Remember. Restore. Relive.
SAVE THE DATE: CBE Open House and Ride-in will be Saturday, June 22 from 10 til 2
1970 441 Victor Special just listed CLICK HERE
See new Alton eStart for Norton Commando video - CLICK HERE
Essex , VT
ph: 802-878-5383
Restoration Assessments - how much will it cost?
FIRST THINGS FIRST - GET SOME FACTS For a flat rate of $300, CBE will inspect your bike system by system and give you an assessment of what is needed and, importantly, a budgetary estimate on parts and labor. First and foremost, this estimate is based on 1) the condition of your bike and 2) what your restoration objectives are (eg Condition 5 to a Condition 3). From there, you can pick and choose how to proceed, including how much work you might want to do yourself or what you can defer or maybe rethink the level of restoration you want to attempt. But, the key is, you will have a documented set of facts and figures in front of you to make those decisions. And, while we look forward to doing all or part of your project, you are under no obligation once the assessment is done.
For $300 you will get yourself headed in the right direction before spending anything on parts or services (or wondering if that Buy-It-Now used seat on eBay will really fit your 1969 BSA). The bottom line is we help take the guesswork, and risk, out of your project.
1974 Norton RMS Case Study
Our customer Ron from NY had a very nice 74 Commando that was in need of attention. We started with an estimate to do a Gus build, but decided on a more reliability, maintainability and safety approach that could be the basis for a full up restoration down the line. So, all the worn out stuff and upgrades were included in this estimate. But, no paint, powder coating, etc. The result is a very good looking, patina bike with robust upgrades to make it a daily rider.Written Specification and Recommendations
Hey, some of us are aerospace engineers by trade. We LOVE specs. Why? Because it is customer requirements and performance commitments that are WRITTEN DOWN.
Click HERE to download the PDF of the 74 Commando Spec and Statement of Work (SOW)
Excel Spreadsheet Cost Estimate
From the written spec and recommendations, we can then populate a spreadsheet with parts, subcontract labor and our labor hours. The workbook has 5 tabs:
* Estimate summary
* Labor estimate (Sr. Mechanic, Jr. Mechanic and YOU - if you want to help)
* Subcontract Labor (details of outsourced labor with our 30% mark up)
* Parts estimate by subsystem
* Funding profile
We are very transparent in our costs and can use parts you have or source yourself (such as eBay)
Click here to download the Cost EstimateThe Shutterfly Website - keeping tabs from afar
For our customers who live "away", we can provide a Shutterfly website to help them see the progress on their bike, add comments and so on. We can limit access to whomever you desire to have in the loop. Updates are automatically sent when the site is changed (eg photos added).
How much will it cost?
That is the question we hear the most. And, as you can imagine, the stock answer is "It all depends". It depends on the condition of your bike now and where you want to end up. Going from a Condition 4 to Condition 3 is a lot less expensive than going from a 5 to a 2 and so on.
At Classic Bike, we appreciate you need some facts and figures to make informed decisions about how to take a restoration forward.
We have standardized an assessment and cost template to use with bikes of all conditions. You can download an example at right.
Essex , VT
ph: 802-878-5383
