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News Feb 2025
Flashback:
Shed times, Feb 28
Is it possible we go through phases when it comes to twirling spanners? Much like we do with many other aspects of our lives? I suspect so...more here.
The
Italian job, Feb 28
Festival of Italian Motorcycles – something for the diary if you're in Melbourne. It's supported by a good crew.
The
Vincent has landed, Feb 27
Today's arrival of this
monster, a 1953 Vincent Rapide in touring trim, has
arguably raised the tone of the shed by a notch or
two.
We bought it through Classic Avenue in the USA.
Jon Munn at Classic Style
Motorcycles in Australia was good enough to
handle the import and shipping. And yes, we're a
little relieved to get it home in such good shape.
Next job will be to check it over
and fire it up. Wish us luck...
Hagerty
in the UK has a review of a 1950 model.
See some
of the other bikes that have been through our
shed.
Get
a Rickman, Feb 25
Random brochure for the day: the 1975 Rickman Brothers CR Kawasaki Z1 rolling chassis for the discerning nutter. See our quick profile, including one that recently went to auction.
Flashback:
Reviving the six pack, Feb 24
It's just on a year
since we got this Honda CBX1000B up and running, after
we had picked it up at auction. Here's what
happened.
Oh, and we have another one on the
way – a C model this time. More to come...
Is
this what we should be riding? Feb 23
While big heavy adventure tourers seem to selling like the proverbial hotcakes, have we actually got this wrong? We reckon there's an argument to made for something that is lighter and more nimble, like this used BMW G 310 GS. See the story here.
Switcheroo,
Feb 22
Interweb find of the day: Vintage Moto Switcheroo. We've yet to try them – they specialise in restoration and parts for motorcycle wiring looms and switchblocks. Could be just the thing to finish off that restoration. You can find them here.
The Beattie files: Call me
Lucky, Feb 21
Young Mr Beattie recalls an encounter with a big
character with an even bigger motorcycle – namely Lucky
Keizer and his incredible Merlin-powered
five-litre V-twin.
Ninja
style – Kawasaki ZXR750, Feb 20
Random brochure for the
day: the mighty world superbike-inspired Kawasaki
ZXR750 series. Great fun to ride and seriously quick
in the right hands.
See the Motorcycle
Specs profile.
See our features on a couple of its heavyweight cousins...
Kawasaki ZX-12R future collectible
UK classic market
the place to buy? Feb 19
Estimates for a March 26 H and H auction
at the UK National Motorcycle Museum suggest that
the UK is the place to buy classics at the moment,
assuming you can get the thing across the globe.
The current feature bike is a rare A-series
Vincent HRD Comet from 1939, with a fabulous 68-year
one-owner history, carrying an estimate of
Au$53-65,000 (US$33-41,000, GB£27-33,000).
That's a lot of money. However a 1937 example with a less
impressive ownership history was sold by
Bonhams back in 2020 for Au$109,400 (US$69,600,
GB£55,200).
If the estimate is right, you could make a good case for buying and transporting the Comet.
However it's more difficult with lower-value machines like this
exceptional 1991 Triumph Daytona 1000, a very early
T300 series.
Like the Comet, it has historical significance for the
British motorcycle industry. Plus it's an early production
from the revived marque and a short-lived model.
However 1990s Hinckley bikes are a tough sell in the
market and are undervalued. This exceptional-looking
example carries an estimate of just Au$4000-5000
(US$2500-3100, GB£2000-2500).
See our Triumph
T300 series profile;
Flashback:
Shed drunk, Feb 18
Midnight
Hayabusa, Feb 18
Collectible first-generation Suzuki Hayabusas continue to gain traction in the USA market, though the catch is they need to be pristine. And obscure local variants are popular.
What you see here is a 2002 Falcon Midnight Special,
awarded to dealers who had sold more than 12,000 'Busas up
to that point. It was identical to the production version,
other than livery and badging, plus the rear stand to
assist display.
With 20 miles on
the clock, it sold via Bring a Trailer for Au$48,700
(US$31,000, GB£25,600).
Last December, we reported on another USA-only variant
that went well at auction. It was a 2003 model produced to
celebrate 40 years of the US Suzuki Motor Corporation. This was an unused example with 5
miles on the odometer and was sold by Bring a
Trailer for Au$35,000 (US$22,000, GB£17,500).
See our
Hayabusa resources page.
Kawasaki fever, Feb 15
Kawasaki H2 750s were flavour of the month at the recent
Mecum Las Vegas auction, with 17 road bikes fetching over
Au$50,000 (US$31,750, GB£25,200).
Note that an H2R racer saw a top bid of Au$142,000
(US$90,000, GB£71,000) without meeting reserve.
The same event saw prices for Z1 series soften a little
when compared to last year, although we're still talking
near enough to the Au$45-50,000 (circa US$30,000,
GB£24,000) for a good example.
