From the Shop with Glenn Bator

Welcome to the third edition of our motorcycle inves- tor newsletter. Now that we have actually produced two Motorcycle Investor Newsletters that seem to be quite successful, our next task is to match, or even better, the previous publications and keep the stories fresh, interesting and factual for all of our readers.

In our last issue we had an article about the Jimmy “daredevil” Washburn stunt motorcycle and how we were so proud to be a part of bringing it back to life. I am now happy to report that the motorcycle, as well as all of the memorabilia, has recently found the perfect home with John Parham and the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. Jim Jr. was quite pleased to know that his father’s motorcycle, as well as his legacy, will now be preserved and have a place of honor amongst many other fine motorcycles Publisher / Writer: Editor: Art Director / Content Editor: in John’s collection. Jim is anxiously awaiting the un- Glenn Bator Deni Bator John Thow veiling of the display, as he has many family members Issue Contributors: John Thow in the Anamosa area who are chomping at the bit to © Bator International, Inc. 2015 see it. GOOD FOR YOU JIMMY!!

In this issue we have a variety of articles ranging from original paint motorcycles and military bikes to fraud in the industry. You’ll hear from me regarding my take on the changes I see in the industry today. We are also trying out a new feature called “The Classifieds”. This section of the magazine will afford our readers a first hand look at the fine Vintage and Classic motor- cycles that Bator International, Inc. has to offer.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy this issue, and I will try to make sure that our future online magazines come along more consistently than this long overdue issue. The Motorcycle Investor Newsletter is a work in progress, so please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to comment on the direction of the magazine or suggest any subjects you would enjoy reading about in upcoming issues.

Enjoy the ride…. Glenn 2 3 where else for that matter, and were absolutely indispensable as messenger bikes. They were the ide- al way to carry needed orders and communications to the front or between commanders in the field.

Needless to say, this extremely dangerous duty was not for the faint of heart, riding at speed through a war zone filled with flying lead made for an exciting ride to say the least. Riders who rode the same Think back on many of man’s greatest discoveries and inventions; fire, gun powder, electricity, the routes repeatedly were often the target of enemy snipers, laying in wait for their arrival. automobile, the airplane, the telephone, just to name a few. These discoveries and inventions were rapidly employed by world-wide militaries for regular use. The motorcycle is no exception; in fact the In World War II, the motorcycle was again deployed as the vehicle of choice for messengers operating motorcycle has been in military service for more than 100 years. between commanders at main bases and forward deployed units. Harley produced 88,000 WLA’s plus enough spare parts to build another 30,000 bikes. Out of the 88,000, the last 20,000 were shipped to Russia. The motorcycle was first put into U.S. military action with the Army during a border skirmish with Mexi- The Harley Davidson WLA’s were equipped with a single seat, brush guards in front of the riders legs, can revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa, where the motorcycle gave the Americans an advantage over a rear rack and saddle bags and a front fork mounted leather rifle sheath.As World War II raged on, the enemy’s horses. the Jeep was rapidly becoming the military’s vehicle of choice and it’s Harley Davidson predecessors were slowly being phased out of service. It wasn’t until the dawn of World War I, however, that the motorcycle really came into its own in large numbers. Motorcycles were used extensively by the allies, and the U.S. enlisted the use of more than At the end of the war, a great many of the Army’s WLA’s were sold as military 80,000 motorcycles of various brands, including approximately 50,000 Indians and 20,000 Harley surplus. Many of the new owners began to customize these old “War Horses”, Davidsons. removing windscreens and saddle bags, adding new paint jobs and much more. As a result, there are far fewer of these historic military machines left Bikes served a wide variety of purposes; some were fitted with machine guns on side cars to be used in original condition today. by infantry units, while others were used for carrying wounded soldiers from the battlefield.They proved to be a great way to shuttle medical supplies and ammunition to the front, or just about any

1942 Harley Davidson WLA “Cut Away”

This particular WLA is very rare and highly collectible as it is one of only a few “cut away” examples still in existence. It was used in the classrooms at the Harley Davidson schools to teach the students the inner workings of the engine, drive train, gas and oil tanks, etc. Parts of the bike were actually cut away and painted bright colors, as you can see in 4 the photo, to make them easy to identify and learn. 5 The bike pictured here is one of only 300, 74 cubic inch, Harley Davidson UA Military Motorcycles, originally produced for the United States Marine Corps.

