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What's happening

News May 2022


Legendary XR69 on market, May 31

suzuki xr69

One of just five or six works Suzuki XR69s has popped up on the market for the second time in a few years. Owned by former racer Mick Grant, the machine was offered up at auction by Bonhams in 2019 and again this month through Car & Classic.

Developed with the input of 'Pops' Yoshimura, the early eighties bikes were a combination of a grand prix-style chassis with a superbike-spec GS1000 engine, thought to be good for 134hp (100kW) at 9500rpm and 97Nm at 8000.

suzuki xr69

These bikes were at the core of a 1982 British Suzuki team including Graeme Crosby, John Newbold and Mick Grant. Crosby and Grant took a 1-2 victory at that year's Isle of Man TT. The latter has owned the machine and kept it in running order since it was given to him by the factory in 1985.

suzuki xr69

At auction it carried an estimate of Au$170-190,000 (US$120-140,000, GB£95-110,000). However bidding pulled up at Au$105,000 (US$76,000, GB£60,000). See the lot here.

See the Silodrome profile on the machine.

Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans

Moto Guzzi
              850 Le Mans

Classic Two Wheels has published a period test of the Moto Guzzi Le Mans from Two Wheels mag.

Moto Guzzi 850
              Le Mans

" The Le Mans is a machine you want, or you don't want. There is no middle course," says the writer. See the story here.

Island time, May 27

Triumph
              Daytona Isle of Man

Triumph Daytona at the isle of Man for the TT – 2005.

See out time capsule tour feature.

What's a Honda CB750-Four worth? May 25

Honda CB750

Last night's extraordinary result at Shannons, where a restored Honda CB750-Four K2 sold for Au$42,500 (US$30,000, GB£24,000), may be a freak result rather than a true indicator of where the market is. We'd like to see it repeated before taking it as gospel.

Another recent auction, by Scammells in South Australia, got somewhat more sobering results:

Honda CB750

This K0 went for Au$19,500 (US$13,800, GB£11,000)...

Honda CB750

The K1 went for Au$25,000 (US$17,800, GB£14,200)...

Honda CB750

The K2 went for Au$15,500 (US$11,000, GB£8800)...

Honda CB750

The K7 went for Au$11,000 (US$7800, GB£6200)...

Honda CB750

And the F2 went for Au$8000 (US$5700, GB£4500).

Honda CB750

Meanwhile keen restorers bid a set of genuine NOS K2 4-into-4 exhausts to Au$4600 (US$3300, GB£2600).

Wild CB750 result, April 24

Honda
              cb750 auction

We'll confess we didn't see this one coming. A 1972 Honda CB750-Four K2 which had undergone what seems to be a comprehensive restoration has just sold via a Shannons auction for Au$42,500 (US$30,000, GB£24,000).

The timed online bidding went through several extensions and the result was well past the Au$15-25,000 (US$11-18,000, GB£9-14,000) estimate. Under normal circumstances, we would have seen the upper figure in that range as a very strong result for this model.

Honda cb750

See the lot here and the auction catalogue here.

See our CB750 profile and the K1 in our shed.

Random brochure for the day – Kawasaki Z650, May 23

Kawasaki z650

Remember the air-cooled Z650 circa 1976? Like many similar examples from the era, the middleweight tended to be a better-handling and arguably more sporty option than its bigger brethren.

The inline four weighed in at 211kg dry and claimed a healthy 66 horses at 8500rpm. See the full specs here.

You don't see them on the market all that often, but there's one on offer here at Au$6000 (US$4250, GB£3400).

Moto Guzzi V7, May 23

Moto Guzzi V7

Italy's class-leading tourer...see the story here.

Norton trio on offer, May 21

Norton Commando

The current Shannons auction has three options on offer for the would-be classic Norton Commando owner.

First is a 1968 Fastback 750 restored to what appears to be faithful factory trim, carrying an estimate of Au$22-28,000 (US$16-20,000, GB£12-16,000).

Norton Commando

Next is a lightly-modified 1972 750, pitched at Au$15-20,000 (US$10-14,000, GB£8-11,000).

Norton Commando

Last is an example of the final series, a 1975 MkIII 850, listed at Au$22-26,000 (US$16-19,000, GB£12-15,000).

See the full auction catalogue, with 41 motorcycle lots.

See the story on our MkIII Commando.

BMW R90S book, May 21

falloon bmw r90s
              book

From Ian Falloon: I now have some advance copies of the BMW R90S book updated edition. This has quite a lot of new information supplied by the designer Hans A Muth. Hard cover 112 pages, similar format to the original. As they are printed to order, initially these books will only be available in Australia. Next week I hope to have International distribution set up. The price for Australian buyers is Au$140. This includes postage. Please pay to PayPal.me/ianfalloon.

Flashback – Oddball for the day: Hesketh 24, May 20

Hesketh 24

Not something you see every day! See our feature...

Fours flying at Shannons, May 19

Suzuki GSX-R1100K


Classic Japanese fours are pulling strong bidding just two days into a week-long auction at Shannons.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is a 1989 Suzuki GSX-R1100K. With a little under 30,000km (17,400 miles) on the odo, the bike is reported to be in exceptional "collector-grade" condition.

Bidding is already at Au$18,500 (US$12,900, GB£10,400), which suggests it will easily reach the Au$20-25,000 estimate (US$14-17,400, GB£11-14,000). See it here.

See our GSX-R1100 profile.

