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News October 2025
Seventies
bliss – Yamaha RD125, Oct 29
This is one of our
favourite motorcycle brochure images, pitched at young
folk in the UK and Europe, for Yamaha's1973
twin-cylinder RD125 two-stroke.
See the data
at Motorcycle Specs
And our quick profile on its YD1 and YDS-1
forebears
Royal
Enfield Interceptor 650 – buying used, Oct 27
This is a motorcycle we
have a huge amount of time for, the Royal Enfield
Interceptor 650. Launched in 2018, it has proved to be
a solid package that is great fun to play with and
delivers value for your hard-earned.
See the buying-used advice we wrote for
bikesales.com.au
And our Royal Enfield Continental GT535
profile
Harley City open
day, Oct 27
The remarkable Harley City Collection in
Castlemaine, Victoria, has an open day this Sunday.
It's a project developed by David Readie,
former owner of the Harley City dealership in Brunswick,
Melbourne. Inside you'll find a host of Harley-Davidson
variants from across the decades, including custom bikes
and racers. Plus there is a wealth of other toys,
including Crocker, Indian and Vincent, plus a couple of
interesting cars.
We recently did a brief feature on the
collection and its associated book launch – see it here.
Retro brute:
2006 Kawasaki ZX-14, Oct 26
Kawasaki has long had a talent for waiting back a little and then launching a king hit in a big road bike class. Such was the case with the 2006 ZX-14, which claimed to be the most powerful production machine in the world with 197hp (147kW) under the paint.
Despite the headline number, it proved to be a remarkably easy thing to ride. Classic Two Wheels has a contemporary road test.
See our features on a few of its predecessors, such as the
ZX-12R, the ZZ-R1100 (aka
ZX-11) and the first-gen ZX-10
(above).
Honda
CX500B stars at auction, Oct 26
A
new-old-stock 1981 Honda CX500B which has never
been fully pre-delivered or started scored a
remarkable Au$23,000 (US$15,000, GB£11,200,
€13,000) at the Donington
Auctions sale that concluded today.
Offered with part of its
original packing case, it comfortably went past the
estimate...see the full
auction report.
Record
price for Yamaha XT500, Oct 25
From our auction madness
department: a 1988 Yamaha XT500 still in its crate,
and appearing to be in exceptional condition, was this
week sold by RM
Sotheby's in Europe for Au$150,000 (US$98,000, GB£73,000, €84,000).
In Australia, the XT was
discontinued in 1982 and at that time was listed at
Au$1800 (US$1200, GB£900, €1010).
See the XT500 video review at Harry's
Garage via YouTube
Ducati
900SS auction closing soon, Oct 25
The current Donington sale is due to close tomorrow and this 1980 Ducati 900SS is one of the lots that's worth a look. It's a one-owner example, dead original and shows 21,179km. It carries an estimate of Au$50-60,000 (US$33-39,000, GB£25-30,000, €28-33,000).
And the full sale catalogue here
Meanwhile our features page has several Ducati stories
Speed
king – Kawasaki ZX-12R, Oct 25
Kawasaki's stunning ZX-12R wasn't quite the category king hit the company hoped for, but it was nevertheless an innovative, ridiculously fast and entertaining animal. See our retro feature
Aero-Davidson,
Oct 24
Coming soon to our shed: an example of Harley-Davidson's final-generation Sprint SS 350.
Flashback:
Sheriff Joe, Oct 21
Here is one of our favourite excerpts from young Chris Beattie's upcoming book Live it Like Ya Stole It, which describes having just handed over his licence to Sheriff Joe, in Wyoming, USA, some years ago:
“Says here
you’re from Australia. I got some good friends
from Sydney come over and stay with me in the
ski season,” he added. “Drink me out of beer
every time, but we have some great fun
together,” he smiled.
A silence
followed, as a light breeze rustled through
the prairie grass.
It seemed
Sheriff Joe was starting to chill a little –
until he returned to the reason we all
happened to be standing on the side of the
road in this remote patch of Wyoming farm
country.
“Anyway, so I
reckon I had you at about 110mph coming from
up off the mountains,” he said from behind his
aviator shades. “That is enough to put you in
jail until the county judge visits in a couple
of days, and you’ll probably be hit with a
$300 fine and bond,” he added, pausing for
grim effect.
With the sun
beating down, his last comment had me sweating
even harder. Having narrowly avoided jail time
in Las Vegas a couple of days earlier, I
definitely hadn’t allowed for a stopover in a
Wyoming jail in our Sturgis schedule.
