Laverdas bomb at Bonham's Stafford auction

[Paul Marx]

It's got nothing to do with value, I don't look at mine as an investment I've owned Jotas since the 80s and have had to sell in the past due to various reasons. I don't need to sell now I just hate the fact some people feel the need to talk them down, especially if they are orange and aren't a 750 with points. Unfortunately I'm not a yuppie and still have to work every day, some people in this club have been financially clever or have had well paid jobs, so are able to retire early

I agree entirely, and my first Laverda was an orange "Jota", but I like variety.
As for retiring early, I retired later than my state pension scheme which is the only one I have, would have allowed me to. I was 62 1/2 which isn't early when you're pulled out of bed several times a night to go and operate an emergency. I'm lucky to live in a country where you can retire earlier than some because, for the moment here, people are sometimes more important than "the economy" or "the market". It probably won't last, my children are not going to live so well.
As for well paid jobs, it reminds me of something I heard from an American, "if you're clever and want money, go into business, otherwise, go into politics."

I'm very sorry if you take my comments badly, but as somebody else said, probably me, humour is one of the least well shared things in humans.

Paul

 

[Vince]

Government Pension age here is 67, I have 10 months to go. The bean counters recently wanted people to work till 70, fine if your sitting on your arse pushing pens. Not many Tradesmen doing it at 70. Not many doing it at 60. Those said Bean counters have zero idea what 50 years of hard physical work has on a body. It's a real problem to the Bean Counters if you live too long, it spoils their bookkeeping. Wasn't I watching the French rioting recently about their Lords and Masters upping their Pension Age, so many Bean Counters having their Bookkeeping spoiled?

 

[Gerald]

Official retirement age in Germany has been increased from age 65 to 67 in increments, depending on your date of birth. Those born after 1963 start drawing their pension at age 67. Retirement at age 63 with full benefits is possible if you have paid 45 years into the system, or take a 0.3% cut for every month you wish to retire early if you haven't paid in 45 years. Most important factor is medical coverage in Germany once you retire, which is still affordable.....

 

[rocketonarail]

I retired four and a half years ago ...... State Pension age is being increased gradually here in the UK from 65 to 68 over the next few years , including bringing women into line as well ... ( about time I say ) .......
I had to wait an extra seven months over the old retirement age of 65 , before I could start claiming the State Pension .

As Gerald has just implied , I think the problems some governments have ( including the French ) is that people are living longer ...... and not necessarily enjoying good health as they age ......... The proportion of the population over 80 years of age , here in the UK , is due to increase by 40% by 2050 ... ( or something like that , but you get the general picture ... ) ....

So this means more State Pensions to pay out , plus increased health care costs and state benefits to pay out , which in turn means an increase in the workforce ( mostly imported from abroad , now that the rest of us are " working from home " .... ) ...... to provide the taxes to pay for all this ..... ( including healthcare workers to look after all those doddery old buggers ) ........ All this to provide the taxes to help pay for the increased numbers of people claiming and receiving State Pension and health care benefits .......

So ....... if people are living longer , and becoming more of a burden on the State , then it makes sense to increase the State Pension entitlement age , to try to balance things out a bit ......... ( So they would argue ... ) .....

I read recently that people claiming State Pension can apply for extra benefits if they have backache ......... You have to prove you have difficulty with everyday tasks , like washing , dressing , walking to the shops etc . ............. Just thinking ....... If you suffer from the odd twinge or two in the back , then lifting a twin / triple onto it`s centre stand could be considered an everyday task .... ( not an everyday task if you`re a blue chip investor obviously ... , If`s that`s the case , then just turn the page and read on ... ) ........ Never know , could be worth a try .........

 

[Paul Marx]

As far as I'm concerned, the problem with retirement age, at least over here, is that it doesn't really take into account the physical and mental toll of the work.
And as Gerald mentions, living longer is one thing, but being able to afford health care is another.
Most of humanity unfortunately has very down to earth and daily worries.
Paul

 

[nick7]

As far as I'm concerned, the problem with retirement age, at least over here, is that it doesn't really take into account the physical and mental toll of the work.
And as Gerald mentions, living longer is one thing, but being able to afford health care is another.
Most of humanity unfortunately has very down to earth and daily worries.
Paul

I have had a lightbulb momentWhat we need to do is invest in ...classic motorcycles!! Ride em, if you must, but polish them , cherish them, flog em..free of Capital gains tax too Oh, hold on, they are now depreciating( no cheering please, you know who you are)...maybe fine wine, or whisky? On the bright side, it wont be long before our kids inherit the fruits of our labours...well unless you vote Labour in which case they will tax it all as they know best what to do with your money...

