Posts published by “Andrew”

Classic 2 stroke – RZ 350 Kenny Roberts Edition

Published August 2, 2011 by Andrew

When I was growing up the RD250LC and RD350LC were the bikes to have. Of course in the US you called them RZ’s. These bikes were water cooled 2 strokes that rarely remained standard and could be heard screaming about the roads in the UK. This example we didn’t get as it was in celebration of Kenny Roberts, we were way more concerned about a Barry Sheene Suzuki! When Yamaha introduced the YVPS powervalve system the bikes had a broader spread of power but were still ultimately 2 strokes that you ran in the power band trailing a faint blue smoke while waking the neighbours.

The seller doesn’t say too much:

1985 Yamaha RZ350 Kenny Roberts Edition
400 miles on NEW TOP END.
New Clutch, new Roller Chain, Tach is new factory, K-N air cleaner is new, Spec Chambers,new hand-stitched seat. Bridgestone Battlax tires. Has original manual and toolkit.
Mechanically New, Few cracks on plastic.
RUNS GREAT! Have owned for 12 years.
If you use the Buy Now option I will include stock pipes worth $300 each.No Free test rides.
Serious interest only.

The auction can be found here on eBay.

If you have always wanted a 2 stroke but the likes of a race 250 is too much then not sure you can go wrong with one of these which you can pick up for only a few grand.

Just in case you wanted to hear a little beauty like this:

One Response.

Is this from Tron? – 1990 BMW K1

Published July 29, 2011 by Andrew

OK so this won’t be to everyone’s taste but no denying BMW were thinking ahead when they designed the K1. Here we have an example from 1990 in Red and Yellow, you’ll be noticed! The design of the K100 that BMW used to produce was a cruiser/tourer design and BMW marketing wanted a sports orientated tourer to appeal to a more youth orientated market perception, and compete with the Japanese factories. BMW was committed to the manufacturer imposed 100 bhp (75 kW) limit for motorcycles sold in Germany, so decided that to address both issues it needed to turn to aerodynamics to solve the problem.

In 1984 at the Cologne Motor Show, BMW design created the aerodynamic “Racer” mockup, based on a standard K100 chassis. At the 1988 Cologne show, the production K1 used the same large and all enveloping two-piece front mud guard mated closely to a seven-piece main fairing, that included two small panniers. The resultant drag coefficient was 0.34 with the rider prone, the lowest of any production motorcycle in 1988.

Lowered since new and includes all replaced OEM components, new progressive front springs, newly rebuilt master cylinders with new pads front and rear. New paint, tank badges, windshield, AGM battery, front tire, coolant hoses, fuel lines, smog hoses, fuel cap gaskets, front wheel bearings. New powdercoat on all black small parts, custom engineered, chromed front bearing dirt shield, other small parts also chromed. K&N, fresh synthetic oil w/new BMW filter, new fuel filter. Matching BMW, new in box saddlebags and tank bag currently being used.

I bought this bike in 1991 with 770 miles on it. With a few other bikes and sports cars in my stable, the milage on this bike has been kept low. This bike is a daily rider so milage is increasing.

You can find the eBay Listing here

They are certainly unusual bikes but like so many BMW’s seem to again high mileages with little effort. You want to be noticed at bike night then this might just be the bike for you. After all there are loads of lowered ‘busas out there!

5 Responses.

1992 Kawasaki ZX7R

Published July 28, 2011 by Andrew

It is that little R that makes all the difference. I think this excerpt from the article ‘Appreciating Older Sportbikes’ by Tim Kreitz says it all:

“It seems a little hard to believe in this modern age of super-light, ultra-powerful motorcycles, but the comparatively heavier and somewhat tankish 7RR was the unquestioned king of the AMA for the better part of the ’90s. The bike brought Kawasaki into an era of awe-inspiring dominance at the hands of riders such as Scott Russell and Doug Chandler, whose combined efforts resulted in an amazing four AMA championships over a period of seven years. Russell also took the Kawasaki 750 to the World Superbike Series, where he silenced all the critics with his historic 1993 WSB championship. The ZXR750/ZX7RR, for the greater part of the decade, was the quintessential high-performance motorcycle. Its impact on racing and even modern culture was so great that, even to this day, most sportbikes — Kawasaki or not — are referred to as ‘Ninjas’ by the general public.”

