Have a look at my website; www.rcycle.com
We do restoration on a daily basis of vintage Japanese and European motorcycles of all varieties.
Can you make money at it? In short yes. There are a huge number of factors, as in any business: Overhead, location, quality of work, sources for parts, etc, etc. We have been in business since 2001 exclusively doing restorations, and have made a profit at it.
Most of our business comes from all over the country, and very little of it is local. We have to go and drag the work in so to speak. That can be a job in and of itself. We are closest to the Washington DC area, so there is some money there and that helps. But folks find us via the web, and magazine advertisement, and come here from as far as South Dakota, Alabama, Misssissippi, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina and other places. We have a stong web presence, and do a fair amount of advertisement in National Motorcycle magazines to keep ourselves out there and known in the motorcycle world. That has taken a number of years just to get in order.
Restorations that we do, generally are done for a number of reasons. Most are sentimental, where the customer has an attachment to their particular vehicle of choice. Others are done purely for asthetics. They just like a certain vehicle. Some try to do it for an investment, but rarely do they get a return unless the vehicle is extremely rare or one-of-a-kind.
Be aware if you pursue something like this, you will be working in large figures financially speaking. Deposits are a must so that you don't get your own money tied up in the job and never see it back. Also when dealing in dollar amounts over $10K or more, the customers expect a certain amount of respect and professionalism, beyond just that of an ordinary garage.
It can be done if you are serious and good at what you do. Be sure before you pursue it, to take a few good small-business management courses, and educate yourself well. There is nothing that will kill a new business faster than over enthusiasm, and a desire to please everyone without any knowledge to fall back on.
Good luck and I hope you do well!
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