This authentically restored military bike is absolutely beautiful. Every detail of this very rare “pre-Jeep” motorcycle has been properly returned to the way it rolled off the Harley Davidson assembly line back in 1940.

Unlike the ten’s of thousand’s of Harley WLA’s produced for WWII, these 74 cubic inch motorcycles were only produced from 1939 to 1941 and very few survivors are known to exist.

This period correct UA sports the marking of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the Flying Tigers. The Tigers were lead by Claire Chenault and were American pilots who flew in defense of the Chinese against Japanese Forces long before the United States had officially entered the Second World War.

Here at Bator International, Inc., we are very hon- ored to currently be offering both of these amazing pieces of American Military History.

6 7 With the onslaught of after-market parts flooding the market place over the past several years, along with the ever rising values of the Harley Knuckleheads, Panheads and, now, the Shovelheads, K Models and Sportsters, the number of motorcycles being marketed as vintage and classic with these inferior, mostly foreign made parts and components is at an alarming record high.

These bikes usually start from a small pile of original parts that have been pulled out of an old garage or scrounged up at some swap meet. Then, the would-be builder lets his fingers do the walking through “Taiwan Tedd’s” catalog. Voila, all of a sudden, there you have it, a classic look alike (sort of) that was pur- posely built to be represented as “real” with a price tag to go along with it. These bikes are built with the sole intention of selling for “all the money” through E-bay or over the auction block in Las Vegas every January. This formula works well if you take no pride in your work and just want to make a quick buck off the poor sucker who ends up with this abomination. Yup, he gets it home and finds out that he is the proud owner of a shiny, classic, “POS” and pretty much has no recourse. Then, to add salt to the wound, after his bud- dies pick it apart causing him to do some past due research, he comes to the realization that he sure as hell didn’t get what he paid for!!

After watching this scenario happen over and over for a number of years and seeing how many peo- ple have been stung by the amount of junk that has been passed off as real, it’s no surprise that the attitudes of the would-be buyers are changing and that has affected the industry dramatically. Buyers are now shying away from the “restored” motorcycles. As a result, focus has turned to the “all original paint” bikes!

Investing in original paint bikes, especially Harleys, is the only true way to insure that you are buy- ing the real deal, but with the shrinking availability of these bikes due to deterioration and mishaps over time, they are becoming few and far between. Now, as with anything that is trending, and when you have a limited amount of these original paint bikes available, what happens? First and foremost, the prices start to climb. Sometimes this happens at a slow and steady pace but other times the prices skyrocket overnight due to a record set on one particular bike that sold at auction. When the latter scenario occurs, you can only hope you’re that lucky bastard who happens to have a lineup of original paint HD’s stashed away in the cor- ner of your shop or garage. PAY DIRT!!!!

