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News July 2026

Different eras & different heroes, Jul 26

Strange contrasts and what's next for the fleet – see today's Sunday Shed Wrap.

Ducati 900 NCR – art and function, Jul 25

From the Ian Falloon Retrospective on Substack: As one of the most beautiful Ducatis ever created, the 900 NCR remains a testament to the creativity and artistry of the engineers that designed and built it.

See it here.

Meet the Ducati Hailwood replica in our shed.

Soviet-era flashback – MZ ETZ250, Jul 24

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 big-bore sports bike, Jul 23

This is the most thoughtful comparative analysis we've seen of the recent showroom superbike offerings, across a range of brands. It's from late 2025 and is therefore out of date when it comes to the latest variants.

However the 32-minute vid packs in a lot of information and analysis around current tech and sport bike thinking – useful if you haven't kept quite up to date. You can walk away at 23 minutes, as the remainder is getting down to train-spotting.

Michael Neeves from Motor Cycle News mag is the presenter.

See it here.

Millyard Viper sells at auction, Jul 23

UK engineer Allen Millyard has sold his epic Dodge Viper-powered motorcycle at auction for Au$248,000 (US$174,000, GB£130,000, €152,000).

H and H in the UK handled the sale.

See our story on this machine.

Last of the lusty Laverda triples, Jul 22

Random brochure for the day: Laverda SFC 1000.

According to author Ian Falloon, "With the wonderful SFC 1000 the classic Laverda triple finally finished, and for many they were the last real Laverda motorcycles."

See the story here.

And the period road test from Classic Two Wheels.

See Falloon's Substack feed.

40 years of GSX-R, Jul 21

Suzuki's 40th Anniversary GSX-R1000R looks like hitting our shores in September this year, a little later than expected.

And it's offering very solid bang for the buck, priced at Au$30,990 (US$21,750, GB£16,250, €19,000) on the road.

Meanwhile the international launch was an unusual event – effectively a faux endurance race.

See the full story, plus lots of links and a couple of associated videos.

Millyard's Honda RC374 six at Goodward, Jul 18

Weekend viewing: Allen Millyard's gentle video on preparing his scratch-built and incredibly difficult Honda RC374 six racer replica (which has electric start!) to this year's Goodward Festival of Speed.

Along the way he reveals the secrets behind his partner's home-made cherry cupcakes and the creation of the incredibly delicate crankshaft on his RC replica. Something for everyone...

See it here.

And our Falloon feature on the Honda CBX1000 road-going six.

Scrambled Hondas, Jul 17

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, Jul 17

Stunt rider, showman, business owner and father of a fierce and fast woman – Allan Morrison has a great story to tell. See the story, here.

Ducati's logical weirdness, Jul 16

Mechanical engineer Jason Fesnke goes about explaining how Ducati's current hi-po 90 degree V4 hero engines take advantage of a 70 degree crankpin offset.

Buckle up, as the video takes a little time and patience to understand and is worth the effort. (Thanks to Mark Reed for the tip.)

See it here.

The YouTube channel is here.

See the Ducatis in our shed.

Fast company, Jul 15

Honda Blackbird Kawasaki zx-12R Honda cbx1000c

Our random driveway shot for the day: three of our toys rolled out of the shed, so we had enough space to fix something, or maybe think, albeit briefly...

They are (all the stories include video reviews):

1996 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird

2000 Kawasaki ZX-12R

1982 Honda CBX1000C

More of the home fleet can be found here.

That bloody Kat! Jul,13

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 of an earlier model I bought at the Hamamatsu factory museum, a little little while ago. And I must expand the gallery for that story...

In the meantime, here's a piece about the first Kat that graced the shed.

Triumph T150V, Jul 12

Random ad for the day: Triumph Trident T150V full page magazine offering from 1975, rightly reminding everyone of the international race success of the series.

See the T160 in our shed.

