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide also includes excellent insider value background information on key market trends in its Price Mart Showroom section.
How does it work? Let’s consider an example. Suppose you’re out on a ride and you see a small motorcycle, such as a vintage Honda Trail 90 (CT90), which is exactly what you’ve been looking around for. In a small way, it is one of your dream bikes; after all, it is arguably the world’s first adventure bike.
You decide to stop and check it out. The sign with the bike says it’s a 1974 Honda CT 90K5 with 3900 miles on the odometer. You presume that to be correct and original. The sign says it runs and rides great, and includes the optional auxiliary gas tank. The asking price is $2100.
Your palms get sweaty, your heart rate goes up, and since the motorcycle looks to be in good shape—even the tires are good. You think seriously about reaching for your checkbook and channeling Philip J. Fry of Futurama: “Shut up and take my money!”
But wait! This is a 90cc trail bike with no title, and it’s 50 years old. Is that asking price way out of bounds for this thing? Or is it a bargain?
That’s where The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide 2024/2025 Edition comes in. According to the book, if it is genuinely in condition 1, basically in perfect showroom shape, this little thing could be worth up to $7500! If there are some minor defects, at condition 3, it may be worth up to $4500. The asking price would suggest it may be somewhere between condition 4 (good; $3000) and 5 (fair; $1500).
If everything checks out and it’s not too great a hassle to get it titled in your state, you may have struck gold at the $2100 asking price. Of course, the sign says “OBO,” so there should be some wiggle room on the price.
You never know when you might stumble upon something at some farm auction that is truly rare, collectible, and expensive, such as a 1936 Crocker Small Tank ($100K, even as a condition 6 basket case) or a 1973 Kawasaki Z1 ($35,000 in condition 1, a favorite of Ultimate Motorcycling President Arthur Coldwells), or a dusty 1949 Schwinn Whizzer ($10,000 in condition 1).
When considering purchasing a motorcycle of a certain age, The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024-2025 Edition is an essential shopping companion. It pays to be prepared.
The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024-2025 Edition Fast Facts
- Title: The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024-2025 Edition
- Author: Compiled by The Motorcycle and Model Railroad Museum of Wisconsin, Inc.
- Published: 2024, Halfcourt Press, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Format: Paperback, 528 4.25-by-6.5-inch pages
- ISBN: 978-1-7329170-6-4
The Comprehensive Vintage Motorcycle Price Guide – 2024-2025 Edition Price: $21 MSRP
