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Surviving the cull – Sunday shed wrap

The ongoing fight between logic and emotion

For a minute there, this bike was languishing in an auction house awaiting a sale. Then we rescued it

Guy 'Guido' Allen, February 8, 2026

It was one of those rare weeks when reality had sunk in. Attempting to maintain and run a little over 30 vehicles (25 bikes and six cars) is too much. Certainly without a full-time mechanic, perhaps a fleet manager and a budget that would support a state opera.

Okay maybe I exaggerate. The cost is more or less do-able, if you're careful. That said, the trap with running older vehicles is they will occasionally decide to bite you on the wallet – and hard.

Most of the toys are on historic or club plates in Victoria, Australia, and for them the annual cost is a relatively light Au$90-or-so per year.

One of the real issues is time. This week I have burned two days shuffling around a bunch of cars and bikes for their assorted medical appointments. And there is a another car which now has a two-week wait before we see the surgeon.

In many respects it's a great problem to have. However Muggins recently came to the conclusion that the fleet is simply too big for one person to cope with. Which means a cull.

This is by no means the first time I've had a crack at this. In some ways it's good to have a look at what is in the shed and do a fleet freshen-up.

For example, of the three motorcycles in this shot taken in 2014 only one remains in the fleet. That would be Hannibal the Hayabusa – on the hoist.

This time the plan was to start off light with the cut: six motorcycles and two cars out of a field of 31. Of course the two cars quickly became one, as the old long-wheelbase S-class Benz is a favourite for long trips and was never going to fetch a fortune.

No problem – there were plenty more to go. A few of the motorcycle targets were recent acquisitions, for which I held no great love. Had a ball on them, but I was not going to lay awake at night fretting over their future.

Caught up in all this excitement was the 1971 Honda K1 CB750-Four, which I bought just over a decade ago from young Brian Browne. He was then the owner of TT Motorcycles in Victoria, Australia.

It's been a very easy thing to live with. Reliable and straight-forward to service particularly if, like me, you more or less grew up with them as a young adult. That experience stays with you – my eldest daughter, Ms A, is appalled that I can instantly recall the Honda's valve clearances but not her birthday.

Anyway for a moment there a fit of logic invaded the brain. It went along the lines of, you ride it once every blue moon and probably won't miss it. Logic is over-rated.

Unfortunately for the auction house – which already had the bike in its custody – I went out there for a car-related function and saw the old gold Honda lined up with a motley collection of other mechanical orphans. That just didn't sit right.

Of course I dropped in the next day and rescued it, to the amusement of the folk at Donington Auctions. The delightful hour-long ride home, with the sun out and the engine happily droning away, proved that this was the right decision...

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