Motorcycle Investor mag
Subscribe to our free email news
What's happening
News Mar 2022
CeeBee restomod,
Mar 31
We'll admit we're a bit partial to a
nicely-done restomod and this one definitely
qualifies. It's a 1983 Honda CB1100F, treated to the
wheels and front forks from a 1992 CBR600F2, while the
substantial monoshock swingarm is from a 2012
CBR600RR.
There are numerous other touches, including a freshen up for the powerplant and the addition of a Hindle exhaust, which in total should make a for a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
It recently sold through Iconic in the USA for Au$17,000 (US$12,800, GB£9800).
Honda CB1100F specs
and backgrounder at Motorcycle Specs.
Triumph's speedy
twin, Mar 30
Triumph's first Bonneville had a
surprisingly rocky start to its showroom life. See
the story here.
Super Lux, Mar
29
BMW's uber-tourer of 1999, the
K1200LT, is now looking like great value in the used
market. Here's our backgrounder.
Ducati Mike
Hailwood 900e, Mar 29
From Ian Falloon: I was fortunate to visit Pierre Terblanche at Ducati when he had just presented the prototype 900 MHe. Now this is one of most desirable of modern Ducatis...more here.
Zed files, Mar
28
Classic Two Wheels has just published
period magazine features on the ground-breaking
Kawasaki Super4 (aka Z1) of 1972/73 and its 1976 Z900
successor.
Plus there's a collector's view from
Ian Falloon. See it here.
Boxer book, Mar
27
From author Ian Falloon: "I'm in the process of
undertaking a second edition of the book BMW R90S. This
time I'm doing it with the help of the bike's designer
Hans A Muth, so there is quite a lot of new
developmental information.
"As the original publisher 17
years ago (Whitehorse Press) no longer exists I will be
self-publishing and selling direct." More information to
follow.
Meanwhile there is a wealth of material on the model,
right here.
Elegant Triumph,
Mar 26
We reckon this is one of the most elegant
twins ever made, a late 1967 (for the 1968 model year)
Triumph T120. This one is on the wrong side of the globe,
unfortunately, priced at Au$26,500 (US$19,800, GB£15,000)
through a UK
dealer, on Ebay.
See our
Meriden-era Bonneville backgrounder.
See the Classic Two Wheels period test
on the 1978
Bonneville.
Get a Gold Wing, Mar 25
One of our project bikes...see the
latest feature here.
Hit the trail!
Mar 25
Something of a rarity, particularly in
the local market, is this restored 1976 Suzuki RV90.
It's being offered at $6000 (US$4500, GB£3400). See it here.
See specs and background at Suzuki Cycles.
Aston delivery,
Mar 23
Delivery has started for the Aston
Martin and Brough Superior collaboration track bike,
dubbed the AMB001. Three of the planned 100 machines
have been sent off, while ten are still looking for
owners willing to stump up the Au$145k (US$108,000,
GB£81,000) asking price.
Aston Martin says the machines have
delivered on a promised 180hp-plus at 183 claimed, for
a dry weight of 180kg. That's from a turbocharged
997cc V-twin. See the
model's web page.
Where's Concept
6? Mar 22
Remember this? BMW's Concept 6 was
intended to introduce the company's then new inline
six-cylinder motorcycle engine, back in 2009, which it did
admirably.
Of course it went on to power a host of
sport-tourers and grand tourers, though some of us are
still waiting for the naked version. How about it, BeeEm?
Meanwhile, see the 2009 backgrounder
from New Atlas.
Speaking of fast BeeEms, see our K 1300 R
profile.
Moto Guzzi
1000S, Mar 21
Arguably one of the best-looking
motorcycles ever made by Moto Guzzi is this, the 1000S
produced from 1990. Sadly, you don't see a lot of them
on the market and when they appear they tend to have a
hefty price tag. This 1994 example in Western
Australia is on offer via Facebook
for Au$29,500 (US$21,800, GB£16,600).
See specs and
backgrounder here.
Tamburini
special, Mar 21
We have an excerpt from the upcoming
MV Agusta bible, The MV Agusta Story, on the
ultimate F4, the Tamburini. See the story
here.
