Knuck 22k

 I guess it's gone. Looks like the recession skid right past the "vintage chopper" scene. Glad to know the guys who now lift their historical noses past the fat tire pigs are now... hogs themselves.

 Scrolling through the chopper-dom of classifieds recently, I came across an add for someone selling a Knucklehead chopper. Yes, it was a beautiful bike, had all the "right" parts, and built by a respectable builder. I got it, I get it. But... 22k ?! "Fuck the world. Here it goes again." I grimaced. Is it supply? Demand? Or is it that egos are starting to dominate the trade again? I'm sure you can make an argument for all three issues of the over inflated market, but the topic will always be the same...

Greed Kills.

I don't begrudge anyone who is able to sell these bikes. Whether to a celebrity friend, a Red Wing Shoe distributor or to a Japanese conduit, if you can get it, do it. I guess. Shit, if someone were to give me 22k for "El Mas Chingon," I can't say I wouldn't sell it. I would! I'd also be losing about a third of what I have into my West Coast Choppers CFL, not to mention my labor costs. If I had tried to sell it when the TV show was still popular and 200mm tires were considered small, I may have even made money on the build. But it's not 2005. It's 8 years later, the trends and trendy builders have moved on and now the magic money genie has turned your old crusty 30hp motor into a bristling piece of high market gold.

 As I point a finger to the guys raising the unreachable roof on such a cool, pure thing, I realize four more are pointed at me, as it goes. I bought into the cool, pure thing. I paid big, too. And then I lost just as big. Do it because you have too. Do it by all means. But help someone willing to learn, learn. And if he wants to rebuild that Knucklehead, Pan or Shovel under your bench, that you know you will never get to, try to sell it to him for a price that's reasonable... not seasonal.

 Trend investor's tip: Sell your vintage motor HDs for as much as you can now. Use the money to buy up the Evos that guys can't sell for more than $3,500 right now. Buy a lot of them! When the vintage fad ends, the new Evo trend will make you a lot of money with your celebrity friends, Nike reps, and young Chinese entrepreneurs.