HELP! Custom Bikes I inherited

[BclimB]

Just recently joined the forum and am looking for help.

My father in law, who custom built bikes as a hobby, passed away about 12 years ago. I've inherited his bikes but I don't know anything about them as I'm not a biker. They have been sitting in a garage for the entire time but did were running prior to his passing.

Can anyone out there take a look at these pics and help me get a sense of what I have? Any information about them that could be relayed would be helpful!

Thank you in advance!


Orange Bike: https://imgur.com/gallery/ipnJGnq

Blue Bike: https://imgur.com/gallery/6VichYh

Black Bike: https://imgur.com/gallery/c8NVvrF

[DoomBuggy]

I'm not well versed in newer motors, but I will say those are some damn fine looking bikes! I am sure others will jump in here.

[TriNortchopz]

Can you post some pics in this thread.... link does not work for me...

[BclimB]

More pics in the links at the top

[rockman96]

All Evo's, orange and black are sportsters and the blue is a big twin. Custom frames.

[BclimB]

Thanks so much! How do I go about determining a fair price if I wanted to sell them? They have been sitting in a garage for 12 years so they probably need a bit of TLC to get going

[7and7is]

Looks to me that the orange and black are actually Buell motors (Basically a sportster motor with more performance).

[farmall]

Those Sporty board tracker style bikes look to be commercially produced machines from the great clone bike era when my fellow boomers weren't dead yet and bought everything with two wheels.

I would post on the xlforum and ask since those guys are Sporty gurus and will recognize the frames. The Sportster/Buell engined bikes are for show not go. They're styled after 1920s board track racers and nicely done so someone will want them and now is a good time to sell thanks to inflation.

They're not classics or keepers nor is the big twin with the Road Glide fairing. To get going they'd need the usual (clean fuel system, new battery, general look-over) at minimum.

Prices are highly regional with rich coastal areas best for profit like CA. A reputable independent shop might take them on consignment one by one or more as space allows but that should be a shop that does volume in a high traffic area since tiny backwater shops get cheap buyers like me.

Dig out the titles and see if any are branded or actual HD titles. Post what the titles say they are. If you don't have hard copies of the titles for some reason and are the executor your DMV can issue new hard copies as appropriate. Ask them as state rules vary.

IMO the sidecar rig may be an easy sale so if you need capital I'd flog that first. There are gobs of modded big twin baggers and that kind of custom is such a personal taste they don't sell high unless they're genuinely something special.

The general public are a pain to deal with. Resellers and consignment shops aren't charities and if they sell a machine they're on the hook if it shits the bed so they'll want a stout cut of the sale. How much is up to negotiation.

If you take exhaustive photos including the VINs on the frames and the engine serial numbers and have titles in hand you can visit potential consignment shops with that data.

[Dragstews]

Wanna have some Vegas fun ... ??

https://funtransport.com/blog/mecum-...auction-guide/

[flatman]

The square tank sportys and sidehack look like Arlen Ness stuff. He probably did not build them but sold the kits to make them. Milwaulkee Iron also built some. The cycle source story of the shop closing has a pic in the article of one.

[farmall]

That could be a good way to flog them since Mecum is the home of buyer feeding frenzies and that's an ideal customer base.

[BclimB]

Thanks guys for the feedback!

So I don't know much but I can tell you these were fabricated from the ground up - he had a metal guy, a paint guy, etc. but I'm sure there was some Arlen Ness inspiration as my father in law was a Hamster. I'm going to dig up the titles and see what I can figure out on those.

[farmall]

If he was a Hamster then that frame design will mean something to someone because that section behind the seat is a trademark styling touch. Look through any correspondence you can find. It's odd to have near duplicates but that may have been part of a business venture.

If you post his name on Jockey Journal (more uptight than this place but it has many really old builders) with pics and info someone may know.