Blackbird swap, Mar 20
Well that was entertaining...after an ugly shed incident we ended up spending a morning swapping over the cockpit section of the fairing on our first-model Blackbird. More to come, soon...
Pantah power,
Mar 19
Falloon on the beginnings of a then
new engine dynasty for the Italian maker. See it here.
EnZed record,
Mar 17
Something to while away the
hours...303hp at the back tyre and a new
358.4km/h record in New Zealand.
Dax revival, Mar
16
Dax and relax. So says the new
campaign to relaunch an old Honda model line – the
mighty Dax, a series the company launched in 1969 and
pensioned off in the early eighties.
The new bike uses a pressed steel main
frame member, like its predecessors, and is powered by
an air-cooled 124cc four-stroke single. The latter is
based largely on the similarly revived Super Cub
series, with a four-speed transmission and centrifugal
clutch. Top speed is said to be 90km/h.
Will it come to Australia? No word on that so far, however it has been launched in the UK. In the meantime, enjoy the launch video.
See this link to the Dax Sporting Club online;
And this backgrounder with specs on
the original Dax
70.
Triumph's
Daytona triumph, Mar 15
We're not usually into race
results, but the mention of Triumph winning this year's
Daytona 200 - the 80th running of the event - got our
attention.
The class for this year's
event was Supersport and the winning machine, a Street
Triple RS - was piloted by Brandon Paasch. He won last
year's race for Yamaha.
Triumph last scored a win in
2014 with Danny Eslick in the saddle.
Prior to that it dominated
the event with its twins led by Buddy Elmore in 1966 and
Gary Nixon (pictured) in 1967.
Yamaha stroker
hybrid, Mar 14
This slick-looking Yamaha hybrid popped up on social media
recently, apparently built by a couple of Italian lads.
It's a neat cross of an R6 chassis with RZ500 powerplant.
See our feature on another RZ500 build,
which has kept the original frame, but injected
later-model suspension and steering.
And see our Yamaha R6 backgrounder.
Standard RZ/RD500s are a hot item in
the market at the moment – see our
backgrounder on them.
Speed
day, Mar 13
Having a Speed Triple day...a few final touches in the
shed: Euro right-side switchblock so there's now a
headlamp switch, lithium battery, factory indicators on
the front, new front rubber and fork seals. Now it's
pretty much where we want it.
It's time to move on to the
next project...after a quick ride, of course!
See our previous story
on the bike, here.
Hinckley Triumph
guides, Mar 12
A new Hinckley Triumph T300 series book
has been launched, written by David Clarke in the UK. It
is a maintenance, restoration and modification guide and
we can highly recommend it.
We've owned five Hinckley T300 series
over the years, three of which still reside in the shed,
and must admit we were learning new things within minutes
of opening the book. Find it via Booktopia at
Au$79.50.
Clarke also wrote Hinckley
Triumphs: the first generation, which is by far
the most thorough history available on these machines.
Booktopia has
it at Au$60.90.
Both books are published by The Crowood Press.
Travels with
Guido column – Mad Dogs & Daytonas
Moto Morini 350
& 500 twins, Mar 11
Ian Falloon on the sometimes forgotten
Italian twins...see it here.
Baffling Bimmer
result, Mar 10
Yesterday we mentioned seeing some
off-the-charts results from the Bring a Trailer auction
site. Well, here's another.
This 1976 BMW
R90S went for an incredible Au$82,000
(US$60,000, GB£45,500). It happens to be an
exceptional restored example with 500 miles on the
odo, and a couple of fairly serious concours awards to
its credit. Even so, that's a very long way north of
what we might have expected it to fetch.
While the R90S, particularly in
Daytona Orange, has been collectible it has generally
been selling for more reasonable prices.
Another restored example sold on the
same website in January 2020 for Au$18,500 (US$13,500,
GB£10,300). Mecum this year meanwhile sold two in good
unrestored shape for Au$18,000 (US$13,200, GB£10,000)
and Au$21,800 (US$15,950, GB£12,000) respectively.
