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What's happening
News Oct 2022
Bang for your
buck – BMW R1150GS, Oct 31
Well under Au$10k (US$6400, GB£5500) will get you a stunner of an example of this, BMW’s R1150GS, in the current market. That’s incredible bang for the buck motorcycling, as it’s a very competent all-rounder with decent performance.
Info Moto has a terrific summary of the model here, written by Greg ‘Snag’ Leech.
Classic Two Wheels meanwhile has a well of features on the first of the line, the R80G/S, including period road tests.
Flashback: Honda
CB400-Four, Oct 30
Middleweight gem and arguably a better bike than its 750 big brother.
Arch Ride, Oct
27
See the story here.
See the Arch page here.
Flashback: Heart
and Head, Oct 26
Lining up the next toy is as much about stupidity as reason...see the story.
Yamaha stroker
legends, Oct 25
A nice little set of circa 1978 Yamaha RD series brochures – see them here.
Ducati Desmo
125, Oct 24
Falloon on Ducati's ground-breaking two-pot screamer.
Laverda SF2 –
eye candy for the day, Oct 21
This circa 1974 Laverda SF2 is a little
special. The folk at DAM Racing have gone through the
powerplant and brought it up to SFC spec with Dellorto
carbs, DMC ignition and head porting by Bruce Woodley.
(Thanks to Andrew Percy for the tip.)
Triumph Speed
Triple take 2, Oct 20
Several
months down the ownership track, we've put a bit more
time into the 1996 Speed Trip and have it pretty well
sorted...we hope! See the story
here.
Ducati 900SS
with 8km – auction watch, Oct 19
This 1976 Ducati 900SS sold via Collecting Cars tonight for $Au$121,000 (US$76,200, GB£67,600). See it here.
What made it so valuable was a claimed 8km on the odo and the exceptional complete condition, including a toolkit with the much-prized original bag.
However unlike most machines that have been used as museum pieces, it had been kept in running condition. According to the seller, it was fired up every three months despite being used as a show piece rather than a ride.
Ducati 916 Senna
profile, Oct 18
Ducati's F1 racer tribute had a tragic
background. See it
here.
Yamaha R1 cafe,
Oct 18
This Yamaha R1-based effort is one of the
better liquid-cooled inline-four cafe racers we've seen in
a long time. Built by Chicago (USA) resident Robert
Catanese, it used a 2012 R1 powerplant and ECU, which was
wrapped in a custom-built frame.
See the full
story here, at Return of the Cafe Racers.
We've reached a point where you would
think twice about doing this to a first-model R1
(1998-99), as they're now on the collector radar.
That said, there is still some solid
value out there. This example via Bikesales got our
attention. It's a
restored 1999 with 27,400km claimed, for Au$15,000
(US$9400, GB£8300).
See our
first-edition R1 profile.
See the
Classic Two Wheels period road test.
The Hailwood
files, Oct 17
Classic Two Wheels has launched a new page
featuring a host of material on Ducati's desmo Mike
Hailwood replicas. First up is an Ian Falloon
summary, followed by two period road tests. It's essential
reading of you're in the market for one.
Speaking of which, this 1981 example has
popped up on the market. The seller notes, "It is the real
deal, without molestation and the bottom end sounds good."
Located near the Sunshine coast in
Queensland, it's on the market at Au$30,000
(US$18,600, GB£16,600). Tel 0409 855 872.
How much for the
G/S? Oct 13
Bonhams has recently sold a 1988 BMW
R80G/S Paris-Dakar for Au$71,000 (US$44,600,
GB£40,300). The listing had it as being restored to
concours standard (not a cheap exercise) by Dutch BMW
specialist Theo Terwel.
We've seen prices for this model climb
in recent times, and this probably sets a new
benchmark, particularly for a restoration.
See the period Classic Two
Wheels road test.
Going Commando,
Oct 12
The revived Norton marque, under the auspices of
Indian firm TVS, is now opening its order books for a
two-bike
range of Commandos: the 961SP (Sport) and 961 CR
(cafe racer).
Understandably, the company is at
pains to point out that some Au$175 million (US$110
million, GB£100 million) has so far been spent on an
exercise that included re-engineering the often
troubled twins.
Previously the company hit the wall
financially and former MD Stuart Garner was found guilty
of indulging in some under-handed financial dealing.
TVS Motor
Company meanwhile stepped in as the new owner
and investor, with pockets deep enough to have a
serious go at reviving the brand.
The company has released a couple of
videos, including this walk-around with the current
CCO Christian Gladwell.
So far the twins have been released
only into the UK market, for the 2023 model year,
priced at Au$29,800 (US$18,100, GB£16,500) for the SP
and Au$29,800 (US$18,600, GB£17,000) for the CR.
Deliveries are expected to begin next January.
See the Visor
Down ride impression, here.
Norton last April released a revised
V4SV flagship, built to order at Au$77,000 (US$48,000,
GB£44,000). See the Cycle
World review.
See the 1975
Norton Commando Mark 3 in our shed.
Mixed
fortunes for local market, Oct 12
Info Moto reports on interesting times
for the local bike market – see the stats and
analysis, here.
1983 Honda CB1100F – auction watch, Oct 11
Though sold in good numbers, the survival rate of big CeeBee Hondas of this era seems surprisingly low.
This example is a stand-out, claiming under 1000 miles, and is to be auctioned by Mecum at the giant annual Las Vegas sale-fest next January.
Aside from being dead stock and in apparently great shape, it claims a good folio of paperwork.
Any guesses on what it will fetch? See it here.
See the Motorcycle Specs backgrounder.
One of the engineers behind this Honda CB and Bol d’Or series was Isao Yamanaka, who went on to become project leader for the Blackbird. See his brief portrait at the end of our Blackbird profile.
1981 Suzuki
Katana 1100 – today's tempter, Oct 10
The Hans Muth-penned lines of Suzuki’s original Katana series still look dramatic, even if the resultant ride position can be a little challenging on the comfort front.
In 1100 form you’re dealing with the 16-valve air-cooled GSX platform which is ultra tough, easy to maintain and offers huge performance potential.
Handling is pretty typical early 1980s…think gothic.
There are several examples on the market at the moment and this restomod in Victoria is offered at Au$19,500 (US$12,300, UK£11,100).
Blast from the
past – Yamaha XS750, Oct 9
Also known as the GX750 in wire wheel
form, the XS/GX was a ground-breaking four-stroke for
Yamaha, as the triple landed it in 'big bike' territory
with what was generally a very reliable platform.
It and the later 850 scored mixed reviews
over their model life, however they created a lot of happy
owners.
See the Motorcycle Specs
backgrounder, including a contemporary Cycle
World test.
Honda VTR1000
SP-1 – today's tempter, Oct 4
Incredibly, there are seven SP-1s for sale on the site.
See our SP-1 and SP-2 profile.
Aprilia Moto 6.5
on the block, Oct 3
Love it or hate it? Apparently there
is no middle ground with the radical curves on
Aprilia's Moto 6.5 of the mid-nineties. An example has
come up for auction – see our
story.
Gilera 150 - random poster for
the day, Oct 2
From the 1957 range of singles.
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