"Restored" what does that mean to you

[GLJ]

I'm curious what restored means. To me it means the bike looks like it did on the show room floor and also runs like it did when new. I see people say they restored their bike but when you really look at it it's different than when new. Aftermarket parts. I understand consumables like tires, chains, sprockets and cables need to be replaced. They should look correct. It should also be at least as mechanically good as when new. I mean a daily rider if you want to.
I do what I like to call "resurrections". Bring them back from the dead. Make them mechanically as good or better than new. Run and ride as good as new. Looks let them be what they are. As the old saying goes they are only original once. The difference between a resurrection and a restoration is money, paint and re-chrome. Mechanically it should be the same. The bike should run and be as reliable as a it was when new.
I've been working on a XS2 resurrection. It's not quite done yet. I need to get 500 or so smiles on it to make sure everything is good. Then after a oil change and a once over twice I may sell it.
Last October I went for a old biker get- together. I ran into the salesman that sold my XS2 when it was new. He was blown away not just that it was still running but that it was still mostly original. He liked the patina I had kept on the bike. Like me he fells that restorations are cool but if you can't ride them everyday they belong in a museum. Look but don't ride.
To some I may have false pride in what I have done because it's just basic maintenance to make a 50 year old bike a dependable daily rider. Or even a trip taker.

 

[jetmechmarty]

To me it means the bike looks like it did on the show room floor and also runs like it did when new.

Yes, a restoration means it is as it was when it was new.

 

[lakeview]

I prefer the word rebuilt to resurrected but both are different from restored which is a much higher level.

 

[GLJ]

To me "rebuilt" "resurrected" are close to the same thing. "Restored" should be perfect looks wise and mechanically.

 

[JesseeS]

Personally, I believe something can be “restored”, even if it isn’t as it left the floor. I tend to label that as a Factory Restoration. Where every single item is correct and as came from the factory, but a restoration is almost identical, except maybe the bars were swapped to a different style or a better master cylinder replaced etc. Meaning it’s not a HUGE variation, but, a stray nevertheless. Both would be in perfect mechanical condition and should look like you could eat off them. Resurrection is like you said, getting it running to a solid reliable level, but isn’t all OEM.

 

[GLJ]

I tend to label that as a Factory Restoration.

Thanks for your thought. Never thought of "Factory Restoration"

 

[gggGary]

I tend towards having to pay restitution....
A bike that looks original to a casual observer but a connoisseur will point out various changes is a Resto-mod.

 

[Exploding Coffin Emporium]

I guess my opinion comes from working in the classic car restoration field but to me a restoration has always been bringing back something to a close resemblance of how it left the factory within reason. If your going all out then a “concours restoration” with focus on 100 point perfection is the ideal, every nut and bolt as it rolled out of the plant. Restomod is a newer term per say that gets tossed around the shop/industry, a restore with some siginificqnt updates wether mechanical or cosmetic.

 

[gggGary]

I think Survivor also fits the way GLJ does his bikes.
Shows patina of decades of wear and use, but has been brought to a state of mechanical reliability.

 

[jpdevol]

If "as original", I prefer to shoot for "second season new" condition. I like the work, but I like to ride too; so not restored as in off-the-assembly-line or showroom new. If I do an original color re-paint and install some quality reproduction chrome? Not a survivor, technically, not a restoration according to concourse experts. IDK what I do. I do it for me.

 

[jetmechmarty]

When it comes to the XS650, I love resto mods. The August calendar bike is a good example. If it looks like then, and works better, I’m good with that.

 

[halfmile]

Restoration? I thought that was a term the Mecum auctioneer`s use to describe the "Used Car Quickie"

 

[Jim]

Resto... resto-mod...survivor.
To me, the more important criteria is...

Daily rider
Runner
Non-runner.

A resto can be any one of the three above. In fact, I suspect more than a few museum bikes fall into the last category.. non-runner.

A runner means it starts and runs. Might puke it's guts out on the first beer run, but yeah... it starts.

A daily rider is the honey bike. One you can jump on and go visit a buddy 3 states over.... and not have to think about it, jus' go.
Survivor... resto.... don't matter as much as fallin' into this category.

...... imho.

 

[GLJ]

Resto... resto-mod...survivor.
To me, the more important criteria is...

Daily rider
Runner
Non-runner.

A resto can be any one of the three above. In fact, I suspect more than a few museum bikes fall into the last category.. non-runner.

A runner means it starts and runs. Might puke it's guts out on the first beer run, but yeah... it starts.

A daily rider is the honey bike. One you can jump on and go visit a buddy 3 states over.... and not have to think about it, jus' go.
Survivor... resto.... don't matter as much as fallin' into this category.

...... imho.

@Jim if someone represents a bike as a restoration it should be a daily rider. Just my why of thinking.
If not he should admit it's problems.

 

[WideAWAKE]

To me restoration means as it was from the factory. It means, down to the frame, engine completely apart. Back to stock. The reason they are very expensive.

No driveway paint jobs and engine polishing will ever equate to a restoration. They might look nice, maybe even run great, but they aren’t restored.

I also put a heavy emphasis on not being OVER done. I see it way too often. Polished parts way to shiny, paint too glossy, chrome too shiny.

At least that’s my take on it.

I feels it’s better to have a very tight definition of things than loose and open ended. This way, people get, and can expect what they pay for.

Ps. Don’t ask me what I think a cafe racer is haha. I might offend 3/4 of the people building em.

 

[Jim]

@Jim if someone represents a bike as a restoration it should be a daily rider. Just my why of thinking.
If not he should admit it's problems.

No argument from me Greg.

 

[Mailman]

This is an interesting topic, when I started my XS2, my original plan was to do what I referred to as a sympathetic restoration ( what Greg calls a resurrection ) It kinda got away from me ! I wound up having to change the title of my thread.

 

[halfmile]

This is an interesting topic, when I started my XS2, my original plan was to do what I referred to as a sympathetic restoration ( what Greg calls a resurrection ) It kinda got away from me ! I wound up having to change the title of my thread.

The thread on your XS2 was a inspiration to everyone on this site. I wish I had the will power to "revamp" a XS like you did but let`s face it I just can`t. My thought train doesn`t work like that.

 

[grizld1]

All this silly fussing over labels! To me, "restored condition" means returned to the original condition the machine was in on the sales floor new--no worse and no better. If the machine has been improved beyond new condition (not uncommonly done) it's no longer a restored item, it's modified. Now you guys can argue over whether mounting decent modern tires is a modification.

 

[Jim]

This is an interesting topic, when I started my XS2, my original plan was to do what I referred to as a sympathetic restoration ( what Greg calls a resurrection ) It kinda got away from me ! I wound up having to change the title of my thread.

Id have to say that, other than the powdercoating, your XS2 is the closest thing to a "restoration" I've seen on this site.
...and I mean that in a good way.