Quick - Need help deciding - Fully Restored vs Low Mileage

[stepper]

Quick I need some help deciding....

I have an oportunity to choose between a fully restored Honda Dream 305 for $4500 or a super low mileage Dream for $3750.

Both bikes look superb but the $3750 bike has a set of your typical aftermarket mufflers on it.

I need to decide as I will be picking up one of the two by this weekend.

Which one would be preferred? Which one is a safer bet?
Or am I nuts to even be considering buying a Honda Dream for so much cash?

HELP!!!!

Thanks,
Jason

[ericmanuel]

Do you have pics of both you can share?

[Rizingson]

That sounds like a toss-up to me. I typically go for the original survivor, but the lack of original mufflers is a huge hit in value. The quality of the restoration can also vary greatly, and may hide many issues that will show up if you are wanting a reliable rider.
Prices are about 300-500 dollars high in both examples.

[Hamamatsu Nippon]

Today in vintage vehicles the market is trending toward low miles unrestored originals over fully restored. This is subjective to every person however it is what we are seeing. Now in your case you would have to compare both bikes very carefully to see which one is the best of both categories. When you say one Dream is fully restored, do you mean all paint and chrome/aluminum is excellent and recently done. Has the engine actually been rebuilt, with refreshed pistons;valves, cam chain, ignition, clutch, carb. The suspension has been addressed and the steering head bearings inspected/renewed, fresh tires on rebuilt rims. All those things and more is what a fully restored status requires, and that's what I would want for $4500.
The other bike which you categorize as a super low miles , is it what I call in" preservation status?" That means the bike has all original parts, is well sorted and rideable now. The bike holds its original paint but has been cut and polished, all the mechanicals have been serviced eg. brakes cleaned and lubed, steering bearings greased, engine in perfect tune. In other words it is an original that has been maintained and in service with no issues.
Alternatively if you mean the super low miles Dream has just been removed from a barn, then $3750 is too much money, and you would likely be better off with a restored bike for $4500.
Which of these two bikes best represents the two categories you have provided? That's the answer to your question.

[stepper]

Thanks for the replies everyone...

I had decided to forego on both examples for the moment.
I'm still on the fence with the fully restored bike but I at least have a few days to think about it before I make a decision.

The low mileage bike on the other hand is unfortunately out of play.
The bike is a real looker and seems to be in pristine condition true to it's low mileage - but in the back of my mind I kept thinking "why does it have such low mileage"... and sure enough there was a problem.

I asked the seller to send me pictures of the title so we could verify that the mileage on the title jives with that on the bike. And sure enough, they did jive but to the sellers surprise, the title was a "salvaged/rebuild" title. I truly believe he had no clue that that was the case as he removed the listing as soon as he realized the case.

Nevertheless, the bike looks to be a great example and videos that he sent me shows everything working as should be. My guess is that somebody bought the bike in 1967, wrecked it shortly after buying it (probably bent the fork as the front fender looked to be repainted) and let it sit in their garage until the bike was recently brought back to life.

So, let's let that be a lesson for all of us... If you're going to travel 600 miles to see a bike, make sure the seller not only has a title, but ask for a picture of the said title!

thanks again,
Jason