Quote Originally Posted by ironchop View Post
In 1991, I started collecting parts to build myself an HD in Softail configuration. Back then, a NOS Evo crate motor was $2500 shipped.... Brand new factory HD

Now this was back when you couldn't give an AMF Shovelhead away for free..... Until a couple of TV shows came along and the chopper craze was resurrected once again. I would never be scoring another set of titled Pan cases for $700.... Matter of fact, these Johnny come yesterdays drive up the price of not only the vintage big twin stuff but Brit bikes as well.

Dick Allen hand built springer forks....$150-250 all day long at swap meets in 1994. Jesse James wannabes drive that up to $2500 in less than ten years. AMF shovels were about $1500 used, jumped to 5K, not running, overnight because the Tuttle family.

Then when the hipster crowd in Japan (lovers of all things American culture) figured out that we were building choppers and Bobbers again, I watched countless Flathead, Pan, Knuckle, Shovel full bikes, motors, shite-loads of vintage factory and custom parts get shipped to Japan from America and putting a serious dent in the domestic supply of that particular niche.

I guess it happens in anything vintage that sees a resurgence of interest. Japan has all the Knucks and Pans and Canada imports vintage sport trikes

I literally watched the final price tag on this current build go up once a month as the prices for used parts has skyrocketed.
I paid around $3200 in 1984 for my nice, stock, turquoise and white, single seat, full dresser 1974 AMF FLH with around 30k miles on it. Seemed like a fair deal at the time in my area. Wish I still had it. A few people said "That's not a "real" harley cuz it was built by AMF.", but it ran and leaked oil just like a real one so that's all that mattered to me.

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