Budget Build?? Don`t save your receipts!!

[halfmile]

Just throw them in the trash. Adding them up will scare you to death. I`ll post this so as not to steal "tzimmerman`s" thread about "this just got expensive" but when you build from scratch it does get out of control quick. I keep all my receipts on everything I spend. Usually 2 or 3 manila envelopes full on each project. A month ago I added up some of the money spent on my current scrambler project. These figures are just for the front fork assy and the related parts attached to them and the handlebar related stuff. Some of these figures include the shipping cost.
Bultaco wheel 100.00, Brake shoes 36.15, Bearings & seals 25.39, Clutch lever 39.99, Lever covers 6.98, Handlebars 21.55, Brake lever 42.99, Throttle 24.99, Grips 29.77, Gaitors 12.58, Dunlop K70 77.95, Tube 13.95, Rim liner 4.95, Axle nut 4.13, Headlight 44.95, Decal 15.49, Fork O rings 3.25, Damper bolts 5.45, Washers 2.48, Handlebar clamps 32.00, Fork stops 53.99, Stone guard 16.00, Fork Hdw 32.07, Boot clamps 58.64, Fork brace 44.00, Fork oil 9.85, Triple trees 175.00, Stem 125.00, Brake cable 18.91, Control switch 15.58, Front fender 70.00, Front rim 100.00, Spokes 119.00, Fork seals 12.93, Retainer clips 5.28, Seal washers 5.28, Fork tube caps 41.95, Progressive springs 65.91, Taper bearings 57.92, Steering damper 32.00, Clutch cable 13.92, Turn signals 8.66, Axle spacers 12.00, Throttle cable kit 48.00, Brake switch 17.81, Mount tire 34.00, Dead man switch 6.99 etc.
This does not include the fender mount, brake stay, steering damper mount and anything I already had or made and the pile of receipts that are still in the garage and no labor except to mount the tire. I don`t ever run gauges or electric monitoring stuff but the price of things like M Gadget is enough to scare me to death.
Since this is for a hobby (Motorcycle) I can justify the money spent with no problem.
I can`t imagine what a full blown 100 point restoration would cost? That is if you save all the receipts.

 

[nighthog]

I've been keeping a spreadsheet with all, well, most of what I've spent and I've far exceeded the purchase price on parts. By a country mile. A few things have been by choice rather than necessity and I have plans to do much more .... and I haven't even ridden it yet! Regrets? None.

 

[Jim]

I can`t imagine what a full blown 100 point restoration would cost? That is if you save all the receipts.

Stay tuned.....

 

[xjwmx]

I can see that list of parts coming in at about $75 from 4G's Chinese suppliers. $150 - $200 really.

 

[fredintoon]

Stay tuned.....

Hi Jim,
parts costs are as nothing compared to billing yourself (even at the minimum wage) for the time you spend working on the bike, eh?
Add that into the mix and you could have bought a Vincent.

 

[xjwmx]

Don't know why anybody would want a stinkin Vincent when they could have an XS650 Special.

 

[motormike]

On one of my first builds.. I kept a small notebook with a record of parts.. expenses'.. etc etc... then about mid build I ck'd the notebook ... eeeck... I knew there would be cost for this project but was a bit shocked at the total. The notebook.. went away. The project proceed'd.

 

[nighthog]

Jim, maybe you should keep that to yourself. Don't want to frighten people off with the truth!

 

[Ratranger]

I started with a $100 bike. In parts I probably have between 2 and 3k now. If you add in all the machine time I have invested it would be nuts. Easily 10-15k if you went to a shop for everything.

 

[Downeaster]

I don't know what I had in my '79. I just know what I got for it wouldn't cover half of what I had in parts.

Bikes are bad. Tractors are worse. I had a 1938 Farmall that I had nearly $6000 in by the time I paid for machine work, parts and shipping. 100's of hours of my time. 100's of miles on my truck chasing parts.

Decided to part with it and advertised it off and on for several years. Finally got $1300 for it, and $300 of that was mileage for delivering it.

But, I had a lot of fun working on it and you couldn't have wiped the grin off my face with a coal shovel the first time that ol' gal fired up. Ya gotta look at it as entertainment. Like I told The Wife, at least it kept me out of the bars and off the streets and it's cheaper than golf!

 

[Mailman]

The first couple of bikes I restored I used to keep meticulous records and what would happen was, I would reach the point where I knew I was beginning to surpass the bikes worth and I would stop!

I quit keeping such records on my Yamaha’s. I wanted to take them to the point where I considered them finished and costs be damned! This is my fun, my one hobby. I don’t golf or go to the casinos or the bars. But nothing makes me happier than hanging out in my garage and trying to figure these old bikes out.

 

[Jim]

Ya gotta look at it as entertainment. Like I told The Wife, at least it kept me out of the bars and off the streets and it's cheaper than golf!

Bingo!! Give that man a ceeegar.....

 

[Ipa62]

And in the garage you can actually smoke the cigar, if you care to.

 

[Downeaster]

And in the garage you can actually smoke the cigar, if you care to.

Yup. I quit smoking in 1976. Told myself when I hit 70 and it was too late to do any real damage, I'd take up cigars again.

When my grandson graduated from the USMC School for Wayward Boys at Parris Island, he handed out cigars and I took one as a memento, stuck it in my pocket. Several months later, I was supervising the crew pouring the slab for a new shed and the skeeters were flat unbearable, so I unwrapped that puppy and set fire to it.

Smelled good, and I concentrated on not inhaling (probably would've passed out cold anyway...) and I sorta enjoyed it.

What I didn't enjoy was the taste in my mouth and the burning sensation on my lips for the next couple of days. I guess I'll have to find another bad habit to restart when I hit 70. I'm thinking painted wimmen but I'm not sure SWMBO will go for that...

 

[Scripto VU]

I have (sorta learned) over the years that a relationship won't last if a couple is keeping score.
I apply similar logic to my projects- no paper trails, no keeping score.
(every time something shows up in my shop my wife says "I know you traded for it......)

* I do respect those of you that know what your builds cost, no malice intended.

 

[Ipa62]

Wow Downeaster, inhale cigars???? That's pretty hard core!

 

[Beags64]

Thought that's why I been dragin' my ass to work everyday for the last 30+ years, to afford to do things I enjoy. That money ain't gonna do me any good laying in a pine box lookin' at the BOTTOM of the grass!

 

[JRay77]

I needed a laugh today! I always start these on a budget. When it gets close to done, I'm 1000's in. Then I think, "Crap, why did I cut corners in the first place!?" You outta see my desk drawer full of receipts. I did this not to keep track of money but so I could find items again. My g/f left one day pissed and never came back. That's cool, freed up garage time and space. Haha! Here's one I'm doing now. Using up most of my spare parts. Promised myself when this is done, I'm out. (Doubt it)

 

[halfmile]

Me Too!! I am planing to get started on a MonoShock build just as soon as I finish the scrambler. Same as JRay77 I plan to use all the extra parts I have that will work on this. No Chrome shop, Powder Coat or expensive tank & seat. Just keep it simple and functional. Then after a few minutes of living in that delusion I finally come to my senses and jot down a couple more things I`ll have to order just to see if I really need them or not? Out of control already and I haven`t even finished the current project. Oh Well.

 

[Ratranger]

I already have the "big parts" for my next build after this one. I have the fork, the swingarm, a titled steering head, and an XS1b engine. Funny enough the fork is going to add the most cost to it as I have to make a custom axle, and probably a custom wheel to work with it. But it'll be unique, taking the mono_____ theme to extremes.