The outlier is the example that sold for a staggering
Au$86,600 (US$55,000, GB£44,000), though there is nothing
in the listing that suggests an explanation for the wide
gap between it and the rest. Weird things can happen at
auctions...
And the Classic
Two Wheels 1971 Z1 road test;
Get
to the All-Brit, Feb 14
The apparently
inexhaustible BSA Motorcycle Owners Association in Vic
is once again hosting the All British Rally, on its
traditional Anzac Day weekend.
This is a major highlight on the annual riding calendar, attracting hundreds of bikes which takes over the town of Maldon on the Saturday morning, effectively turning into a giant motorcycle show.
The rally itself is at a large campsite in nearby Newstead (close to Castlemaine in Victoria).
One of the highlights is entrants
go into the draw for the gate prize, which is a
(of course) British motorcycle. This year it is a
circa 1999 Triumph 955 Sprint ST, a model that
happens to be a really capable all-rounder.
Follow
this link to book your ticket.
We have a couple of rally
pictorials online:
See our
Triumph Sprint ST 1050 profile.
Pick
your twin, Feb 12
Two epic and very different twins are up for sale at the moment via Donington Auctions.
The first is a 1928
Douglas dirt-tracker with the trademark longitudinal
flat twin, in this case a 500cc unit. It has an
Australian connection, in the form of racer then
designer Les Bailey.
The sale estimate is Au$15-20,000
(US$9-13,000, GB£8-10,000). See it
here.
Meanwhile we tripped over an old
friend in the catalogue, namely a 1992 Moto Guzzi
California III, in carburetor form. When new they
stood out in the cruiser sector for light
steering, good handling and plenty of power. We'd
be sorely tempted by this one, but already have
more than enough recent arrivals in the shed to
deal with at the moment...
Showing just 3400km (2100 miles)
on the odometer, it has an estimate of Au$6-8000
(US$4-5000, GB£3-4,000). See it
here.
The
auction cattledog is here.
See the treasure trove of Moto
Guzzi stories on our feature page.
Anniversary
Wings, Feb 12
Honda is launching a 50th anniversary
Gold Wing in bagger and tour (or Premium) variants. They
come with commemorative badging and unique welcome
displays in the dash, among other updates.
Part of the package is a coffee table
book covering the history of the series, plus a unique
1:12 scale model featuring the first and latest versions.
Australia can expect to see them in the second quarter of this year. Prices are yet to be announced.
Meanwhile we held our own little celebration, riding a 1975 model some 2000km (1200 miles) from Brisbane back to Melbourne in Australia. See the Gold Wing Run story here.
And see our profile on the
original GL1000.
Farewell Lester, Feb 11
From Classic Two Wheels: It's with great sadness
that we mark the death of Lester Morris, on Sunday,
February 9, 2025. Lester was one of Australian
motorcycling's big personalities, in a career that
spanned nine decades and included some fine writing for
Two Wheels magazine, several books, working in
the motorcycle retail trade, race commentary and theatre
and television acting.
Lester generously gave his time, wisdom and help to many
motorcycle clubs and young racers. He lived the
motorcycle life, very well. Vale Lester.
Here's a link
to his work on Classic Two Wheels.
Our photo is of Lester hard at it, testing the BMW R90S for Two Wheels in 1975.
Spaniard with a sting, Feb 10
It's not every day you get a two-stroke Spaniard dropping in for a visit and we felt we had to share this one – a 1975 Montesa King Scorpion 250. See the story.
Blast
from the past – Triumph Thruxton 1200 R, Feb 8
We've been playing with this today – a 2016 Triumph Thruxton 1200 R. More to come...
See the
video review from when it was new.
Triumph produced a final edition of this series back in 2023 – see our story on it.
Friday Flashback: Seeing Red, Feb 7
Some while back we
mentioned laying our scone-grabbers on a shiny one-owner
Kawasaki ZX-12R, filling out the rocketship end of a shed
that already contained a Honda Blackbird and a modified
Suzuki Hayabusa.
The bike has
survived a major cull of our fleet and is a fabulous
Sunday ride – see the story;
And see our
Kawasaki ZX-12R model review.
Hailwood
in the house – today's addition to the fleet, Feb
6
A large man with a medium-sized
transporter, namely Jay from East Coast Bike Transport,
rolled up in the driveway yesterday and handed
over a 1985 Ducati Mike Hailwood Replica Mille.
This was the last iteration of the bevel series
MHRs.
It was sourced from Brad's
Vintage Cycles and this was the fourth time
we've dealt with both businesses, with success.
We bought this one after Ducati
expert and author Ian Falloon gave the green light
and, while not in perfect shape, it has done less
than 3000km. That's quite a find.
We'll be doing a few things to and
with it over coming months – watch this space.
It
represents some unfinished business, as our riding
relationship with bevel Ducatis so far has been far more
off than on, and this looks like something you could get
your teeth into. We'll see...
Meanwhile, you can see Falloon's story on this model via
his Substack channel;
And the
raw stats via Motorcycle Specs.
