Motorcycle Investor mag
Subscribe to our free email news
What's happening
News July 2022
Random ad for
the day, July 31
Did you ever own one of these? There
was a time when it seemed this basic style of minibike
was everywhere. Now, not so much...we of course
talking of last century!
Blades – new and
old, July 29
AMCN has reviewed the 30th anniversary Honda Fireblade. See it here.
Price? Start thinking around Au$50k (US$35,000, GB£29,000) and over.
One-off Hayabusa
for Suzuki hero, July 29
From Visor Down: Suzuki has signed off with MotoGP, superbike and endurance racer Sylvain Guintoli with a one-off Hayabusa. More here.
CBX at Shannons,
July 28
The upcoming Shannons classics auction in
Melbourne, Australia, is featuring a strong field of 38
motorcycles. Among them is this, a 1979 Honda CBX1000.
Evidently it has undergone a fair bit
of restoration work, with the only obvious mod being a
switch from 6-into-2 to a 6-into-6 exhaust system. It has a
suggested price range of Au$18-26,000
(US$12-18,000, GB£10-15,000).
See the full cattledog here – the auction runs August 2-9.
See the epic
period road test of the Honda CBX 1000 at Classic
Two Wheels.
Mr Individual,
July 28
From Ian Falloon: In the 1970s motorcycles
were simple and individual...if you liked V-twins
there was really only one contender, Ducati’s 750 GT.
See the full story here.
Random brochure
for the day, July 26
1982 Kawasaki GPz1100.
See the stats
at Motorcycle Specs.
Flashback:
Suzuki TL1000R, July 25
Suzuki's second crack at the litre
V-twin platform was a big improvement and these days
has its own fan club. See our
profile on the TL1000S/R series.
Ducati 999, July
23
Ducati's 999 struggled for market
acceptance from day one, but these days probably
represents an opportunity. More here
from Ian Falloon.
Tale of two
auction lots, July 23
If ever you needed proof of how baffling
the motorcycle market can be, here it is with two lots
gaining wildly different results from the same H&H
auction in the UK.
First is a 1993
Ducati 900SS, an enjoyable thing to ride and you'd
think would be worth a substantial sum given the name on
the tank. The bike has been sitting in storage for some
years and so would need recommissioning plus a bit of a
tidy-up. Not necessarily a huge job.
How much? It sold for a measly Au$2800
(US$1900, GB£1610).
Meanwhile a nicely preserved 1968
Lambretta SX200 Special went for a staggering
Au$45,700 (US$31,800, GB£26,450)!
Kawasaki Turbo
on the market, July 21
This 1984 Kawasaki 750 turbo (aka ZX750E2) has popped up on the market in Bundaberg, Queensland. The seller says it's been restored back to stock and you have to say it looks great.
The owner says it has Australian
compliance and has it on the market for Au$23,000
(US$15,800, GB£13,200). It's
advertised on Gumtree.
We had one in the shed a few years ago – see the story here;
Plus a model
profile here;
And our Turbo Kings feature on the
mid-80s turbos from Japan.
Bikefest 2023,
July 21
A group of courageous souls lead by Heavy
Duty magazine founder Chris Beattie is creating
what they say represents a huge hole in Australia's
annual event calendar – namely a bike week of the
scale of Sturgis, Isle of Man TT week, Daytona Bike
Week and the like.
Currently based on Queensland's Gold
Coast, the festival's timing is mid-August 2023 with
firm dates to be confirmed.
“There
is a bloody lot of work ahead, that’s for sure, but
we’ve got the support of a lot of the local community
up here, which is still very much recovering from the
disastrous floods early this year, and I’m confident
we’ll host a great event that will become an annual
feature of the Australasian motorcycle calendar,” he
said.
“We
even hope to have daily beach rides, just like at
Daytona Bike Week, so visitors can ride their bikes
along a beautiful stretch of the shoreline and have
their photos taken on the sand.
“But our underlying message to all of our guests and visitors at Bike Fest Oz! 2023 will be ‘Respect’. We will be urging all of the motorcyclists and others who attend to show the utmost respect for each other, the local communities, the pristine environment up here and also police, who will helping to ensure the event runs smoothly and with minimal disruption to locals."
Harley-Davidson is the feature
brand in the inaugural year, celebrating its 120th
birthday. However owners of all marques are invited to
the event.
The organisers are suggesting people hold off booking accommodation for the time being, as the event is working on group discounts for participants. You can register an interest and find out more at bikefestoz.com.au.
Engine-spotting,
July 20
Suzuki rotary
RE5 engine cutaway...remember these?
See our RE5 page, and one for sale
here.
Mac the Valk
take II, July 19
Look what's returned to our shed – 20
years after we sold our first. See the story here.