As with everything, there are some exceptions to the “original” rule. If you have a complete original motorcycle that happened to lose a part along its journey or has suffered a broken speedo or sustained some other mishap or damaged part(s) over the years, original substitutes “if you can locate them” can be put in place to keep the bike classified as original. So, if you are fortunate enough to locate an original barn find and a piece may be missing off the bike or every dog the owner has had over the last decade decided the front wheel was the closest thing to a fire hydrant, then an original substitute would be acceptable and politically correct to take the place of the damaged or missing bits. So, you ask, where is that fine line that makes the above okay? Well, if you said to me “I found an original Knucklehead that was missing all of the sheet metal, the speedometer and one of the cylinder heads, but through years of searching, I was fortunate enough to locate original replacement parts, would you consider this an original paint bike”? My answer would most likely be “yes”! But, if you told me that you found an original set of 1936 Knucklehead cases, all original paint parts and all original pieces and oxymoron, as the only entity that can build a true assembled it, would I consider it a real and original original paint motorcycle is the manufacturer. At paint motorcycle? I would probably have a harder times, the counterfeiter needs to “dumb down” a time accepting this bike as the real deal. part to fit the caliber of deterioration. If a part is too nice and stands out like a shiny penny, there The fine line of acceptance lies somewhere are ways to instantly age a part so it conforms and between the above two scenarios. When looking blends in with the rest of the assembled parts. at an original paint bike to purchase, ask yourself if you think the seller is being up front with you about If I were asked to sum up classic motorcycle the bike and is listing every detail truthfully. You collecting, I would have to say that it is similar to will need to rely on your own intuition and knowl- investing in gold or other precious metals. With edge to spot any possible issues. If you don’t feel precious metals such as gold or silver, gold seems confident enough to do that, then swallow your to be the better investment as it is at the top of the pride and enlist someone more qualified to assist food chain. Sure, it will cost you more to buy you in coming to an informed conclusion so you in, but the rate of return is traditionally better can be at peace with the outcome. than the less expensive metals. Silver is a good choice for some as you invest less and, there- Not every original paint motorcycle is go- fore, have less risk, but you can still have fun with ing to hit the high water mark with regard to its it. History has proven that overall both metals are value. For instance, take the beautiful 1966 Harley pretty much a sure deal. Buying precious metals FLH Electra glide that is featured in this article. This is more cut and dry than buying motorcycles, as bike’s completeness, overall condition and the care there is a rating system and you would only buy it has been afforded by its owners over the years .9999 percent pure product. Unfortunately, with puts it at the top of the food chain on price and motorcycles there isn’t and never will be such a collectability. You can have another original paint standard. What we have to deal with in our market 1966 Electra glide with the same color, same acces- varies in purity, and if one is not constantly on his or sories and all of the same bells and whistles present and accounted for, but the condition has deteriorat- her toes, we can be easily conned and sold a rock ed due to rust, fading and overall neglect over the painted gold or silver, thinking that we are years, and the value and interest in this bike would buying 100% pure. be much less. There are two phrases I commonly use in describing the condition of a motorcycle. The The 1966 Harley Davidson Electra glide first is “Curb Appeal” which is fairly self explanato- that we are featuring in this article falls under a ry. If the bike looks shiny, clean and well cared for, number of categories that work to its advantage. it has great curb appeal. The other less appealing First of all, I consider all Shovelheads “sleepers”, saying is “rode hard and put away wet”, which is also meaning they have not yet hit the big time. pretty self explanatory! These two sayings pretty Sleepers are the next up and comers and are much sum up both ends of the spectrum. undervalued in my opinion. They are the bikes that smart, savvy investors and When you are looking to invest in a motor- collectors need to be looking at in a very cycle, there are always pitfalls and warning signs to serious way! Secondly, this motorcycle is keep an eye out for so that you don’t end up paying a very well taken care of “all original paint dearly for your education. First and foremost, watch bike” and, as a bonus, has very low miles con- out for the blatant counterfeiters. There are an sidering its age. It has also had very few own- alarming number of people in the industry scouring ers throughout its life. Third, and possibly most E-bay parts auctions and rooting through every mo- important, this bike has great “curb appeal”. torcycle swap meet to find enough parts to “build” The “Sparkling Burgundy and Birch White” paint an “original paint” motorcycle. With their stash of scheme really calls attention to itself. If this bike old and purposely rusted hardware and cast off and were painted black, even being in the exact same recollected parts, they expertly assemble a newly condition, it would no way hold as much interest 10 constructed “original paint bike”. This is a bit of an and admiration, which equates to value. 11 Adding to the charm of this motorcycle is the overall completeness of the bike along with the period accessories, such as the AM radio with antenna and cigarette lighter. Unlike today, cigarette lighters back then were used for lighting a smoke not plugging in your GPS or phone charger. The AM radios have gone by the wayside along with rotary dial telephones and toaster ovens. Other period accessories include the saddlebag and trunk chrome accent railings, twin horns, spotlight and headlight eyebrows, original Califor- nia black license plate and front and rear accessory bumpers. When you add up all of the chotskies along with the fact that 1966 was the first year for the Shovelhead engine design, it really makes this bike a great investment that you can have a lot of fun with.

