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News Mar 2026
Donington pop-up show, March 12
Donington Auctions in Melbourne, Australia, is running a
quick pop-up show for its current classic
bike auction, March 14. AllMoto will be there, so
drop in for a chat.
Suzuki's Captain Practical, Mar 12
We're a
little in love with this idea, even if we're yet to
throw a leg over it. It's Suzuki's new DR150, due in
April, and priced at a compelling Au$3290 (US$2350,
GB£1750, €2030) on the road. It's very much in the
cheap and cheerful class, which is admirable. That
includes a one-year warranty.
One of the features which got our attention was it has both electric and kick-start. Do you remember the latter?
According to
Suzuki the basic stats from the SOHC EFI engine are
power at 10kW (12hp) at 8000rpm and 11.6Nm of torque
at 6000rpm. The transmission is a five-speed. That's
for a wet weight of around 139kg, a 12.5lt tank and a
claimed seat height of 839mm. We're told it will be
available in Australia from April.
It reminds us of another budget Suzuki classic from years past, namely the mighty TS185ER which for years was as cheap as the proverbial chips. See the one we had in our shed.
All Brit BSA prize, Mar 11
As BSA has
been in the news recently, we bring you this – a
brochure from the Small Heath factory's heyday.
If you want to celebrate the 'good old days', you might pop in to the annual All British Rally in Victoria on April 24-26. It's an incredible event, run by the good folk at the BSA Motorcycle Owners Association.
See the
leaflet for details, and book via
this link. The gate prize is a sixties vintage
BSA A10.
See our All
British Rally galleries from 2019, 2022
and 2025 via our features page.
Flashback: Tool trivia, Mar 10
Spend enough time with a particular model and you end up going down the rabbit-hole of finding arcane bits to support your toy, which somehow morphs from being a mechanical mission to a lifestyle choice...see the story, here.
Strapz Nepal detour – Ep 5, Mar 10
Andy Strapz and old mate Tomaselli are
up in the mountains and decide to tackle a little
Mustang detour on what
might be the world's worst hire bikes...enjoy!
Kawasaki ZX-12R Ninja review, Mar 7
Kawasaki's mighty ZX-12R Ninja was
embroiled in a three-way showroom battle with
Honda's Blackbird and Suzuki's Hayabusa. While it
struggled at the time, we reckon that a good one
today is a great ride.
The bike
featured here is currently at auction with
Donington.
BSA to launch in Australia, Mar 7
Former MX champ Jeff Leisk is heading
the local distributorship for BSA motorcycles. See the
story here.
Random shed shot for the day,
Mar 7
Random shed shot for
the day: 1985
Ducati Hailwood Mille and 1952
Vincent Rapide Touring.
Farewell Ogri creator Paul Sample, Mar 5
The creator of the long-running and unique Ogri cartoon series, Paul Sample, passed away on Feb 27 aged 78.
His delightful, detailed and arguably
obsessive work gained an enormous audience in the UK
over several decades while its charm inevitably spread
to markets such as Australia and New Zealand.
The single-page multi-frame Ogri cartoons began with Bike magazine in the UK in 1972 and eventually grew in fame to the point where a series of compilations were published, along with a host of merchandise.
UK MCN has a brief tribute here.
We recommend the feature-length interview published by The Riders Digest, back in 2014.
Norton rehoming, Mar 4
Donington Auctions in Melbourne,
Australia, has three Norton Commandos looking for
a new home. They include this 1970 750 Roadster,
which has an estimate of Au$12-16,000
(US$8400-11,200, GB£6300-8400, €7300-9700). See the
cattle dog, here.
And see
our Norton Commando profile.
Andy Strapz to
wind down and go touring, Mar 3
The irrepressible Andy White, aka Andy Strapz, is to
close his Australian luggage and riding gear business.
That includes the innovative manufacturing side.
For him, the next chapter is a whole new gig called Travels
with Andy. See our story, here.
Flashback: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird video review, Mar 1
Honda's Super Blackbird
has always been a remarkable combination of speed and
civility, wrapped in a well-constructed package. And
it remains one of the best bang-for-buck propositions
on the used market.
We shot this
video back in 2013, with a first-generation
carbureted version.
That bike is still very
much alive and well and is up for
auction with Donington in Melbourne.
See our
collector profile on the series.
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