Millyard 5-pot
screamer for auction, July 17
A five-cylinder Kawasaki
two-stroke by Allen Millyard is up for auction with
H&H in the UK. It’s carrying an estimate of
Au$70-87,000 (US$47-60,000, GB£40-50,000). See the story here.
UK pushes for
end of ICE bikes, July 17
The UK government is toying with the idea
of banning sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE)
motorcycles by anywhere from 2030 to 2035. It has already
announced ICE cars will end by the earlier date, while the
European Union has set a date of 2035.
There is opposition to the UK plan.
See the story at Web Bike
World and links to discussion papers, here.
Hopping through
Texas, July 16
Since we recently got on to the topic
of Honda Valkyrie Interstates, and our acquisition of
a second example, here's a
quick story from a trip with the first bike some 20
years ago.
Flying Tiger,
July 16
The phrase "glutton for punishment" immediately springs to mind. All-round good guy and star road racer, Cam Donald recently took on the gruelling South Australian 24-hour Trial aboard a giant Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro. Yep, the monster triple-cylinder shaft drive.
Now this is an event more suited to a
rally expert on a well-prepped 450. Make that a 250 if
you're anything less than an A-grade competitor.
Anyway, the gist is both man and
machine survived the event. It's worth a
quick read via AMCN.
Valkyrie
pick-up, July 16
We picked up this 2001 Honda Valkyrie
Interstate in sunny Bundanoon (NSW) this week and rode it
home to Melbourne.
This is our second example – the first
was about 20 years ago.
How is it so far? Delightful...more to
come.
Rare Ducati on
market, July 15
Claiming to be one of just eight made,
this 2001 Ducati 998RS racer originally saw service
with the Reve Red Bull team in the UK. It has since
been restored in 2002 Troy Bayliss livery and is on
the market via Facebook
at Au$120,000 (US$82,000, GB£69,000). It's
located in Victoria, Australia.
Dax days, July
12
Something to brighten up your day: Honda's CT-70 Trail, aka the Dax.
First launched by Honda in 1969, it
was relaunched in 2022 for the 2023 model year.
See the
Hemmings backgrounder on the original;
And the
Bikesales story on the relaunch.
Guzzi days, July
10
Moto Guzzi's 850 Le Mans was an
image-changing model for the firm and remains a
popular choice among lovers of classic motorcycles. See the
original 1978 road test from Two Wheels
magazine.
The ad shown here has a little back
story. Photographer Rob Lewis (find him on
Facebook) recalls taking the shot, sitting
backwards on his Z1 Kawasaki, which was being piloted
by mate Col Murray. Apparently it was a fairly
disconcerting experience.
And who was riding the Guzzi? The legendary
Ken Blake.
See our 850
Le Mans model profile here.
Shed crash, July
8
How a minor cock-up left two premium bikes damaged and a fair old repair bill, but we all came up smiling in the end. See the story.
Market surprises, July 5
Zero-mile
hero bikes remain the proverbial catnip for
collectors at the moment. Witness this auction via
Donington in Australia, where an MV
Agusta F4S with 5km on the clock, went for
Au$37,000 (US$25,000, GB£21,000)
It was a
pretty good result for a model that in Strada form
has only recently shown appeal for collectors. Back
around two decades ago, these were retailing new in
the region of Au$25,000 (US$17,000, GB£14,000).
Used, their prices dropped to around half that
amount.
There are a few things going on here.
With interest rates rising, there will be more caution in
the middle to lower ends of the market. However there is
an investor sector that's essentially bullet-proof and
will continue to pay good money for premium gear.
By way of contrast, this Yamaha RZ500 – a really nice resto – sold recently on Ebay in Australia for Au$40,000 (US$27,000, GB£23,000). That's solid money and about the top end of the market.
However the definition of premium gear is
always shifting. For example. Honda CB750-Fours in good
nick are getting stronger-than-ever results. Shannons in May
got a staggering
Au$42,500
(US$30,000, GB£24,000) for a nicely-presented 1972 K2,
which we saw as a rogue result.
That's
been followed up this month by the sale of a 1971 K1
through Collecting Cars at Au$27,050 (US$18,500, GB£15,300).
We'd see that as more representative of the
current market and is still significantly higher
than what we were seeing a year ago.
See the Honda K1 in our shed;
And the Ducati
916 that used to be in residence.
Moto Guzzi
racer, July 2
Something you won't see very often – a
four-valve OHC 1925 Moto Guzzi C4V production racer,
claimed to be good for 100mph in its day. The 498cc engine
was good for 22hp when first released, upgraded to 32 in
later models.
The machine is being offered via Just Bikes
for $145,000. See more pics of
this model, here.
We like that it almost fits the
profile of the machine shown in the factory street
bike poster of the same year, above.
Random ad for
the day - Honda, July 1
1964 Honda 90 ad. Not sure what the point of the graphic is, but you have to admit it's eye-catching!
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
