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Twins
and fours
Sunday
shed wrap
The fleet gets busy after a
brief lay-off...four run and three to be
registered
November 9, 2025, Guy 'Guido'
Allen
Triumph Daytona pic by Stuart Grant; Blackbird pics by Ben Galli
After an absence of a few weeks
thanks to a combination of travel, work and crap
weather, I've finally stepped back into the shed
to recommence exercising the fleet. It may not
seem like much, but three-ish weeks offline means
the 25-plus bikes and half a dozen cars quickly
fall behind in their exercise regime and assorted
maintenance needs. And yes, I realise this is a
very first-world problem.
With a break in the weather
(finally!) I got this group out for a gallop, this
afternoon:
1996 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird (above);
2016 Triumph Thruxton 1200 R;
1995 Triumph Daytona 1200;
And 2018 Suzuki SV650.
So let's have a look at them...
This Blackbird, aka Bronson,
is semi-retired. I should probably sell it, but
cannot for assorted reasons.
Starting with the basics: I love
riding it. The Blackbird represents high-end
mid-1990s engineering that is utterly docile and
bulletproof around town, and spectacularly fast
when cut loose. I've owned three of them, and this
was bought back in 2012 for Au$3500 (US$2300,
GB£1700, €2000). It's probably still worth that!
Because it's on club/historic
plates in Victoria (Australia) the annual rego
cost is just $80. Something to watch for is the
early ones like this reach 30 years of age in
2026, and so start becoming eligible for
club/historic plates nationwide.
This first version is very
analogue, with no ABS and running carburettors –
the next two generations had fuel-injection. I
reckon a well-kept one still works as a decent
ride today. See our
most recent major update on it – reporting on
nine years of ownership – from 2022.
Also see
the 2013 video review via YouTube
The Thruxton 1200 R is a machine
we recently bought from old mate John Waugh. It
turned out to be great decision.
Really, there is no logical reason
for Muggins to own or ride this thing. It's a
little small, the ride position is built for
someone younger with more flexible joints, there
are faster bikes in the shed, more precise ones,
historically more significant machines, more
technically sophisticated models and far more
practical ones.
So, why? It's beautiful and it's
an exceptionally well-sorted machine. A true
feel-good piece. That'll do...see our
March 2025 wrap-up of this one.
Plus the
2016 review on YouTube
Our big Brit bomber, the 1995
Triumph Daytona 1200, kind of counts as an old
friend. It's one of those motorcycles I
immediately got on with way back when it was new –
partly because it fitted me. Like the Blackbird,
it's running carburettors and so is always high on
my list when it comes to rolling it into the
exercise yard.
Fuel injected models can be
remarkably tolerant of a substantial lay-off, but
not the carb crew.
We did a
big wrap-up on this bike, last month – see it
here.
This, believe it or not, is one of my hero motorcycles – the mighty Suzuki SV650. The series has been around 26 years in various forms, and they have had one thing in common. That is offering good performance, decent handling and great bang for the buck.
The machine you see here is a 2018 purchase owned by partner Ms M and is her second. In fact, the family has had four of various generations.
This example was bought new for a
princely Au$9500 on the road (US$6500, GB£4900,
€5600). You can buy the same thing today, with
updated graphics for Au$11,490 (US$6200,
GB£4700, €5400).
We have bought a few SV650s over
the years because they work. The handling and
brakes have been good, while the power delivery
from the V-twin engine has been user-friendly with
a solid dose of character to it.
The current third generation (from
2017) is a very capable motorcycle on a tight and
twisty road.
They work well for experienced
riders – particularly women – who are chasing a
decent performance and handling package with a low
seat height. Larger folk will prefer the DL650
V-Strom adventure tourer, which runs the same
driveline.
Ms M's bike has had a string of
minor services done at home and a major 'birthday'
including tyres, chain/sprocket set etcetera at
27,000km (17,000 miles) a few years ago via the skilled
folk at Mick Hone Motorcycles. It has been
fuss-free to own.
Maybe it's time we brought you a
proper feature on this series...
In the meantime, we did a video
review of a learner-approved (LAMS) version of the
SV650 back in 2016 – see it
here on YouTube.
We have a busy week coming up. The 2000 Kawasaki ZX-12R (above) is now eligible for club/historic plates in Vic, which means taking it in for a roadworthy certificate and changing over. I clearly remember riding one of these then newly-launched monsters. Who knew we'd all live that long?
Oh, we also have the
Harley-Davidson Sprint 350SS to collect and sort
out. And, maybe, finally get our act together
sufficiently to get the BSA Firebird and the
Vincent Rapide registered...
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