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News October 2024

Tech school turbo, October 8

Honda CX650
              Turbo

From our rare-find department: This 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo was recently sold by Bring a Trailer in the USA, with a mere six miles (10km) on the odometer. How so? It was donated to a tech school by Honda America, so it's probably had its tappets done a zillion times.

A presumably grateful school decided to gift the machine to a teacher on his retirement and he in turn sold it to a dealer in 2019. The recommissioned bike is said to be in great shape, though it has a minor dent in the top of the fuel tank, probably from some klutz dropping a spanner on it.

No matter, it went for a respectable Au$27,500 (US$18,500, GB£14,100). That's more than we'd expect to see for a healthy example with reasonable miles on the local market.

kawasaki z1r tc

Turbo bikes have long struggled to fetch big money.

For some the holy grail is a genuine Kawasaki USA Z1R-TC of 1978-79, of which 500 were made. Mecum sold one in 2020 for Au$44,160 (US$29,700, GB£22,700), which may be a record for this model.

See our Turbo Kings backgrounder

Flashback: Chasing the Bonneville speed dragon, October 6

triumph
              bonneville

Triumph's first Bonneville got off to a surprisingly rocky start...see the story.

Rattle, cackle and smoke, October 5

suzuki ts185er

We got a little distracted this morning, resuscitating our 1985 Suzuki TS185ER, which has been sitting unused for, oh, nearly a year.

It really didn't want to start, so we shouted it fresh fuel and went nuts and cleaned the spark plug. Of course it worked and belted around the suburbs while filling us with the joy of spring.

That mad rattle, cackle and rich blue smoke of an air-cooled two-stroke warming up feels like aural violence when unleashed on modern traffic, even though it's running a stock muffler.

We've now owned this bike for around 30 years...see the story here.

MotoCAP open day, October 5

motocap

The MotoCAP motorcycle safety gear testing site at Deakin University in Geelong today held an open house in partnership with the launch for Motorcycle Awareness Month in Victoria, Australia.

Its modest facility evaluates a range of clothing and is notable for developing a lot of expertise in assessing jackets, pants and gloves. Here is our quick overview.

Motorcycle Awareness Month Facebook page

(Pic: MotoCAP)

Hayabusa day, October 4

suzuki hayabusa

We took full advantage of a rare occurrence, which is the second consecutive sunny day in lower Victoria in living memory (okay...that may be an exaggeration), by taking the 25th anniversary Hayabusa for a decent gallop.

Though having collected it in late January, this is the first time it's been out of Melbourne. At some stage we'll report back on what it's like, when we get it past the 1000 kay (600 mile) mark on the odometer.

suzuki hayabusa

What we can so far confirm is it's very orange, very fast and as flash as a rat with a gold tooth with its high-end electronics and metal-flake paint. It's great fun.

Not everyone is a fan of the big mufflers, but we reckon they work as part of the whole manga visual package.

See our Hayabusa resources page, which includes a gen 3 review and video.

Lifetime Ducati, October 3

ducati 750
              sport

It's probably one of a kind. Okay, that's a big statement, but hang in there. This 1973 Ducati 750 Sport is a one-owner motorcycle and has been put on the market by the gent who wandered into the Frasers Brisbane showroom 51 years ago and laid down his hard-earned.

It's been ridden, a lot, and given a mechanical freshen-up at some stage. It's been ridden, a lot, and given a mechanical freshen-up at some stage. The owner has now decided to part with it, and has it on the market at Au$80,000 (US$55,000, GB£42,000). See it here.

See our Ducati 750 Sport backgrounder.

Adventure author and MotoCap for awareness launch, October 3

michelle lamphere

Adventure Rider Radio stalwart, and author of The Butterfly Route, Michelle Lamphere is among the guests highlighted for this Saturday's launch of the annual Motorcycle Awareness Month campaign in Victoria.

The event happens in Geelong's Transvaal Square, from 10.30am, October 5.

Organisers promise an impromptu motorcycle display, some great guests, plus a bundle of prizes including MotoGP tickets.

We reckon one of the highlights is the opportunity to visit the MotoCap rider clothing testing facility based at Deakin University's nearby campus. You need to book ahead for that tour and the tickets are free.

Motorcycle Awareness Month Facebook page

MotoCap tickets

Adventure Rider Radio

Michelle Lamphere home page

The Butterfly Route via Amazon

Nineties nirvana, October 2

90s hero sport
              tourers

Forgive the dodgy happy-snap...it was taken just moments after we celebrated a sunny afternoon by exercising three of our prime 1990s-derived hero sports-tourers.

In a market now dominated by very different equipment, they represent a mostly lost era and one which we continue to enjoy. From left to right are Hannibal our Tainton-tuned first-gen Suzuki Hayabusa, the first-gen Honda Blackbird and of course the first-gen Kawasaki ZX-12R.

One day soon, we should tackle a bit of an ownership and riding comparison. Until then, you can discover more about these bikes here:

Hannibal's home page

See our Hayabusa resources page

Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird profile

Bronson, our current Blackbird

Kawasaki ZX-12R first-gen profile

Getting to know our example

The Beattie Files: The Battle of Daly Waters, October 1

harley
              panhead

How a relatively simple plan to ride Harley panheads across the country turned into something way more dangerous involving fireworks and a bus-load of Swedish backpackers...see it here.

News archive

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