The Lost Von Dutch

The Editor's latest eBay project, Pt.1

By David Edwards | Photos by Brian Blades

July 2009

Photos: The Lost Von Dutch >>

Maybe someone should intervene and cancel my eBay account. Nah! Then I'd actually have to paw through swapmeet bins to find cool stuff. Time is money, they say, so sniffing items out online actually saves me moolah. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

My latest eBay acquisition was a complete—if well exposed to the elements—motorcycle, a Von Dutch-built and painted 1957 Triumph Tiger 650, to be exact. What to offer for such a piece? Well, a signed Von Dutch gas tank like it has, even in dented, crazed and rusty shape, has to be worth a grand. The timing cover, hand-engraved by Von Dutch with the owner's first name, maybe $500; it'd be more if not for the deterioration. And a numbers-matching pre-unit Triumph T110? Say $1500, even in chopped form. Factor in another $500 for things like the Dutched rear fender.

So, with four days left in the auction, I entered a max bid of $3500 and never even checked back to see how the bidding was going. No angst, no fretting over last-second snipes. That's what the bike was worth to me; if someone wanted it more, congrats and good luck with it.

Apparently no one did, and I won the lot for $3350.

Next in Pt.2: Now let's see what shape it's in!