Motorcycle Investor mag Subscribe to our free email news Whining gears
and hitting the dirt Sunday shed wrap July 06, 2025, by Guy 'Guido' Allen Gear whine and reshaping the dirt end
of the shed What do a 1975 BMW
R75/6 and a first-model Honda Gold Wing of the
same year have in common? At first glance, you would
think it's a mixed bag and, if anything, the Honda
could be interpreted as an exercise in one-up-manship
for the touring scene. It too has a 'flat' motor, but
with four cylinders instead of two, liquid cooling,
and about 80hp versus 50. Just to rub salt into
the commercial wound, the Honda was priced at Au$2470
(US$1600, GB£1200), compared to $2870 (US$1870,
GB£1380) for the BMW. Of course BMW had the R90 series
in play, and its pricing started at Au$3045 (US$1980,
GB£1460). The differences may now seem petty, but they
were significant at the time. Back then the average
weekly wage in Australia was around Au$140 for men and
(somewhat shamefully) Au$90 for women, before tax. Anyway, this isn't about
comparing the virtues of the two motorcycles. They
co-exist in my shed and were on the riding menu for
Sunday, which included my 2001 BMW R1150GS runabout
which mostly does workhorse duties, partner Ms M's
2017 Suzuki SV650, my 1995 Triumph Daytona 1200, plus
the R75 and the Wing. While the latter pair
are very, very, different to ride, they're fabulous
company. I've already done a long spin on
the Honda to celebrate its 50th anniversary and
will do something similar later this year with the
R75/6. What intrigued me, when
I rode them briefly back-to-back, is they both have a
(by modern standards) robust gear whine as you bumble
through the ratios at suburban speeds. It is loud
enough to potentially drown out the engine sound at
low revs – close your eyes, and you just might mistake
one for the other. (Never say I fail to provide you
with an abundance of worthless trivia...) Speaking of which, we're
in the throes of reshaping the dirt end of the shed. ![]() At the moment there is
just one dirt bike, or light adventure tourer, which
is the lovely 2013 Suzuki DR650SE. I bought this on
the spur of the moment at Gassit Motorcycles, my
nearest and often-exercised workshop. Blame a sudden
rush of blood to the wallet. ![]() Here's the thing: the
bike is great. It runs well and has lots of adventure
touring gear on board including a giant 30lt Safari
tank, tapered handlebars, Barkbusters, Lectron
carburettor, the 'right' sump guard and rear rack –
you get the idea. Oh, and a set
of Avduro bags from the wonderful Mr Andy Strapz. But then I worked out
I'm not all that interested in hard-core adventure
touring. A romantic concept but, really, give me a
decent road map, a large and interesting motorcycle,
plus a credit card and a toothbrush and I'm pretty
happy. So the DR has this weekend found a new owner
who wants to tackle Brisbane to Bourke via backroads,
for which it will be perfect. Nevertheless, a bit of
easy off-road cruising appeals. We had a trail bike
fleet when the kids lived at home, including an early
Yamaha TT600 and XT250, a pretty nice Suzuki TS185ER
and (for a little while) a swarm of Hodakas. They got
used, rather fitfully, and were eventually seen off
the premises. Partner Ms M and I,
along with some other folk, want to revisit the whole
trail riding gig. The plot is simple: pick some quiet
back roads and trails, drop in somewhere for lunch,
then amble back to home base. If there were to be
rules, they might include: 1. The first person to
break down buys lunch; 2. No Medivac helicopters. If
you're badly injured, we may end your suffering on the
spot. Nevertheless we will mourn you and will have to
spend a fortune on good-quality whiskey to dull the
emotional pain. ![]() Obviously, we need
motorcycles. Given the criteria, we're looking for
simplicity, reliability, something that's easy to
handle and shove on to a trailer at the end of the
day. To that end the DR650SE has funded two
replacements, with change. They are a 1999 Yamaha
XT225 (shown above in Serow form and now sold overseas
as an XT250) and 2000 Honda SL230 (below). ![]() What I love about them
is they cost not much (Au$3k and under) with low miles
and have near-as-dammit identical specs. Look for 20
horsepower – which is sod-all and will do the job.
Weight is about 110kg dry. They have the same wheel
sizes and relatively low-spec suspension. In essence,
they're all about low-cost and low-stress fun. Their fuel tanks carry
about 10lt each, and I'm a little surprised I haven't
yet ridden either during one of the many tours in
Vietnam across the years – they would be perfect for
the job. ![]() We're evidently not
alone in liking these simple machines – which are no
longer on the local market thanks to the absence of
ABS. The
Swedish Army has just ordered 1000 XT250s, which are
in fact a rebadged 225. The plot is to dust off
our 1979 Holden Kingswood (the family pet) and use it
to grab the Yamaha in Mansfield, Victoria. Then, the
week after, we're off to Sydney to shoot a couple of
classics for Unique
Cars magazine. We'll use that trip to pick
up the Honda. Watch this space... Meanwhile we have
(what's the collective noun?) a kaleidoscope of
projects to be attended to for various reasons: the
1975 Triumph T160, the 1985 Ducati MHR Mille, the 1952
Vincent Rapide and Doctor Gange the 1980
Suzuki GS1000G outfit. Honda GL1000 Gold
Wing profile See our
Suzuki DR650SE series profile *** ------------------------------------------------- Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722 |
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