With eBay it’s easy to find everything you need for a creative restoration of your vintage motorbike or youngtimer!
January 30, 2023
Game for fans? Want to combine the passion for historic motorcycles with the desire for tuning or “updating” a motorcycle that is no longer very young? It’s actually called Restomod and it is that interesting tendency to restore vintage motorcycles or – much more often – youngtimer giving them a new youth through recent accessories and technical components, or embellishing them with the most precious details. These motorcycles do not respect perfect originality in a canonical way but very frequently they are contemporary interpretations, peppery and often incredibly fascinating variations of more or less important motorcycles from a historical point of view. Sometimes they are also “historical fakes” and adaptations of recent motorcycles to make them more or less markedly resemble more noble or significant ancestors in terms of emotional value, and the results are often surprising in terms of quality and evocative potential!
The Restomod (which clearly combines the restaurus to modifica) is also a way to exorcise that disappointment that could overtake those who wanted to buy a motorcycle that they dreamed of in their youth but which, when tested by our modern tastes and habits, could prove to be a disappointment, to understand each other: the very first Suzuki GSX is still beautiful and exciting -R750 from 1985 for which many of us at the time penniless very young people would have gladly sacrificed a kidney, but riding it today could make us turn up our noses at the engine with “only” 100 horsepower, chassis not up to the times and so on.
In short, with the Restomod, space is given to creativity per restore, update and modify the bike creating a unique specimen that combines the charm of moto vintage and the desire for one custom motorcycle. Fixed a budget (it’s not difficult to spend even five-figure sums), there is no rule: everything can be modified, from the engine to the aesthetics, from the frame to the chassis, the important thing is to bear in mind that the motorcycle thus modified will in most cases no longer be able to comply with the traffic laws and that, moreover, its historical value – if any – could remain compromised.
Once in possession of the motorcycle to be submitted to Restomod, the question arises of buy everything that could be useful to carry out our project and the large eBay marketplace it is certainly one of the ideal places to find from the smallest accessories to the most significant components for the bike. This is because the very nature of community di eBay allows not only to switch from the side of the buyer to that of the seller, but also of to face both the world dedicated to the era and to classic motorcycles and that of new accessories and parts or contemporary. Furthermore, the use of the marketplace could help limit the budget given that it is not infrequent to find promotions on eBay (the latest in chronological order is the Coupon which allows you to save up to 300 euros) and in any case there is an abundance of offers and used parts which allow substantial savings.
So how do you get your bearings? The starting point (on eBay, among other things, you can also find many resources for vintage motorcycles and for its restoration) is the link to the section Car and motorcycle: from here, on the “Motorcycle” menu, you will find the area dedicated to spare parts where you can search by category or by brand.
Let’s imagine we want to improve first of all the dynamic behavior of our special con a new fork. Often the choice is to replace the stock one by choosing one with more modern specifications (diameter of the stems, better hydraulics and with adjustments, switching from traditional stems to upside down stems, etc.), it is obvious that in this case one must always take into account the rideability of the bike and therefore find a fork with characteristic dimensions compatible with the results want to get. Once the appropriate choices have been made, just go to the motorcycle spare parts section, then to the one relating to the suspensions and subsequently to the page where the to the page where you can choose the fork you have in mind, but you will certainly also be able to find entire front end used (therefore complete with plates and steering pin) that will simplify your work. It goes without saying that, especially if the fork is used, it’s not a bad idea to carry out an overhaul before installing it on our special. You can find suitable oil seals and lubricants in the motorcycle fork seals section.
The same goes for the rear suspensionwhether it includes a single shock absorber or a classic pair (and perhaps taken by the “mod” frenzy you have decided to switch from one solution to another) that you can find in the gigantic choice of the appropriate section.
Continuing, one of the obligatory stops is the exhaust replacement starting from the hypothesis of wanting to give the bike a complete system more in line with the idea of the Restomods you have in mind. Here it goes in a real universe: it all depends on your taste and the type of look you want to give to the bike, and not only the technique but also the stylistic coherenceeven reaching the point that some realizations boast custom-built exhausts.
But even without getting to this point in the area of eBay dedicated to exhausts you will certainly be able to both find what you need and receive inspiration to maybe make choices you hadn’t thought of before; you need the mounting accessories or spare parts, also take a look at the items on the left (if you navigate from a pc). If, on the other hand, your goal is only the terminal, as always on eBay you will be able to find the answer to your needs.
There is no limit to creativity, so let’s imagine that you want to donate, for example a fairing or a windshield to your special: it is not infrequent that maybe we start from a modern basis to “mention” in a more or less explicit way a motorbike from the past years, perhaps to recall its importance or iconicity. Nothing could be simpler: just go to the item Bodywork and Chassis, and then to fairings, tails and belly pans for motorcycles. It will perhaps need some adaptations and garage work but for sure this is the right place to easily find – and often at affordable prices – that fairing you’ve been looking for for a long time, but the link to the articles page for motorcycle bodywork and chassis can be invaluable for everything that can tease you about superstructures, starting from the tanks and mudguards.
As you will certainly have understood from this brief overview, if you want to give yourself to the Restomod eBay can be a virtually invaluable resource once you experience italso because even if a purchased piece does not find a place in your project, with just a few clicks you can put it up for sale and dedicate the proceeds to some other detail.
But peace of mind is even greater if you think that for every purchase made on the marketplace by credit card, debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay, the eBay Customer Guarantee which quickly protects from non-delivery or from objects that once arrived do not correspond to the description given by the seller. However, this is a rather remote eventuality, given that the well-known feedback system operating on the platform makes it decidedly disadvantageous for a seller (whether professional or private) to jeopardize their own reliability in the eyes of the entire community.
