AllMoto's Motorcycle Investor mag

This is a Bates Clipper fairing on a Suzuki GS850 - most commonly fitted to early Goldwings and also rather unkindly known as the Dolly Parton fairing. You can still buy replacement windscreens for them.
Big aftermarket fairings were a booming business in the seventies through to the early eighties.
You can still buy Bates cycle parts.

A quick salute also to Craig Vetter’s Windjammer, which did big numbers in the USA.

And of course the Australian la Parisienne outfit, run by the irrepressible Bertrand Cadart, and made famous in the first Mad Max movie.

Fancy a fast Harley? (And for you smartarses out there, no, that’s not an oxymoron!) Team Obsolete is selling some gear, including this very desirable 1980 XRTT 1300 with its all-alloy short-stroke engine. You’ll need deep pockets, to the tune of US$150k.
Sale link.
Team Obsolete.

Interesting results at the Shannons auction in Sydney last night.
A 1970 Triumph Bonneville fetched $22,500, underpinning strong results on other Bonnies at the recent Melbourne auction.

A Yamaha XS-1 of the same year and looking to be in somewhat used but clean condition went for $10,500.

Meanwhile an admittedly nicely-presented BSA WM20 scored an extraordinarily strong result at $20,000.
See all the lots here.

MZ ETZ250 - Always had a lot of time for these things. Proof that a two-stroke tuned the right way could be surprisingly grunty. This was a really simple and enojoyable do-anything kind of bike. You don't see good ones for sale very often.
Specs.
Backgrounder.

Speaking of VW-powered bikes, who remembers the Amazonas? One of the few serious attempts at series production of a motorcycle using a VW Beetle engine. Backgrounder.

Remember these? There was a brief craze for putting VW Beetle engines in BMWs so you ended up with a DIY German Goldwing. I rode one in Brisbane years ago - dealer Phil Beaumont had it in his showroom. It was surprisingly good. See this story from Silodrome.

Honda Elsinore on the cover of Cycle World. Guess the year. (Yep, 1978...the clue was in the top strap, anouncing the Yamaha XS1100.)

1929 Norton, 600cc OHV model 24. At the start of the saddle tank era, with a Brooklands muffler - or is that an amplifier? It would have been a quick road bike for its day. Imagine taking it for an early Sunday morning strop...the neighbours would love it!

Crocker values continue to defy gravity - this 1936 model sold for Au$1.21 million at Monterey during the Pebble Beach festival. Mecum was the auction house - see more here.
About Crocker

Here's something you won't see every day, the legendary Paul Dunstall's old bike shop, circa 1960s. The trading name has been revived and you can read about the history here.

From young Dave Milligan: Get Routed has put together an itinerary for a semi guided tour to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT/Manx GP in 2020. Participants will be taking their own bikes, shipped from Australia to the UK.

Initially we'd have 2 weeks touring England visiting many places of interest to 'yer average addict' - The ACE Cafe, the London Motorcycle Museum, Sammy Miller's Race Bike Museum, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Haynes International Motor Museum, the Morgan Motor Company factory, a Triumph factory visit, a Norton factory visit, the UK National Motorcycle Museum, a couple of days riding thru the Yorkshire Dales to visit 'Aidensfield' and Squires Cafe. A couple of nights in Liverpool to take in the Beatles Experience.

The group would then end up on the Isle of Man for the Festival of Motorcycling which incorporates the Classic TT and the Manx GP in the one meeting from Saturday 22 August to Saturday 5 September. The first week is Practice week and the second Race week.

A Honda superbike set up at a claimed cost of $250k for Anthony Gobert in the 2005 Australian season is on the market for $17,500. This was a very late-career ride for Gobert, whose career was severely battered by health issues to do with substance abuse.

Gobert had some promising rides on the bike, however it was Josh Brookes who dominated the season. The dealership behind the machine, Redwing Honda, subsequently went out of business.

From the BMW Airheads Facebook feed: Sooo what Bikes/Scooters were You riding BEFORE you Graduated to an Airheads BMW? I remember when Danny Liska rode an R60, with his Wife onboard, 40,000 miles from the North Cape of Norway to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa... That was 1966 and four years later I rode my Bultaco Metralla 250 8,000 miles in three weeks, Coast-2-Coast and back across the USA, to "do" serpentine Route 1 in California; and, all I remembered later was the Grand Canyon!! And back in 1967 a Bultaco Metralla won the 250cc Production Class at the Isle of Man, averaging 90 miles per hour...

What was once the Morbidelli Museum is now up for auction through Bonhams. Selling the complete collection of 300 bikes in one event is an interesting decision, as this style of auction has a patchy history, where it is possible to flood the market with a single sale. Nevertheless the list of what's on offer is fascinating and will get a lot of attention.

The prime lot is a 1942 supercharged Benelli 250-4, which is estimated in the range of $700k to $1.1 million. See the full listing here.

Comprising approximately 300 motorcycles, and representing every decade of the 20th century, this important collection was built up by the museum's founder, motorcycle manufacturer and Grand Prix boss Giancarlo Morbidelli, over a period of 40 years, and is the largest single private collection of motorcycles to be offered by Bonhams to date.

