AllMoto's Motorcycle Investor mag

Motorcycle Investor mag

News April 2025

Kahena – obscure brand of the day, April 25

Ever heard of Kahena Motorcycles? Don't feel bad if you haven't.

The obscure Brazilian make was the brain child of Luiz Gomi and José Biston, the gents behind the Amazonas leviathans. See our mini-profile.

Sixties Yamaha ads, April 23

Yamaha undertook some courageous advertising themes through the 1960s and this is one of our favourites. The missus, girlfriend, sister, lawyer or parole officer appears to be terribly pleased our hero is going to be away all day.

Motorcycle Mechanics magazine in the UK published a serial owner (offender?) view of the model, which you can see here.

At the time, the factory was testing the boundaries with its marketing, as our mini-feature on the 1965 Yamaha Rotary Jet 80 shows.

Bevel heaven, April 23

We've just loaded a new set of Conti pipes on to the lovely Hailwood and there is more work to be done. See our first update on this relatively new toy.

Mexican MX, April 22

Ever heard of Carabela? The Mexican brand for a while made a splash on MX tracks there and in the USA during the 1970s and then seemed to eventually fizzle out as a motorcycle producer in 1987. However it re-emerged in year 2000 its home market and now has a substantial range of offerings.

The bike you see here is a 1974 125 motocrosser, up for auction via Classic Avenue in the USA.

A Cycle News retro piece on this model noted: California rider Scott Brown, who raced this very same model at famous SoCal tracks like Indian Dunes and Escape Valley, offers a strong testimonial for the Mexican racers. “When Carabela entered the scene, it was an unknown,” Brown recalls. “I remember having the bike delivered in a crate. I unboxed it and was amazed! It was a beautiful motorcycle—fit and finish all looked perfect.

“What the Carabela did well, with proper setup, was the way it handled. It did very well against the other makes during that time frame. The key was setup, as well as a disciplined maintenance focus, including piston, rings, carb, etc.”

See the full story here.

Vincent Rapide – first ride, April 22

We finally got the big Brit out for a brief gallop...see the story.

Bimmer assembly, April 20

This BMW R 12 G/S assembly video is a little mesmerising...

See the R100GS Paris-Dakar that was in our shed.

Rare Ducati Carl Fogarty replica at auction, April 19

Every now and then the collectible bike market pops up a surprise, and this is one of them. This Carl Fogarty replica Ducati 916 SPS (actually a 996 engine) is pretty obscure, with just 202 produced and only for the UK market. An example recently sold in the USA. More here

Norton Nemesis V8 run, April 19

At last! The long-term Norton Nemesis V8 revival project, largely steered by the world's favourite old-school creative engineer, Allen Millyard, has been for an exploratory gallop on a track, reaching 110mph.

Millyard has a YouTube channel which provides plenty of background on the project. More to come...

Obscure bike for the day: Kawasaki KSR-2, April 17

Do you have one of these in your shed? This little piece of obscurity – a 1990 Kawasaki SR-2 – has popped up for auction at Iconic in the USA.

The 80c two-stroke single claims a heady 7.5kW (10hp) at 800rpm and weighs a mere 77kg dry.

Speaking of Kawasaki two-strokes, see our H2 profile.

Read Titan race replicas – seventies time capsule, April 16

It's circa 1976 and pukka race replica bikes are thin on the ground, unless you had the funds to indulge in exotica from the likes of Ducati or perhaps MV Agusta – which won its last (of many) Grand Prix that year.

If you were a kid on a budget in the UK, there was plenty of hope. Read Titan would cheerfully sell you race replica bodywork and tuning gear. More here...

Flashback: Yamaha TRX850, April 15

Remember these? Light, quick, narrow and huge fun – Yamaha's TRX850. See the profile.

Triumph Thruxton 1200 R – buying used, April 14

Walk back nine years and Triumph launched what we regard as one of the best cafe racers ever produced, namely the Thruxton 1200 R. See the buying used guide we recently wrote for bikesales.

Plus, we have added one to the shed – see it here.

Kawasaki ZX-12R, April 12

Brochure of the day: Kawasaki's mighty ZX-12R. While it was a worthy competitor for Suzuki's legendary Hayabusa, things didn't quite work out the way the company might have hoped for.

See our profile, now including a suite of brochure pics

And see the one that lives in our shed

Commando auction, April 11

There's something really simple and elegant about the styling of a Norton 750 Commando, as this 1969 example shows. It's up for auction via Donington, with an estimate of Au$18-20,000 (US$11-12,500, GB£8500-9500).

See our Norton Commando profile

And the 850 Commando that was in our shed

Fix my ride, April 10

Banging and crashing through the potholes is over-rated, so we set about putting some fresh rear shocks on the big Honda Valkyrie Interstate. See the story.

Catch of the day: Voxan prototype, April 8

If you're into ultra-rare and off-beat motorcycles, this is a must have. Meet what claims to be the prototype of the French-made Voxan 1000 V-twin, shown by the fledgling company at the Paris Motorcycle Show in 1997.

Iconic in the USA has it for sale at Au$88,300 (US53,500, GB£42,000). We're told it has just one mile on the odometer and is in running condition.

For those of us who are a little hazy on the whole Voxan thing, OddBike.com has a great backgrounder.

The Voxan emerged at a time when creating sporty V-twins to compete with Ducati was all the rage – witness the emergence of the Honda and Suzuki rivals of the period.

See our Honda VTR1000 SP series profile

Plus the Suzuki TL1000 series feature

And let's not forget Buell

Flashback: Laverda swansong, April 7

While there are purists who prefer the earlier triples, for Ian Falloon the limited-edition swansong SFC 1000 was special. See the story.

Falloon home page

Dirt track dragon, April 6

It's 1975 and a then young Kenny Roberts takes a two-stroke TZ750 Yamaha-powered dirt tracker, tuned by Erv Kanemoto, to an unexpected victory in an AMA championship race in the USA.

The bike aptly became known as the Kanemoto Dragon.

Motorcycle Classics in the USA has the story on the bike, by Dain Gingerelli.

Roberts had made a name for himself in the series by winning with Yamaha XS650 four-strokes that were regarded as under-powered compared to the previously dominant Harley-Davidson XR-750s.

He went on to win three 500cc Grands Prix world titles on the trot, from 1978 to 1980.

AMA Roberts profile

AMA Kanemoto profile

Speaking of Yamaha four-pot two-strokes, see our profile on the RZ500

Classic Motorcycle Mecca, April 5

AllMoto reader Mick Meaney recently did his second tour through the Classic Motorcycle Mecca museum in the south end of New Zealand, and rates it as must-see. See the story here.

Special Strapz saddlebags, April 5

To celebrate its 28th year, the Andy Strapz crew has released a special edition Avduro Pannier set, complete with a special embroidered logo and equipped with some extras such top nets, strap keepers and liners.

They’re made in Melbourne from a "tried and crashed" 17oz Aussie Dynaproofed canvas and are priced at $545 a set, plus freight.

We’ve recently purchased a similar set for our Suzuki DR650 and, as expected, they seem to be bulletproof and well-finished.

See andystrapz.com.

Other side of...where? April 4

Welcome to the Black Stump Hotel in sunny Merriwagga, NSW. It's one of at least two towns we know of that claims the proverbial marker of the far away. Any nominations?

Meanwhile we've made it to beautiful downtown Mt Hope (also in NSW) and the Royal Hotel.

This is what it looked like in 1987, when the access road was still dirt and we were all much younger! And yes, that's the much-missed Mr Smith in the black shirt.

Meanwhile the Bimmer K1200LT  land yacht is reveling in what it does best – gobbling up distances and (so far) dodging emus. 

See our profile of the series.

Deni Bimmer muster, April 3

We're in sunny Deniliquin on the mighty BMW K1200LT land yacht, on the way to Mount Hope for the first time in years.

'Deni' is of course the site of the annual ute muster.

The Bimmer underwent a big rebuild in 2022 – see it here.

Those April fools, April 3

A quick nod and a wink to a couple of folk for our favourite April fools day jokes for the year.

First prize goes to a sneakily half-believable effort from Bikebound, with its Wetcati announcement. We suspect there may be a few folk at Ducati HQ mulling over whether they should turn ridiculous into reality.