Planet Minis

brands · 10-18-2009, 05:36 PM

I'm new to Z50's in the sense of restoring them (I had one as a kid) and am wondering what a 1968 z50 might be worth. I'm looking at one for sale locally for $300. It's not running and in need of a total restoration but is pretty much complete (inc original engine). Is this a good price? It's either that or spend $300 on my old faithful '82 Z50. I'd certainly appreciate your thoughts.

z50 chopper · 10-18-2009, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brands

I'm new to Z50's in the sense of restoring them (I had one as a kid) and am wondering what a 1968 z50 might be worth. I'm looking at one for sale locally for $300. It's not running and in need of a total restoration but is pretty much complete (inc original engine). Is this a good price? It's either that or spend $300 on my old faithful '82 Z50. I'd certainly appreciate your thoughts.

considering I saw one where I live in the same condition as you described for $600can, I'd say $300us is a very good deal.

Does it have the headlight and taillight?

brands · 10-18-2009, 05:57 PM

It does have the tail light and the remains of the front light. The fuel tank actually looks pretty good. The front forks are really bad though and probably not salvageable.

z50 chopper · 10-18-2009, 06:34 PM

The headlight shell itself if it is in restorable condition on ebay have gone for $75us and up, frames have gone for between $50 to $200us, tanks have gone for between $50-$150us .
So just going by that $300us is a very good deal.

Hardtails seem to be one of the favourites of restorers and collectors.

Danman2540 · 10-18-2009, 06:50 PM

The bike cant be a 68 Z50 if it has a taillight and headlight. The 68 had painted fenders and no lights.

z50 chopper · 10-18-2009, 06:57 PM

maybe it is a 69 or a previous owner added a headlight and taillight.

misteroldskool · 10-18-2009, 10:03 PM

if it has a slanted exhaust guard (slant-guard) then its one of the first ones built and is worth a butt load of money

brands · 10-19-2009, 07:04 AM

Not sure about the exhaust - I'll have to check. It does appear to be a '68 as the headlight and tail light are not original. I'm only looking at pics so far. It does come with a better set of spare front forks as well. I'll keep you posted.

35mastr · 10-19-2009, 09:56 AM

Buy it. Its worth the 300.00. Even if its to much of a project for you. It can be parted out on eBay for allot more than your investment.

I had a 72 mini trail with the headlight,brake and license plate holder. I wished i still had that one.

z50 chopper · 10-19-2009, 01:29 PM

if you got pics post them up.

RAZZO · 10-19-2009, 05:37 PM

Useless thread without pictures of it. Instead of guessing, lets see it!

brands · 10-19-2009, 07:11 PM

It's not really a useless thread for me. I'll post pics when I've paid for bike. I'd rather not post someones photos of their own bike.

mexicanyella · 10-19-2009, 07:27 PM

Either use of $300 sounds okay to me. Do put up some pics if/when you get them. Of either bike, or both.

brands · 10-31-2009, 11:22 AM

Here's a few pics of the '68. I should have taken some pics when it was complete but I didn't have my camera to hand and I couldn't wait to take it apart! It's mostly complete, but is in need of a complete restoration. Any help and advice along the way would be most appreciated. I plan to be as faithfull as possible to the original using honda parts where possible. If anyone has a close up photo of the the foward mounting tabs for the fuel tank that would be great. Mine look 'home made'! Also the tank badge has green wings - is this original? The frame/motor numbers are
Z50A-112402
Z50AE-112484

Are these close enough to be matching numbers?