Honda CB750-Four K2

Meanwhile a 1972 Honda CB750-Four K2 is also getting plenty of interest. A restored example, it is running an 810 Yoshimura kit and is otherwise standard. It's said to have done 6000km (3700 miles) since the rebuild.

Bidding is at Au$21,000 (US$14,600, GB£11,800), well within the $Au$15-25,000 estimate (US$10-17,400, GB£8-14,000). See it here.

See our CB750-Four profile.

See the auction catalogue here.

Aermacchi Sprint, May 17

Aermacchi

It's not often you'll see one of these on the market, a 1973 Aermacchi Sprint 350 – branded Harley-Davidson. The Sprint four-strokes were on offer in the USA from the late 1960s.

This one is a restored 1973 model, on the market in Brisbane via Facebook at Au$8750 (US$6100, GB£5000).

Aermacchi

This comes from a time when Harley decided to have a crack at the small bike market with a range of gear from the Italian maker, and the Sprint 350 was the top of the range. You can still get parts for them via MotoItalia in the USA.

harley dirt bikes

Also offered were 250s, plus a range of two-stroke dirt bikes.

Cafe Caviar, May 16

Harley-Davidson XLCR

Factory cafe racer for the caviar fan. One of Willie G's early progeny from the late 1970s.

See the specs and backgrounder at Motorcycle Specs.

Ducati 750 Sport, May 15

ducati 750
              sport


From Ian Falloon:
Long before that eventful day at Imola on April 23, 1972 (when Ducati won the race with the 750 racers), Ducati directors Milvio and Spairani sanctioned the development of a more sporting 750...more here.

Godet Vincent, May 14

Godet Vincent

A rare find anywhere in the world and particularly on the local market, is this 1968 Godet Egli Vincent Black Shadow. Listed as a 1968 build, it's said to be a one-owner machine ordered direct from Patrick Godet.

Located in the Noosa hinterland in Queensland (Australia), it's on the market via Facebook for Au$105,000 (US$73,000, GB£60,000). See a backgrounder on these machines from Motorcycle Classics. If the reality matches the description, we'll be surprised if it isn't snapped up.

Rainey at FOS, May 12

Wayne Rainey - pic by Lou Martin

Former GP star Wayne Rainey will be riding for the second time since his race career was abruptly ended in a crash back in 1993. This time it's at the Festival of Speed at Goodwood in June, on a modified version of his 1992 500cc championship-winning Yamaha YZR.

That's him in the pic, giving Australian photographer Lou Martin some cheek.

More here at Goodwood's site.


Here's a clip from the 2013 meeting, with a lot of familiar faces from eighties and nineties.

Flashback: Big Green Bomber, May 10

Kawasaki ZX-12R

Big green bomber - Kawasaki ZX-12R. Wouldn’t mind adding one to the shed…see our profile.

Fuji Go-Devil, May 9

We have to admit this was a new one us. Perhaps another brand that sank without trace? Fuji's main business turned out to be bicycles, until it filed for bankruptcy in 1998.

Fuji Go-Devil

The Go-Devil was built in Japan from 1964 through to 1967, and was marketed with the catchline "just what you need and nothing more". Power was from a bespoke 50cc two-stroke engine.

Norton buys back its history, May 9

Norton motorcycles

UK MCN reports the revived Norton Motorcycles is in the throes of buying back its history, with 55 machines covering 76 years pulled together as a collection.

The fleet was sold by collector Ian Loram (above left, with Norton CEO Robert Hentschel.) See the report here.

Yamaha RZ500 auction, May 7

Yamaha RZ500

Arguably more popular now than when they were new, Yamaha RZ500s are hot property on the auction circuit.

This one is on offer at Grays, with 54,000km showing on the odo and claiming recent engine and cosmetic restoration. Bidding is nearing Au$30,000 (US$21,200, GB£17,200) with three days to go. See the lot here.

See our model profile;

And our feature on a nice restomod version.

Flashback: Antiques Roadshow, May 7

Holden kingswood triumph t160

Indulging in our own little time warp...see the story here.

Bagger bruisers, May 6

Bagger racer

Meet Cory, from Indian Charlotte. He and his bagger recently won a race in what is now a hotly-contested national six-round King of the Baggers series in the USA, fought of course between Indian and Harley-Davidson.


We reckon it's pretty entertaining racing. See a highlights package from Daytona this year, with a race won by former MotoGP international Jeremy McWilliams.

Yamaha 1985, May 4

Yamaha 1985

It was a huge year for Yamaha, with some iconic machines in its stable, such as the mighty V-Max, FJ1100, FZ750 five-valver and the XJ900 evergreen all-rounder.

See our FJ1100-1200 series review and our FZ750 profile.

Honda Scrambler, May 3

Honda Scrambler

Wouldn't it be great to see a modern version of this?

See our brief profile of the original.

Get an AJS, May 1

AJS 7R

AJS 7R - see the specs and profile at Motorcycle Specs


Gixxer goodness, May 1

Suzuki GSX-R1100W

Later models like the one above gained more sophistication, power and a little weight and as a consequence were sometimes criticised for being not as sports-focused as the early variants.

 

However time has been kind to them and increasingly they're seen as an interesting option for collectors.


Suzuki
              GSX-R1100G

Speaking of early variants, there's a tidy-looking G model for sale in Queensland, listed on Bikesales for Au$18,000 (US$12,700, GB£10,100).

See our GSX-R1100 range overview


Want earlier news & views? See our archive.

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