While shooting the bike for this article with my good friend John Thow, to get some good canyon background photos, we decided to head up Highway 33, which just happens to be a stone’s throw from my front door. I put some good miles on the old girl and, other than pushing a few cobwebs out of the tailpipes, she ran great! Being that I am in my mid 50’s...okay late 50’s, I got to cut my I-teeth on the old Shovelheads and have owned and enjoyed riding many throughout the years. The ‘66 brought me back to the days when motorcycles were simple and uncomplicated, and if you had a rock, some bailing wire and a match book, you could fix just about any roadside repair necessary. I genuinely enjoyed riding this “blast from the past” and, if I could, I would certainly keep this one for myself!

12 13 “This 1972 Suzuki is an absolute blast from the past for all of us “Baby Boomers” and a great way to invest in the classic motorcycle market.”

Not all roads to riches and happiness are Now, for the working man or “average Joe”, paved in gold!! Some are paved in lesser “precious like most of us, the amount of money that is paid out metals” and that is what this article is all about. The for some of these high end bikes is enough to set us goal of our “Motorcycle Investor Newsletter” is to up for life! With that said and the high end investors furnish our readers with a broader view of today’s looking to buy only those gold standard bikes, most, motorcycle investment market. By arming them but not all of them, have blinders on and fail to real- with a better knowledge of the full spectrum of ize that under every golden opportunity lies a silver choices and options when it comes to collecting and lining. This silver lining or silver standard is where we investing in Vintage and Classic motorcycles, they 99 percenters live, as investing in silver is a lot more will hopefully have a much better chance at success. reasonable for us but still fun and, over time, can This pertains not only to the high end, more expen- most assuredly return us a very nice yield. sive bikes but also for the up and comers that have yet to realize their full, potential value. The two motorcycles featured in this article are perfect examples of silver standard collector There are a select few (and the air gets thin bikes. They are both rare in their own right, consid- here) who can afford any and all motorcycles that ered precious metal and, with a little bit of time and suit their fancy. A rare classic such as a Crocker, an some TLC, would return a nice profit while affording original paint Indian or Harley or a Vincent Black us a multitude of true enjoyment along the way. Lightning, just to name a few, can sell for a hefty six or even seven figure price tag. Those who have this For all of us “Baby Boomers” looking back at kind of discretionary money tend to “dabble” in the 1972, the Suzuki Hustler with its beautiful tangerine collecting world, as it is a very safe place to invest metal flake paint scheme, was truly something to some real money outside of a bank or investment lust after. With its two stroke vertical twin motor, account and then have the added bonus of a great chrome exhaust and state of the art six speed trans- conversation piece in your living room, office or, in mission, any one of us would have gladly spent our some cases, under your backside. With this caliber last hard earned dollar from mowing the neighbor’s of bike, the buy-in can be huge, but, in return, the lawn or working a paper route to own such a cool profits can follow suit. The old saying “it takes money bike! This little Japanese built rocket is a true survi- to make money” definitely applies here. vor, looking like it just came out of a time capsule. It shows only 8,758 miles on the clock and only a small spattering of wear sustained over the past 43 years. “This 1957 BSA is a fan favorite for all those that love When looking for a nice original paint bike of this era, the first items that you want to be sure still exist on the “British Iron”, it’s a real steal at their current book prices.” bike are the exhaust system, the original air box and, of course, original paint in very good condition, and this bike has them all.

Now, for the guys who are a bit more seasoned (a.k.a. “old farts”), as kids, they remember the “Brit- ish invasion” that happened after our troops came back from WWII, bragging about the Brit bikes that were faster and more nimble than what was being built in the U.S. at that time. In today’s world, these more sea- soned gents will pay little mind to the Japanese bikes and head straight for the British iron.

