Motorcycle Investor mag

What's happening

News June 2022

Flashback: Moondust and motorcycles, June 30

Do riders have anything in common with astronauts? See the story here.

Goodwood reunion, June 27

Former World 500cc GP Champion Wayne Rainey was the centrepiece of a remarkable celebration at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. (Pics by Lou Martin) More here.

Cafe combo, June 27

Initially built by Tom Gilroy (of Purpose Built Moto) as a cafe promo toy, this 2009 Triumph twin and Cozy sidecar combination has popped up on the market at a sobering Au$55,000 (US$38,000, GB£31,000).

You can read the build story here and see the Bikesales ad here.

The greatest, June 27

It's hard to beat the 1930s for style, as this DKW ad demonstrates. It happily proclaims, "The Greatest Motorcycle Maker in the World". Sadly, no more.

See the Odd Bikes feature on some of the marque's more adventurous designs.

Remember Moko, June 26

Moko Motorcycles was one of those outfits that briefly flourished as a constructor in the eighties and more or less sank without trace...and there's an example up for auction. See the story here.

Middleweight racer rep, June 25

In the early to mid-1980s Ducati’s production was sporadic and several specific models were produced for the Japanese market...primarily the 400 F3. See the full story here.

The example shown here is a 1986 model, being offered for auction by Donington from July 3, 2022.

Yamaha RZ500L auction, June 24

This restored 1984 Yamaha RZ500 is up for auction via Ebay. With eight days to go, bidding had already reached Au$20,000 (US$13,800, GB£11,250).

See the lot here.

See our RZ500 profile.

And our RZ500 restomod story.

Alien Triumph, June 23

Random ad for the day, a trusty Triumph chasing a flying saucer.

It’s by then west coast USA Triumph distributor Johnson Motors, circa 1955.

Flying saucers and alien invasions were hot news back then, as evidenced by this Wikipedia piece on the 1955 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter.

Speaking of 1950s Triumphs, see our piece on the first Bonneville.

Mighty Mach III, June 21

Today's random retro ad comes compliments of Kawasaki, 1970. The 60-horse stroker triple gave Honda CB750-Four owners something new to worry about, and kept the rest of us amused for decades.

More on Kawasaki strokers here.

See the specs and backgrounder at Motorcycle Specs.

Hidden not ridden, June 20

Ducati's MH900e Hailwood tribute is famous for a couple of things – most notably being the first model the company (or any motorcycle maker) sold exclusively via the internet, as far back as Jan 1, 2000.

More recently, however, it's become more notorious as an investment vehicle. A remarkable number of the 2000 sold have never been used, or so it seems. Every now and then one of these unused gems pops up on the market, with the most recent via Bring a Trailer in the USA (above).

That sold at the end of May for Au$64,000 (US$45,000, GB£36,700).

Mecum offloaded a similar machine (above) last January for Au$63,000 (US$44,000, GB£35,900).

We have however seen them go higher, with an example sold in Australia by Collecting Cars late last May for Au$76,400 (US$53,400, GB£43,600)

See our quick MH900e profile;

Falloon's insight into the MH900e concept;

And a profile of the SportClassic range that followed.

Flashback for the day, June 18

A ute-load of Kats...what exactly is a fair swap for this bike? See the story here.

Detoured, June 17

Thanks to Hadley Jus Trynabeme on Facebook for suggesting today’s little detour, just a few kays north of beautiful downtown Buladelah, where we camped for the night.

It’s Wootton Way, a half hour of twisty and delightful road, part of which snakes though a national park. Wootton the place is a metal sign and a few houses. It was a very welcome diversion from the Pacific Highway.

The road’s namesake, former long-term Australian Motorcycle News Editor Ken Wootton, would have approved of it.

Riding from Melbourne to Brisbane has left muggins wondering why anyone lives south of Coffs Harbour. Seriously.

Just 48 hours ago we were blundering through rain, mist and 8-degree conditions, today it was all sunshine and 24.

As for the el-cheapo luxo-yacht, it’s turned out to be a decent buy, doing most things at Au$10k (including a new and bigger screen, fresh front rubber and brake lines etc) that a new $40-50k super tourer would do.

See the story on this bike here; And the model profile here.

Never enough, June 14

BMW
K1200LT

Shed observation for the day: There is no such thing as enough tools.

