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News Feb 2026
Surviving the cull – Sunday shed wrap,
Feb 7
For a minute there, this bike was languishing in an
auction house awaiting a sale. Then we rescued it...see the story.
Flashback: buying the Bimota, Feb 6
From our archives: Is there such a thing as value-for-money exotica? Maybe. Bimota's YB11 Super Leggera back in 1996 cost more than double a new Honda Fireblade and promised superbike performance in a 600-size package. Now you can get a good one for Au$20k and under. Join us for a run with one that was in our shed
Made in Italy – in Germany, Feb 6
Ian Falloon on a very special collection in Europe: One of Germany’s largest public collections of motorcycles and bicycles, it houses approximately 400 exhibits across nearly 2000 square metres. Displaying examples from 140 motorcycle brands and 45 bicycle manufacturers, the museum charts the evolution of personal mobility from the late 19th century to the present.
See the story at his Substack feed
Peggy the legend, Feb 6
Legendary and pioneering
road racer, 82-year-old Peggy Hyde passed away
recently and Classic Two Wheels has revived a
1970 feature which provides a remarkable contemporary
picture of her race efforts.
In part it says: "At
the three-mile Phillip Island GP circuit, Peggy
became the first woman in Australia (if not the
world) to win a high-speed race against male
competitors.
"In the six-lap Senior C-grade event, on her 500cc
three-cylinder Mach III Kawasaki (with the
headlamp removed to comply with regulations),
Peggy soundly trounced a field of 90 men, many on
pukka racers with streamlined fairings, to win
with 15 seconds in hand."
Motorcycling
Australia has a circa 2021 video interview with
Peggy. It's 33 minutes in length and worth sitting
down to enjoy with a glass of decent wine.
She made some great observations, including that she wasn't trying to prove anything by being a woman in a sport that was often hostile to her gender, other than basic justice. "I just wanted to play in the sandpit with the other kids," she said, "And there was no good reason why I shouldn't."
Good buys at Mecum, Feb 3
We recently highlighted
the top prices paid at the annual Mecum Las Vegas
auction, however it's worth noting there were some
bargains and a general feeling that prices overall
were down.
A good example is this
1975 Rickman Kawasaki 900, which came out of a major
collection and appears to be in good shape.
It went for Au$11,000
(US$7700, GB£5600, €6500)
See our mini
Rickman Kawasaki profile
Hondas fill top two slots at Las Vegas,
Feb 2
The top two sales at
the recent Las Vegas Mecum auction were for
Hondas.
Is this the first time it has
happened?
This
1967 RC174 replica 297cc inline six
with a seven-speed transmission headed the
pack. George Beale built 10 back in 2004,
with Honda's support.
That machine shown
here went for Au$475,000
(US$330,000, GB£241,000, €278,000).
UK-based
Beale restores and sells classic motorcycles
and has produced a book on the RC174 build.
Second was the Honda
CB750-Four prototype.
Here is a screen shot of
the top eight sales – right-click open in new tab or
window to see it larger.
See the Mecum site for more. You need to log in to see the results – signing up is free.
More
auction news at AllMoto.com
Honda CB750-Four prototype sells at
auction, Feb 1
A Honda CB750-Four prototype – thought to be the only
survivor of a string of such machines – sold overnight via
Mecum in Las Vegas for Au$450,400 (US$313,500, GB£229,000,
€264,500).
See our auction
preview story for more info on the bike
And our
CB750-Four backgrounder
***
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