1992 Kawasaki ZX7R For Sale

For sale is a 1992 Kawasaki ZX7R. This is the bike Kawasaki built in limited numbers to homologate their Superbike effort.
The “R” version came with full race factory upgrades to include a close ratio transmission, slipper clutch, hotter Cams, bigger 39mm flatslide carbs, bigger brakes, adjustable suspension, aluminum gas tank, and solo seat cowl. This was a bike I lusted for from the day I first saw it. I remenber seeing those scoops thru the tank for the first time, it just screamed “Superbike”
Brand new the bike was close to $12,000 back in 1992.
After looking for several years, I found a very clean example about 4 years ago, which I purchased. The bike came with a full race stainless steel Muzzy exhaust, Woodcraft rearsets, Penske rear shock with resevior, and braided lines. These were all very attractive selling features to me, mosty because I love upgrading the bikes I own. I’m a collector, but first and foremost I’m a rider.
I upgraded the front end on the bike to a brand new 2009 GSXR750 unit. This included the forks, lower triple clamp, front wheel, rotors, master cylinder, calipers, clipons, carbon fiber front fender, and Superbike braided lines. The conversion was done by Wyn Belorusky, master bike buider and fabricator. Look him up. He machined the top triple clamp out of a solid piece of billet aluminum to replicate the stock upper triple. It looks amazing and no one can believe its not the stock upper. This conversion saved about 15 Lbs. over the stock unit and is simply awesome. It handles like a new modern bike. I also added brand new tires front and rear, as well as new chain and sprockets. I had the front GSXR wheel along with the stock rear wheel freshly powdercoated Kawasaki green to look correct and new.
The motor has been completely gone thru with a fresh top end and dyno tuned by Randy Voth of Full Spectrum Racing in Orlando, Florida. I have receipts. The bike is very strong, temp stays cool on even the hottest Florida days, and the Muzzy pipe sounds soo sweet.
Cosmetically, it has a few blemishes in the bodywork. Nothing major, and I’m pretty picky. The pipe has a very small dent in the midpipe, I mention this for completeness and took pictures.
Overall its a very sweet machine, and has a very special history in the evolution of the superbike. Just ask Scott Russell. Someone is gonna get a very nice bike. I have and will include in the auction the stock complete front end thats ready to go, you can bolt it up easily if you like.

eBay Link here

While the bike does have 15000 miles on it and minor cosmetic issues my guess is the owner knows his stuff and looks after the bike. It certainly is an exciting bike to own. I think we may have seen this before, Interesting that the mileage is the same now as it was back then: Old RSBFS Entry

2 Responses.

1987 Honda VFR400R

Published July 20, 2011 by Andrew

Not to be confused with the RVF400 (NC35) this is the predecessor to that bike and is the first generation VFR400. THis particular example is the NC 24 recognized by the single square headlight and the Pro-Arm single sided swing arm. The NC24 was in fact the first production Honda to utilize the single sided swingarm which had originally been designed by Elf. It of course became the hallmark of the VFR series of bikes. This is a very good model history: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~john/vfr/history.html

The seller has the following to say:

EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THE VFR!!! NO CRACKS OR SCRATCHES IN FARINGS,NO BROKEN OR CRACKED FASTENERS OR TABS.ORGINAL PAINT AND PLASTIC AND SEAT.TIRES ARE OEM SIZE WITH LESS THAN 300 MILES ON THEM,WHEELS ARE EXCELLENT.INSIDE TANK IS LIKE NEW NO RUST.BIKE HAS PA TITLE & REGISTRATION.NEEDS NOTHING THAT I KNOW OF EXCEPT A BATTERY.HAS NOT BEEN OUT OF MY HEATED GARAGE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.I JUST JUMPED THE BATTERY AND BIKE STARTED LAST WEEKEND.JUST HAD HEART SURGERY AND AM NO LONGER RIDING SO THIS IS THE LAST OF MY BIKES TO GO.MILES ON ODOMETER IS IN KILOMETERS SO IT WOULD BE ABOUT 14300 MILES.STAND DOES NOT GO WITH BIKE BUT WILL INCLUDE THE PIN THAT I HAD PITT BULL MACHINE TO FIT THE AXEL.WIND SCREEN IS NOT OEM BUT I HAVE THE ORGINAL ONE,NOT IN THE BEST OF SHAPE,NOT CRACKED BUT NOT REAL CLEAR EITHER.ANY QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED AT MY OFFICE #724/283/4436 WEEK DAYS 9-5 EASTERN TIME.HOPE TO FIND A GOOD HOME FOR THIS BIKE.

He doesn’t say whether the limiter has been removed via the ECU update.

The eBay listing is here so you can start your bidding.

This would no doubt make a very fun little bike. So start your bidding as I think you are likely to be spending upwards of $5k for this.

You don’t need front forks! – 2008 Bimota TESI-3D

Published July 14, 2011 by Andrew

Here we have an very rare example of a Bimota: the TESI 3D and it is number 3 of 29 bikes built. Of course the unique feature of these is the swing-arm that replaces the front forks along with hub centre steering. Like any Bimota the bike is beautifully crafted with CNC machined parts everywhere. The front end design was all about eliminating front end dive under braking so that the steering geometry remained the same. The battle was balancing the increased unsprung weight that the complex front end often brought with it. Designer Pierluigi Marconi’s TESI was named named because it was his Mech.E thesis (tesi being thesis in Italian) and it first saw the world in 1990 as the Bimota TESI 1D and quite created the sensation. The D in the name designates it as having a Ducati engine. This bike is the 3rd incarnation and uses an air-cooled Ducati engine with some 95 HP, if you are worried about performance the bike only weighs 370lbs dry and if that is too heavy then there is always the optional carbon body to shave a few more. You know you would all love to have one.

Go and have a look at the eBay auction here

The price this will go for? Well new these bikes were $37,000 so I am sure that the seller will be looking for close to that. It will be interesting to see what it fetches in today’s market. If I had won the lottery…..

One Response.

Celebrate Guzzi’s 80th Birthday – 2001 Moto Guzzi Rosso Mandello

Published July 14, 2011 by Andrew

Moto Guzzi created a special v11 to celebrate their 80th anniversary back in 2001 based upon the V11. These are very good looking bikes with a smattering of carbon fibre and the gorgeous red of the paint and frame. Love the “Testa Rossa” look, something I recall Ferrari doing a few years ago. The bike is hardly run in with just over 1000 miles accumulated.

We have a time capsule 2001 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport Rosso Mandello, named Rosso for red and Mandello is the location of Moto Guzzi’s factory in Mandello del Lario located off of LakeComoin Italy. There were just 600 of these models made for Guzzi’s 80th anniversary, the first 300 were numbered and the second 300 were not. This bike is not number and was one of the second series of bikes. It was the logical gestation of the V7 Sport and the Rosso Mandello was a limited edition of the popular V11 line of 1064cc V-Twin sport bikes. The front forks are Marzocchi with Brembo Calipers and the rear a Sachs Boge mono shock with adjustable compression, rebound dampening and preload. The 6 speed transmission was finally able to be smoothly operated and the bike drew raves from everyone who rode it. The valve covers and swing arm bulkhead are red anodized to match the tank and tail piece.

Our one owner bike has 1,025 miles on it from new. It was kept in a heated office and is cosmetically perfect. It has the original tires on it which still have the casting nipples on most of the thread area. Everything is stock on the bike, right down to the mufflers. The fly screen and front fender are carbon fiber as well as the covering on the mufflers. The battery was replaced five years ago and it has been on a battery tender since. It starts and runs beautifully with no mechanical issues I could feel or see. I rode the bike toRogue Riverand back and it is easy to see why Guzzi owners love their bikes. It is easy to ride, quick to change direction and sounds great even with stock mufflers on it. If you want more detail, please let me know.

eBay auction can be found here, so start your bidding.

The bidding has already started moving but it has not yet reached its reserve. With so few of these coming up for sale picking a price is tough and then with such a low mileage, expect some enthusiast to push the price. One sold in early June this year for just under $6500 on eBay and for that sort of money you get a lot of bike. Expect this a bit higher given the low mileage.

2 Responses.

1993 Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000 – Rare 4 Valve Bike

Published July 13, 2011 by Andrew

If you visit George Barber’s stunning museum you will be able to see a yellow Moto Guzzi Daytona, that is how special these are, after all there were only 283 produced in 1993. This bike has a 4 valve head which later became a key part of the MGS-01 and the power it could put out. It was not until the recent crop of Guzzi’s that the 4 valve head again became part of the production bikes. If you are intrigued by the Guzzi Daytona then this site is a good reference.

The seller has the following to say about this lovely bike:

This 1993 Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000 is a fine original and unrestored example. The original owner kept the bike at his Arizona home where he spent the winters. Thus the very low miles and superb condition. Recently serviced and tuned, the bike is ready to ride ,show or display in your private museum. The very low production numbers for this bike and it’s provenance thanks to “Dr. John” makes it an excellent investment opportunity. Steady appreciation! RIDE YOUR INVESTMENT

GOOGLE 1993-94 Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000 for the history, facts and numbers regarding the linage.
Please ask questions before bidding.
Reserve is fair market value.
Additional pictures upon request.
Transportation and export services available.
Thank you

Link to eBay Auction can be found here so you can start your bidding!

As for price that can be tough. These bikes though often fetch close to $10k when they come up but finding a recent sale price is difficult and lets face it KBB doesn’t work for such a collectable. So if you fancy something that will stand out at your local bike night you should look no further.

Very clean 1985 Honda VF1000R

Published July 8, 2011 by Andrew

There were a couple of these up for sale last month and again a nice example appears. It seems the owners certainly look after their steeds. I mean they even have their own forum, which is a great source of information.
The VF1000R started with the RE version, and Honda went on to make RF and RG versions, which were marked by minor styling revisions (including a move from twin headlamps to a single headlight), and an increase in power from 122 to 130bhp. Most important was the V4 engine,combined with the endurance-racer styling. Originally priced at US$6,300 the VF1000R was expensive for its time and did not sell very well. It was also a bit too heavy, and not really very successful in racing.

eBay auction can be found here.

1985 Honda VF1000R, Very Rare, Like New Condition, looks like it should be on the showroom floor. You’ll never find in this condition. I’ve kept this bike pristine, like new, immaculate condition. Never abused, always babied, it’s truly a museum quality motorcycle. If you’re a true motorcycle collector, you’ll be thrilled to have this one in your collection. It’s been part of my personal collection, but I’ve sold off my entire collection, and this is my only one I have left. It’s immaculate down to every nut and bolt, front to back, top to bottom. Runs as good as it looks. If you’re serious, and you have any questions, please give me a call

Picking up a good example will mean you don’t have to spend the earth with many excellant bikes going around the $6k – $7k mark with low mileage examples fetching as much as $10k. This has a starting bid of $8500 and currently has no takers so it may be priced a tad high, we’ll have to wait and see.

Want to see one one dyno:

– AS

8 Responses.