Motorcycle Tips, Tricks & Treats

Edited by Dick Lewis

Selling Bikes

Selling a bike can be just as difficult and annoying as buying one. The cost of advertising can eat into the selling price, buyers promise to turn up but never do, would-be thieves are ready and willing to hijack the bike, and when a good prospect finally turns up, he often only wants the bike for a ridiculously small sum, quoting any number of imaginary faults.

The starting point, then, is to price the bike somewhat higher than you really want but not so high as to turn everyone off. Study dealer prices, and start off 10% below them (which is usually what they will sell them for, anyway), willing to go down to whatever level the market decides on. If you have ten or so telephone calls within minutes of the advert then it’s likely you’re close to the market price; if there’s only one punter or even none then it’s way too high.

The latter’s true only insofar if you advertise in the right place, which varies depending on the kind of machine you want to sell, the type of area you live in and what kind of dosh we’re talking about. Serious motorcycles going for serious money need to be advertised to a national audience, whereas old hacks or commuters are best advertised locally. Unless you live in an area where the local paper carries a large selection of used motorcycles, which would indicate you can flog serious bikes there, as well.

However, be warned, many local papers, despite large circulations, only carry a tiny number of used bikes. In such circumstances it’s likely that the response will be very poor and loads of dosh can be wasted paying for the advert. Then again, there’s often one day of the week, usually Friday, when the motorcycle section’s relatively large and it may be worth advertising then - unfortunately, the only way to find out is to give it a whirl. The major advantage of local papers being that the punters don’t live too far away and a deal can quickly be concluded.

If you’re not in a hurry, then it’s possible to advertise for little or no cost. Several motorcycle mag’s carry free-ad sections but as they are monthly it can take as much as two months for the advert to appear (sometimes there is an option to submit the advert to the mag’s website, which speeds things up). Most of the readers of such titles know what they’re doing and simply won’t pay over the odds but they probably will quite happily rush across the country in search of that elusive bargain or rather obscure but nevertheless interesting motorcycle. You usually have to buy the magazine to get the free-ad form but at least there is a bit of light entertainment for the dosh. Obviously, the glossier the magazine the less likely are the readers to be interested in old hacks; and vice versa.

A quicker but obviously less focused option’s, to go for one of the weekly local free-advertising rags, which sell everything from old clothes to used motorcycles. As it costs nothing there’s nothing to lose but the response is often very poor for the expensive end of the market, although useful for the commuter stuff. Again, you have to buy the paper to get the advertising form but it’s quite interesting to scan the various sections for all kinds of bargains (and you can also try to off-load various junk that has been taking up space for years).

One rarely employed trick is to stick a large advert on the motorcycle saying that it’s for sale and leave it parked up in the centre of town where lots of potential purchasers (and thieves, use lots of locks) will see it. Most people interested in buying a bike will, anyway, have a quick gander at the cycles parked up in the bike bays, just out of sheer interest.

There’s also the postcard in a shop window scenario, although most people who scan such places are by the very nature of things looking for a bargain. Better still, if the local motorcycle accessory store carries adverts, stick one in there because you get directly to all the local enthusiasts. This is often a very cheap way of selling bikes very quickly and, if nothing else, worth trying straight away - you could be surprised at the result.

Of course, the main source of used bikes is still the weekly motorcycle papers. For serious bikes it really can’t be beaten but response can be somewhat variable. The good deals sell very fast, the overpriced stuff tends to take a lot longer - but don’t despair if the initial response is poor, a lot of bargain hunters wait for a week or two so they can make a relatively low offer when the seller has begun to become a little bit desperate.

Auto-Trader style magazines offer weekly access to huge numbers of car drivers, and not much else - motorcyclists tend to flick through them in newsagents and only buy them if there’s an outstanding bargain available. Use if the bike’s likely to appeal to cagers. My own experiences of selling low end bikes through them have invariably turned up low but adequate offers from those lovely back street merchants (some mostly involved in the auto world).

Having found the right place to advertise, it’s important that the advert bears some relationship to the reality of the condition of the bike up for grabs. Slight exaggeration is expected but don’t try to pass off an old dog as immaculate, as someone who’s rushed across the country to view it will more likely want to hit you than hand over any dosh. Some people actually understate the condition of their machine, lose out on a lot of potential punters but sell quickly to the first guy to turn up. I went to see one XS650 that the owner had done 60,000 miles on and upgraded to a low mileage import - I thought the shiny machine in his drive was the import, but it was actually the high miler! Yes, I bought it.

Some terms have almost become meaningless and it’s better to use unusual words to describe the machine - superb, average, slightly faded, rat runner, etc. Age, mileage, fsh (if available), the amount demanded and the area you live are all important. An excess of accessories may help sell the bike but don’t add much value to it (so take them off if they will fit on your next machine).

Some general tidying of the machine to bring out its best face is mandatory. Difficult if it’s used for everyday commuting because the slightest bit of bad weather will have it looking like a dog again, especially old Jap’s which need lots of TLC to keep their shine.

Consumables should be able to get the machine out of the street (fit secondhand stuff if it’s really worn out). Patches of rust should be removed and painted over. Make it easy for the punter to accept and not have him thinking of all the hassle and expense involved in putting it right. On the other hand, if you’re really sick to death of the old heap, can’t be bothered any more (know the feeling?) then sell it off cheap and be done with it!

If you’re selling a bike that’s about to die a death get rid of it through a dealer (see later). Don’t, please, sell something with the forks or frame about to break up, as killing or maiming the new owner isn’t a good idea. Some people insist that there’s nothing wrong with passing off a bike with an engine that’s about to seize, but one way or another it’ll catch up with you eventually. Just think how you’d feel if the same nastiness came with your next purchase!

It’s important that you use a telephone number in the advert. Few people will make the journey unless they know the machine’s still for sale. If you don’t have a telephone, persuade a friend to let you use their’s but give a time in the advert when you’ll actually be there. The vast majority of people don’t want to deal with anyone other than the owner and it often looks very suspicious if they are asked to leave their phone number or just given general information.

The problem of thieves looms large at this point. If you can, park the bike in the house with a couple of locks around it! There have been cases of thieves taking out the front door to get at the machine! Also take the guy’s phone number and ring him back (of course, he might be working out of a public telephone call box, so ring a couple of hours later and if it turns out to be fake then sleep next to the machine or get a vicious dog in for the next few nights!).

Insist any potential purchaser brings a couple of forms of ID with him, that will be left at the house during the test ride. There’s no way anyone’s going to buy a bike without a test ride, so you’ll usually end up on the pillion. Some thieves have knocked the owner off and sped off into the distance! Be ever vigilant. Don’t be taken in by offers of leaving another vehicle as security - this might be nicked as well. Or even leaving a friend, as they might hit you and do a runner. A nasty old world, but the vast majority of people who turn up are relatively honest and really do want to hand over a bundle of cash for your pride and joy.

Lots of people who ring up have no intention of turning up, but are too shy to tell you this, will make a promise and not keep it. This is frustrating but it pays to keep your cool and not start ranting and raving at potential customers. Some will even insist that you ride over to their house - not a bad idea (as long as the bike isn’t going to blow up!), but phone them back to check you’re not going on a wild goose chase. Worse still, we’ve heard of one example where the rider’s house was robbed whilst he was out!

Prospective purchasers want to do all kind of things to your pride and joy. Some insist on taking the spark plugs out, others gently tap away with hammers over the chassis and some even want to test the motor by doing a 100 yard wheelie. Obviously, people have to check the bike over but make sure that they don’t damage it. We’ve heard of a couple of examples of spark plug threads being stripped! And one guy got so carried away with the hammer routine he knocked a bloody big dent in a perfectly good petrol tank. Welcome to the war-zone.

If all goes well, the bargaining can start. Faults will be quoted, which may or may not exist. Argue back that the price has already been adjusted to include them. When an offer’s made before doing anything make sure the punter has either a hefty deposit or all the money on him. A cheque backed up with a card is just about acceptable for the deposit, but cash is the only thing to go for unless he’s willing to wait until a cheque has actually cleared through the bank (even building society cheques, which take longer) before handing over any doc’s or the machine. Haggle over the final price - saying that other potential purchasers are on their way helps. You’re expected to accept an offer, it’s just the way things are.

