Welcome to my pity party

It's time to just have a little pity party, while also donning my tinfoil hat and shaking my rage fists. I'm just being a whiney bitch, let me have a moment. I have effectively been priced out of my hobby. Even Japanese bikes are going for stupid money now. But my favorite, Triumph pre-unit stuff, is quickly becoming a thing of the past for me. I get that there are rare parts and they will be expensive, but the prices for these parts have skyrocketed recently.

I put most of the blame on the internet, the rise in nostalgia, the hipster skateboarder biker movement. It used to be you could go to a swap meet and get killer deals... but now those swaps are drying up as dealers discover it's much more lucrative to sell on eBay. Or worse, the ones that buy up all the parts at swaps and then put them up for sale. More and more people with more money than sense are buying these inflated priced items... and the dealers are happy to sell them.

So who's buying all this stuff up? Perhaps some old timers with retirement funds, but doubtful. Maybe some cutwearing tech-type type trying to buy period-correct-everything for scene points to post on his Instagram... maybe. But I put most of the blame on Japan.



Anything Americana is hot hot hot right now in Japan. Old Levis, old cars, and old American and British motorcycles. Tons of Knuckleheads and Panheads and Pre-unit Triumphs are leaving this country en masse and showing up in Japan in it's thriving vintage motorcycle scene. They are capitalizing on our weak dollar, and things are going for STUPID money now. I can't even come close to competing. They set up export addresses in the states, so the dealers THINK they are selling to Americans, but in fact, they are all going to Japan, and some places like Sweden (another culprit).

What's a guy like me to do? I guess you got to pay to play. Guess I don't get to play anymore.

Here's a few examples...





$300 for a bent rod that swivels...


This is the one that really hurt. I really wanted this for my Triumph. It was $12.50 until the last minute. These normally go for $40-$50.


Pit party over.