[music playing]
Oh, wow, man.
So this is it, huh?
OWNER: Yeah, this is the one.
COREY: Old Ironhead.
Yeah, 1957, first year they came out
with the Ironhead Sportster.
Course it didn't look like this from the factory.
It's had a--
COREY: Little bit of modification?
[chuckling]
[engine revving]
OWNER: I've had the bike for over a year,
and it's fun to ride.
But it's kickstart only, and I can no longer start it.
I think it's well worth the $15,000 that I'm asking for.
I'm willing to negotiate somewhat on the price,
and we'll see what happens.
COREY: It's nice.
What can you tell me about it, man?
OWNER: Harley came out with these to compete with the--
Triumphs and BSAs and-- yeah.
OWNER: --the English bikes for the racers,
because the European bikes were kicking butt around the world.
Yeah, I mean, this is one of the few times Harley actually
looked at the market and realized that they needed
to do something different.
There almost wasn't a production motorcycle
made anywhere else in the world that was as slow as a Harley.
Well, that's true, too.
It got to a point where Harley was your dad's bike back then.
So they actually had to come out with kind of a performance
model, hence the Sportster-- the Ironhead Sportster, which
was the first time they put the transmission and the motor
together.
Ironheads from the '50s are known
for being high-maintenance bikes, not exactly the choice
for a guy who doesn't really want to work on his bike
all the time.
But any Harley from that era is considered collectible,
so this could be a good item for the shop.
Let's go over some of the work you've had done to it, man.
I mean, do you mind if I take a look around it?
Go right ahead. Help yourself.
I went back to the shorter ape hangers, the new bars, the
new handgrips, the new exhaust.
There's not even any soot into the pipes.
COREY: OK.
OWNER: It has no custom paint.
It's spray-can black top to bottom.
That's the way I like it, man.
I like them black.
They're easier to sell that way.
So let me ask you, man, what are you looking to get out of it?
I'm asking $15,000 for it.
COREY: Are you flexible on that?
Yes, I'm flexible.
COREY: OK.
Well, I'll tell you what--
let me have a buddy of mine come down and look at.
That's fine with me.
COREY: All right.
I'll go give him a call.
It shouldn't be too long before he gets down here.
I would love a second opinion.
I'd love to hear from an expert, because there are questions
that I would like to ask, hopefully that the expert
will be able to answer for me.
CHRIS: Good job.
Did you build this?
OWNER: No, I didn't build it.
I just did some modifications to it.
Yeah, it's a good look, and I love this style of bike.
Do you mind if I take a look at it?
OWNER: No, go right ahead.
Help yourself.
Oh.
It's got the old-style trailer fender.
I think this was one of the very first models.
In the collector's world, the 1957 Sportster
is pretty big now.
I believe they made 1,500 of them only that year,
so they are desirable.
Who is the maker of this frame?
It's the stock frame.
And I believe it was a Paughco add-on hardtail.
It's-- yeah, this is not--
COREY: It's not a stock frame.
It's not a stock frame.
This neck is not stock.
The down tubes, the backbone, and the center post
over here where the swing arm went through,
the whole hard tail back here--
I think the only thing that might be stock
is this seat area down here.
How is this titled?
OWNER: Its title is a 1957 Harley
Davidson special construction because the frame was modified.
Oh, so it has a special construction.
Yeah.
OWNER: Yes.
CHRIS: So--
COREY: So, buddy, tell me, what do you think it's worth?
If this thing was totally bone stock, all original,
you would probably get between $20,000 and $30,000.
And that's what they're still listed for in the NADA guide.
Yeah, unfortunately, it doesn't really
work that way a lot of times.
It has the title, and it's the motor--
OWNER: Yeah.
CHRIS: --and the [inaudible].
Everything else is pretty much gone from stock.
Right, but it's still a unique bike.
I mean, yeah, I would say in the market
today, like top, top dollar that you'd
be able to get for this bike, I would say $6,000.
COREY: Thanks for coming down, buddy.
CHRIS: All right, brother. We'll see.
COREY: Appreciate it. - Good luck.
- Hey, thanks-- all right. - It was great to meet you.
- Nice meeting you. - Take care.
Good luck.
OWNER: See you later.
CHRIS: The problem with having special construction
in the title, even if it says 1957 Harley Davidson,
is nobody wants that.
They want an original Harley Davidson title.
That's what makes it a valuable piece.
COREY: You heard my buddy.
He said it's worth $6,000 on its best day.
Are you willing to come down at all?
OWNER: Um, I would do $7,000.
COREY: I'm going to be real brash here.
It's kind of like having a Shelby
GT Mustang motor in, you know, a completely different car.
And I would offer you $2,500.
No, I'll have to pass on that.
It's just--
COREY: I appreciate you bringing it down.
- Thanks. - It was fun.
All right, we'll see you later.
Good talking to you.
Take care.
I'll have someone help you get the bike out of here.
OWNER: OK, thanks.
I wasn't able to sell the motorcycle today.
That's fine.
I will probably end up taking it to the motorcycle auction
in January and go from there.