Throughout my ownership of my 1974 CL125S project bike, I maintained careful records of my investments—money-wise, if not time wise. The total cost, including the bike, was $3673.23. Of that, only $2315.78 worth of stuff actually ended up being a part of the bike when I sold it.

Here’s the final tally:

Purchase price$ 750.00
Sales tax, property tax, title fees, inspection, licensing, scheduled maint.$ 267.74
Exhaust$ 134.01
Speedometer$ 50.79
General chassis repair parts$ 490.21
Money spent restoring old tank that was eventually trashed$ 156.79
Parts purchased that ended up broken, unsuitable, or not used$ 735.93
Subtotal$ 2585.47
Upgrades 
12V/LED/AGM electrical upgrade$ 380.50
Fuel tank & fittings$ 271.91
Carburetor$ 238.36
Subtotal$ 890.77
 Other 
Parts for aborted front brake and stator upgrades$ 196.99
 Overall Summary 
Total Expenditure$ 3673.23
Sale price of bike$ (1450.00)
Estimated market value of serviceable parts on hand$ (350.00)
Net loss$ 1873.23
Cost per day over 1,977 days$ 0.95

Did I lose my shirt? You can clearly see that I did. But look at that last number. For less than a buck a day, I had some great fabrication practice, lots of mental exercise thinking up solutions to unforeseen issues, and even though I didn’t really intend or desire for this to be a 5-year-plus project, a lot of rewarding moments along the way. When it was all over, the cruises I took around town, with the bike starting on the first kick and purring perfectly, were totally, absolutely, 100% worth the investment.

So, I guess that closes out the story of the CL125S. What’s next? Well, I might finally have a chance to pull my long-dormant Bultakenstein out of the back corner of the garage. Then again, I might not. Right now, I can’t say.

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