M72: Almost half as expensive as an HD

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Purchasing classics there

Prices in our hobby area? "Tis just what the fool gives for it". Everything used to cost nothing. So if you had bought everything in the past… In 1961 a Harley Liberator cost 150 guilders just like that. Driving and well. In 1990 I bought a reasonable, well-running M72 sidecar combination for 250 guilders, so more than 110 euros. And for that I had to take the second tricycle in the way. I kept the best combination myself. I gave the lesser one to an acquaintance because it was just as in my way as with the previous owner. Nice: Both combinations are still on the way. Less often than then. Yet.

Meanwhile, a neat M72 is worth just four billion

And a correctly restored early specimen? These days, there is an asking price of such an 6.500 euro. To be careful: a value that has been sold thirty times in just under thirty years. Isn't that fantastic? Or are those things just too expensive because a few under-mediated re / enactment people have thought that the Russians are actually exactly the same as BMw R71s. And a little handsome R71? You simply tap 12.500 euros for that.

But a comparable machine from a 'better' brand? For a neat Harley WLA or WLC, 12.000 to 140000 euros is asked here. And if such a machine is properly dressed in war clothes, the Americans will readily pay $ 0 for it.

Other BMW R71 / M72 clones such as the Cemec (Center d'Edtudes Moteurs a explosion et Combustion) and Ratier have disappeared in the mists of time and are actually only appreciated in their own country (France). And the electrically starting Chinese M72 versions, the CJ 750's, are considered somewhat suspicious by experts because they have 12 volt on-board systems and can start electrically.

The prices become the norm

But it is strange that price developments have played such an important role in the classic world in recent years. That's because investors, speculators and investors have discovered our world in their eternal hunt for even more money. What can anyone ever gain if he bought a Ferrari GTO for $ 38.000.000 and a handful of change? How much does he care about his acquisition if he plays a rainy weekend in the Vosges with it? That falls outside of our imagination. And of course such a GTO or a Vincent HRD has always been a motor vehicle that we, normal mortals, could only dream of. And there is nothing wrong with dreaming.

At the price, but not very expensive

Now more than six grand for a historic piece of driving pleasure like an M72 is still quite affordable for many enthusiasts. And it cannot even be a bad purchase when it comes to depreciation after purchase. But for the people who just want to drive a nice classic without having to pay a lot for it, fortunately there are still many options under 5 mille. Because for about 1500 euros you have a wonderfully dated, beautiful MZ. And many other motorcycles from the eighties and nineties you can also buy for little while you can still set quality requirements.

With a Ural or Dnepr from that time, the quality requirements are of course a bit different than with a thick Honda four-cylinder from the same time, but still. Because bottom line, for us, classic enthusiasts, it's all about the fun, the nostalgia. And not about the expected mega price increases.

Proof that not all fun classics have fallen prey to heartless investors and speculators

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A reaction

  1. Although the combination in the photo is not a M72 but a Dnepr K750 in a newer frame. What is called a Frankendork in Russenkringen. A Frankenstein Monster of unknown origin.

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