AllMoto's Motorcycle Investor mag

Motorcycle Investor mag

News July 2025

Retro piece for the day: Snow Bunnies, July 17

So there I am, sober, sleepless, chilli-less, wet and having waking nightmares about what’s to come. Ah yes, the rich rewards of being a motorcyclist....see the story, here.

Mini R1, July 17

Something for the Yamaha R1 fan who just has to get out of the rain: a 1971 Leyland Mini running Clubman bodywork and a Yamaha R1 engine (presumably a first-gen) complete with six-speed sequential transmission.

Auction site Collecting Cars doesn't seem to have got to grips with this one, listing it as auto when there are three pedals. It claims to have a reverse, which would be handy. Note the builder has used the R1 dash.

It definitely sounds most un-Mini-like in the start-up video. Let us know if you buy it and feel like sharing, as we'd love to have a drive. See the listing, here.

Meanwhile, see our Yamaha R1 first-gen profile

See the Unique Cars magazine Australian Mini Clubman profile

Flashback: King Kwaka, July 16

What a fabulous photo! It talks to that late 1990s-to-noughties era of big and fast and unapologetic ballistic sports-tourers.

Kawasaki’s ZX-12R was meant to be the undisputed top performance dog, and it hit some speed humps along the way. It deserved better and is under-rated...see the story, here.

Tasmanian dreams, July 15

It appears that the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania, located in Launceston, has ramped up its motorcycle display in a major way. See the website.

Last time we were there – a little over two years ago – the motorcycle section was solid but not a destination in is own right. The pics we've seen this week suggest level has been raised.

One of its highlighted machines is a 1984 Yamaha RZ500 V4 two-stroke.

We have a couple of features on this model, including:

A series profile with lots of historical resources;

Plus a ride on a very clever restomod built by brand stalwart Don Stafford.

Honda CBX1000 – today's random ad, July 14

It's all about that giant straight-six air-cooled engine. Or at least it was for this wonderful (circa 1978-79) German market ad for the mighty Honda CBX1000. With 24 valves and six carburettors, it was a stand-out techno-beast when launched.

However it was never a great commercial success for the company.

There were effectively two generations – naked dual rear shock and faired monoshock – across several variants.

See the Classic Two Wheels period test of the original

And a feature on one of the two second-gen examples we've recently owned

Remote buying & selling – Sunday shed wrap, July 13

Actually eyeballing a bike or test-riding it before purchase has become a rarity at Chateau Guido. Is that a good thing? See the story, here.

Great Eight – the Drysdale experiment, July 12

Australian engineer Ian Drysdale is the ground-breaking developer of a V8 road bike that, sadly, never quite hit the point of going into production.

Now, 28 years down the road, he chats about the experience.

The full taco, July 11

Today we were reminded of why specialist publishers and writers should avoid artificial intelligence (AI). One of the least sexy jobs in this game is transcribing audio interviews, as it requires a lot of stopping and starting and seems to take ages.

So we flicked a file to a highly-rated online AI transcription service to see how it would go. Much of it was pretty good, but you of course miss the emphasis and meaningful pauses in the conversation which can greatly alter how you write the story.

Then there was the detail. I deliberately chose an interview with someone who has a strong voice and very good diction. However when he said "Bultaco" it transcribed as "full taco". I guess that means we're back to doing things the old-fashioned way.

Looking on the bright side, it's given us a new motorcycling term: going the full taco!

See the Cycle World summary of the 1964 Bultaco line-up.

Easy Trails part 1, July 10

We picked up part one of our easy trails project today, namely the 1999 Yamaha XT225. Over the years it's been sold as the Yamaha Serow, XT225 and now the XT250 – all much the same bike.

For a very reasonable Au$2490 (US$1600, GB£1200), we picked up a clean and completely functional motorcycle. We need to replace the mildly bent front brake lever and give it a service – otherwise it's a low-mile happy camper ready for club plates in Vic.

More to come...

Yamaha XT225 data via Motorcycle Specs

An individual dream, July10

The Harley City Collection launched a two-part profile in book form last weekend, from its spectacular facility on the outskirts of Castlemaine, Victoria (Australia).

The unique assemblage honours big dreams, along with ambitious modifiers, tuners and racers from many decades ago and some of whom might otherwise be forgotten. It's a fascinating historic community of fast souls. See the story here

Simplicity for the military, July 8

We evidently have something in common with the Swedish military – that is a taste for light and simple trail bikes, such as Yamaha's 'old-school' air-cooled XT250 (actually a rebadged 225). That country's army has just ordered 1000 of them. The model is no longer available in Australia, as there is no ABS version.

However we recently added a used one, plus an SL230 Honda, to the home fleet. See our latest Sunday shed wrap.

Honda CBR900RR – random pic for the day, July 7

First-gen Honda CBR900RR, 1992. Fast, light and easy to ride. (Ben Galli pic)

See our collector profile of the series

And the one that lived in our shed

Gear whine and dirt bikes – Sunday shed wrap, July 7

Gear whine and reshaping the dirt end of the shed...it's all happening at Chateau Guido.

Vespa Dakar, July 7

It's 1980 and Vespa has fielded a team in the second-ever Paris-Dakar Rally. See the YouTube documentary covering this remarkable effort.

Star Guzzi for sale, July 5

A restored Moto Guzzi V7 Sport owned by actor Ewen McGregor is up for sale on eBay for a sobering Au$70,200 (US$46,000, GB£33,700). See the story here.

See our Moto Guzzi V7 Sport profile

Vincent variants at auction, July 3

If you're into one-off builds with a Vincent theme, these two machines listed for an upcoming H and H auction in the UK will appeal.

The first is what's billed as a 1969 Egli Vincent in typical cafe racer style, carrying an auction estimate of Au$58-66,000 (US$38-44,000, GB£28-32,000). See it here.

Next is a Norvin, nominally listed as 1968, with what looks to be a high-spec chassis. It's carrying an estimate of Au$54-60,000 (US$36-40,000, GB£26-29,000). See it here

Which one would you choose?

See the Vincent Rapide in our shed.

Yamaha RD125 – a stroker for the cool kids, July 2