One of the headliners of the British silver standard, even though the name is contrary to the term, is the BSA Golden Flash. The only reason that I categorize this bike in the silver category is because of its cur- rent book value. This is a perfect example of a true sleeper. In my estimation, this bike and others like it are highly undervalued and very reasonable to purchase. This very nice original paint 1957 BSA Golden Flash is exceptional due to it’s well preserved condition and it’s completeness. With only 15,822 original miles on the odometer, this 57 year old example has traveled only 277.57 miles per year on average. The bike also sports the factory crash bars and a set of period correct Buco style leatherette saddle bags along with it’s now retro headlight nacelle and front fender “pedestrian slicer” name plate. This BSA Golden Flash, along with the Suzuki Hustler, both make great investments no matter how old you are! Both would be a true joy to own and ride and a great way to invest in the classic motorcycle market. Both of these examples of a Blast from our past younger days are a steal at their current market prices.

16 17 For a business like ours, our main source of advertising is through our Bator International web site www.batorinternational.com, social media and our network of affiliated web sites.

In a perfect world, with all of the above mentioned, we can get our classic motorcycles under the noses of the entire world. Our items are unique; therefore, the interested customers will come to us to buy that rare, one-of-a-kind motorcycle. It all sounds good but, unfortunately, we all know that this is not reality and we don’t live in a perfect world! A perfect world would be one without fraud, cheats and predators who are hell bent on steeling your hard earned dollars without producing or delivering anything. These SOB’s position themselves to take advantage of and exploit the inexperienced buyer who does not yet possess the “street smarts” to avoid falling prey to their schemes. Unfortunately, this reality is the world we live in today, and our company, Bator International, Inc., along with the classic motorcycle world as a whole, are all prime Most of us baby boomers can remember back before the internet was such a big part of our lives and targets for the fraudsters and con artists. businesses, when simpler times afforded us a more personal connection with the ones we love, as well as those we did business with. A time when the masses did not have their noses buried in some little square On a regular basis, I receive a phone call or an e-mail from someone who is inquiring about one of plastic gizmo that consumes all of one’s attention and turns us into a bunch of zombies who can’t hold a our bikes. They first begin the conversation very inquisitively, somewhat beating around the bush and then, conversation or drive without being under the influence of DWT, “driving while texting”. after several minutes of this Q&A session, I ask a few questions of my own that require the caller to get to the point. They usually tell me that one of the motorcycles for sale on my website for $25,000 is being offered Back in the day, if you wanted to meet with someone, you would make a call or, heaven forbid, send on another site for only $5,500. They also proceed to tell me that, after doing an online search for that same a letter. We would look each other in the eye while visiting or during a meal, and we would have in depth motorcycle, it can be found on several other sites for a variety of prices and in a number of different loca- conversations about everything that was happening in our lives. In business, we used to send out letters, tions, statewide and even worldwide . This exact scenario actually happened as I was proof reading the ar- faxes, fliers, a catalog or advertise in a magazine that was focused on our target buyers. When the customer ticle on the 1966 Harley FLH. The “would-be sellers” even go so far as to use the exact photos from my Bator received this printed material, he or she knew that the person or company who had spent the time, money International web site (I shot those personally in my driveway), as well as using my text description verbatim. and effort to get that information under their nose was the legitimate purveyor of that product or service. If you find this hard to believe, check out the image below! This advert was and probably still is posted on a website called motorcycles.smartcarguide.com. Fast forward to the “New World Order” where everyone starting from infancy is exposed to the inter- net, personal computers, tablets, smart this and smart that. As technology advances and all of these ma- chines get more “intelligent”, it all seems to result in society getting dumber! Many kids today can’t or won’t have an intelligent conversation with you, and their interest in aspiring to anything outside of the computer world is pretty much nonexistent. Try to get a kid today to pick up a wrench, hammer, shovel or rake and many look at you like you have bugs crawling out your ears.

In today’s world, if we want to buy something or need a service, what do we do? First, hit the com- puter and punch in the product on our favorite search engine. Then we look into the best price (don’t forget to check Ebay), making sure to check the reviews and calculate shipping charges. Contrary to the old ways, it doesn’t matter if the part or widget is 3,000 miles away, since most seller’s these days will gladly pay the shipping, and if it is an out of state purchase, guess what, in many cases, there’s no sales tax!!!

