RA on aussie fleabay

[EW-Ron]

Just FYI
Zip to do with me

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/326096670590

[cardan]

This bike has been advertised many times over the years, see e.g. https://www.douglasmotorcycles.net/index.php?topic=5935.msg21781

Lovely object; not-so-good restoration material.

Leon

[graeme]

I would have thought that the message would have got through by now that it will only sell for what people are willing to pay. 10 years now trying to sell it?

[cardan]

If you believe what you see on ebay the highest bid on the auction was a bit over $10,000. I can understand this: it's a good looking object, indeed an "historic" object by some definitions, maybe worth $10k to put in the lounge room or man cave. And if you wanted to make it rideable, I suppose you could spend $10k to buy it, with a view to spending a year or two and another $10k+ in unavoidable restoration costs. Then you'd have an interesting bike, I suppose representative of something that was last used by a club man on the grass track in country NSW in the late 1940s.

But there's not much RA about it - maybe just the crankcase with the mounts for the gearbox and gear change cut off, and the barrels? It would be interesting to see if the RA crank and unique con rods were still in there. OB heads? No airbox. Other than the Rudge wheels I suppose most of the cycle parts are DT.

Anyway, let the market decide what it's worth. I see it's relisted (again!) so if you have $25k lying around and want to swap it for an old Douglas racer now's the time. Not for me.

Leon

[Dave]

A few photos from the Ebay listing so future readers can see what we are looking at.

[cardan]

Thanks Dave. And here is a set of RA cases, showing the two major lugs that have been sawn off the engine of the bike for sale: the vertical lug on which the original RA gearbox is mounted, and the triangular lug for the original RA gear change lever. Because the cycle parts are (later) DT, the gearbox and the gear change lever both attach directly to the frame. Many/most surviving RA cases are missing these lugs.

Leon

[cardan]

Unsold again, this time "$16,100" "reserve not met".

[Dave]

It's going to be interesting to see the next move. The seller will be encouraged by the 60% increase in the final bids by what looks like, two new bidders.

[graeme]

"buy it now" price now reduced to $22k