How much $ in your build?

I'm doing pretty good on my build... I traded a paint job and $400 for mine. I've spent about another $1200 on it... I do my own paint, polish and small parts powder coating, so that saves me a bit. I am keeping the TCI ignition so I've got zero dollars into the engine... Hopefully the motor will only set me back the cost of a set of plugs and new Carb Boots and a set of Uni-Filters. Maybe the cost of a proper carb jetting by a pro, (Great Carb guy here in town for not too much $$$, after what I went through jetting my Honda's Mikuni's myself I'll pay someone.) I'll probably finish up with around $2,000-$2,200 when it's putting around town...

My thread > http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26331
 
With all the trading I've done for parts it's hard to put a number on. The bike was $200 and only needed a carb cleaning. Traded a bike I bought for $100 for the sidecar and its bike, sold that bike for $1500 and kept the sidecar. Used the $1500 to fund what I've done to the XS and sidecar. So as far as my wife is concerned (which is what matters) I have $300 into it.
 
Have to agree with alot of other posters so far, waaaaaaaay more then I will ever get back out of it. Between purchase price, parts, paint, time, break downs, fixes, more break downs, parts, time, fixes and still more breakdowns, tearing my hair out(whats left of it), and finally getting it running(for now, see the multiple break downs) probably around 4-4.5k. Now the time spent working on it, and all of the frustrations that come along with it, then to hear it fire up and run, and to get to ride it(before it breaks down again),.............priceless. As for the wife, oh not that much honey, I'll make a profit when I sell it.........
 
Just spent $180 on a set of vintage KONI shocks , been looking for a set for a couple of years .Probably the best deal I got on parts so far for this bike . Now I can ditch those monza shocks from Mike's/ direct even though they are better now than they were new . Seems like having a 275lbs rider and bumpy roads has finally got them broken in a bit , not nearly as stiff as new , they actually started to work .
 
You're not supposed to ask those questions.

The wife may be reading this forum.

I started my project in Aug 21 2005 and spent more on shipping costs than most Harley guys spend on chrome, and that is allot. ha ha ha

The shredder takes care of the paper work.

Stop asking embarrassing questions.
 
I put $3200.00 into my "23" build. That is just receipts, not labor, or all the horse trading for parts and such. I figured $50.00 an hour for labor and a 100 hours (very low estimate) on labor. So I put the value on my bike at $8500.00. I've had two very interested parties that would pony up that kind of money, but I am not ready to sell it yet. Even with a semi-bad back, it is a hoot to ride. Probably when I do sell, I'll try to get the $3200.00 out of it.
 
Brian, this is a good point. I have also started to notice that a high percentage of my funds are going towards shipping. If a vendor offers free shipping on an order over a certain dollar amount I almost always consider it. I can usually find something that I will need for the build to make the free shipping cut-off. It's truly insane and I would hate to figure it all up, it would just be depressing. One can't just consider parts when thinking about a build, you would run out of money in a hurry if you're on a budget.
 
I quit counting around $2500. I am guessing it will be around $3500, maybe (probably) a little more. I am not too concerned anymore. At first it was going to be a very budget bike that I wanted to do for like $2k, but realistically, it wouldn't have been something that I would have wanted to ride. I have very few items left to buy and I think it will be a neat bike when done.
 
Josh,

Every time I see your avatar it puts a smile on my face.

As a kid we smoked cigars at Christmas.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Then got sick.
 
Ha! That's great! Yep, memories. Kind of like when your dad finally gives in after being asked five million times "can I have a sip of your beer? " At 8, that was probably the worst tasting thing I could have imagined. Now, at the end of a hard day's work, not much else tastes better.

I fell in love with that pic of the boy with cigar a few years back. I had an interest in getting it made into a poster and then properly framed and matted to hang in the garage. I tracked down the company that owned the rights to that picture. They said they could send me a PDF file with the image that I could send to a poster maker. All for the small sum of $400!!! just for the file image.

I think I will just stick with stealing the image to use as an avatar. I'm not computer savy enough to figure out how to steel the image for a poster myself. :shrug:
 
I have a '75 and an '83, both are in good condition and a pleasure to ride. They're not perfect, but that's part of the charm, always something to do on them and that great sense of accomplishment when you get to ride. Got about $5000.00 to $6000.00 in them total, not including labour. Calculating labour would change the $ amount drastically as would the amount of time (labour) spent reading this forum. However, the bikes and everything that stems from them, reading and talking about them etc. is something most of us love to do. We all have the motorcycle/XS650 bug so for many of us the money is secondary. It's kind of the "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"thing. As stated by ippytattoo; "One thing I can tell you is that it probably saved me about the same amount or more in therapy bills since it gives me a chance to step away, clear my head and approach thing a little more level headed once I have had a chance to unwind a little bit."
I think ippytattoo nailed it.
Yamimoto
 
Glad I'm not only one, since I've started this thread if put probably close to $800 into mine. Feels like it will never end!
 
I've have my xs for 3 years now.
I have more cash into her than i have into my 2 other bikes.
But I am a bit obsessive compulsive.
I have 3 engines for her and other parts too.
I have more than $5000 in my xs + goodies
 
I'm pretty sure it does not end.......which just means it's always something you can look forward to.
Yamimoto
 
My bike was pretty much free, and I have about $1500 of stuff in it. Now, if you consider all the stuff I happened to buy while I was working on the bike, but not specifically related to it- lincoln wire feed welder, craftsman rolling tool box, paint, grinding wheels, etc, etc.... That number is probably above $3000.
 
Well, I bought my 77 about 2 years ago, but really came to work on it the past 6 weeks on weekends. Took the engine to a shop to have it rebuilt, powdercoat frame, repaint tins, upgrade suspension...I think I will be into the bike around 4-4.5K....Considering I want to have a reliable good looking bike, it was either an new bike, circa 8-11K or rebuild my 77.

So I consider it a win/win, a rare good looking bike plus saving around 4-5K compared to buying a new one.

So all depends how you look at it
 
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