If the deal goes down make sure the change of ownership form’s filled in on the registration - otherwise the cops will send you his speeding tickets, and god knows what else. On the receipt write sold as seen (not sold for spares unless you’ve agreed this). Basically, the only comeback in a private sale’s violence (unless you’ve falsely described the machine in the advert), though conceivably you could piss someone off so much that he takes you to court.

If you get nowhere on the private market or are desperate for a quick infusion of money then the only place left to go is to the dealer. This is much easier, but by no means straightforward, if you want to trade in for a new or newer machine that costs a lot more than the current bike.

The awkwardness comes not so much from valuing the worth of the machine you want to trade in but the street price of the bike for sale, rather than the sticker price, which is often both imaginary and illusionary. Both the prices of new and secondhand machines are highly inflated so that a reasonable sounding trade-in value can be given.

Take a new bike that retails for six grand plus 350 notes on-the-road charges. The latter’s the first to go in any deal involving cash, almost every dealer in the country will drop it. How low he’ll go on the retail price depends on any number of factors - availability, demand, popularity, cash flow, commission, etc. But if you were paying cash to one of the big discounters, you could walk out with the machine for as little as five grand.

If you’re trading in then the price of the bike’s 6350 notes, no matter how much you mutter about what the this guide says. However, if your bike’s worth 1500 notes in the private market, the dealer may match that price or even better it. Let’s say he agrees on 1750 notes after a bit of hard bartering, which means you pay 4600 notes - and perhaps you think the dealer’s not such a bad chap after all. But if the cash value of the new bike’s only 5000 notes, that means your trade-in value’s only really 400 notes!

The same strategy applies if you want to trade in for a more expensive secondhand bike, the sticker prices are hugely inflated from what you’d pay in a cash deal (anything from 10 to 50%). It’s easy to spot when something’s way out of line by comparing the cash price of a discounted new bike with the sticker price of a one year old in dealers (sometimes even in the same dealer). The latter often more than the former! The solution’s to find out the real cash value of the bike you want to trade up to. The motorcycle press’s small display ad’s are the best bet for new, discounted bike prices.

If you thought all that was complex enough, consider the effect of finance rates on the amount of money lost in a deal. One of the reasons that sticker prices are so high is that dealers can offer zero or low finance deals. In such circumstances they will try to get you to accept a poor trade-in deal on the back of all the money you’d save in finance payments. But this is nonsensical given the previous reasoning. You should be able to get a high trade-in value and low finance rate, but only if you’re persistent and bloody minded!

Getting a dealer to pay cash is even more fun. You can point (innocently!) to the inflated sticker prices for similar machines to your own. The dealer will say the engine sounds naff, the chassis is worn out and maybe bent, and there’s not much demand for them, these days. If he offers 750 notes it means he may pay as much as twice that. Don’t take the first offer, check out a few dealers - that’s about the only bargaining chip you have!

Oh yes, it’s much easier to sell a bike in April than in October. And if you’re not desperate hold out for a decent price. Keep trying different ways of selling the bike, eventually someone will turn up and hand over a reasonable amount of dosh. Patience pays, as every motorcycle dealer in the country knows

Buying Bikes

The secondhand bike market’s a bit of a mess, with punters being ripped off every which way. The only way to buy a bike is privately. The only time when a dealer should be used is when new bikes are offered at a massive discount. These discounts are rarely advertised, usually apply to old models that’ve been superseded and are worth 15 to 25% off the RRP. The only way to find them is to keep on pestering dealers, either in person or on the telephone.

Be aware, that you’ll probably have to travel the country to find the bike at the price you want and the guarantee won’t be worth much, but the same applies to year old machines on the private market at similar prices to the new discounted machine.

Many dealers won’t give a discount for cash because they make even more money on the finance deal in commission. A recent spate of low or zero finance deals turned out to be accompanied by dealers putting the prices of their used bikes up by 20% to compensate. Of course, this lets them give a big discount or trade-in allowance for a cash purchase, but it’s a complete con. Even before they put the prices up that same allowance was there.

Dealer prices have become so sublime that the best bet is to offer half what they are demanding, if circumstances, such as the need for an immediate purchase, force you to use them. Do it subtly, though, for they are very sensitive chaps who have to save face in their largely illusory world. Say something like you love the machine but only have half the amount to spend.

The private market is not free of its perils. Although there are in theory some safeguards against being ripped off, in practice it’s all buyer beware and sold as seen. An engine can blow five minutes after purchase and the only comeback you really have is a spate of threatened violence.

So, you have to know what you’re doing. If you don’t, find someone who does. You could even join the local motorcycle club, look totally lost until someone takes pity on you. Motorcyclists like nothing better than to show off their expertise. If you have one particular machine in mind, buy or borrow a workshop manual to learn the intricacies of the bike.

There are many places that used bikes are advertised. Weekly motorcycle newspapers the most notable with thousands for sale. Local papers have been usurped by free advertising tabloids which have lots of interesting stuff, especially at the lower end of the market. Autotrader magazines, and the like, vary according to area - in some place there’s hardly any bikes, in others pages of good stuff. I’ve always found postcards in motorcycle spares shops useful and even those in newsagent’s windows turn up the odd bargain.

Back street dealers are more likely to use the specialist press than the local papers. Back street dealers are not heroes but big trouble. They specialize in a line of dubious machinery, either crash repaired or quick fixes to heavy mechanical problems. The former can have frames, wheels or brakes break up on you. The latter can result in a seized or broken engine when the fix, as it usually does, fails. Quick fixes included plastic metal in the crankcases, ultra thick oil in the engine, bodged camchain tensioners, odd pistons and rings, etc - you get the general idea.

Back street dealers can usually be sniffed out by using some very vague opening remarks over the telephone. Don’t mention any machine details, don’t mention where the bike was advertised and demand to know how long’s the machine’s been owned, checking that the owner’s name is actually in the registration document. These dealers are usually trying to sell several different bikes at the same time, so if they don’t know which bike you’re talking about they won’t know what to say. This simple trick will save you lots of time and, ultimately, piles of dosh.

Even in a private sale refuse to buy unless the owner’s name is in the registration. Because there are some fake registration doc’s floating around it’s very important that you should visit the vendor’s home and check it’s the same as in the documentation. This, along with the receipt, should protect you from the police if the bike turns out to be stolen, although they will take the motorcycle off you - if this prospect worries you check with the police to see if the bike’s stolen before handing over any cash. In any event, frame and engine numbers should be checked against the details in the registration.

In an ideal world all used bikes would be low mileage, one owners. In reality, very few are. Even relatively recent motorcycles seem to be turned over with a remarkable frequency, devices like CBR600’s having three or four owners in the first few years. Some bikes survive abuse and mileage much better than others. The Used Bike Guide (on www.net-motorcycles.com) reveals all, but remember that in the strange world of used motorcycles there are always exceptions. So don’t blame me if it all goes wrong.

There are some general rules on four strokes. Valves or piston wear in the form of smoke will often turn up in the breather pipe before the exhausts, so it’s worth pulling it off the airfilter to check. This smoke, in the early stages, will also turn up on the overrun. Some bikes normally rattle a lot, other are naturally quiet, so check out a few examples to see what’s what. All bikes will eventually rattle their camchains but most can be replaced without a complete engine strip. Knocking noises, indicating the demise of bearings, are big trouble. Don’t confuse clutch noises at tickover with serious trouble, the sound should go when the motor’s revved.

Special attention should be applied to Honda camchains and gearboxes, Suzuki rectifiers, alternators and clutches, Kawasaki CDI’s, camchains (once past 20 thou) and transmission, and Yamaha camchains, pistons and electrics. Despite all this, many motors can run to 75000 miles with minimal trouble or attention (frequent oil changes are necessary, though). If you know little about bikes, four stroke are a better bet than strokers.

