Not knowing any more about that era than I do, that ad still has "Hello, sucker!" written all over it to me.
A 57 has it's own value. Trying to leverage a non-existent relationship to Elvis Presley and using it to artificially increase that value has a swarmy feel to it. Including the photos of him on his bike walks up toward the line of deception.
OP, I'd keep looking. Actually, the search is half the fun on something like this.
Not knowing any more about that era than I do, that ad still has "Hello, sucker!" written all over it to me.
A 57 has it's own value. Trying to leverage a non-existent relationship to Elvis Presley and using it to artificially increase that value has a swarmy feel to it. Including the photos of him on his bike walks up toward the line of deception.
OP, I'd keep looking. Actually, the search is half the fun on something like this.
Exactly what pan4ever said, "it is way... overpriced and its at a dealership so they will try to get the most they can as opposed to buying it from a private seller and they are using the "almost like Elvis bike" to artificially inflate the value. That said, there are some 'serious' differences between this bike and the one in the Elvis pic, so the comparison is a poor choice.
Not sure that this bike in its present condition will ever reach the $26K valuation the dealership is asking. The 57 we are looking at is someone's 'idea' of an Elvis recreation and they are trying to capitalize on that."
The salesman claims the owner has $25k into but like I told him today, that don't make it worth nowhere near the sellers asking price, like with anything you invest money into, said money has no solidity, an antique motorcycle is like owning a boat, a luxury that comes with the old adage, it becomes 'a hole in the ocean you never fill', financially.
Most certainly my radar would be up. Seller claiming full restoration with Elvis propaganda. Restorer claiming it has a rare HD factory S&S carb. Total BS. Keep looking. Back in the day. People rode the Old Iron coast to coast. But. They didn't know any better. By the way. I'll sell you my 1964 DuoGlide for 25K. Just PM me. Till death do us part is just a tagline. Everything has a price.
The good news is that theVIN# and the speedometer are definitely orignal and correct.
For sure incorrect is a lot of parts that are chrome and should not be chrome.
Paint on tanks should be two tone.
Cam cover is not correct for the year. It is also missing the raised boss that is cast to the case in front of the timer. That boss was used to mount the cut-out relay. So either it was shaved off or the right case is later.
The carb cover is wrong as is the S&S carb (would be a Linkert).
It has Shovelhead oil pump.
I have some serious reservations about the frame. I tried to blow the pic up as best I could and it appears to me that the tool box mount itself is incorrect. Almost looks as tho the mount runs vertical between the upper and lower parts of the rear of the frame. By '57 the tool box mounting bracket was a 3-sided piece that was welded to the lower portion of the frame. If so that could mean the frame is not correct for the year. The other thing I am trying to figure is what is the metal that appears under the neck lock (and who in heck painted the lock mechanism). It almost looks like it is part of the lower triple tree and possibly part of the locking system that was used on Shovel models when a padlock replaced the necklock.
Somebody find the stainless plug please and put it on the front hub cover and at the same time please correct the routing on the fuel cross-over line. And then change out the double seat rail to a single rail (or better yet the grab rails that the saddle has the eylets for).
Cylinders should be painted silver and not black. Rocker covers and D-rings should be aluminum and HD did not use allen screws tro secure the D-rings.
Floorboards and mats are repop and not OEM/NOS.
Why you would need to see the bike in person: by looking at some of the visible forging/casting numbers on the year you could get close to figuring out the correct year, you could also look at parts more closely and determine if they are OEM/NOS or repop.
The seat looks to be by either Heather's Leathers or Michael Paquette, both quality saddle makers. The bags look to be by B & B reproduction, again a quality product (and more recently no longer in business). The windshield is probably by National, another top brand name. It has some cool period correct front and rear cookie cutters on the fenders and has the cooliing ring on the front brake hub. For me I would change out the Cocker tires.
All-in-all it is a very nice looking bike, a good custom, just not "restoration" quality (which for me lowers the valuation). In closing, again I say, it is a nice bike, just not $26K nice.
I think the 26 large is stupid money… But… If you like the motorcycle, if you have a coin, you have nothing to lose but money and the experience of riding a motorcycle that you like. I bought my 52 because it was the same year as my birth year… I knew damn well I was going to stick a bunch of money into it, and I would never get the money out of it that I put into it… But every time i kickstart it, and ride away, I get my moneys worth…
Thanks for that eighteight! I was just going to post and ask about the actual value. My eyes glaze over pretty quickly at the "correct nut and bolt' stuff, but I like the style of the older Harleys and would love to own a '70 someday, for the same reason as @CanadianRocky. Neither the AMF connection, nor the fact that every bolt left the H-D factory that year, concerns me. I'd want a bike I could ride and enjoy. Having working parts concerns me more than correct ones. And, i surely wouldn't want to pay "correct' prices for that, so having both ends of the conversation is of great help when assessing such issues.
04-08-2021, 04:11 PM
Couldn't Agree More...
