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News June-July 2025
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
This is what the UK cool kids
wanted to ride back in 1973: a Yamaha RD125
air-cooled two-stroke twin.
See the
data on this bike at Motorcycle Specs
Plus our
1978 RD brochure gallery
Hailwoods
and dirt bikes – Sunday shed wrap, June 29
Lining
up a bevel gem, and fettling for a trail ride.
Peter
Stevens retail group sold, June 29
Much of the Peter Stevens retail
group has been split into two parts with
Motorcycle Holdings and the Joe Rascal Group
buying up the majority of stores between them.
Several shops will
nevertheless be closed, including the giant outlet in
Ringwood (Vic).
Australian
Motor Cycle News has the breakdown, here.
Flashback:
Hopping through Texas, June 28
A happy tale of Valkyries and
kangaroos...see the
story here.
We now have another Honda Valkyrie
Interstate in the shed – see it
here.
Mudslinging
pic for the day – Triumph, June 27
The thousand-yard stare and serious mid-slinging shown here is being conducted by young Cameron Donald – TT racer and all-round gem – during the Australian dealer launch of the new Triumph enduro range. We're only sorry not to see his fast and fabulous partner Kaz elbowing him out of the way on another bike...
No matter. You can see the local website for the range
below, where we're assured traction control, launch
control, quickshifter and switchable engine maps are all
part of the fun. How times have changed...
Cam Donald links: Facebook; Wikipedia
1999
Yamaha R1 – today's tempter, June 26
First-model 1998 Yamaha R1s in collector-shape have dropped off the radar, though we're starting to see a few good 1999 examples emerge at reasonable prices.
This model is in our pantheon of machines which shaped
the modern sports bike: 1985 Suzuki
GSX-R750;
1992 Honda
CBR900RR FireBlade;
1994 Ducati 916;
And 1998 Yamaha
YZF R1.
This 1999 variant looks stock and very tidy, with a little shy of 47,000km on the odo. It's on the market in Victoria, Australia, via bikesales at Au$11,100 (US$7300, GB£5300).
Honda
Super Blackbird – random brochure for the day,
June 24
It's the second half of
1996 and Honda has produced this compelling image for
its newly-launched CBR1100XX Super Blackbird. We
reckon it was a stand-out for the time and probably
helped to sell a lot of motorcycles.
The Honda's connection to the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane was made just
that little stronger with some styling cues that
connected the two.
Lite
'n' easy Himalayan 411, June 23
Royal Enfield's now
superseded Himalayan 411 potentially offers pretty
good bang for the buck, so long as you're aware of its
limitations. See the buyer
guide we wrote for bikesales.
We have a wealth of RE material on
our features
page, including a quick ride on this
fabulous 1937 Model KX V-twin.
Speed
demons – Sunday shed wrap, June 22
Playing with the 290kph-plus end of the
fleet...see the story
here.
Ago's
MV Agusta, June 20
MV Agusta has announced
a special edition Superveloce 1000 Ago as part of its
celebration of the 80th anniversary of the marque's
founding.
Just 83 are being made –
a nod to the legendary racer Giacomo Agostini who is
turning 83 this year.
The bike is bristling with special
features, while it's powered by the 998cc inline
four claiming 208hp.
Pricing is right up there at
around Au$124,000 (US$80,000, GB£60,000).
Superveloce 1000
Ago home page
See the F4 1000
Nero in our shed
Stroker
delight – Honda NSR250R SP, June 20
Arguably one of the
prettiest two-stroke street bikes ever made and one of
the most effective. Honda's NSR250R by this stage was
highly developed and regarded as being significantly
sharper than Suzuki's rival RGV offering or even
Yamaha TZR. Well, that's according to
this 1991 shoot-out at Cycle World.
The NSR shown here is part of a
USA collection and is being
auctioned by Iconic.
Suzuki
DR650SE buyer guide, June 20
We've recently written a
Suzuki
DR650SE buyer guide for bikesales – see it
here.
Meanwhile
we wrote about the example in the shed via the
most recent Sunday Shed Wrap.
Bridgestone
350 GTR, June 19
Random ad for the day: it's 1967 and Illinois (USA) company Rockford has become the importer for Bridgestone at a time when the American market was seen as critical if a maker wanted profitable volume sales.
The 350 GTR was Bridgestone's ultimate if short-lived performance bike – see our mini-profile with links to a wealth of in-depth info.
Flashback:
chasing Katanas, June 18
Lusting after something, say an eighties Suzuki Katana 1100, for the best part of 20 years can get you into all sorts of trouble...see the story here.
Brave
designs – Yamaha TX750, June 17
Yamaha has a worthy history of trying courageous designs that sometimes struggle and the TX750 of 1972 counts as one of them. See our mini-profile.
Feeding
the six-pack – Sunday shed wrap, June 15
Leaky dinosaurs
and playing with much simpler toys...it's
been an action-packed day at Chateau Guido.
New
way for Norton, June 15
Norton may be on the
cusp of a major revision of its line-up, adding new
model ranges, according to Cycle World in the
USA.
It speculates the
company will persist with the historically troubled
Commando 961 series, given that is central to the
marque's identity.
However the 1200 V4
series, which is unable to meet current EU emission
rules, is likely to receive significant updates and
perhaps a complete revision. All the company has said
is that it has a four-cylinder superbike in the late
stages of development.
Parent company TVS out
of India, which bought the marque five years ago and
is a major player in the industry, now has a
relationship with BMW for which it will be building
the powerplants for the upcoming F 450 series.
This new range was
'teased' by the German company last November with a
proposed F 450 GS.
The powerplant might
also be perfect for a host of light Nortons – or so
the theory goes and assuming BMW is prepared to share.
We have a suspicion
Norton also might reach back into its roots and look
at what it can do with sexy singles. Does the name
Manx ring a bell? Watch this space...
See the Cycle
World story here
See our
profile on the original Norton Commando series
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.
Of course there was Victory
Motorcycles, which got killed off by owner
Polaris in favour of Indian.
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.
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