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4 SALE
1973 MOTO GUZZI ELDORADO 850 CUSTOM: WHAT IS A MODIFIED VINTAGE BIKE WORTH?

This classic roadster looks nothing like it did when stock.

Photo: Bring a Trailer

Zac / @kawazacky
12/17/2021
4 Sale, Featured, Moto Guzzi
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Comment45

How much is a classic motorcycle worth, when it’s highly modified from its stock
condition?

It’s a good question, especially in our modern era. The Internet has made it
much easier to keep a vintage bike running, and to modify it. Online retailers
and forums and YouTube all work together at this, and now Craigslist and Kijiji
and Facebook Marketplace and all the other second-hand sales websites are filled
with DIY customs.

For that reason, clean bikes in original configuration are worth increasingly
larger piles of money; the same goes for restorations. But what about
resto-mods, where someone takes an old bike and fixes it up, but also changes
it?



It’s a question that can see a lot of different answers, considering your
perspective on motorcycling and technology. Some buyers would despise a machine
like this 1973 Moto Guzzi 850 Eldorado; others would be very keen to own it.



A classic V-twin engine with updated internals. Photo: Bring a Trailer


TORQUEY V-TWIN

This ’73 Guzzi started life as a sort-of luxury roadster, a very European style
of bike, carrying on a tradition started by brands like Vincent, Brough Superior
and BMW. It was a dual-role machine; you could cruise at comfortable boulevard
speeds, but thanks to a reasonably powerful engine (for its time) and
comfortable ergos, not to mention a catalog full of useful accessories, you
could also tour at speed.

The heart of the 850 Eldorado was an air-cooled OHC four-stroke transverse
V-twin, with cylinders splayed out to each side of the motorcycle, instead of
front-to-back like most V-twins of that era and today. While unusual, it offered
better air cooling, without the problem of staggered engine heads seeing airflow
to the rear cylinder interrupted  (ever wonder why a Virago’s rear cylinder is
offset?). It also increased ground clearance when compared to a BMW’s low-set
cylinder heads. Like BMWs, the Eldorado engine had a shaft drive and twin
carburetors.

This engine design is typical of Moto Guzzi to this day, but in the early 1970s,
it was more of a recent development for the company. The 850 engine was a
refinement of an earlier 750 powerplant, with longer stroke boosting
displacement to 844 cc, and a five-speed gearbox (the 750 engine was a
four-speed) with shifter on the left side of the engine. Remember, back in the
1970s you still saw some discrepancy here, with some companies putting
gearshifts on the right-hand side. This Guzzi engine has a layout familiar to
modern riders.

Och, laddie, where’s your airbox? Custom filters like this look sharp, and
sometimes they’re well-tuned. And, sometimes they aren’t. A test ride in bad
weather would tell you either way. Photo: Bring a Trailer

The new 850 engine was supposed to make 64.5 horsepower at 6,500rpm, a
respectable number for the early 1970s. It was also rated for 54 pound-feet of
torque at 5,800 rpm. For comparison’s sake, a first-gen Honda CB750 made about
67 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 44 pound-feet of torque at 7,000 rpm. However,
the CB would have been considerably more sporty than the Eldorado, which came
with drum brakes front and rear, and a 705-pound wet weight.

But, that wasn’t the market Moto Guzzi wanted with this bike (that’s what the V7
was for). Instead, the Eldorado was a sensible machine, and you could also buy
it in dressed-up form as the California, with factory touring accessories. Or,
you could bolt up your own. Either way, when you compared it to a
Harley-Davidson dresser of that era, the Eldorado came with better handling,
including a much better power-to-weight ratio.


BIG CHANGES

Now, the power-to-weight ratio on the machine sold here, on Bring a Trailer,
would be even better, since a lot of the bike has been cut away. Take a look at
this 1973 model that featured on BaT back in 2019. That’s a full-sized vintage
bike. The ’73 model that’s on BaT this week is a stripped-down brat custom, with
much of the bike removed or modified.

The digital gauges will appeal to some, but they certainly aren’t
period-correct. Photo: Bring a Trailer

Here’s a partial list of all the changes made to the bike:

 * Engine/gearbox/clutch rebuilt, with many new internals, w/83 mm Gilardoni
   cylinders and pistons
 * Stainless exhaust w/Triumph mufflers
 * 19-inch aluminum rims, w/stainless spokes, with Shinko front tire and
   Firestone rear tire
 * Cognito Moto front hub
 * USD KYB forks from 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000
 * Dual 12-inch Tokiko front brake discs w/four-piston calipers, stainless steel
   brake lines
 * Dual Empi rear shocks with modified upper mounts
 * Polished rear fender and hand-formed aluminum tank
 * Carbon-fiber front fender
 * Modified sub-frame
 * Rebuilt Dell’Orto VHB 30C carburetors with pod air filter
 * Rebuilt charging system, with li-ion battery and Magneti Marelli coil
 * Clip-on handlebars with Magura grips, Tommaselli Super Pratic B quick
   throttle
 * Replacement brake/clutch cables
 * Koso digital speedo/clock gauge
 * BMW MotoMeter ammeter

Supposedly, the bike has been ridden about 6,000 miles in this condition, so
everything should work—you aren’t buying a just-completed project with bugs to
work out.

Scrambler-style rear tire, just like all the other cool kids. Photo: Bring a
Trailer


WHAT’S IT WORTH?

So what’s it all worth? For the sake of reference, the unmodified ’73 mentioned
above sold in 2019 for $5,700. At that time, the peanut gallery said it was a
low price, and used bike values have certainly risen since then. And, this
much-modified machine for sale here should ride better than the original bike,
if it was put together properly (there does seem to be some missing rear brake
parts, although maybe that’s been changed since the photos).

The seller says “Unlike the stock Guzzi, this one handles and stops. It has a
better ride because of the better suspension and with MUCH lower weight
accelerates MUCH better than stock.” On the other hand, there are plenty of
naysayers in the comments: “Officer, I’d like to report a murder,” etc. etc. Not
everyone appreciates the look of a hacked-up brat.

Worth big bucks, or not? Depends how much the new styling offends you. Photo:
Bring a Trailer

And, that’s the problem with trying to price one of these. If Deus Ex built it,
it would command big bucks. From an unknown builder, well—you get a lot of
comments over the alterations, and bidding currently sits at $850 at time of
writing. Beauty and the value of a modified classic bike are both only
established in the eye of the beholder.

 

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