Wow, how convenient, the entire world is at our fingertips and all we have to do is hit the “buy it now” or “add to my shopping cart” button and within a few days it is sitting on our door step! Boy, what a progres- sive world and time we live in, so quick, clean and hassle free. There’s no longer the need to go down the street to the local mom and pop store and pay their inflated prices. We don’t even need to start up the Prius and waste the ten cents worth of gas or electricity to get there!

In today’s business world, we must keep up with the times or get left in the dust. The old ways of only five or six years ago are now antiquated, and if we are not on the leading edge or at least up to speed with websites, on line sales, social media and reaching across land and sea, we are falling behind in sales and loosing revenue to our competition; in other words, gone the way of the “Dodo”.

18 19 Another perfect example I recently found is from the website www.2040motos.com: 1935 Indian Now that we have gone over all of the issues about the scammers selling bikes, let’s move onto the Chief from the Steve McQueen Collection. This site has that same Chief at $4,400.00 and states it is located other side of the coin and talk about these same unsavory individuals trying to scam you out of a classic bike in Deep Water, West Virginia. Well, if you happened to bite that hook, you’d be in deep water as this motor- you want to sell. This is where it gets complicated, as there are a number of ways these crooks will try to bilk cycle hasn’t been for sale since I sold it early last year. During an internet search on “Steve McQueen motor- you. cycles for sale”, I found no less than four websites with that very same bike being offered for sale, again for different prices and in different locations. NOTE: While writing this article, I received two nearly identical e-mails. They arrived in my in-box simulta- neously and are prime examples of one of the elaborate scams that is out there. Please be aware that I am only responding to these e-mails for the sake of this article, and in an effort to show an example of how this plays out. I DO NOT recommend anyone exchanging e-mail with these fraudsters, just hit your delete button. The following is my exact correspondence. Scammer’s comments are in red, mine are in blue.

I’m Paul Luis residing at 9470 Studley Plantation Drive Mechanicsville, VA 23116 . I’m inquiring concerning your item post on online for sale cos I’m highly interested in purchasing it... But firstly 1.please kindly get back to me with the present condition 2.Your location and as well your last selling price offer. 3.My mode of payment will be through Bank Cashier Check. Mail me back as soon as possible If you are Okay with the conditions and so i can be sure i will be buying from you because i need it very soon. Thanks

When I do come across these pirate websites, my first step is to contact them and inform them that the ad is The bad English is your first tip that something might be amiss here, but you may give him the benefit of the a fraud and demand that they take it off their site immediately. Unfortunately, these sites have no account- doubt, as possibly English isn’t his first language. ability and do not monitor what is being posted. Most of these sites don’t even have a way to contact them directly, often keeping me and others from being able to inform them that they are co-conspirators in com- Paul, mitting fraud. The only recourse is to send an e-mail to the fake seller through the host site and demand Thank you for getting back to me with regard to my motorcycle that I have for sale. The bike is in excellent that they drop the ad, sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. condition. I am located in southern California. I will accept a bank cashier’s check for payment. I will take no less than $6,500.00. Please let me know what other information I can provide. For research and curiosity’s sake, I did follow up on a few of these false ads and posed as a buyer asking for more information about the bike they had for sale. The scammer’s emails always come back with S Smith some cockamamie story about it being their dead brother’s bike and how they are pretty much clueless about selling it. When I ask where I can see the bike, they’ll come back with some excuse like the bike can’t Okay i will pay $6,500.00 for it..let me know the mailing details where to send the payment and the be viewed or picked up or paid for in person because they are out of the country and the bike has already name to be made out with the check...is the address going to be the same place where the shipper been crated and is at the shipping company’s warehouse. The more questions you ask, the more excuses will come down for the pick up procedure? they come back with. Some even go as far as to say that they will assume all of the risk by sending you the regards bike if you send them just part of the payment up front, and then if you don’t like the bike once you see it, they will send you all your money back and they will even offer to pay to have the bike returned to them. The bike can be delivered to your shipping company to Los Angeles for an extra $250.00. Please make the Sure sounds good--too bad it’s just an elaborately devised scam. So you ask “who would be naive enough check payable to Snuffy Smith. Please mail to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Ventura CA. 96969 to send these people money”? Well, sadly, someone must or they wouldn’t keep doing it!! The old saying, “buyer beware” definitely comes into play here. If you do get suckered into sending money to these crooks, (let’s see if he will bite!) it basically means you just paid for your education! (Here we go)