Two stroke problems centre around lubrication failures under the stress of their operation. Pistons, rings and crankshaft bearings are most likely to go after the first 20,000 miles. Watercooling helps, the constant temperature allowing better operating clearances. Excess smoke, rattles and knocks are the signs of trouble but some bikes make all that noise as a matter of course. Crank seals are another irritant, especially if they dry out during storage and can lead to a dry gearbox. Exhaust valves can seize up, due to poor oil or ingress of road dirt. The small, aircooled commuters are much simpler and easier to check. Apart from the latter, avoid unless you know what you’re doing.

Rolling chassis faults are easier to gauge. Push, pull everything that’s supposed to move to see if there’s any looseness. The brakes shouldn’t squeak or squeal and there should be plenty of pad or shoe life left. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty insist on a new road worthiness check. Passing only means something on the day the bike’s tested but that’s all you want at this point. Check the electrics by riding around with the lights on - they should remain bright. And make sure that there’s no obvious bodging on the wiring under the seat or panels.

After all that, see how you feel about the bike and the owner. Make a silly offer with the cash to hand. Cash offers a great incentive to deal there and then; prices often take a tumble. The reality of the private market offers some great deals. Once you’ve found your first bargain you won’t want to bother with dealers. Good luck and good hunting!

Bargain Hunting

Sometimes you get lucky. Sell one bike at a nice profit one day, the next pick up a real peach of a deal. Sometimes it takes ages, both to sell an old dog and then find a replacement. It helps to continuously monitor all the likely places where good buys are going to turn up, keep pestering friends of friends and knocking on the doors of complete strangers just because they have an old bike abandoned in their front gardens - often they are happy just to have the eyesore removed free of charge. As long as there’s some oil in the engine, the rest of the decay’s usually superficial. Even if it isn’t a bit of tactical surgery with the welding gun suffices.

It’s useful to have a spare bike. Just a hack or some old dog, that has enough life left in it to get you around whilst waiting for the deal of a lifetime to turn up. They are out there if you have the time and patience to hunt them down. As the whole motorcycle scene winds down over the late Autumn, early winter, this is by far the best time to go bike hunting. Even if it means half freezing to death in some unlikely corner of our great land.

Always have some cash on you ready to grab the bargain at the first opportunity. Chances are if you don’t someone else will. It may sound trite in these days of even small companies giving out credit cards to their customers, but cash rules in the used bike market. Even dealers love it as there’s no need to pay tax on their secondhand stuff, which in turn means lower prices. Of course, if they really screw you on a deal you can always threaten to report them to the relevant authorities, though it’s not impossible that you’ll get a good kicking for your pains - there are some very dubious characters in the motorcycle game.

Cash works miracles. A few hundred notes fluttered in the face of the dealer or vendor at the right moment, causes the asking price to plummet faster than the beer levels at a stag night. Dealers more than private vendors put their asking prices way high. Partly in the hope that an idiot will come along, more usually so they can offer large trade-in deals when someone wants to change their motorcycle.

I’ve brought bikes from dealers at half their advertised prices. A helpful hint’s to turn up with a well thumbed copy of this guide, useful for putting the fear of god into salesmen. Couple that with a little research, even if it’s only reading the used guide on our website. Forearmed is forewarned! However, the way the used market works means you have to be willing to consider any motorcycle if the price is right. Even if it means turning over a couple of bikes every year until the real motorcycle of your dreams is found. It’s better than trying to commit suicide on a pushbike or lolling around in front of the television (all together now, it’s better to catch VD than watch TV...), even if dark glasses are needed to disguise ownership of a complete dog.

So, it’s important to be open-minded. I know it’s hard to take something like a Honda Superslug seriously but there are still examples of this, and many other awful devices, that have been used only moderately and are offered for small money. Faded they may be, but they make useful wheels until something better turns up, don’t cost much to run and can be sold on at a useful profit. If the whole heap doesn’t suddenly disintegrate when the built in obsolescence suddenly hits it...one very serious reason why it’d be foolish to pay top money for such things, however much magazines or dealers might wail about them being a useful bit of tackle.

There’s a whole subculture that exists on the back of cheap bikes, likely to become even more predominant as the gap between the rich and poor becomes even greater. Of course, the police will have a field day because a lot of them, out of necessity, will be run on ruined consumables. Dealers will often do a quick make-over of such devices, flog them sold as seen for two to three times what the private market will bear.

When buying from dealers make sure they don’t rip you off on the finance rates or extended warranties. Indeed, make sure you check whatever you’re supposed to sign - quoted finance rates are often different to what’s written down. Sometimes the monthly outgoing’s the same but an extra year of repayments is tacked on! The salesman will just laugh if you query it some time down the line, the only remedy violence! Finance rates, just like the sticker price, are negotiable, though few dealers will combine a deep discount with low finance rates - they gotta make their money somewhere, somehow!

The only time when a dealer won’t negotiate is if new prices have already been slashed. Old models or bikes that aren’t selling well, will often be shifted by their manufactures by giving a deep discount on the RRP and by cutting dealers margins to the bone. But these new bikes, with as much as 30% off their listed price, offer great bargains even if you can’t screw an extra discount out of the dealer. In fact, they are offered cheaper than secondhand stuff. Find them in the small display ads in the back of the motorcycle press and in some of the large adverts of the big dealers.

Don’t expect too much out of the guarantee, as they are usually on offer on the other side of the country; the dealers happily offer cheap delivery, secure in the knowledge that they are unlikely to ever see the punter again. Consider yourself lucky if they actually get a thorough PDI.

Dealers are very variable in the way they react to punters, sometimes insisting that there’s no need to offer discounts on bikes that are selling as fast as they can get them; other times practically panting with excitement at the thought of a sale. They probably have sales targets to meet; the more they sell the bigger the percentage commission they make. If you don’t get any joy, try another salesman on another day. The end of the month seems the best time.

The back street dealer selling used stuff, often acting as a breaker as well, is a whole other story. On the plus side, the bikes are a lot cheaper than the regular dealers (the ones that aren’t complete dogs are often shifted through the larger dealers), but a majority of them are real goners. Thrashed into the ground, neglected something rotten, often crashed and usually on their last legs; the reality of their decay denied in adverts in which they are lavishly praised, as if the printed word can overcome the reality of their neglect.

The same illusions applies to thousands of the grey imports that have flooded the market. For sure, there are plenty of really immaculate grey’s but they cost serious money. For under 1500 notes, certainly for less than a grand, what’s on offer is pretty naff. I’ve seen XS650’s for 1500 notes that I wouldn’t pay 500 notes for; GS750’s that have been going for twice what I’d consider fair; and old, really doggy CB500T’s, and the like, that seemed like free hacks to me but were priced at nearly a grand. Unbelievable!

Grey importers also take a particular delight in bringing in bent and bashed stuff, that’s straightened out on a dangerously mean budget; some of the race replica Jap cycles ending up as an accident looking for somewhere to happen. Decent spares for the imports can also be expensive and difficult to find. Having said all that, in the midrange price group there are some real bargains - low mileage, immaculate bikes - you just have to know what you’re doing. As always.

Other than buying new bikes, or newish imports, though, it’s best to avoid dealers altogether if the most machine for the buck’s needed. Private vendors are mostly concentrated in the classified section of motorcycle press, but they also turn up in free-sheets, papers that allow free adverts, auto-trader style magazines and in newsagent (or motorcycle store) windows.

The latter turn up some great bargains. Recently, for under a hundred notes, I’ve seen a DR400, a CD200 and a GS400. The DR ran but the tubular frame had almost rusted through at the back end. The CD was a total rat but rattled into life after ten kicks. The GS400 had a reasonable engine, lacked any rust but all the consumables were dead meat and the back wheel was breaking up. Naturally, I bought all three!

Other recent bargains include a sixties Suzuki T200 for 200 notes (really nice nick throughout), a GS550 Katana that had gone around the clock (at least once) but looked like new (thanks to several re-sprays) for 350 notes and an XS650 with a homemade fairing that left what was a pretty good bike firmly in rat status (at 600 notes and 89000 miles it was a bit too iffy for my liking but could have been a good deal if I wanted to take a chance).