Goodbye Cycle World, Jul 11

The USA's longest-surviving motorcycle magazine, Cycle World, has closed its doors as an active online publication.

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

cycle world
feb 1962

The digital archive (which starts with the second edition, above) remains available and is well worth browsing. Let's hope at least that survives.

See it here.

See this story from SuperbikePlanet.com.

Works racer for the day: Suzuki XR41 GS1000R, Jul 10

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 of the same year.

However while the GS1000R runs an alloy frame, it's hosting a version of the famed four-valve GSX air-cooled motor series.

The bike has been kept in running shape and used for historic events such as the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.

H&H in the UK is offering it at a July 22 sale, with an estimate of Au$87-106,000 (US$60-74,000, GB£45-55,000, €53-65,000).

See it here.

See our Suzuki GSX-R750 series profile.

Winter Run Wrap, Jul 10

About 10 months ago I was quietly considering pushing this 1999 BMW K1200LT into a ditch somewhere near Inglewood, Queensland, and abandoning it. Today it completed a circa 4000km (2400 mile) round trip and restored my faith in the monster.

See the wrap-up for our Winter Run.

All hail the Hailwood, Jul 9

Classic Two Wheels has a wealth of tests and opinions on the bevel Ducati Mike Hailwood series, from 900 through to Mille.

See it here.

Plus the Mille in our shed.

Backroads take 2, Jul 9

A great morning in the saddle as part of the Winter Run and a few hours spent luxuriating in a back road I had never before seen.

See the update.

Happy Norton Dominator 88, Jul 8

Today's happy image: a Norton Dominator 88 ad from 1954.

See the data at Motorcycle Specs.

Plus our Norton Commando profile.

Backroads run, Jul 8

Today's stage of the Winter Run, from Armidale to Gulgong, provided the best riding of the trip so far. More here...

Honda CX650E, Jul 7

Random brochure for the day. This later version of the CX V-twin platform, aka the Euro Sport, was surprisingly quick and satisfying to ride. We suspect the sales numbers were modest as, by the time they were in the market (1983-84), they were quickly over-shadowed by faster and shinier things.

Are there any fans out there?

See the Motorcycle Specs data page.

And the Hondas on our features page.

Winter Run – Brisbane to Armidale, Jul 7

Today was the day we realised how long it is since muggins had tried to navigate to the New England Highway from Brisbane.

Along the way we celebrate some roadside weirdness...see it here.

Ducati's ugly duckling, Jul 6

From Ian Falloon: "Over the years Ducati has exemplified the Italian flair for style, exhibiting both the best, and the worst. The best was brilliant, and the worst just made you ask what were they thinking?"

See the story at his Retrospective Substack.

And see the 860 GT that lived in our shed.

Winter Run – Gold Coast Motor Museum, Jul 5

We've been in Brisbane for a few days and with a bit of time to spare popped down to the Gold Coast Motor Museum today. If you have a little fuel flowing through your veins, you'll enjoy it.

See our Winter Run road diary.

Hot Boxers, Jul 4

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.

Get a Krauser, Jul 4

A rare Krauser MKM1000 with the factory four-valve heads popped up on the market in Australia, via The Bike Shed Times, priced at Au$40,000 (US$27,800, GB£20,800, €24,300).

See our Krauser profile.

Shed bomber of the week – Kawasaki ZX-12R, Jul 3

In the mad pre-amble to get away on our Winter Run last week, we took numerous transports of delight for a quick gallop 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 bragging rights.

In any case with a claimed 190-ish horses on tap, it's an enormously entertaining thing.

See the story and video report on the one in the shed, here.

And the Winter Run story.

Ducati marque for sale, Jul 3

In the midst of Ducati celebrating the centenary of its brand name comes the news that its owner, the Volkswagen group, is likely to have it it on the market. This story from Ride Apart provides the background.

See the Ducati stories on our features page.

Winter Run climate change, Jul 3