Thanks

gary s · 10-31-2009, 12:19 PM

Hard to tell by the pics, that tank tab might have been repaired, but Honda did have both style of tank mounts, tab or pin. Take a picture of the right side of the frame below where the seat mounts so we can see the muffler guard mounts. The badge wings should be white. and the motor has a good chance of being the original one I think, my k1 built in 11/69 has a frame to motor difference of 5559 ! Good luck and have fun!

brands · 10-31-2009, 12:22 PM

Thanks for the info. It's not a slant guard by the way!

almostfiddy · 10-31-2009, 01:12 PM

What type of ignition switch? Toggle or key?

brands · 10-31-2009, 01:35 PM

It has a toggle mounting bracket on the left hand side of the frame. Does this help identify the bike? The seat frame is good but the foam and cover are in bad shape. The motor is complete but I didn't attempt to try and start it. It does turn over and the gears shift ok statically. I also have a NOS ivory right hand side brake lever. What are the chances of finding a left? It has one ivory grip but it is in bad shape unfortunately.

NiftyZ50 · 10-31-2009, 06:46 PM

You have there a 68Z50AKO. Straight guard, mid production, matching #'s in minitrail land. Those are the correct forks, no ears for the headlight. The tank mounts look to be original-re welded after being knocked off along with the tank when the fork stop broke and whacked the side of the tank. Most collectable mini trail IMO,but not a slant guard-they only made 5k of those and 15k straight guard models. To restore this bike correctly, even if you can find NOS parts, will run you 5-6k if done by one of the top shelf people. I doubt it will be worth that as again for that kind of coin people will opt for the slants every time. Of course you can do it yourself with out NOS stuff, save a ton and it's still going ot be a KO with original engine!. You are in it right at three bills, the hard part will be scratching around for parts-the bike is 41 years old and the folks with the parts all know what the value is for them. Luckily you are a few years past the top of the market on these so prices have come down off insane levels.
Good luck on the project!

Here's what it looked like at one point (although this one is an early production highbar slant)

brands · 10-31-2009, 08:05 PM

Thanks for the info and the pics. I'm more used to building open wheel road race cars so I should be able to do it all myself. I'm gonna take my time and find as many NOS parts as I can, but I'm not going to go crazy. What are the main hard to find parts, or are they all pretty rare?

10-18-2009, 05:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	1968 Z50 Value I'm new to Z50's in the sense of restoring them (I had one as a kid) and am wondering what a 1968 z50 might be worth. I'm looking at one for sale locally for $300. It's not running and in need of a total restoration but is pretty much complete (inc original engine). Is this a good price? It's either that or spend $300 on my old faithful '82 Z50. I'd certainly appreciate your thoughts.

10-18-2009, 05:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value It does have the tail light and the remains of the front light. The fuel tank actually looks pretty good. The front forks are really bad though and probably not salvageable.

10-18-2009, 06:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
z50 chopper 2nd Gear Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Nanaimo, BC, Canada Posts: 504 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value The headlight shell itself if it is in restorable condition on ebay have gone for $75us and up, frames have gone for between $50 to $200us, tanks have gone for between $50-$150us . So just going by that $300us is a very good deal. Hardtails seem to be one of the favourites of restorers and collectors.

10-18-2009, 06:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
Danman2540 1st Gear Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: St Louis MO Posts: 210 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value The bike cant be a 68 Z50 if it has a taillight and headlight. The 68 had painted fenders and no lights.

10-18-2009, 06:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
z50 chopper 2nd Gear Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Nanaimo, BC, Canada Posts: 504 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value maybe it is a 69 or a previous owner added a headlight and taillight.

10-18-2009, 10:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
misteroldskool PM Newbie Join Date: May 2009 Location: Ventura CA Posts: 41	Re: 1968 Z50 Value if it has a slanted exhaust guard (slant-guard) then its one of the first ones built and is worth a butt load of money

10-19-2009, 07:04 AM	#8 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Not sure about the exhaust - I'll have to check. It does appear to be a '68 as the headlight and tail light are not original. I'm only looking at pics so far. It does come with a better set of spare front forks as well. I'll keep you posted.

10-19-2009, 09:56 AM	#9 (permalink)
35mastr 2nd Gear Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Newark,Ca. Posts: 566 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Buy it. Its worth the 300.00. Even if its to much of a project for you. It can be parted out on eBay for allot more than your investment. I had a 72 mini trail with the headlight,brake and license plate holder. I wished i still had that one.