These are the high end, I’ve been offered numerous step-thru, horrible stroker commuters and even the odd scooter. I often place adverts in papers or magazines where they are free - something general, like motorcycle wanted, anything considered. After all, I’m not paying for the telephone calls! These ads bring in a regular trickle of calls, mostly the kind of dross that really needs a match in the petrol tank, but some decent deals turn up and I live in hope of some little old lady saying there’s this big Brit bike in her garage with a name that begins with V...

Cheap Hacks

There are an excess of old motorcycles available, mostly Japanese and Eastern European, that cost less than 250 notes and still have a bit of potential life left in them. They rarely turn up in the established motorcycle press, most likely to be found on postcards in newsagent’s windows or in Free Advert papers. Also through the cosmic exchange system which has gone way beyond the remit of old Brits, and accidental sightings when abandoned in front gardens. As a last resort, when the going gets desperate, it’s also a good crack to place ‘Motorcycles Wanted’ adverts wherever they are cheap or free. It also pays to keep an open mind on choice of machinery, take whatever comes along and bodge to suit your personal whims.

That’s the good news, the bad news is that a few winters, combined with the usual neglect, leads to some deep corrosion, especially in components like exhausts, calipers and rear end bearings. Nothing a lot of bodging can’t fix. Those with insurance problems might do well to look at machines over 15 years old, when ‘classic bike’ insurance applies and keep a spare speedo to overcome the mileage limitations such policies contain (although you shouldn’t even be thinking about making a claim, it’s quicker and cheaper to repair most damage yourself).

Some old Japs are even beginning to assume classic bike status, although no-one has yet to claim the same for MZ strokers, which puts most of the sixties stuff out of bounds, especially as it’s useful if not essential to have a second (or third, or fourth...) bike as a source of cheap spares. Most seventies’ bikes were less powerful than earlier examples because of noise and pollution controls, can be revived by modifying the air-filter and exhaust (as well as rerouting the engine breather away from the former). One of the nice things about cheap hacks is their general simplicity, the ease with which they can be modded to suit individual tastes.

For pure town work there ain’t much better than an old Honda step-thru, which works best in C90 form, giving that extra bit of speed for carving up cagers. The combination of worn out trailing link front forks and rusting rear subframe gives handling on a par with a drunken camel. The hidden benefit being that it’ll take your mind off the rumbling mains, rattling valve-gear and cackling camchain; as will the death-wish drum brakes and lack of lighting.

As ubiquitous as MZ250s amongst hacks are old Honda twins. Such enviable devices as the CD or CM 125 having a useful edge over the single cylinder CG125 in the longevity stakes. The CG, and the even older CB125, are fine for town work but the rumbling vibes limit the time they can be run flat out on A-roads, something of a necessity given the high speeds at which cages can, these days, hurtle along. Later, Brazilian, variants of the CG125 aren’t recommended after 30,000 miles, a combination of poor quality materials and general corrosion - even the crankcases have been known to crack up.

It’s hard to tell if the single or the twins have the worse gearbox, once more than 25000 miles are done, with an excess of false neutrals in either case. The CD125, in particular, has the wondrous ability to survive throttle-to-the-stop sorties and quite excessive neglect, as likely to fail from chassis corrosion as engine demise. A good example of any three of these models with fetch 500 notes, but they do decay cosmetically, at an exponential rate after the first three years. A rough looking example with a reasonable engine can be had for half that. It’s more a question of a bit of hard graft rather than massive expenditure to put them into reasonable shape, where necessary mixing and matching with whatever bits the local breaker has on offer cheaply. Such effort will probably extend to the forks and shocks, unless you actually get a kick out of a bike that wallows and weaves.

Even better, from a highway kicks point of view, are the Benly series, although early bikes weren’t as tough as they should’ve been - especially when compared to the original CD175 series, quite a few of which have defied the effect of time by still running well. The CD125 mill can be force-fitted and I’ve even seen a total rat with a CG engine shoehorned in. In the hack world, anything goes as long as it saves money. Again, 200 notes will purchase something with a viable engine and rotting chassis.

I personally own a CD200 with Superdream front end, homemade seat and panels, plus a pair of near rigid Girling shocks. The engine’s done 62000 miles without being stripped (1000 mile oil changes, naturally) and still puts 75mph on the clock whilst averaging 80mpg. As a winter hack or second bike it’s a winner and brilliant value for money.

The alternative to these robust four stroke twins are some strokers, the H100 and MTX125/200. The former’s a relatively sensible commuter that often ends up thrashed to death in learner hands, or crashed, which means there’s an adequate supply of reasonable motors in breakers. Don’t expect much more than 30,000 miles from an engine even under commuter use, the resulting rattles self evident. The H100’s a bit of a dead end as there’s no easy way to upgrade the motor or fit an alternative engine; unlike the CD’s the motor is much more likely to fail than the chassis. Very few nice ones are available.

The MTX125’s a touch more amusing, being fast, tunable and the 200 engine can be fitted. The later RW version’s too expensive to include here. The engine may well blow its guts when tuned which adds to the general madness. For 250 notes you can expect a chassis on its last legs and a motor with piston and small-end bearing on the way out. Whilst Honda dominate the low end in four stroke designs they can’t really match the finesse of Yamaha or Suzuki in the two stroke arena.

Honda’s best 250 in terms of the riding experience was the RS, an OHC single that unfortunately had a bit of a habit of eating its piston. That suicide instinct’s fine from the point of view of hacking as it stopped the bike assuming classic status as a sort of four stroke equivalent of the MZ 250. Given that thousands were sold it’s a bit surprising to see so few left on the road. Or perhaps not, as chassis rot was added to engine problems but it’s not an impossible situation because there are plenty or real rats to buy as back up to a running hack, which are available in the 200 to 300 notes range.

The CBX250RS version is a vastly superior bike but the only ones available cheaply are likely to have blown electrics, ruined chassis and more than fifty thou on the clock. The engine’s similar to the GB250 grey import, so the odd decent motor may turn up in breakers.

Much more ubiquitous are the 250/400 Dreams and Superdreams. The former look rather pudgy but go quite well until they are almost worn out at 45000 miles. The Superdream, especially in 400 form, makes a viable hack and rattly engines in rusting chassis can still have a surprising amount of life left in them. The really good stuff might fetch 750 notes but a quarter of that secures a viable runner. A comment on the poorness of the engine design is that if the chain driven balancer’s chucked the vibes don’t noticeably increase (perhaps partly because it’s a quick wear part of the motor).

Of the 500cc Honda’s there a surprisingly large choice in a number of different engine configurations. The poorly designed FT500, for instance, can largely be revived by modifying the suspension and fitting an XBR (or GB400/500) motor. Not such an outlandish idea as a reasonable FT can be picked up for next to nothing but don’t expect the original engine to give long service.

The CB500T has a similar poor reputation and low price, mainly down to variable build quality when they were introduced as an update to the CB450 twin back in 1975. Those still running are the survivors of many engineering adventures and some have even been modded with CB450 cams for more performance. The chassis is built to sixties rather than seventies standards, doesn’t rot that quickly and easily modified by upgrading the suspension. More than most hacks, prices are likely to rise.

The CX500 also had its fair share of engine hassles, but the sheer numbers sold meant that quite a few have survived more than 75000 miles. All kinds of expensive problems can crop up in the watercooled vee-twin motor and the twin shock chassis bore more than a passing resemblance to a high speed blancmange. They are almost cult bikes, these days, and 250 notes doesn’t buy much.

The CB500 four, and the 550 variant, are only available as rat bikes at these prices, mainly because a gloss black paint job brings out their classic lines enough to inflate prices. The four cylinder motor is rather bland, even when aged and fitted with a straight through exhaust, but as hacks they are more than adequate.

Yamaha make clever strokers that have superior reliability to most other makes. They have made some rotten chassis, such devices as the RS100 and 125 being so fast corroding that very few are left on the road. If you come across a nice engine it can be fitted in the superior RXS100, which is one of the few strokers to rival the sheer practicality of the CG125 Honda. More a comment on the lack of development of the CG than the advanced nature of the RXS.

Like most strokers, engine durability’s down to the type of owner, more than 30,000 miles possible under a mild hand. This Yam appeals to so many different types of riders, from 17 year old learners who thrash, neglect and crash, to experienced riders who need a winter bike, to OAP’s who can’t manage anything bigger, that just about any kind of hack’s likely to turn up on the used market. It’s worth waiting for something reasonable to appear, although there are plenty of spare engines and bits in breakers. The dynamics of the RXS100’s performance won’t impress but the ruggedness will enlighten.

Equally beyond the pale to many who idolize the race replica creed, the YB100 has long crunched along minor roads and is even, in many practical guises, still sold as a working bike in good old Nippon. Many parts are common to the teen favourite of yore, the FS1E and it’s not beyond the realms of science fiction to fit the YB’s motor into the moped chassis. Or vice versa if you want to get particularly perverse. Something to watch out for!

Perfectly adequate YB100’s exist for a hundred notes if riders are willing to don a suitable disguise or pour a tin of Hammerite over the blistered chassis. Twice that should buy a jolly nice example and breakers have a viable supply of bits in most parts of the country. One thing to watch out for is that mild knocks and rattles, that are normally par for the course for an aged stroker, can overnight turn terminal. The engine strip revealing blown crank bearings as well as a dead piston and bore. When that happens there’s no economic means of repair, replacement of the bits, or whole engine, necessary.

Yamaha’s RD125LC is much more serious stuff. The engine manages to retain its reliability when the power’s doubled from the 12hp form, a state most motors find themselves, these days. The chassis is adequate to 80mph speeds but crash damage can rear its ugly head in the form of cracked wheels or bent frame tubes. Given their popularity with youths this is all quite likely. The majority of bikes are now in a poor, if not dubious state, but they remain a cheap way into both the learner and speed game. 250 notes buys a merely adequate example.

Even more likely to have had the balls thrashed off it is the earlier RD125 twin, which managed to combine almost classic looks with a whizz-bang kinda motor. Reliability of a recently rebuilt motor should be okay but many engines will be on their last legs, evident from the smokescreen and engine rattles. It’s possible to fit other engines into the chassis, which doesn’t rot at the rate of later Yamaha efforts.

Larger Yamaha strokers were built in abundance but 250 notes won’t buy much more than a couple of crates filled with paperweights. The DT175 being the only exception of note. Unfortunately, this just happened to be a very useful off-road bike due to its combination of mass and power. That means the vast majority are little better than rolling wrecks waiting for their day in the great scrap yard in the sky but the odd usable one might turn up for two hundred notes. Expect minimal lights and a rotting chassis, although the engine’s tough enough. The early twin shocker may even eventually make it as a classic!

Yamaha earlier efforts at building four strokes were often indifferent, making for some great potential hacks. The SR series, at best, made it as worthy rather than exciting. The SR500 version has some semblance of attractive lines when painted gloss black but its appetite for pistons doesn’t impress even if its simplicity means it’s easy enough to take the motor down every 15000 miles and there are lots of useful aftermarket engine bits, exhaust systems, cycle parts, etc. There are some nicely sorted examples around but not for under 250 notes. That kind of money buys a runner with worn out suspension and decaying cycle parts.

The SR125 and 250 are a bit more reliable than their larger brother, longevity depending on how well the motor’s treated. Neither will impress with their performance, the 250 having a useful edge, and both decay rapidly after the first few years of use. The custom style may appeal to the misguided but Yamaha appear to have missed the chance to produce a four stroke rival to the MZ’s. There are many examples on offer, 250 notes should buy something in working order.

Yamaha took their cue from Honda with their series of XS twins, throwing in their own character building exercise by making them very temperamental starters, something shared with the older SR singles. The initial cause of such traumas was a corroded kill-switch but aged wiring also made life exciting. The XS250/400 shared most chassis components to the extent of being able to swap engines, although most sensible riders will, by now, have swapped the suspension and brakes for something more modern. Like most hacks of this era there’s a more than adequate engine ready to be raided for the goodies. It just takes a bit of work on the chassis. Some people demand silly money but few are willing to pay it, still firmly in hack country.

The XS500 twin was one of those bikes that was fine in theory but in practice the four valves per cylinder, DOHC’s and chain driven balance shafts combined to cause much mayhem. Fine until it broke, the poor engine alloy stripped threads and cracked up when attacked in the usual fashion, whilst chassis rot didn’t seem to make any effort worthwhile. Despite this, rather in the fashion of British twins, a few survived the rigours of the used market, proving themselves fast, capable and something of a bargain given that their poor rep has kept prices way down.

Yamaha’s best twin was undoubtedly the XS650, so good that the only ones likely to be available in hack country are mangy chopped examples, but even these are worthwhile as the motor can be popped into an old BSA A65 chassis to get the best of both worlds. The XS650 twin’s as tough as they come but the stock chassis is a nasty piece of work.

Yamaha’s other failed attempt at originality was the XZ550 vee twin, another bike that was very variable in build quality. Most have expired from exasperation at their poor carburation, the kind of malaise that makes you want to take a hammer to the engine. Unfortunately, the chassis is so unique that it’s unlikely any other motor could be shoehorned in. Paying 200 notes for something that seems to be running well could be throwing money away; check the bike by giving it a jet-wash and seeing if it starts!

Any XS750 triple still on the road is likely to have had its manifold problems sorted and they can keep running even when in a very decrepit state. And they do become very rat-like if not given an excess of TLC. There’s the odd owner around touting immaculate examples at silly prices but it’s very easy to spoil their day by mentioning the gearbox. XS750’s specialise in the exploding gearbox syndrome. For hack money we are talking real rat country but what the hell, it’ll still do a ton and sounds good on rotted through pipes, thanks to the three cylinder symphony.

Suzuki often match Yamaha with the strength and competence of their strokers, especially in the low capacity commuter genre. Thus the A100 and infamous B120 are as tough as anything else on offer, although the mad escapades of learners and lacklustre build quality of the GP100 doesn’t inspire the same kind of respect. There are some quite nice examples of all three models available for under 250 notes and many hacks for a fifth of that.

Early GP125s, in 16hp form, were fast and fun, although most later versions have also been tuned. In more enlightened markets 125 strokers come quite reliably with 20 to 25 horses but those are new bikes rather than some aged bit of engineering that 200 notes buys. The best advice for a rider of a tuned GP is to keep the left hand over the clutch - always! However, the way things are there are plenty of crashed bikes in breakers from which a reliable stock motor can be extracted.

Suzuki made many an interesting stroker twin in their time, finding fine form with the idiom. The GT125 was perhaps atypical, with a peaky, unreliable motor and somewhat degenerative handling on quick wear suspension and chassis bearings. Only really of use to those forced on to the breed by easy availability, with few good ones left on offer.

The related GT185, when given 500 mile doses of TLC, proved better, the main cause for concern being naff swinging arm bearings. 20,000 mile engine rebuilds are about what you’d expect but there is the possibility of low rev running and reasonable economy when not in full throttle mode. Like the GT250, these bikes represent good value for money and can easily be upgraded into neat pieces of hardware. Buy one before the prices go the same way as the RD250/400.

The GT250X7 was Suzuki’s attempt at beating the RD, with light mass and high speeds making for an interesting cocktail of on the road kicks. Anything decent costs more than 500 notes, anything cheap’s likely to be more trouble than its worth. When they go bad they do so in a big way, with blown cranks and cracked frames.

An interesting oddity was the SB200, derived from the rare GT200. A sort of two stroke CD175, the SB had all the panache of a plateful of stale blancmange but it works well in commuter mode and there’s even the odd grey import around as such working bikes remain extremely popular in Japan. They can rot away beautifully!

Less liable to decay, perhaps because they turn their owners’ heads, the GT500 has long been recognized as one of the toughest strokers to come out of the Orient. Its mild state of tune and large capacity being unique, the only sign of stress occurring when the crankshaft seals go and all the oil’s sucked out of the gearbox! Their rep is such that only rats are available cheaply but it’s worth putting in a bit of effort. Unlike the GT750 triple, the 500’s a real classic in the making.

Suzuki made the gradual move from strokers to four strokes without any large blunders (don’t mention alternators, please), quickly becoming famous for building the tough GS series. Very old GS125’s are on offer as hacks but are likely to be about to blow their top ends if not their crankshafts. Old drum braked chassis have few problems, quite viable to fit in a newer engine, the electric start model being more fun in traffic - like many singles they can stall at junctions. The DR125’s a variation on the same theme but with a chassis more likely to decay.

Several 250’s were available from the GSX250 twin and GS250T variant, with its cheese-like four valve head, to the commuter delights of the GN250 single, which ain’t quite old enough to make it as a hack, although vile winters and cheap build quality means that happy day can’t be far off. More likely to find the 400 version, or its trail bike brethren (SP370/400), decayed and rotted for silly money. Useful devices that can be cheaply upgraded and even fitted with the 250 mill if the going gets desperate. Don’t expect an excess of speed but they are cheap to run.

Even more acceptable are the GS400 to 450cc twins, DOHC motors with a single gear driven balancer, they take up where Daytonas and Bonnies left off, with excellent ones beginning to fetch serious money (not to be confused with the later GS450E). Old rats are available for next to nothing but watch out for burnt out exhaust valves and alternators on these otherwise very tough motors.

Less successful was the GSX400F which would wreck its crankshaft when stressed out, but it’s otherwise not a bad package with the potential to take any number of engines. Like the GS550, many ended up so rotted that they are not expensive and only need a lot of elbow grease and a few tins of matt black paint to sort out. Lots of fun can be had with such projects.

Kawasaki make a pretty weird mixture of commuters, none of which sold very well. The KH/KE series of 100 and 125cc strokers are worthy enough, last well under moderate commuting abuse and don’t have any startling faults. The KH’s are a bit on the small side, leaving those of gorilla proportions looking pretty damn silly. Two hundred notes will buy something faded, rattling but running.

The odd near wreck of an AR125 may also turn up, but most of the watercooled strokers have been tuned to 20hp, or more, and the frames are quite easy to bend.

The Z200 and 250 singles are as neat an example of simple four stroke technology as you’re likely to come across but age has taken its toll on most examples, with equally worn chassis and engines. Still, the basics are okay and a few intrepid riders even use them for long distances. Relatively good ones are still available for reasonable money. The KL250 isn’t so inspiring but engines will mix and match.

The Z250 twin mill had such a penchant for ruining its top end that most high mileage examples have gone through two to four engines, making good motors very rare on the used market. That makes buying a non-runner a bad move and most of the cheap ones are going to be marginal. Any Z400/440 twin that’s survived so far is probably going to keep running despite a poor design, so don’t be put off by a decayed surface.

The only other Kawasaki of note’s the old 750 twin, which had enough engine balancers for a battleship and sufficient excess metal to fulfil a scrappy’s dreams. The old dear lunged through life on a modicum of torque and surplus of rattles with no redeeming features whatsoever. Further potential horrors added by the few remaining examples being chopped so ineptly that they are at least cheap!

MZ 125 and 250’s are so well known that few comments are needed. These strokers can cost next to nothing and last for years; even if they don’t spare engines or even bikes are readily available (a strategy that should be applied to all hacks). MZ’s are better than other Iron Curtain hacks but CZ singles have their uses, once all the electrics are sorted. In both cases the chassis are acceptable once the front brake’s been upgraded.

Those desperate for Italian bikes will find the going hard as just about everything claims classic status. The odd old stroker may turn up and a really nasty V50 could provide an interesting mechanical work-out. British stuff’s impossible unless you’re willing to contemplate a BSA Bantam in twenty boxes, although the Enfield India 350 throwback has as much character as idiosyncrasies. Buy one for the retro style.

Hacks are well weird, very rarely in standard nick and often about to fall apart. That’s all part of the fun of running something on a budget that would have most pushbike owners gawping in wonder (did you know that pushbikes are now serviced by dealers and usually don’t come with mudguards and lights - yuck!), let alone those misguided souls who buy new motorcycles. The high gunge factor also makes them a fashion statement - or something.

Best and Worst Jap Bikes

of the Past Four Decades

The Sixties...

The bike that defined the sixties was undoubtedly Honda’s CB750, though there was a lot that was bad about it, its overwhelming impression was good. It put to rest, once and for all, the idea that the Japanese couldn’t build big bikes. Its OHC four cylinder engine contained technology that most British factories could not even build in their one-off race machinery and it was the sheer effrontery of the Japanese company to so redefine production engineering that sets the CB apart. Triumph had their triple but they didn’t have the reliability, oil tightness and electric starter of the CB750.

The Honda was heavy, sported poor suspension, still had chain primary drive (albeit hyvoid) and a separate oil tank but none of that really mattered. What counted was the ease with which it could be ridden, how little effort was needed to keep it from falling apart. Not the fastest machine in the world it nevertheless was one of the few bikes that could be poked along at ton-plus speeds without living in fear of engine self-destruction. All meaningless by today’s standards but revolutionary back then.

In engineering terms, Honda’s earlier attempt at a big bike was more meaningful. The CB450, known as the Black Bomber, took all of Honda’s hard won vertical twin knowledge and distilled some unique engineering. Most interesting, the DOHC top end which sports torsion bars instead of valve springs and rockers set on eccentric shafts for ease of valve clearance setting. The crank throw was 180 degrees rather than the usual 360 degrees in British twins, giving perfect primary balance but a torque reaction along the crankshaft.

43 horses, 410lbs, a proper tubular frame and rather soft suspension added up to a mixture of good and bad times on the road; a marvellous mix of grouchy low rev torque and high rev power punch that would let the bike cruise along at 90mph plus without the usual grinding vibration. Every later Jap vertical twin can trace its roots back to the venerable Black Bomber. The excellence of its engineering apparent in the tiny valve clearances and the fact that it would turn in 70mpg whilst holding 90mph. A good ’un!

Ugly were the legion of Honda twins before they heard about style, almost anything before 1960 but to be fair by that decade they only had the odd aberration in their step-thru’s and mini-bikes. Even the commuter CD175 of the late sixties couldn’t really be called blotto, time certainly kind to its pressed steel frame and dumpy mudguards.

Back to the good, the sixties Dream series certainly fits the bill, both CB72 250cc and CB77 305cc vertical twins. Sharing a lot of the engineering with the later CB450, they had simpler OHC heads and spine frames that used the engine as a stressed member. High revving by British bike standards they could give the 500 twins of the day a good run for their money, held together despite the unheard of revs their motors could be buzzed to.

Like most Hondas of this era the Dream excelled in its motor but was less than perfect in its chassis but nothing a bit of work on the suspension couldn’t cure and there is enough performance in the CB77 to make it on modern roads! The same can be said of Triumph 500 twins, and the like, of the era but only after they have been totally re-engineered!

Better yet than the CB72/77, the CB250K1 - a sort of mini Black Bomber with SOHC top end - offered the first 100mph 250cc twin in 1968. Okay, it needed a long road with either assistance from a hill or wind to achieve that, but the fact that the motor could rev to eleven grand without bursting its seam was history in the making! This was a decade of progress, the K1 had more power and better handling than the CB72, something not so universally achieved in the next decade! Hardly surprising that the K1 was immensely popular with new riders, nor that shocking that most were revved and ridden into the ground.

Yamaha spent the same decade producing many godawful ugly strokers, not getting into the game until as late as 1967. Ugly were such two strokes as the YD3, YES2 and YDS-3, though they sported all the conventional chassis bits that you might expect and benefited from the famed TD1’s progress on the race track. Only towards the end of the decade did Yamaha get their act together, most notably with the smaller 125cc stroker twin, the YAS1, though lacking in excess power at 15hp it would sing its heart out in a way that rival Bantams never, ever, managed.

Yamaha were also perfecting their 250/350 stroker twins at that time, the YDS’s slowly mutating into a semblance of Western style, though the first RD’s took the classic shape as far it could go in the stroker world, but that didn’t happen until the beginning of the next decade.

The ugliest bike Yamaha ever produced? Probably the 1965 YGS-1, an inspiration for the later YB100, though many of the early sixties twins appeared to get their styling cues from behind the Iron Curtain! Apart from relatively advanced stroker engineering, Yamaha’s other great innovation of the decade was perfecting the form of the off-roader, the basics for the later DT175 already formed by 1968 in both 250 and 125cc trailsters - bikes that were able to run rings around the heavyweight Brit four strokes as well as being unexpectedly tough.

Suzuki were the other major proponent of the stroker cause in the sixties, they swapped the racier edge of the Yamahas for greater versatility; an act that also allowed them to develop bigger twins. Easily the best stroker of the decade, the T500 had performance that scared British 650’s, an amazing amount of engine toughness and handling that merely needed a bit of help from upgraded suspension. It was also in another, better, world as regards to smoothness and lack of vibration.

The big 500 had its origins in the earlier, smaller stroker twins - even in 1965 the T20, for instance, had a passing stab at classic styling, couldn’t be written off as ugly. 25 horses at 8000 revs made it a bit of a flyer for the day, especially as it only had to push along 320lbs. The 125 and 250cc versions were similarly virtuous but it’s mostly the tough old T500 that has managed to survive into the modern era.

The ugly, if not bad, title’s shared by the B120 and T125 Stinger. The latter a high revving twin with a penchant for self destruction that managed to merge road and trial styling in a thoroughly mad way - well, it was 1969, the end of a crazy decade. The Bloop (the original model was the B100P and the name stuck when the capacity was increased) was a sort of single cylinder stroker version of the CD but with even more hilarious commuter looks. The engine, though, was so tough that some of them manage to survive to this day. Oh, in the last year of the decade Suzuki also made an attempt at a stroker version of the famed Honda C50 step-thru; the F50 requiring a pretty big sick bucket.

Kawasaki’s sixties strokers didn’t make much of an impression until they acquired the rights to Bridgestone’s excellent 350 disc valve twin - possibility the second best stroker of the decade, right behind the T500 but so rare it’s hardly worth bothering trying to track one down. Both of Kawasaki’s late sixties stroker twins, 250 and 350cc, were flyers of ill-repute that presaged later triple madness.

For 1967, making 31 and 41 ponies, both 250 and 350, were well on the pace, able to burn off just about everything of similar capacity that could still turn a wheel. The 350 a devourer of both 500 and 650cc vertical twins. These weren’t heavy bikes but the steering geometry and distribution of their 330lbs of mass left something to be desired; the old self destruction blues when backing off in the bends. Good bikes, certainly, but never boring - if you get my meaning! The final 250 twin, the A1S, had styling and chassis that were very similar to the first triple.

So strange that it must merit a passing mention, the BSA A10 inspired 650 W1 must’ve caused some odd looks in Tokyo back in 1966, not to mention the West. Think about an A10 motor whose components had been accurately manufactured and perfectly assembled, it’d give a good idea of what the venerable steed was like to ride. Handling wasn’t up to British standards but the lack of oil leaks and relative smoothness makes it an interesting piece of motorcycle history. The bike survived until the first year of the new decade!

A whole host of early sixties 125cc singles existed but I doubt that any made it to the West, they had a strong CZ influence in their style but were probably manufactured to a very high standard. Ugly, ugly!

Kawasaki also played with marginal trailsters, both purpose built singles and minor conversions of their twins. The latter looked quite cute and were okay for screaming through town but the former never made much impression on the Yamaha DT’s; obvious inspiration for the later lacklustre KE125’s. So chalk them up as bad.

The Seventies...

This was a decade that began to erode Honda’s omnipresence in the manufacture of four stroke twins and fours. That they failed to really develop their sixties designs didn’t help - at least in terms of weight reduction and power output, they did at least have a more sophisticated feel. The Honda CB250G5 perfectly sums up this kind of badness. Blunted to the point of blandness, it had none of the 100mph edge of the CB250K1 with which it shared much of its design. Its touches of modernity were a six speed gearbox and a single front disc, as well as a bright paint job.

Such engineering malaise went deeper than mere blandness, the camshaft bearings (part of the cylinder head casting!) notoriously short-lived, though they could be sleeved and thus renovated. Such was the lack of power, though, that few people bothered. The CB360G5, relying somewhat less on revs for forward motion, lasted a bit longer. Come 15000 miles, more likely than not the bike had become a rolling wreck, a continuum of soggy suspension, ruined disc caliper and knocking engine bearings.

Another strange piece of engineering degeneration was the CB500T, an update on the almost legendary CB450 Black Bomber that used its stroked engine to major in a bland delivery of power and also suffered from major piston/bore problems. Handling and braking go pretty dire with age but are easily upgradeable. Replace the godawful exhaust system with something more curvaceous, a classic looking motorcycle emerges but it doesn’t have the depth to pull it off.

What else did Honda do wrong at the beginning of the decade? Well, detuning the CB250K1 when they introduced the K3/4 didn’t help, though the 350 version - for all its inherent blandness - was immensely popular in the USA because there was just enough proper motorcycle in it to complement its relative ease of use and general toughness.

Don’t know if the CD175, in final iteration, was good, bad or ugly - probably all three. It almost looks like a miniature BSA, these days! Totally lacking in top end power but economical and tough. Up to a point, its brother, the CB175, was definitely good. The limit being set by how long it took for constant high rev use to burn out the valves. Where there are still CD’s tottering around there are almost no CB’s left running. The qualities of both bikes were coalesced in the CB200, which had most of the CB’s performance and most of the CD’s frugality. The mechanical front disc was good for a laugh but it was overall a very useful tool. Honda wasn’t to get close to this kind of versatility until the much later CD250.

The Benley’s that followed the demise of the earlier twins were made down to a price, though later engines held together reasonably well. Ugly as sin from new, poor build quality meant they soon became rolling wrecks. They didn’t really make it into the real world even in their final models, more a paragon of production engineering economies than anything else.

Honda’s second generation four, the CB500, was scaled down with a proper wet-sump design. Its major failing was any discernible feel of blood and guts in its 50 horses. Smooth, easy handling and generally tough it was a good motorcycle for the times, classic in style and now somewhat overpriced. The engine was scaled down and up, being incredibly bland in 350/400cc forms and somewhat vibratory and short-lived as a 650. The 550 was probably the best of the bunch but lacks the 400’s and 500’s classic status.

The CB400F was thought a gem of a motorcycle by many but its need for revs meant the piston rings could be short-lived. Its chassis was based on the CB360G5’s but redeemed itself with better suspension, weight distribution and an ergonomic riding position. No surprise that prices for original, pristine CB400F’s are out of this world.

The CB750, itself, underwent no fundamental changes for almost a decade. Power was diminished, weight increased, detail work and better tolerances improving the level of engine vibration and general feel of sophistication. Even the F1 of 1975 didn’t offer a radical solution to Honda’s by then aging design though it managed to get the mass down below 500lbs and added a bit of blood and guts to the power delivery. Handling and chuckability were better than the original effort but this wasn’t much of a compliment. The whole lot should be viewed as bad in comparison to what they could have become but that many are still left on the road gives the nod to the brilliance of Honda’s production engineers.

Under heavy pressure from rivals, Honda finally went the DOHC route in 1979. Both the CB750KZ and CB900 shared a similar engine layout and chassis, defined by excessive mass, odd handling and quick rot brakes. The 900, in particular, had loads of blood and guts, could go so rapidly that the steering became plain frightening! Lacking was the total robustness of earlier fours, thrash and neglect equalled an early engine explosion. Bad bikes but in a mean and moody way that many real bikers love and appreciate.

The other much appreciated dog of the decade, the CX500. Honda’s engineers managed to produce a pushrod vee-twin that incorporated the company’s then famed camchain tensioner self-destruction routine. By the end of the decade Honda had sorted all its problems, the bike emerging as a useful workhorse until the built-in obsolescence caught up with it after 50,000 miles of abuse. But definitely a seventies dog! Woof, woof!

Yamaha were the first on the heels of Honda with a four stroke design. The XS-2 a 650cc vertical twin much in the mould of rival BSA’s and Triumph’s, save that it had an oil-tight OHC engine with a wet sump and gear primary drive. In short, the kind of motor Triumph should’ve been building in the sixties. Nothing’s that easy, the XS’s handling prone to major speed wobbles when going fast. The subsequent XS650 was less powerful, heavier, but better braked and much more stable. Have to call them good, just on the back of the immensely tough engine.