Muggins was changing the front brake master cylinder piston and seals on the BMW K1200LT today and removed the circlip with one of the nine (yep, nine) pairs of circlip pliers living in the toolbox.

We have ones that open, ones that close, with bent or straight arms, in a variety of sizes.

However we spent an hour trying install a new circlip and had to give up thanks to the awkward angle and super-tight access.

So we strolled down to the local tool shop and bought pair number 10, just a little different to all the others. Then the sodding circlip went in with no fuss…

See the story on this bike.

Kawasaki legend, June 13

Flashback: Kawasaki GPz900R – still a pretty good ride today, even though it's approaching four decades since its launch.

See the one we had in our shed.

Single Airhead, June 12

BMW's R27 was the ultimate development of a long line of 250 singles. See the story here.

(Note: This R27, among other classics, is coming up for auction with Donington Australia on 3 July 2022.)

Czech style, June 11

Random brochure for the day...Jawa CZ 1953.

Ariel dreaming, June 10

Flashback: Square four muscle - see the story here.

Sheene shock, June 9

The legendary Barry Sheene endorsing Yamaha lively RD250LC back in 1980.

Specs and backgrounder at Motorcycle Specs.

Super twin, June 8

Flashback: Honda VTR1000SP series. A superbike replica that's great to ride and becoming increasingly collectible...see the story here.

Extreme sports-touring, June 7

Here's living proof that one person's sports bike is another's tourer. Meet Albert Maarse, a resident of (we think) the Netherlands. His recent Facebook post mentions he's taking advantage of the northern Summer by heading to Norway's most northern point, aptly named Northpoint.

He reckons his faithful Ducati 998S has already done 125,000km. Happy travels...

See our 916 series backgrounder.

Ducati book released, June 7

From Ian Falloon: The Complete Book of Ducati Motorcycles has just arrived! I have a limited number of air freight copies available for Australian enthusiasts. As the book weighs around 2kg it isn't economic to ship overseas and it is readily available through regular outlets in the US and Europe.

The price for these advance copies is Au$150. This includes local postage and all copies will be signed. Payment to PayPal.me/ianfalloon.

Ducati
book

This second edition details the Bologna-based company’s amazing chronology, from the 1950s to present day. Presented chronologically and in encyclopedic form with gorgeous photography and insights from Ducati expert Ian Falloon, the book offers motorcycle enthusiasts a close look at the craftsmanship, power, and beauty of these extraordinary motorcycles. The book features all of the motorcycles from Ducati’s storied history through 2022.

New MV Agusta F4S for auction, June 6

This never-started MV Agusta F4 750 S is coming up for auction at Donington (Australia) in early July. It's carrying an estimate of Au$32-38,000 (US$23-27,000, GB£18-22,000). See the auction catalogue here.

See our F4 profile.

Uber tourer, June 5

Our recently acquired super-tourer set a couple of little challenges before we could head off for a trip north...see the story here.

Mac the Valk, June 5

Honda
Valkyrie

Just for a laugh, we're about to add this to the home fleet – a 2001 Honda Valkyrie Interstate.

A very American twist on the 1500 Gold Wing of the time, they were a highly entertaining ride.

This is our second example – we sold the first around 20 years ago and have since regretted it.

Next month we fly up into NSW to collect the monster and ride it home, probably via Brisbane. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

In the meantime, here's our first-gen Valkyrie profile.

And the other bikes in our shed.

Monza Martin, June 5

It's 1966 and Hollywood crooner Dean Martin is demonstrating the joys of owning a Ducati 160 Monza Junior.

Back then, as little as US$229 would get you entry to Ducati ownership.

Motorcycle Specs numbers and backgrounder.

Moto Guzzi V7 Sport profile, June 5

Clever design decisions turned Moto Guzzi's V7 Sport into a spectacular performer for its time. See the profile here.

This example is one of several classics coming up for auction with Donington in Australia. See the catalogue here.

Ducati 750SS auction, June 4

This 1976 Ducati 750SS is up for auction via Collecting Cars. Based in Adelaide it claims to be one of 220 examples of the square case series assembled that year. See it here.

The model made a strong visual connection to the original SS twins that won Imola in 1972 and the round case road bikes. See their story here.

Flashback: Wild Boxers, June 3

BMW HP2