Bonhams actually set a benchmark as
far back as 2016 for an
exceptional example that sold for Au$36,100
(US$26,300, GB£20,100).
Meanwhile Hemmings in the USA has two
listed for up to Au$31,400 (US$23,000, GB£17,500)
each.
Back in Australia, there's one
on offer at Bikesales at Au$22,000 (US$16,200,
GB£12,200).
And the
period road test at Classic Two Wheels
Sky-high
Kawasakis, Mar 9
Two recent sales have left little doubt that, after a few years in the doldrums, the prices on hero Kawasaki triple-cylinder two-strokes are again on the march.
Shannons in Australia this month sold
the 1973
Kawasaki H2 750 Mach IV shown above for a
reasonably hefty Au$34,750 (US$25,300, GB£19,300).
However that effort was overshadowed
by a recent sale at Bring a Trailer. A
freshly-restored 1973 H2 Mach IV (below) went for a
sky-high Au$55,000 (US$40,000, GB£30,500). See the
listing here. We've seen a couple of
off-the-charts results at Bring a Trailer recently,
which defy explanation.
Ducati Imola,
Mar 9
The machines that really put Ducati on
the performance map...see the story
here.
Laverda SFC
1000, Mar 8
Eighties swansong...see the story here.
Indian Four at
auction, Mar 6
Result
proves the lasting appeal of these big Americans...see the story.
Ducati 916, Mar
6
Tamburini's finest work – see the story by classic
Ducati expert Ian Falloon.
Yamaha RZ500,
Mar 5
On the road to redemption...there was
a time when RZ500s could be found forgotten and
largely unloved in the corner of owners' sheds. Not
any more. See the story here.
Roller door, Mar
4
Our random bike brochure for the day, Honda CB900F2 Bol d'Or, circa 1981.
Specs and
backgrounder from Motorcycle Specs.
Italian
flavour, Mar 4
Italian bikes, and Ducatis in
particular, seemed to be flavour of the month at the
recent Shannons auction. A 1979 Ducati 900 Hailwood
replica was the stand-out sale at Au$50,500
(US$37,000, GB£28,000).
Royal twin, Mar
4
The public’s
fascination with the British Royal family is not a
new phenomenon. And it extends well beyond popular
entertainment for the masses. Even motorcycles
aren’t immune from this popularism and in 1977
Triumph decided to capitalise on a significant Royal
event, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee (25th
Anniversary)...more here.
Guzzi gem, Mar 2
Falloon unwraps an often overlooked
variant of the Moto Guzzi Le Mans line. See it here.
Quarter
century Strapz, Mar 2
Andy Strapz, aka Andy White, the
Australian motorcycle luggage innovator and all-round
retailer of interesting stuff, is celebrating 25 years
in business. Quite an achievement.
From
Strapz central:
“It’s hard to believe it was 25
years ago that I bought a secondhand sewing machine,
taught myself rudimentary sewing and knocked up what
turned into Andy Strapz,” founder and owner Andy White
says. “We were told Aussie manufacturing of quality bike
gear would end in tears.
There’s been no shortage of tears but hey, we’re
still here.”
Andy
was an Emergency Nurse at the time of the business’s
inception and after witnessing too many times just
how dangerous conventional ‘bungee’ straps were and,
as a long-time rider, set out to develop a safer,
more effective option for riders.
“The
straps were my Mother of Invention and then over the
next decade that mother’s sister kept on my case as
I developed thermals, seat bags and soft panniers,”
Andy recalls. “And so with the help of skilled
staff, ‘Bob’s yer Mother’s Brother’ and here we are.
“Andy
Strapz is something I’m
profoundly grateful for and immensely proud of. A
combination of dogged persistence and trust of
intuition has somehow worked.”
Find them at AndyStrapz.com
Kawasaki Z650C,
Mar 1
Random brochure for the day – circa 1979 Kawasaki Z650 Custom. Then, as now, the middleweights were often the sweetest ride in the range.
See the specs and
backgrounder at Motorcycle Specs.
Want earlier news & views? See our archive.
-------------------------------------------------
Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722
Privacy: we do not collect cookies or any other data.
Archives
Contact
