![]() Motorcycle Investor mag ![]() Subscribe to our free email news News June 2025 The
Beattie files: It's a Long Road to Sturgis,
June 14 ![]() It's
circa 2001. We have Tommy’s famous Vegas bar room
brawl, the Nymphs of Nephi and the world’s most
expensive cheap promotional pens, sold by a stroppy
Sheriff – this Beattie-ism has it all. It's a huge story and we recommend finding time to sit down and enjoy it Past
blast: Kawasaki GPz1100, June 13
According to author Ian Falloon: "Although released amidst a fanfare of publicity the GPz’s reign at the top of Kawasaki’s line-up was short lived. Only a year later the GPz900R appeared, effectively rendering the GPz1100 a dinosaur. But that is doing the GPz1100 a disservice."
See the
Kawasaki GPz900R that was in our shed Jack's
Titan, June 12
![]() Washington, USA, rider and engineer Ron Corey was so inspired by the story of gritty Australian racer Jack Findlay that he built this, a Suzuki Titan-based tribute. See the story at Bikebound. Honda 750-Four
special, June 11 ![]() Today's tempter: a really
interesting 1972 Honda CB750-Four cafe racer
which has been treated a lot of high-end
mechanical work. On the list is an 836 kit,
Mikuni flatslide carburettors, hydraulic
Barnett clutch and RC750 replica exhaust
system. Nice, eh? It's being offered out of
Milwaukee in the USA at Au$38,000 (US$25,000,
GB£18,500). See
it here via BikeExif ![]() See
the CB750-Four K1 in our shed Flashback:
Kawasaki ZRX1200R paint, June 10 ![]() The day our Eddie Lawson
look-alike got a freshen-up. See the
story here. Orphan
for the day: 2000 American Quantum, June 10 ![]() It's very late 1990s,
going on for year 2000, and there's a weird optimism
in the air for reviving, or even creating, motorcycle
brands. The then poorly-funded
owner of Norton was allegedly producing a V8. The
deeply flawed prototype only now looks like running
properly – some 25 years later. See the Allen
Millyard series on that. Indian had
been revived as a marque and was to go through
bankruptcy and a couple of owners before things
settled down. Excelsior
Henderson made a brief appearance and keeled
over. Then there was a new
brand, namely American (yep, really...) which launched
with a few variants on a Harley-like platform, but
running a 96-cube (1573cc) S&S motor with bespoke
four-valve heads. The latter was a major tech upgrade. ![]() One of its models was
this, the Quantum, and the info on how many were made
is absent. So too is any reliable third-party review. That said, the theory
was they could produce 100hp which, if true, was well
ahead of the two-valve equivalents of the day that
made more like 70-80hp. If you were about to set
up a museum of obscure motorcycles, you might want
this one for the foyer. See the
auction listing at Hemmings. And our
Indian Chief Vintage 2009 story, which runs
through the ownership progression. Plus the
Victory Motorcycles V-twin profile. Badge
me – Sunday shed wrap, June 8 ![]() One of the strange joys of owning older machinery is, if you're not careful, you get to know about all sorts of little weird corners of the industry that supports them. Here's an example: the tank badges on my 1975 Honda GL1000 first-year Gold Wing. Private
sale, June 8 ![]() In a sometimes challenging market, you might wonder if it’s possible to sell a motorcycle for good money. Apparently it is – we follow the experience of Sydney enthusiast John W. MV
Agusta's brighter future, June 6 ![]() For a company that has seen two
changes of ownership in a year, MV Agusta is
sounding remarkably chipper. The marque says it is
launching a major new model this November, plus it
will be unveiling what sounds like a serious
performance engine series at the EICMA show in
November. Could the latter be for
a replacement for the now-defunct F4 1000? It seems
likely. The company was owned
outright by the Russian Sardarov family from 2016
until it sold a 51 per cent stake to KTM parent Pierer
Mobility in 2024. It now appears that KTM has simply
written off that investment and walked away, given it
has much larger financial problems to deal with.
Having a boutique brand to look after, in addition to
far more pressing issues, could seem like a
distraction. MV has announced its
styling department is moving from San Marino to its
main facility in Varese. It will, for the time being,
continue to use KTM logistics in the back-end of the
operation. Cycle
World has a more extensive story here, with
some good links. ![]() See the MV Agusta F4 1000 Nero in our shed See our feature
on the MV Agusta revival model, the 750 F4 from the late
1990s
Flashback:
fork seal week, June 6 ![]() Did you ever have one of those
weeks where everything you touched seemed to leak?
We have – see the
story here. Paul
Spooner tribute, June 5 ![]() We like this
story as a tribute to someone who was influential in
the Australian motorcycle industry, a full-on
participant in the race scene, but didn't attract
worrying headlines. Paul Spooner, former racer and innovative motorcycle trade member, passed away on April 28 at age 90. His daughter Wendy, an enthusiastic rider and contributor to motorcycle media in this country, wrote this piece for Australian Motor Cycle News. Honda
RC30 – random brochure for the day, June 3 ![]() Honda's launch of the RC30 put
homologation specials in lots of hands and created
decades of joy...see our
mini profile. Paralever
pioneer, June 2 ![]() It's 1988 and by now BMW's multi-road G/S series is well
established, though the incredible domination of adventure
touring sales was yet to come. What you're looking at here
is the first generation running the Paralever rear end –
in this case an R80. You could also get an R100. Trans-Atlantic
twins – Sunday shed wrap, June 1 ![]() Getting to grips with the
weirdness of Vincent and dusting off the Indian. See the
story here. Get
a Norvin, June 1 ![]() Hybrid-build bikes have
had their ups and downs over the years, though one
hero version that seems to have endured is Norvin – in
other words a Norton 'featherbed' frame hosting a
Vincent V-twin engine. There are numerous
versions getting around out there, including
home-built specials and more famous iterations from
the likes of Fritz Egli and Patrick Godet. This example is up for auction
with Classic Avenue in the USA. It features some
updates such as electronic ignition and flatslide
carburettors. Also on board is an early Yamaha TZ
two-side twin leading shoe front brake – a
valuable piece of kit. The Norvin page
at Egli-Vincent The Norton
Commando 850 that was in our shed And the Vincent
Rapide we're playing with We've also seen
single-cylinder Norvins developed from Comet engines Flashback:
Ducati Sport Classic range, June 1 ![]() Ducati stuck its neck out by going retro before retro was a ‘thing’...see the story here. Subscribe to our
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