42036 has been available in Australia for a while at KMart etc and can be had for peanuts (AU$35) at most sales. I may be wrong but I don't believe Lego have ever done a highly detailed 500-700 piece bike. I think it's time.

Newb Technics question, generally how well do these higher end Technic sets appreciate?  Do they tend to be "no brainers" like Modulars or is it hit/miss like BTTF vs ExoSuit

The reason I ask is I have caught up on SW and Modular sets and just picked up some of the new Space/Sea sets.  I don't have a single Technic set other than 9 Snowmobiles.  My kids are probably a little too young for these but I don't want to chase these after they're retired and thing like that MKII Crane and 24 Hour Race look very nice.  Would it be prudent to get 3 instead of 1 when ordering from Amazon UK or are these slow movers (I don't see any Technics in the Top 50 list)?

Large techic sets are as close as lego comes to a fixed term savings deposit. You know when they will retire and that appreciation will be safe if unspectacular. They are a good way to diversify if you also have risikier items in your portfolio but don´t expect modular type gains.

These sets are not hard to find and are almost always discounted which means that growth above RRP tends to be slow (until a new wave of AFOLS comes in to sweep up stock).

For US Investors it is a good idea to check out sets that are launched late (EU 1st half) as these wil have a 6 month shorter shelf life in the US and therefore more rarity value. Past examples of this were 8070 and 42000. There have also been some duds like 9396 and 9397.