Motorcycle Investor mag

What's happening

Zero mile NR750 on market, Sept 17

Honda NR750 in crate

A zero mile Honda NR750 is coming on the market through Iconic Motorbikes - you can see the Facebook feed here. Worth a fortune in unused condition, but what a waste!
Specs and background.

The Sheddies by Chris Slane, Sept 15

The Sheddies by Chris Slane

Just tripped over this Kiwi artist after a cartoon by him was doing the rounds of Facebook. See his web site here.

Barry's Bikes, Sept 15

Three race bikes owned by former GP star Barry Sheene have made the trip back to Suzuki in the UK for a freshen up and to be displayed at the NEC Show in Birmingham in the second half of November. The plan is to get them running. Suzuki UK YouTube channel

Ttriumph's Two-stroke Twin, Sept 14

Triumph two-stroke twin prototype 1957

Could this have been the bike that saved Triumph? Given the outrageous success of Yamaha and others with two-strokes, the answer may well be yes. However then Triumph boss Edward Turner wasn't convinced when this twin-cylinder 200 prototype was developed in 1957. Read the story and test ride of the machine, now owned by the Sammy Miller museum, by Alan Cathcart at Riders @ DriveMag.

Race Across the Great Divide, Sept 12

Gregg Hansford Daytona 1974 by Bill Meyer

This striking Bill Meyer shot is of Gregg Hansford on a Yamaha TZ750 at Daytona in 1974. It's from the excellent book Race Across the Great Divide, which talks of the heydays of Aussie racers in the 1970s. Written by Don Cox and Darryl Flack, it's available through Bellbird Publishing and comes highly recommended.

Buddy's bike, Sept 10

buddy holly motorcycles 1959

Buddy Holly at right and his then new (and very rare) Ariel Cyclone, on the day he and his band-mates picked up new toys to celebrate their success.
Buddy would have been 83 years of age this year and his bike is 60. See the fascinating background story here.

Big money for veteren bikes, Sept 9

New Imperial 8hp 1917

New Imperial 8hp 1917 model - proof there’s life in the veteran market. This one sold at the Bonhams Beaulieu sale last weekend for $45,500.
It was a model designed during WWI for military work and was powered by a JAP V-twin.
Its size and reliability also saw it in demand as a civilian model (later designated as the Model 7) and was sold new through to 1922.

New Imperial 8hp 1917

Romero's record-setting Trident, Sept 8

gene romero trident daytona 1970

From Pete Brown at the Classic Road Race Pictures Upload Page on Facebook: We set the scene...it’s practice for the 1970 Daytona 200 and Gene Romero gets set to record the fastest ever lap of the oval circuit (it’s final year). He achieves a mind-boggling 157.3 mph (253km/h) on the Triumph Trident - a record that will never be surpassed and will go down in history as one of road-racing’s greatest achievements!

Brilliant builds, Sept 7

Katana Yamaha 2-stroke hybrid motorcycle

Couldn't help but be impressed by these builds from Japan. Look for the gallery on Facebook, led by this wild Katana-styled two-stroke Yamaha.

Honda Scrambler looks like value, Sept 6

Honda CL450 Scrambler

Love the look of these late-60s to early-70s Honda Scramblers and this one seems like it might be decent value. Available in Australia from North Coast Classics.

Honda CL450 Scrambler brochure

See this link for a specs and a profile of the model.

Kawasaki Turbo - the best of them, Sept 4

Kawasaki 750 Turbo

Ever considered adding a turbo bike to the shed? This is the pick of them

(From Motorcycle Trader mag, circa 2015) Kawasaki’s 2015 launch of the H2 and H2R supercharged techno flaghships rightly created plenty of interest, but was far from being the first time the company dabbled in forced induction motorcycles.

You have to remember back to the early 1980s, when bikes like Kawasaki GPz1100 and Suzuki GSX1100 roamed the earth...more here.

Zen & the Art interview, Sept 3

Robert Pirsig

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance author Robert Pirsig may have shuffled off this mortal coil, but there remains audio of a very early interview with him at NPR in the USA.
Well worth a listen if you’ve read the book.
NPR link.

Velocette Valiant, Sept 3

Velocette Valiant