For the buyer and/or investor who wants to purchase a classic motorcycle, I suggest following these I will instruct my client to issue the check of $9,540 including the shipping charges like i told you rules of thumb; first off, IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS; secondly, ONLY BUY FROM A before that i will handle the shipping procedure myself because i have my private shipper that will REPUTABLE, KNOWN SELLER!!!; and finally, DO YOUR HOMEWORK OR HIRE A CONSULTANT WHO HAS THE come down to your base for the pick up procedure. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE YOU NEED TO SAFEGUARD YOUR DOLLARS. If you or a trusted representative All you need to do after receive the payment is to deduct your asking price after the fund has cannot physically see, touch, feel and hear the bike, you are leaving yourself wide open for a possible issue been cleared at the bank and send the remaining fund to the shipper in MA via Western Union or disappointment. If you feel that you are not the guy to give the bike the once over, then be smart, and Money Transfer in other for her to come down to your base for the pick up procedure. After the hire someone who is! There are experienced consultants out in the world, such as myself, who, for a reason- payment is made out... i will send you the shipper Western Union Money Transfer Details where to 20 able fee, will research the bike, as well as the seller. send the fund too. 21 Paul, Can you see how an individual who is not a well-seasoned seller and not aware of these types of scams could be fooled? I know it seems far fetched, but it does happen, because if it didn’t, the scammers wouldn’t Okay, sounds good. I have other people wanting to buy the bike but I will sell it to you. Please let me know keep doing it. when you will be sending the bank cashiers check. Can you please let me know which bank the check will be coming from so I can look out for it when it arrives? I will need the name and address of the person to send In other scenarios, I have been e-mailed by more professional scammers posing as would be clients. the remaining money in MA. When will you send your driver to pick the bike up? They usually have a title on the e-mail saying that they work at some large company in some far off country and they want to purchase one of the bikes we have offered for sale on our website. Their inquiry all seems Thank you, very legitimate, as they are well versed. They mention the motorcycle that you have for sale, ask all the right Snuffy questions, including inquiring about transportation costs to their country and even haggle the price.

Thanks for the mail This is when things get tricky. So, how does one find out if the buyer is real or a fraud? Well, the an- I will instruct my client to issue the payment out next week cos its weekend already and as soon my client swer to that question is, you can’t. You have to play it out until the end. For me, usually at some time during issue the payment out...i will get back to you with the ups tracking number in other to know when the pay- the e-mail volley, my “Spider-Sense” (refers to an extraordinary ability to sense imminent danger; a kind of ment will be deliver to your door step...but i will like to read from you answers to the questions below. ‘sixth sense’ attributed to the comic-book superhero Spider-Man) starts to tingle and I get suspicious. 1- Hope i can trust you with my money? 2- Will you be able to transfer the funds to the shipper same day the check cleared at the bank? There are ways to check out the “would-be” buyers story and one way is by doing a web search of 3- Is there any western union money transfer around you? the company name to see if it even exists, (but that won’t tell you if this deal is a scam or not because they I need answers to the question below asap. will always use a legitimate company name they get online, knowing that is the first thing you are going to Thanks check). So, if the name checks out, you must be professional and proceed forward with answering all of their questions, sending photos, getting shipping and crating quotes and more. The twist comes when it is time Paul, for the money to change hands.