See the
860 GT that was previously in our shed.
March
V8 monster re-discovered, Feb 5
This isn't quite like
trapping the Loch Ness monster, but it goes close. A
500cc V8 motorcycle, built in the 1960s by Briton Fred
Marsh as a tribute to the famous racing V8 Moto Guzzis
of 1955-57, has emerged from obscurity in storage
after 45 years. It now has a place the British
National Motorcycle Museum.
See the AMCN
feature on the Guzzis.
The where-abouts of the
machine was not generally known until its owner and
former Marsh apprentice Fred Lowman revealed it was
still very much in existence. VisorDown
has the story here.
Meanwhile
Old Bike Mart in the UK had the pic shown
here, along with a personal story on it
appearing for a demo run at the 1976 Isle of Man
TT. That's Marsh at left.
Million
dollar twins, Feb 4
The giant 2000-lot motorcycle auction by Mecum in Las
Vegas, which concluded last Sunday, set a couple of
records. The pic is a snapshot of the top three bids.
Perhaps the
biggest surprise was the 1915 Cyclone racer. This
was a firm that was only production from 1912 to 1917 and
managed to produce some very advanced machines. This one,
for example, features bevel-driven overhead camshafts.
It was restored by a 'name' expert, Stephen Wright, and
fetched Au$2.13mil (US$1.32mil, GB£1.06mil). Cracking the
US $1mil mark is a significant milestone.
Meanwhile Crocker V-twins were similarly innovative and
proprietor Al Crocker built a reputation for making
sophisticated go-fast gear for Indians, along with a line
of speedway bikes and even a scooter, across the 1930s and
through to 1941.
Just 70 of his light and fast V-twins are thought to have
been built, with 68 known survivors. In their day, they
had performance which was more than a match for a Vincent
twin.
Though they've long been desirable, the price for
this 1938 example (listed as number 46) has set a
new high. It went for Au$1.42mil (US$880k, GB£709k).
The
homing Gold Wing – 50th anniversary Honda GL1000
run, Feb 3
The mighty 1975 Gold Wing has made it home after a 2000km
(1200 mile) run down the east coast of Australia. Join us for a few
thoughts on riding one of the great classic tourers, in
our final road diary update.
MV
Agusta set free, again – Feb 2
Historic Italian marque
MV Agusta has seen yet another episode opened in the
soap opera of its history, this time being set free
from part-ownership by the troubled KTM conglomerate.
This is one of those
rare situations where both companies are probably
better off, with the outstanding share-holding in the
firm being sold back to its previous owners for a
relatively modest sum.
Motorcycle.com
has one of the better explanations of how the
finances work.
See the
MV Agusta F4 Nero in our shed
And the
F4 Serie Oro story by Ian Falloon
Eden
and fat cows – the 50th anniversary Gold Wing run,
Feb 2
I can now say I have ridden a Gold Wing to the Garden of Eden and have found the source of fat cows. These revelations and much more in our road diary update for today.
Strong
numbers at big Las Vegas sale, Feb 1
The annual Mecum Las Vegas auction – this year boasting 2000 motorcycles – saw strong numbers, with the usual sprinkling of weird anomalies.
What did your money buy this year? Honda CB750-Fours were
doing well, as the example above suggests. Previously we
would have only expected those sorts of numbers for
earlier K1 and K0s.
The catch here is the CB had received a high-end
restoration, with zero miles since.
Meanwhile an identical result for an early Suzuki Hayabusa backs up what we've suspected for a while, which is they are now very much on the collector radar.
Conversion: Au$33,600, US$20,900, GB£16,700
1970s Kawasaki hero bikes are pretty much a currency now with the price shown here consistent with recent events in the USA, where they're worth more than they are in Australia. We suspect this Harley Panhead for similar money was a solid buy.
Conversion: Au$47,700, US$29,700, GB£24,000
Exotic V-twins from different eras and different sides of the Atlantic. The Indian price seemed about right, but we were surprised at how little the Black Shadow went for and would have expected at least 30 per cent more.
Weirdly, a freshly-restored Series B Rapide, albeit with
a good story, went for Au$160,000 (US$100,000, GB£81,000)
just minutes later.
Conversion: Au$97,200, US$60,500, GB£48,800
In case you were wondering, the top two lots so far (with
a day to go) were these. Good quality green frame 750 SS
Ducatis have been in this range for some time. However
1920s American four-cylinder bikes have reached this level
more recently and there were two others not far behind in
this auction.
Conversion: US$198,000, Au$318,000, GB£160,000
See our features
page for stories on the Ducati Imola bkes, (the
inspiration behind the SS), Suzuki Hayabusa and Honda
CB750-Four...among many others!
Bluey
spotto and the great outdoors – 50th anniversary
Gold Wing run, Feb 1
One of the things that takes your
mind off the discomfort of long motorcycle trips
is playing spotto. For this trip, we've added the
wonderful illusions offered by your local town...this and
more in today's update.
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