“So how about
this.” he continued. “You seem like a decent
coupla guys. Eighty miles an hour gets you a
$75 on-the-spot fine. You can swipe your card
right now in the cruiser and I’ll even throw
in a couple of Vote for Joe pens.”
“Done!” I
said, relieved that I wouldn’t be Sheriff
Joe’s guest for the next two days.
“Right
answer, by the way!” he replied, taking my
credit card. “The jail food is terrible. I
should know – my wife is the cook …”
Honda
CX500 NOS, Oct 20
Here's something you
don't see every day – a new-old-stock Honda CX500B
from 1981.
See our short
video via YouTube.
It's at
auction with Donington in Melbourne, with an
estimate of Au$16-20,000. (US$10-13,000, GB£8-10,000,
€9-11,000).
Flashback:
Buell RR1200 Battletwin, Oct 20
The day we got to play with the ultra-rare
Buell RR1200 Battletwin.
Donington
auction underway, Oct 18
Donington Auctions has a
classic bike sale under way, with lots including
Vincent, Ducati and a host of other makes.
Among the highlights is
this 1983 Ducati
900 Mike Hailwood Replica, carrying an estimate
of Au$42-46,000 (US$27-30,000, GB£21-23,000,
€23-26,000).
See the quick
video via YouTube
A couple of Vincents are
on offer, including the 1949 Series B Rapide pictured
and a 1951 Series C Comet.
The Rapide has an estimate of Au$75-85,000 (US$49-55,000, GB£36-41,000, €42-47,000)
And the Comet
Au$30-40,000 (US$20-26,000, GB£15-20,000,
€17-22,000)
Donington met with considerable
success in a recent Vincent sale, which suggests
the market for this marque is buoyant.
Among the Japanese
offerings is this 1992 Yamaha
FZR1000, with an estimate of Au$8-12,000 (US$5-8000,
GB£4-6000, €5-7000).
See the first-gen FZR1000 that graced our
shed
Our bikes – 1995
Triumph Daytona 1200, Oct 18
There are
some motorcycles with which you develop a deep
relationship. For me, this
is one of them. (Pic by Stuart Grant)
TVS
India and the new Nortons, Oct 16
From Spencer Leech over at Info Moto: last
week I was lucky enough to travel to Bangalore – a
city affectionately known as the Silicon Valley of
India – to explore TVS Motor’s operations. While this
brand is relatively unknown in Australia, TVS is the
fourth-largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world as
it turns out an almost incomprehensible volume of
bikes to global markets. One factory produces a bike
every 26 seconds!
In this shot (above), I am riding the company’s
flagship Apache RR 310. You may know a bit about this
platform as it underpins BMW’s G 310 range – which is
manufactured by TVS. This one has a few unique selling
points, however. It is equipped with a six-axis IMU
and an up/down quick-shifter. Why on earth you would
need this level of advanced rider aids on a bike this
small and at that price-point is unknown to me, but it
suggests that the Indian manufacturer is pushing
upmarket.
It’s a good sign really, because TVS Motor acquired Norton Motorcycles in 2020 and has been tasked with building a new range of motorcycles to be unveiled at EICMA in November of this year.
During
my tour of the TVS operations, representatives of both
it and Norton remained very tight lipped about what we
can expect from the iconic English marque, though we
did pick up a few interesting things. In the Hosur
factory we witnessed the development of a 900-1200cc
V4 engine as well as an all-new parallel-twin. We
believe these engines will feature in up to four new
models to be presented in November.
While it is early days – it is likely that both Norton
and possibly TVS will be seriously considered for the
Australian market. I mean, they invited an Australian
media guy didn’t they?
More to come via Info Moto
See our original Norton Commando profile
And the one that was in our shed
Harley
City Collection open day, Oct 16
The extraordinary Harley
City Collection in Castlemaine, Victoria, is having an
open day on November 2. If you haven't yet been there,
we can recommend it.
Owner David Reidie has
some extraordinary motorcycles on show, several of
which would grace any international collection.
See our
report on his previous open day and the launch
of the two-volume set of hardbound books portraying
the fleet and the background stories that go with it.
Harley City Collection website
Stampede
of new Triumphs, Oct 15
Triumph Motorcycles has
promised to release 29 new and updated models over the
coming six months.
According to the company: "This ambitious
rollout follows years of sustained investment in product
development and is underpinned by Triumph’s five
consecutive years of record-breaking global sales and
confidence in the opportunities that exist within the
volatile global motorcycle market.