I am ok with everything. There is a Western Union branch close to me. As soon as the money clears my ac- Since it is an overseas transaction, they ask for your bank wire information so they can pay for the count, I will send the balance of the money the same day. I need the name and address so I can get all of the purchase. In some cases, after providing this information, you never hear from them again because they paperwork ready to send the money for you. now have what they were after in the first place, your personal banking information. You now need to noti- fy your bank of the incident and keep a close eye on your accounts over the next several months to be sure Thank you, they haven’t figured out a way to use your info to gain access to your personal accounts or credit cards. Snuffy I could go on and on with the different ways these creeps try to extort your money, but I don’t want alright i will get the check send next week and update you with the tracking this article to get too long in the tooth. Hopefully, after reading this, if you do run into one of these scam- mers or are in the middle of a transaction with them, some little voice in the back of your head will shout out that something is just not right! The basic rule of thumb is, DO NOT EVER RELEASE YOUR MOTORCYCLE TO ANYONE UNTIL YOU ARE PAID IN FULL AND THE FUNDS ARE RECORDED IN YOUR ACCOUNT!!! IF PAYMENT IS Well, do you see the rub here? There was never a mention of what I am selling him for $6500.00, no BY CREDIT CARD, MAKE IT A POLICY NOT TO RELEASE THE BIKE FOR AT LEAST 10 DAYS AFTER PAYMENT HITS brand name, no year, nothing! The buyer is going to send me a bank cashier’s check for an amount more YOUR ACCOUNT, WHICH WILL GIVE THE BANK TIME TO RETRIEVE THE FUNDS IF THE CARD IS STOLEN AND than the asking price and I am then to send the balance to some “her” in Massachusetts via Western Union YOU STILL HAVE YOUR BIKE. money order. Once I receive this bank cashier’s check, which is obviously stolen, he wants me to immediately send him the balance forward to some person to be named later (that is if it goes that far without the banks Unfortunately, since we do not live in a perfect world, these are some of the pitfalls we have to watch catching this). If by chance I did get the cashier’s check deposited and it did clear before the Fed’s flagging out for when buying and selling. The “New World Order” definitely has its benefits, but, as with all things the account, I would be out the entire amount of the funds that I sent forward through Western Union. new and good, there are always predators out there who are going to find ways to abuse the system and try to get the better of us. If it happens to you, hopefully it will be a one-time occurrence, but, if you continue to I’m not making this stuff up! This actually happened while I was composing this article for our News- get had...I have a really nice bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell you!!! letter!! Obviously, this scammer is sitting in Russia, Somalia or Nigeria and is hoping to pass himself off as an American living somewhere in the western hemisphere. If he were that, wouldn’t you think he would have quickly figured out that my e-mail responses are BS; come on, responding as Mr. Snuffy Smith living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane!! (If you don’t get the joke, Google Snuffy Smith and 1313 Mockingbird Lane separately and you will find out that a WWII cartoon character happens to be living with Herman Munster and his fami- ly).

22 23 25 26 26 27 28 28 29 30 31 Check out this issues featured readers. Remember, we want to feature you with your favorite ride too, so please take the time to send us a picture of your fine ride with a few words and you could be featured in the “Reader’s Rides” sec- tion. Please send your pictures to [email protected], we look forward to hearing from you... ENJOY !

Bob Funk Smyrna, FL Bob loves riding his beautiful 1938 Indian 4 that he Dave McCaulou Orinda, CA Dave bought a very nice 1965 BMW and sidecar Charley Hoover from Oakdale MN. Hi Glen, attached is the photo you asked bought from us at Bator International. Thanks Bob! rig and had some nice words to share! “I bought two of my bikes from Glenn Bator. for of me and the Norton. Thank you, I think you are the best dealer I have ever He’s as good as they get!” worked with. I love the Norton Café Racer. Charlie

Philippe Murat and family are having fun with their new Frank Walther, Germany Hi Glenn and Deni, I start to love acquisition of their beautifully restored 1948 Indian Chief and this 1948 Harley WR racer very, very much and one day I would custom aluminum bodied sidecar. like to participate on historic races here in Germany. Thanks for all, and hoping to do business again!

33