10-19-2009, 01:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
z50 chopper 2nd Gear Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Nanaimo, BC, Canada Posts: 504 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value if you got pics post them up.

10-19-2009, 05:37 PM	#11 (permalink)
RAZZO Old School Z50s Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NEW JERSEY PINELANDS Posts: 1,971 My Mood:	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Useless thread without pictures of it. Instead of guessing, lets see it!

10-19-2009, 07:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value It's not really a useless thread for me. I'll post pics when I've paid for bike. I'd rather not post someones photos of their own bike.

10-19-2009, 07:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
mexicanyella El rey de los puntos Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Troy, MO Posts: 984	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Either use of $300 sounds okay to me. Do put up some pics if/when you get them. Of either bike, or both.

10-31-2009, 11:22 AM	#14 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Here's a few pics of the '68. I should have taken some pics when it was complete but I didn't have my camera to hand and I couldn't wait to take it apart! It's mostly complete, but is in need of a complete restoration. Any help and advice along the way would be most appreciated. I plan to be as faithfull as possible to the original using honda parts where possible. If anyone has a close up photo of the the foward mounting tabs for the fuel tank that would be great. Mine look 'home made'! Also the tank badge has green wings - is this original? The frame/motor numbers are Z50A-112402 Z50AE-112484 Are these close enough to be matching numbers? Thanks Attached Thumbnails

10-31-2009, 12:19 PM	#15 (permalink)
gary s PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Algonquin IL Posts: 23	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Hard to tell by the pics, that tank tab might have been repaired, but Honda did have both style of tank mounts, tab or pin. Take a picture of the right side of the frame below where the seat mounts so we can see the muffler guard mounts. The badge wings should be white. and the motor has a good chance of being the original one I think, my k1 built in 11/69 has a frame to motor difference of 5559 ! Good luck and have fun!

10-31-2009, 12:22 PM	#16 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Thanks for the info. It's not a slant guard by the way!

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10-31-2009, 01:12 PM	#17 (permalink)
almostfiddy 1st Gear Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 112	Re: 1968 Z50 Value What type of ignition switch? Toggle or key?

10-31-2009, 01:35 PM	#18 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value It has a toggle mounting bracket on the left hand side of the frame. Does this help identify the bike? The seat frame is good but the foam and cover are in bad shape. The motor is complete but I didn't attempt to try and start it. It does turn over and the gears shift ok statically. I also have a NOS ivory right hand side brake lever. What are the chances of finding a left? It has one ivory grip but it is in bad shape unfortunately.

10-31-2009, 06:46 PM	#19 (permalink)
NiftyZ50 PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 35	Re: 1968 Z50 Value You have there a 68Z50AKO. Straight guard, mid production, matching #'s in minitrail land. Those are the correct forks, no ears for the headlight. The tank mounts look to be original-re welded after being knocked off along with the tank when the fork stop broke and whacked the side of the tank. Most collectable mini trail IMO,but not a slant guard-they only made 5k of those and 15k straight guard models. To restore this bike correctly, even if you can find NOS parts, will run you 5-6k if done by one of the top shelf people. I doubt it will be worth that as again for that kind of coin people will opt for the slants every time. Of course you can do it yourself with out NOS stuff, save a ton and it's still going ot be a KO with original engine!. You are in it right at three bills, the hard part will be scratching around for parts-the bike is 41 years old and the folks with the parts all know what the value is for them. Luckily you are a few years past the top of the market on these so prices have come down off insane levels. Good luck on the project! Here's what it looked like at one point (although this one is an early production highbar slant)

10-31-2009, 08:05 PM	#20 (permalink)
brands PM Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 34	Re: 1968 Z50 Value Thanks for the info and the pics. I'm more used to building open wheel road race cars so I should be able to do it all myself. I'm gonna take my time and find as many NOS parts as I can, but I'm not going to go crazy. What are the main hard to find parts, or are they all pretty rare?