 

[sfcpiet]

Government Pension age here is 67, I have 10 months to go. The bean counters recently wanted people to work till 70, fine if your sitting on your arse pushing pens. Not many Tradesmen doing it at 70. Not many doing it at 60. Those said Bean counters have zero idea what 50 years of hard physical work has on a body. It's a real problem to the Bean Counters if you live too long, it spoils their bookkeeping. Wasn't I watching the French rioting recently about their Lords and Masters upping their Pension Age, so many Bean Counters having their Bookkeeping spoiled?

Of course they do.

The longer you work, the earlier you'll kick the bucket... less strain on the pension funding. If you croak shortly before being eligible, all the better for the system. Worst case (for the system) is retiring early and living to 110.

There's reason behind those actions.

piet

 

[Perry]

Letter to the Daily Telegraph a few years ago

" SIR-- We are comfortably retired here on the East coast of Yorkshire, both in our seventies and reasonably fit. On reading your front page today my wife quietly but firmly exclaimed 'We may have downsized, but I'm not going back to f****** work'

 

[Normski]

The level of self importance and high ranking status of Vincent owners , among all other bike owners, is humorous to observe, but can induce involuntary vomiting when listening to or talking to owners.

There are some who are like that but I’d say there’s a greater proportion of genuine riders than amongst Laverda owners.

 

[piranha-bro2]

...well unless you vote Labour in which case they will tax it all as they know best what to do with your money...

The fact is there are way more of us (old codgers) and fewer people (young codgers) to pay for our pensions. The loot has to come from somewhere. Noone likes paying tax, but if you want good healthcare and other benefits of a capitalist society something has to give - and tax on earnings alone doesn't cut it. I think Scaninavians know what it really feels like to have virtually everything you 'earn' going into the tax coffers.

 

[ozijotati]

Government Pension age here is 67, I have 10 months to go. The bean counters recently wanted people to work till 70, fine if your sitting on your arse pushing pens. Not many Tradesmen doing it at 70. Not many doing it at 60. Those said Bean counters have zero idea what 50 years of hard physical work has on a body. It's a real problem to the Bean Counters if you live too long, it spoils their bookkeeping. Wasn't I watching the French rioting recently about their Lords and Masters upping their Pension Age, so many Bean Counters having their Bookkeeping spoiled?

Well I just got made redundant at age 72. After a lifetime of working in the building and civil construction game I’m out. More time to ride my Jota and finish the three projects lurking in the shed. Travel back to Europe is another goal . Still getting used to not waking up at 4-30am but I’m sure I’ll adapt
Tom

 

[Vince]

I used to love hearing heavy rain fall and roll over and go back to sleep, I do it now rain or not.

 

[Paul Marx]

There are some who are like that but I’d say there’s a greater proportion of genuine riders than amongst Laverda owners.

Laverda riders?
Both of them are in Australia.
Paul

 

[The Sock]

Laverda riders?
Both of them are in Australia.
Paul

Ahem.

 

[nick7]

The fact is there are way more of us (old codgers) and fewer people (young codgers) to pay for our pensions. The loot has to come from somewhere. Noone likes paying tax, but if you want good healthcare and other benefits of a capitalist society something has to give - and tax on earnings alone doesn't cut it. I think Scaninavians know what it really feels like to have virtually everything you 'earn' going into the tax coffers.

Why should the young pay for your pension...the state cannot do everything, the state pension here wont see you living in clover anyway, we just need to save more...invest in classic bikes I hear there is an SFC 750 going cheaply not too far away.

 

[piranha-bro2]

Why should the young pay for your pension...the state cannot do everything,

Quite so - not only will they be paying to look after the elderly. property prices mean it's close to impossible to buy a house - mine are 18 and 22 - not an easy future for many these days.

 

[Legs]

The young didn't pay for my pension, I did.

 

[Paul Marx]

The young didn't pay for my pension, I did.

Depends on the systems.
A large part of French pensions are financed by people still at work.
The limits of the system are the growing number of pensioners and unemployment. The system is however relatively protected from the stock market.
The other systems, apart from hoarding gold or Laverda motorcycles are entirely dependent on the economic climate.
The money you've spent a lifetime hoarding can disappear in a few hours.
A roof on ones head, a vegetable garden and getting along with ones neighbours are probably the best pension plans.

Paul

 

[sfcpiet]

The young didn't pay for my pension, I did.

My working life made me eligible for a pension, the time determines the volume. My money went to pay the pensions of my predecessors, people now at work are paying for my pension. At least that's how it works here. If I were to only get back what I paid, things would be looking rather grim for me.

As the working demographic shrinks, so does the income for the pension funding, unless the contribution is raised.

I don't mind paying taxes if they are put to use to benefit the entire society. What I cannot stand is the whingeing and whining of the obscenely rich that contribute least to society, but benefit the most and use any possible angle and loophole (legal or otherwise) to further increase their wealth.

"Eat the rich" makes a lot of sense to me.

piet

 

[Vince]

Once you get past 10 mil, to me it's academic. How many private jets can you water ski behind at once?