I'm kinda surprised looking at kijiji here in Canada that people are asking almost as much for our old iron heads as they are asking for the brand new ones. And that there are new 2016s still in stock. Could be old Tonto is worth more than I paid for him all those years ago.
Asking ain't getting, but a well-sorted "iron belly" certainly isn't likely to lose real value, and will very likely gain some within reason. After all, they're not making any more of "the REAL thumpers." In India they're apparently now selling at a huge premium. But let's be honest: most folks I meet here in the Land of the Plastic Spork have never even
heard of Royal Enfield. So as an "investment vehicle" (pun intended) a Bullet is probably not your very best bet hereabouts. It presently lacks any real brand name recognition. An unmolested '70s or earlier Triumph, Norton or BSA would be far likelier to increase more in value more down the road, that is, unless Royal Enfield makes any real inroads into our dwindling North American market, such that folks might actually begin googling "Royal Enfield for sale" the way they might "Triumph Bonneville for sale." All that said, if you could pick up that ailing 500 you mention for, say, a couple-few hundred bucks as a "project bike", and have the wherewithal to square her away, it probably wouldn't be the dumbest thing anyone's ever done with their
"Bordens", Eh?