There's a new trend in the custom bike world, particularly in America, but we predict it will spread soon: The Bike Raffle.
The idea is simple. Custom bikes cost so much time and money to create that very few individuals or companies can sell them for anything nearing the money invested in them. So, instead of A. Holding out for that one in a billion person who has both the money and exact same taste, B. Reducing the price to a heartbreaking level, someone came up with the idea of selling 'tickets' to win the bike.
Chopper Dave is one such example. He's selling 325 tickets at $100 each for the Turbo Sportster Street Tracker, named Steel Shoe, that we featured in SB15. Of the $32,200 he hopes to raise (ticket numbers 100, 200 and 300 will be free to the lucky 'buyers'), Dave has promised $2500 to charity, so he pockets $29,700. These raffles don't start until all the tickets are sold. I've observed a couple, one for a Cutrate chopper, the other for a Holiday Cycles Yamaha XS650 bobber, and tickets sold remarkably quickly. People are optimistic.
Because of this I predict every other custom bike builder in the world, with a bike to shift, using this method to move their bike on, until the whole idea implodes. In about six month's time.
UK residents thinking about doing it to shift their own bike need to be careful. This kind of raffle, where no skill is involved, is seen as a lottery and illegal without a licence from the UK lotteries commission.
If you're interested in Chopper Dave's raffle, go to @chopperdaves