Including international brands such as Harley Davidson, Honda and Benelli, the machines range from immaculate restorations to prototypes and barn finds.

They represent the passion of the farmer's son and former woodworking machinist who, while building up a successful engineering firm as his day job, spent his spare time on tuning, racing and later building his own motorcycles.

Highlights of the collection include two examples from the Morbidelli Grand Prix racing motorcycle collection, largely designed and built by Giancarlo, all fabricated by a small but dedicated team in a corner of the Morbidelli woodworking factory.

However, these proved to be 'giant killers' seeing off international corporations to claim the 125cc Grand Prix World Championship in three consecutive years: 1975, '76 and '77, as well as winning the 250cc world title in 1977.

As Gianni, Morbidelli's son and motor racing driver, said of Giancarlo: "He was a genius with bikes. He did everything by himself, working in a very small room.

"Forty years ago, he laid the foundation of this incredible museum, spending a lot of effort, time, energy and money.

"One part of the museum is dedicated to the period between the end of the 1960s to the 1980s when he built racing motorcycles. It's our family heritage, a part of our life, but we thought it would be appropriate to include in the sale two Morbidelli motorcycles that my father built."

For Sale: BMW R100SRS - the “Unicorn” of BMW RS’s as it’s been referred to. In the late 1970’s, the Australian Federal Police commissioned a batch of 200 R100 RS’s to be used for escort and ceremonial duties in the various states & territories.

At point of despatch, the order was cancelled, and BMW were left with 200 white RSs Rather than the full RS fairing, they were fitted with the S style cockpit fairing..

This bike was built in December, 1977, but not registered until 1980 in the UK. Somewhere along the line, this one had a full fairing fitted. What I do know is that this bike is a genuine SRS. The engine number matches the original BMW VIN plate and most importantly it has the Australian compliance VIN plate, also carrying the matching number. The bike still carries the rare, white impregnated, factory panniers.

It’s a UK registered bike, manufactured in December 1977, but not registered until 1980. The bike had an engine out restoration 7 years ago and was rebuilt very much as a riders motorcycle. Bearings in the headstock, swinging arm and wheels were replaced, along with a full motor refresh, including stainless pushrod tubes, stainless exhaust system, etc. Brakes were also completely overhauled. In fact everything you’d want to do to an Airhead BMW, was done. So mechanically, she’s spot on. It’s off the button, hot or cold, with none of the usual boxer exhaust smoke, charging well, and with all of the idiot lights working.

I have a fist full of receipts for all parts and work done. Cosmetically, other than poor paint on the fairing lowers, the bike is still very smart. The bike isn’t a museum piece and has been ridden, although not much since the engine refresh 7 years ago. It’s in damned good nick for a 39 year old bike.

I imported it to Australia from the UK in September, 2018 and as yet is not Aussie registered. A buyer has the option of full rego or putting it on club plates. At the time it arrived it was sent to Phil Marshal of K&R Motorcycles in Cheltenham (VIC) for a roadworthy and a complete going over. All fluids were replaced and a full service completed to ensure it really is in tip top running order. A new battery was installed. It comes with a VIC

More here at Bikesales

At Highball Cars and Coffee with the Ecco BMW R65 and shooter Ben Galli. With this weather, should have brought flippers and a snorkel...shooting for an upcoming story in Motorcycle Trader mag and grabbing a few feature cars for Unique Cars magazine.

Vincent adventure tourer...what’s that line about too much time on their hands? Steve Kealy, who took the photo, tells usthat sadly the bike no longer exists. Among its compnenets were an Africa Twin front end, hand-made alloy oil tank and a Yamaha fuel tank.

Spotted in the Mighty ZX7 feed on Facebook - written by Mark Donnelly: This is what I say to myself to justify buying bikes that may not be worth much in years to come...

The way I look at it is like this..hobbies/holiday travel cost money...if I get $1000 worth of joy a year out of riding my bike that is worth $10000 for 10 years..then if I sell it for $0 in 2030...it just means I paid $1000 a year for some fun, some photos and memories...now some men I know spend over $1000 a year on girls, booze and smokes (well more like $15,000PA on said items)...some spend $5000 on a holiday each year to some overseas place for a week or two...money gone in some fun, some photos and memories....the two concepts are much the same (although the bike is still an asset you can sell for more or less)..I'd just rather not drink much or go on overseas holidays and buy a bike instead

...

So, that justifies me buying another one this week!

Running in (or breaking in) a bike - what’s the best method? This is a really good piece on the topic, but watch the whole thing as the apparent conclusion, about halfway through, is not necessarily what it first appears to be.

1988 Yamaha FZR750R OW-01 reached $16,100 at Graysonline and is under negotiation. In fair condition and in need of a tidy-up but with very low miles showing on the odo.
Grays auction link.
OW-01 specs & profile.

1984 Honda CBX750 - a bit of an orphan in the local market but a pretty advanced bike for its day. This one, with @ 23,000km on the odo and looking very original, sold for $3100 at Graysonline. That's a cheap club plate bike.
Auction link.
Honda CBX750 specs & profile.

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