Honda’s CB750-Four was a maturing product by 1975, around seven years after its unveiling – when this ad for the K5 was launched. By this time it was well and truly out-performed by Kawasaki’s Z1/Z900 series.

However it was still selling solid numbers, with 35,000 made.

See our profile of the series.

And the K1 in the shed.

Rieju – new brand for the day

New on the market is this lightweight trail bike, luxuriating in the name Rieju Adventura Rally 307.

The good folk at Info Moto have the story.

Coming up – Mr Sturgis

Meet young Gordon Forrester, a long-time Harley-Davidson fan who qualifies as a world authority on the Sturgis series from Milwaukee. We did a story with him a little while ago and will drop it in next week. Watch out for it...

Flashback: Triumph T300 Speed Triple

Stylish, brutish and grossly undervalued – Triumph’s T300 series Speed Triple has a lot of potential as a good buy.

See our profile.

Plus the one that was in our shed.

Short-lived Superquadro

Ian Falloon on the Ducati Panigale Superquadro: Although most of Ducati’s engine designs generally enjoy a long production span, throughout its history the maker has also introduced engine designs that have only lasted a few years.

See the story on his Substack page.

More Ducati stories on our features page.

Bargains for the brave

We recently saw some premium Italian motorcycles sell for very tempting money via Donington Auctions in Australia.

Plus, a couple of Kawasakis got our attention and one is joining the shed.

More here.

Flashback: Motorcycle absurdity

Flashback: Spend enough time with a particular model and you end up going down the rabbit-hole of finding arcane bits to support your toy, which somehow morphs from being a mechanical mission to a lifestyle choice.

See the story here.

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See the excellent historic bike Substack by my good friend Ian Falloon

AllMoto.com

AllMoto features

See the bikes in our shed

And our Sunday Shed Wrap column

Donington Auctions, Australia

Aug 25, 2026

We recently saw some premium motorcycles sell for very tempting money via Donington Auctions in Australia. The catch was, in the case of the MV Agusta and Ducati 916 SPS shown, was they had not been run for a very long time. Over 15 years in the case of the MV and unknown for the Ducati.

That…

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Last month we mentioned we had a Suzuki Katana 1100 heading our way – an example the 1990 70th Anniversary edition, tagged as the Limited.

Mister B over at the eponymous Brad’s Vintage Cycles today shot me a pic, announcing it is now ready for delivery. It looks alright, doesn’t it? More to come on this one...

Meanwhile here’s our quick profile of the GSX1100S, with a link to our previous example.

Nullabor Gold

Today’s highlight: strolling into Fitzroy Motorcycles in Melbourne and buying a new BSA Gold Star 650 in the premium Legacy Edition colour scheme. Plus a set of the larger saddlebags, in black.

The twist is that the distributor, Leisk Moto Imports, is in Perth. So we’ve arranged to have it registered in Victoria and I will take delivery in Perth. Then ride it home via the Nullabor...see our latest Sunday Shed Wrap.

Kawasaki Z1A sale

There was a period there, during and soon after Covid, when prices for early Kawasaki Z1-on 900s went through the proverbial roof.

The situation has since calmed and they have become more affordable.

An example is this 1974 Z1A (first-gen, second model) for which Donington Auctions in Melbourne, Australia, suggests a price range of Au$17-20,000 (US$12-14,000, GB£9-10,000, €10-12,000).

It’s listed here.

See our brief video on the bike via YouTube.

Plus the Classic Two Wheels period test portfolio.

Imola Ducati at auction

A machine billed as one of seven V-twin racers sent by Ducati to compete in the landmark 1972 Imola 200 race, where the factory scored a 1-2 result, has recently been auctioned by Mecum in its annual Monterey sale.

Bidding reached Au$650,000 (US$460,000, GB£340,000, €398,000) which was not enough to secure a sale. Negotiations presumably continued behind the scenes.

See the lot here.

See the Ian Falloon feature on the Imola Ducatis.

See the excellent historic bike Substack by my good friend Ian Falloon

AllMoto.com

AllMoto features

See the bikes in our shed

And our Sunday Shed Wrap column

One of seven V-twin racers sent by Ducati to compete in the landmark 1972 Imola 200 race, where the factory scored a 1-2 result, has recently been auctioned by Mecum in its annual Monterey sale.

Bidding reached Au$650,000 (US$460,000, GB£340,000, €398,000) which was not enough to secure a sale. Negotiations presumably continued behind the scenes.

See the …

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A seminal modern superbike we have yet to own, though we have ridden several examples, is the first-gen Yamaha R1.

See our profile.

And the Classic Two Wheels file.

Race-bred Guzzi

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Norton’s premium V4 Manx R is now out in the wild and we’re starting to see some reviews.

Among them is this piece from Motorcycle News in the UK about the premium Signature version, which is generally positive, but with some reservations.

A key one is about price, which is a hefty Au$74,000 (US$52,000, GB£38,750, €45,200). That seems high, …

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Let’s raise a glass to the mighty Yamaha XT500 – launched for the 1976 model year and became just the thing for blasting down the highway or Puddleslosh Lane at high speed. It was to become an incredibly versatile platform with its sister TT500 and the HL500 competition version.

See our mini-profile with a h…

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26 July 2026, by Guy ‘Guido” Allen

Today was another when we pulled a bunch of bikes out of their shed and took them for a gallop. Not enough, of course...so we’ll try again tomorrow.

In any case I couldn’t help putting these two gems together – hero bikes from different eras. The one in front is of course a …

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From our Travels with Guido archives: Have you ever had the experience of a motorcycle getting right under your skin, even while others are telling you it’s a loose bucket of bolts and the logical part of your brain is screaming “step away from the motorcycle”? It happens to me more often than I care to admit.

See the full story.

Best …

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We’ve long had a soft spot for the styling if not the riding reality of Honda’s CL360 scrambler of 1974-75.

Bikebound has a nice story on a very sad example that was given a sympathetic restomod treatment.

Also, see the Classic Bike Guide review of the series.

See the Honda stories on our features page.

And the Hondas in our shed.

Fearless

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As a serial recidivist (is that a term?), I’ve been increasingly anxious to see my ‘new’ and second Suzuki Katana, a 1990 GSX1100SZ Limited, roll its way through the shipping routes and into my driveway. Apparently there are a few more weeks to wait.

The pic you see here is of an illustration I bought at the Hamamatsu factory museum, a l…

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The USA’s longest-surviving motorcycle magazine, Cycle World, has closed its doors.

It began life with the January 1962 edition (produced December 1961).

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Coming up at H&H Auctions in the UK is this Suzuki XR41 GS1000R with a strong race history including being prepared for rider Mick Grant. A sister machine was used by Rob McElnea to win an Isle of Man TT.

You can’t help but notice the visual connection between this and the first GSX-R750 production bike…

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Remember these? The Sport was the third variant in BMW’s hot boxer platform, delivered across 2005-2009.

There are four available in the local market: three at bikesales and one via The Bike Shed Times.

See our profile on this exceptional series.

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In the mad pre-amble to get away on our Winter Fun last week, we took numerous transports of delight for a run to keep them happy. And the one that really got my attention? Yep, the mighty Kawasaki ZX-12R.

It’s a seriously fast gadget with loads of grunt and, I guess, is probably up or ‘old school’ muscle bike bra…

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June 28, 2026, by Guy ‘Guido’ Allen

With a bit of luck, the pic above should resemble what we’re looking at tomorrow morning, as we embark on a run from Melbourne to Brisbane and back, via the Newell and New England highways. We’re working on nearly two weeks for the trip.

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