I have come to own a 55 Panhead.......almost. It amounts to engine with transmission, with title, a V Twin repro frame, four speed transmission, and a bunch of aftermarket parts. I can build it into a stock looking bike, but I am in shock at how the prices of original parts have skyrocketed since 2006 when I built my Shovelhead. But, its also clear that running, restored or rebuilt Panheads have also skyrocketed with prices like $25 to $30K. Its ridiculous. I guess classic bikes and cars can find themselves in this position, meanwhile my 2004 Road King is valued at $5000 just because it has 125,000 miles on it. I guess I might build the Panhead, but I would be better off parting it out,.......minus the fun of it. Assuming I do a good job at building this bike to original appearance condition.......is it a $25,000 bike?

 

Not even close to that amount with a repop frame and a bunch of aftermarket parts. It'll be worth what the engine and transmission is worth IMO. Post pics of the engine from all angles so we can have a look! So your effort will be a labour of love and upside down financially.

 

Welcome to the new world order.

You think a panhead is pricy - I am involved in a pre war knucklehead and it needs big items

 

Prices vary by region but Kali prices with the information you have given it is a 10-12K bike, maybe a bit more with the right buyer. That 25K number is for a bike that is close to original with the correct OEM parts.

That said we all know it is owrth what the seller is willing to let it go for and what the buyer is willing to spend.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

no where near a stock bike but here is one that recently sold in my area for $ 6,800

 

Thanks for the comments. I cannot fight reality, but this situation is as stupid as mid 70's Corvette market and values. I restored a 77 Corvette from ground up, far better than GM ever did, and have more in the paint job than some say the car is worth. What I see in this Panhead world is people who own original Panheads, or original Panhead parts, proclaiming how valuable what they have is, and unfortunately supported by the truth of the prices I see on bikes, and on parts. I see original Panhead gas tanks on Ebay over $2000,.....when you can buy a Vtwin Chinese tank for $300. And what the bullshit about that is, that original Harley tank is most likely needs a bunch of work, either broken tabs or rusted insides, meanwhile the Vtwin tank looks exactly like the original, and if it needs anything is small tweaking.....yet the story is all aftermarket parts are junk. I rebuilt a 73 Shovelhead from ground up, and my Corvette, and in some cases I had to use aftermarket parts......and they fit just fine, and function just fine. I think there are junk aftermarket parts, but it is also true that "original" parts over 50 years old are junk as well. The entire "the market" decides the value of anything is usually supported and argued for by the people who have something to gain. Its not about real value.

The Vtwin reproduction frame for this 55 Panhead is a very close and accurate reproduction of the original. The welding is better than original. Its not some aftermarket chopper frame that doesn't try to look accurate. Yet the purists and value judges like to say its not worth anything. I can build this 55 to look exactly like HD built it, yet people are going to say its not worth anything. I say BS. In fact, if I do build it, it will be "BETTER" than original,.....and for the people who want to own and ride a 55, my bike would be a better choice than some museum bike traded between purists who simply are looking for a way to make money.

I asked for an opinion, and I am not surprised at the answers. Its the same BS I hear on the Corvette forums. My car, and this 55, are better than original, and the people who have rebuilt cars and bikes, and spent the money to make them better, are the only ones who understand what the value really is. The difference is, the value judgement is based on quality.....not on "the market",......created and influenced by the people who have something to gain.

P.S. - I do understand a purely original bike has nostalgia, and is very cool to own. But often times, people who own these bikes and cars do not ride or drive them at all.....and all they are is just expensive investments that sit in garages for purely financial reasons,......not for the intent and pleasure of operating them, as they should.

 

To someone who knows vintage Harley motorcycles, no. Sorry.

 

You want the market to agree with so you can recoup your vette and harley money the easy way but that's not going to happen. Restoring a 77 vette was a poor financial choice regardless of whether you made it correct down to the hose clamps or did an "overhaulin" freestyle build. Sounds like you did the latter to your vette and you want to do the same with the panhead. The results will be the same for both - upside down.

 

Correct. Upside down to people who suggest that the value of anything is based on what someone will pay. Not what it is really worth. Makes me laugh. I see people buying mid 70's Corvettes for $9000, and proclaim they got a great deal......and then spend $20,000 to make it function on the street. I already did that with my car, spent that money, did the labor, and then people tell me my car is not worth $29,000. The math does not work.....they are wrong. A $9000 Corvette, and my Corvette are not the same car. Mine is better. Yet the arguement is always the same......coming from the person who wants to buy a $29,000 car for $9000. Does not make common sense. Same true for this Panhead.

Fact is, I did not build my Corvette to sell it, built it to have a high performance, well built and reliable car to drive. Its not for sale, and never will be. Same will be true with the Panhead, if I choose to build it. For me, it is irrelevant that every part of the bike is "original". It will be just as cool to me to ride on a Panhead that I built better than HD did. If it is built to completely to appear and function as an original.....it will have all the functionality, good and bad, as the original did. I don't get hung up on "original". I really don't care, and I certainly am not paying $30,000 to buy some old worn out Panhead just to say I own an original. I know that bugs the **** of those of you who own them.

The "market" arguement is as blind to common sense as it is in the Corvette world.

By the way, I just sold a 76 Ironhead project, COMPLETELY in pieces, for $5000. The guy who bought it appreciated the fact that I had already blasted and powdercoated the frame, assembled the front end to like new condition, and had spent the money to have Truett & Osborn rebuild the bottom end, balance the flywheels, and rebuild heads and cylinders. That cost over $1600 alone. The arguement that my 76 Ironhead project bike was not worth $1500 was the BS I heard on the XL Forum.......! Its blind BS coming from so called experts. Yet a guy handed me $5000 in cash, why......cause he understood the true value of what he was buying. He could have bought a 76 Ironhead for $1500 full assembled......but its not the same as what he bought from me. So much for the "market" arguement.

 

V twin china frame is garbage today - back some years ago they bought from the guy in Europe and also race frames but they don't care tedd does not want to spend money - its not about his profit

china Harleys are like the 0ne above - 1/3 the price of anything that is closer

your not going to kid anyone with a tribute < bull$hit built on the very cheap

its a bike that was built as a this is mine and no one else has the same one