"In its latest landmark financial year, from July 2024 to
June 2025, Triumph delivered more than 141,683 motorcycles
worldwide, cementing its position as the UK’s largest
motorcycle manufacturer. This represents a remarkable 136
per cent growth in sales since 2019, delivered through a
network of 950 dealers across 68 countries."
The release includes seven models that
have already been announced, including the new TXP
electric off-road range.
See the Thruxton
1200 R in our shed
Big
money for Joey bikes and a bargain at UK sale,
Oct 14
This 1988 TT-winning Honda RC30 ridden by Joey Dunlop
scored Au$271,000 at a recent Bonhams sale.
That was not the most valuable bike in the event.
See more high-profile lots, plus a Cathcart bike and a potential bargain in the full story.
Polaris
sells Indian, Oct 13
Polaris has announced it
is selling a majority stake in Indian Motorcycles to
Carolwood LP, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm.
Indian represents seven
per cent of Polaris revenue (US$478 million).
Carolwood has announced
long-term senior industry figure Mike Kennedy will
lead the new stand-alone company. He has worked with
Harley-Davidson, RumbleOn (a large powersports retail
group) plus Vance & Hines.
The company has said its
existing design and production facilities, plus the
majority of the staff and dealership network, will
remain for the time being.
Polaris acquired Indian
in 2011 and revived the marque with a launch of a new
Chief range back in 2013.
See the full
statement from Polaris.
See our 2013
report on the Australian launch of the then-new
range.
Honda
CBX1000C – our bikes, Oct 11
We're now 10 months down
the ownership road with the mighty 1982 Honda CBX1000C
– what's it like? See the
story, here.
One
great ride, Oct 10
Is it possible you spent all that money for a single run?
As someone who is terrible at
selling motorcycles, and usually only does it grudgingly,
I tend not to think about the process of how or why we
talk ourselves into the decision. But let’s have a crack
at it...
Yamaha's
hot seventies style, Oct 9
Hot style, blistering
performance and a deep-finned block, race-proved in
the furnace of international competition. That's the
promise from this 1971 UK ad for Yamaha's YR5 (or R5)
350 two-stroke twin. Irresistible.
And while the language
is dramatic, there was a kernel of truth to the claims
as the bikes looked smart, were nimble and fast for
their day.
And the Cycle World
period review
This ultra-clean
UK example was sold by Bonhams in April 2024 for
Au$10,500 (US$6900, GB£5175, €6000).
See our Yamaha
YR1 mini-profile
Dunlop
Hondas head high-end auction,
Oct 8
Two race-winning Hondas ridden by the legendary Joey Dunlop are to be auctioned by Bonhams on October 12.
They head up a star cast of
desirable bikes including a Series A Vincent-HRD, Brough
Superior and Ducati 750 SS.
Radical
Guzzi, Oct 7
Custom bike of the week: we like this stylish effort from the good folk at Radical Speedshop in Germany.
Based on a relatively humble Moto Guzzi Bellagio 940, it's now running an engine bored and stroked to 1700cc and claiming 112kW (150hp) for a dry weight of around 180kg (400lb).
Bikebound
has the story, here.
Speaking of sporty Guzzis, see our Daytona 1000 profile.
The great BSA
fuel tank fail – Sunday shed wrap, Oct 6
A
cock-up and a change of plan – it
has a happy ending...
Flashback:
MV Agusta F4 – future collectible, Oct 4
Over 25 years ago and after a decades-long 'drought', the revival of the MV Agusta marque was big news – did they get it right? See the story here.
See the F4 1000 Nero in our shed
Shed
find: Radio Rider and newspaper classifieds, Oct
2
We tripped over this during a recent attempt to clean out the shed – an exercise that was an utter failure. It's a clip of the 13 February, 1993, edition of the motorcycle section of The Age newspaper (Melbourne, Australia), which featured every Saturday.
By this time the famous
rivers of gold (the classifieds) were dwindling thanks
to a tough economy and competition from specialist
classified magazines such as Just Bikes and
then Motorcycle Trader. Then they got hit with
the popular uptake of internet use and a tsunami of
digital competition.
Motorcycle columnist
Damien Kingsbury (now Professor K) wrote a piece on
3RRR's Radio Rider, while there were plenty of
tasty offerings in the ads.
See the full
version of the pics, here.
Vincent auction gets buoyant prices, Oct 1
Good identification and condition
underpin values in a market that's more robust
than many thought...see the
story.
See the series C Rapide in our shed
***
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