stark1
Lonesome Planet
Excuse for the short -derailing .
During the WW II ,my granddad helped an injured soldier from New Zealand .
That soldier had a weird bike ( Vincent A Rapide ) as a military -duty vehicle.
Most probably he was a messenger or something like that (just a hard guess here.
So ,my granddad in order to hide the injured soldier and every other trace of him from the Gestapo ,
he placed the bike in the basement of his house .
Actually ,about 20 years later after the war was over ,my dad had to demolish one of the basement's walls ,
in order to get the bike out of the basement .Granddad had done a great job hiding the soldier and his bike .
The soldier went back to his homeland ,the bike was left behind , at a basement in Greece .
So when my dad discovered this bike ,he serviced it a bit and took a ride with it .
When I asked how was it ,he replied :
" It was an awful bike ,I remember .Crazy fast and without any decent breaking .
Very dangerous ! That's why I sold it ! "
Me : "How much did you sell it then ,dad ? "
My dad : " It was a piece of shit .
During a summer -few years before you were born - a tourist asked me if I'm selling this bike
and ,of course , I replied yes .I sold it for 100 Drachmas * ,back at 1970 or was it 1971 ? "
( Today's worth of 100 Drachmas @ 1970 : About $300 )
Me : " So dad ,you sold a bike worth of > $ 100 000 for just $300 ? "
My dad ( with his eyes ready to pop out from their cavities ) : " .......... "
Well ,I almost had the chance of owning a Vincent bike .But .....
https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1939-vincent-series_a_rapide
Most collectors would have given their left nut for a Vincent “Black Shadow” back then;—their
right one, now?
Last edited: