![]()
Motorcycle Investor mag Subscribe to our free email news 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.” 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 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. 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. 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 ![]()
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.
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. ![]() And proof that there is at least
one corporate out there with a sense of humour is
this from
Suzuki, promoting the new AWD Slimny...love
it. Flashback:
The Bimota YB11 in the shed, April 2 ![]() Fast, physically tiny but with a giant heart, the Bimota YB11 Super Leggera that recently graced our shed had a lot to recommend it. See the story. *** ------------------------------------------------- Produced by AllMoto abn 61 400 694 722 |
ArchivesContact though actual |