Subject: Re: Matching #s
Author: Ian Adkins
Date: Dec 23, 2001, 11:12 AM
Post ID: 1709222203
Greg,
Interesting spin on things. I have to agree with you that anything can be
copied and made to look "originally original". I suppose the history of the
bike and who is doing the selling is important....especially if you are
planning to spend "top dollar" on an "original" machine.
For me....the serial number of the engine is the most important aspect of
the bike and that is why I became interested in recording them. It tells of
the bike's birth and in my opinion defines the bike. The frame and rolling
chassis is just metal, rubber and plastic but the engine is the soul of the
machine.
As for the title.....it is just a piece of paper issued by the government.
Again the serial number of the bike tells of its lineage.
Regards...Ian
-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Field <gfie-@pop.mindspring.com>
To: Loopfram-@topica.com <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Date: December 23, 2001 1:42 PM
Subject: Matching #s
| Hunter: You're right, matching #s usually make a difference in car and motorcycle values, but they may not for many loopframe Guzzis in the US. Here's why: The data plate affixed to the steering head usually lists both the frame and engine numbers, which usually are the same #, but not always, but the frame # is usually not stamped on the frame and blank plates were and still are available. For example, I had a 1973 civilian Eldo. I bought the disc-brake front end, frame, and engine block from a parted-out 1974 police Eldo. I had the frame powdercoated and swapped into it my 1973 motor and a bunch of other parts. Then I affixed the data plate from my 1973. Voila! The numbers match, even though it was a 1973 engine in a 1974 frame. I could also rebuild the 1974 motor, put it in my old 1973 frame, and attach the 1974 data plate. Voila!, my 1973 is now a 1974. Or, I could buy a blank plate, stamp the numbers from any engine I had laying about, stamp a matching number in the "frame #" space on the plate and have a matching #s machine. If you're going to do this, do it right and use the Italian form for the month names (e.g. "Maj" for the month of May). How, then, can the numbers mean anything to the value? Someone brought up the 850 GTs brought into the US after the Eldos were all sold. One source for that info was my book, and it brings up a good point: Those bikes would have had a frame number stamped on them, as was done for non-US markets, and then may have had the US data plate added to them. These were leftover, unsold European models, which may mean they had 1973 or even 1972 build dates. If they were given data plates, what was listed for the build date? If the real date, you could have data plates listing a 1972 build date with a 1974 or 1975 model year and engne and frame numbers way out of sequence for 1974 or 1975 bikes. Anyone know someone with one of these? I'd like to ask about these issues, in case I ever get to update my book. Thanks, Greg Field |