motives questioned

[CBWELLS]

After reading all of the responses, I think you can see a trend forming. I also think it conforms to one of the Laws-of-Nature that statisticians call the PARETO PRINCIPLE.....(from WIKIPEDIA.COM..."roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes"). I usually translate this to; 80% of your result can be achieved with 20% of your resources. For us mere mortals with limited resources this should be the GUIDING LIGHT!...... because that means the remaining 20% of what want to achieve will cost you 80% of you resources. OUCH! Think about it!

Make it run. Keep it safe, well lubed, maintained, & clean. Those are the big bars to attack. Be creative & consider NON-OEM solutions to parts & problems. $20 worth of a good quality rattle-can paint & clear-coat can yield very nice results if you take some time & care to do it. Polishing compound will make dull aluminum shine & steel wool or scotch-brite pads will clean rusty pits. You don't need to spend big money on non-functional cosmetics like emblems & name tags, nor do you need to get the most expensive oil. I use Walmart SuperTec oil & it works just fine. You don't need the $300 chain & sprocket set. They are available for far less (ie. I paid $9 for the new chain & $15 for my front sprocket which have been on my GT550 for the past 5000 miles & still going strong), Spend your $$ on tires, batteries, cables, brakes... maybe an eBay seat cover if ya need it.

I'm becoming redundant now so I'll stop. Have fun with it. You can always spend money later to make it spiffy if you're so inclined.

[Coyote]

Nine dollar chain? Is it made out of metal? I don't do fancy chains either. DID standard chain is inexpensive and works just fine. Or go to your local bearing supply house and buy a length of Diamond chain.

[pearljam724]

I don't like paying a lot for a chain either. However, I use to have the outlook that a chain is a chain. All of the cheap chains aren't plated well enough to protect from rust. Many aren't plated at all. I maintain and clean my chains religiously and it's difficult to avoid rust on a cheap one. A good chain will with stand a short period of time without cleaning it and rust won't appear like the cheap ones do. But, comparing prices. You could also dispose of a cheap chain sooner and still be ahead of the game money wise. I've owned oem chains that surpassed 4 years / 20K miles and they still looked brand new. I've owned cheap ones that rust takes over the first time that chain hits water. Gold plated, cheap or not. Never seem to take on rust. It's all in the plating.

[CBWELLS]

Re $9 chain: Got it via JC Whitney & just happened to hit it when it was on sale. I'm sorry I didn't buy 3 at that price. As I said before, its 3 yrs old with 5k mi. on it works just fine. As for rust......keep 'em lubed well & they don't rust....... at least I haven't seen any on this one. Then again, maybe it's NOT metal but it sure works well! If LEGO made one that worked as well I would buy that!

[joolstacho]

It's all a matter of personal taste and circumstances isn't it?
I'm lucky enough to have the TIME to do almost everything myself, but I really have to keep a lid on the spending, so apart from 'heavy-duty' machining and plating I rarely have to pay anyone else to do anything. Even so a restoration/refurbishment is not cheap. But It's pretty amazing what you can achieve just by dismantling and thoroughly cleaning and fettling the components. Nowadays we're drowning in cheque-book restorations... there are plenty of people out there who are money-rich but time/ability-poor who just farm it all out to specialist companies who do the actual restoration. This is reflected in the inflated asking prices for restored bikes, -people are trying to recoup their costs, which in most cases will be impossible.
I guess we'd all like to be rich enough to buy all the upgrade parts and spend big on plating etc to do one of those better than new sparkling restos, (and yep, they do look beautiful), but somehow I really like a more authentic look, I don't mind patina. I like the clean imperfection that comes with age and use. And I don't mind the respect I feel for the guy who has put in hard work instead of hard currency to get the job done.

[GT750Battleship]

Hi,my GT750A looks lovely...but on close inspect she has battle scars...alternator cover has meet the road,as has the clutch cable cover...on the left side,the left outer exhaust header has also touched the road at sometime in the bikes 40 years of use....I can honestly say that none of this "Patina" is down to me in the last 14 years I also prefer a bike to show her age & the many miles someone has enjoyed the riding experience
Cheers,
Roger