Buying Guide

Kawasaki KH250B2 Kawasaki triples were always known as fire-breathing, wild performers. Built on the reputation of the outrageously fast but evil handling H1 500, Kawasaki went on to offer the triple in a range of five capacities, from the 'widowmaker' H2 750 down to the cooking 250 triple, originally branded S1. UK law at the…

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Do your homework before visiting dealer Paperwork ?    There is no point going any further if the paperwork isn’t in order. ?    Does the seller’s address match the log book? ?    Do the engine and frame numbers match the log book? ?    Does the colour and model name match the log book? ?    Is there…

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Buy any used motorcycle and you are undeniably taking a chance; buy something that’s badged as a classic and you’re potentially in uncharted waters. It can be a minefield out there unless the bike in question is a known entity or comes from a mate or reputable dealer. The Yamaha SRX400 in camera came from…

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Yamaha FZR1000 Motorcycling as a lee-zure sport was a good five years down the road. It didn’t matter that they had way too much power and that tyre technology needed 10 more years to catch up. The fact was that you couldn’t ride a CBR600 without an overwhelming curiosity that…‘If this thing goes so bloody fast it makes…

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Suzuki GT550J For all the innovations that have come and gone in motorcycle design over the years, only two manufacturers have ever mass produced a two-stroke triple and gone on to turn it into a sales success. Those two companies were, of course, Kawasaki and Suzuki, both of which saw the potential in such a…

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Moto Morini 500 In the UK in the early 70s Italian bikes were by and large, expensive, highly strung, poor quality, unreliable, quirky, and generally not viable due to poor spares supplies. On the plus side – they were exclusive, looked like a million dollars and had a certain je ne sais quoi not found…

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Suzuki GSXR750 The GSXR750 was a revolutionary motorcycle with an entirely new air/oil-cooled motor developing 100bhp out of the crate and a lightweight alloy double-cradle perimeter frame. Weighing less than 180kg dry, the bike was a homologation special, the optional factory tuning kit upping power output to 130bhp. The Gixxer was unveiled to the public…

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Yamaha DT175MX Variously used for general fun, commuting or green laning, the DT175MX proved to be possibly the best of the genre. Most ended their days as winter hacks then morphed to field bikes before being literally being put out to pasture and allowed to rot. All of which makes Sheila Ambridge’s latish MX version…

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Kawasaki Z650 In 1968 Honda launched the CB750. Jaws dropped, particularly at BSA–Triumph HQ, because the recently released three-pot Trident and Rocket lll had just been comprehensively upstaged. Meanwhile, according to lore, Kawasaki's plans to put their own 750 four on the market are shelved while they set to work on a bigger engine. In…

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Douglas LB special Striking specials have long been a feature of the classic world and some of the really special ones are the examples that perhaps don’t look too special or non-standard at a glance, which is a category this Douglas twin falls into. In car parlance it’s a ‘street sleeper’ – ie something that…

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