If the XS650 was as pure a piece of engineering design that ever emerged from Yippon, the XS500 messed up big time. The DOHC eight valve head was prone to overheating, the chain driven balancer awkward to adjust and therefore usually neglected. The handling was good, the mass reasonable, and the power, when the engine was running properly, better than most British 650’s. Alas, it’s one of those engines that can explode without any warning!

The XS’s were never a direct rival to Honda’s efforts but the Kawasaki Z1 definitely was! Dumping the antiquated baggage of separate oil tank and hyvoid primary chain, the 900 four added DOHC’s to the equation, emerged as the toughest and fastest piece of iron available in 1973. Kawasaki spent most of their research money on perfecting the engine, the chassis not up to the wild acceleration or speed. It was even less prone than the CB750 to an easy suspension upgrade, both steering geometry and weight distribution too far out of it for a painless redemption.

The Z1 became the better braked Z900, which in turn ended up as the Z1000, a not particularly clever transition as, like the CB750, gains in power and loss of mass weren’t in evidence, though some of the wilder handling excesses were tamed. Engine reliability and toughness remained as good as ever whilst many owners managed to get the Z1000 to trundle through the bends in a reasonable manner after doing a suspension upgrade (later front ends helping a lot).

Kawasaki’s production engineers were let loose on the Z650, not merely scaled down but using shell main bearings rather than the tougher rollers found in the Z1. The result, though, was a bike that had most of the performance of a 750 with a touch of the 500 fours’ easy handling. Though the bike emerged at the end of the decade it was really a seventies design, sharing much of its engine with the Z500/550, though not their camchain tensioner (which must’ve been inspired by rival Hondas).

Kawasaki lost the plot when they tried to design vertical twins. Both the Z400 and Z750 missed the whole point of the genre - light weight, simplicity - in their search for smoothness. Both sported chain driven balancer systems, which made them smooth at low revs, but absorbed power and ruined economy. Bad design but both bikes quite useful plodders if run on the back of their low rev torque.

Honda went the same route with their Dreams and Superdreams, though they didn’t over-engineer to the same extent as Kawasaki. The CB400N Suprdream the best of a bad bunch and a good bike until things began to go expensively wrong after the first 20,000 miles. Compared to the sheer purity of design of the sixties CB450, they were plain horrible, another piece of production engineering excellence that resulted in a bad motor-cycle.

Not easily forgotten, the CB400A, an automatic version of the CB400T Dream. Combine a slow reacting automatic gearbox with a detuned motor and sloppy chassis, end up with a little bit of motorcycling horror. It’s okay if you’re about 110 and like pottering around, otherwise file it as ugly and bad.

Meanwhile, in 1977, Suzuki defined how vertical twins should be built. The GS400 a throwback to the CB250K series with the added benefits of a single gear driven balancer and DOHC’s. Pistons moving out of phase to give perfect primary balance, the balancer taking care of the torque reaction along the crank. This worked so well that the motor became a touch bland, the chassis was also far too remote from the road. The mill so finely thought out that the basics, albeit with watercooling and eight valves, are still there even in the latest nineties machines.

Suzuki also had a go at Kawasaki’s position as the prime producer of big fours. The GS750 soon gained a reputation for toughness that was only second to Kawasaki’s efforts. It also handled far better than rival fours. Suzuki didn’t takes any chances with the DOHC design, building in large safety factors to make sure their first fours didn’t gain a reputation for undesirable mechanical malaise. Thus it was almost as heavy as the Z1. Whilst it didn’t buckle and bump its way through the bends it needed quite a large amount of muscle to rock ‘n’ roll - but then big, heavy and wide four cylinder engines always limit the ability of the chassis. The best 750 four of the decade - as you’d expect, they had plenty of time to learn the mistakes made by earlier, rival efforts, and pick and chose the best design points.

The GS550 was more of the same, being so heavy that its 54 horses really never had a chance of producing exciting acceleration. However, the motor’s tough enough to go around the clock and the chassis so well designed that when the throttle’s slammed shut in the corners, the bike tightens up its line. Vicious use of the front discs in low speed corners will have the wheel snapping back wildly, though! Brilliant in everything except acceleration, then.

Suzuki rounded off the decade with the GS1000, more of the same but with a slightly dodgy engine and less well mannered chassis - too much mass and power to cope with, but suspension upgrades helped enormously. The GS never quite had the same cachet as the Z1000, which lived long on the mythical Z1’s prowess.

Yamaha joined in the fun at the end of the seventies with the enormous XS1100 - one bad motherf..ker if ever there was one! Excessive torque tended to tear the chassis apart but the odd maniac managed to master the beast, wheelie the thing just about everywhere and drag the undercarriage through the bends. Most riders just found them plain bad, though.

Honda manufactured the most outrageous machine of the decade, the CBX1000. All six cylinders, DOHC’s and 24 valves worth! A throwback to their sixties six cylinder racers insofar as it used the engine as a stressed member in the spine frame. Engine width was kept reasonable by placing the alternator under the carbs. Amazing engine note and smoothness, only goes bad when someone reassembles the motor wrongly - easy to do given its massive complexity! Also the great missed opportunity of the decade - why the hell didn’t they cut the motor in half, make a neat 500 triple?

Honda kept well away from the strokers, a dying breed on the back of ever stringent pollution laws. Yamaha kept the genre alive, developing their RD series into the RD400E - easily the best stroker of the decade. Not the most robust, though, that title goes to the GT500 Suzuki, a detuned version of the sublime T500 twin.

The RD benefited from Yamaha’s racing involvement, combined a slick chassis with an eager motor, yet one that would also plod along without throwing a fit, thanks to the reed valves between carbs and induction ports, and electronic ignition. All the RD’s, from 125 to 350cc, were also good stuff but Yamaha managed to turn stroker orthodoxy on its head - it was usually the smaller strokers that ran best!

The GT500, despite its larger engine, lacked the edge of the smaller stroker but was still a useful alternative to the four stroke twins and fours, whose power output it tried hard to emulate. If not the snappiest device on the road, the GT was at least easy to ride and long lasting.

Suzuki’s obsession with matching the bland running of Honda’s middleweights went deeper with their stroker triples, the GT380 and 550. The advantages of strokers - low mass, high power and relative simplicity - completely missing. Throw in far from robust natures, the centre cylinder in particular subject to all kinds of mechanical infidelity, to define these bikes as pretty pointless. Both bad and ugly.

Suzuki had more luck with their smaller strokers, everything that was good in the breed culminating in the final rendition - the GT250X7. The earlier Ram-Air GT250 was a bit too muted and the GT185 twin prone to expensive self-destructive habits. No, the X7 managed to blend minimal mass, 100mph performance, adequate handling and marginal toughness - not as robust as the rival RD250 but on the pace with that bike. The old GT125 twin was usually thrashed into the ground by learners, so they are all bad by now if not in their day.

If Suzuki messed up their stroker triple designs, Kawasaki at least got the basics right with the infamous H1 - a huge, direct, surge of power; only 60 horses, but it all seemed to switch on at once, with a delightful stroker triple howl - not to mention cloud of pollutants. This power did nasty things to the primitive chassis that didn’t really have a clue about steering geometry, weight distribution or the integrity of the chassis bearings. Thus barreling out of bends with the power coming in would cross up the chassis something rotten whilst hastily backing off turned the back end totally plastic. And the rider spastic if he wasn’t lucky!

Later, the triple was developed into 250, 400 and 750cc versions, the 500 becoming both milder and more controllable, but it’s the H1 that really stands out as the maddest bike of the decade. The 750 actually had quite a lot of low rev torque but its power was too much for the chassis, and its engine was never particularly reliable. Later 400 triples muted the breed into a semblance of civility whilst still being able to blow off midrange Honda fours, and the like.

The 250 triple, in early versions, wasn’t the ideal tool to learn on but had the status of being able to do the ton on a good day. On a bad day, it’d oil all its plugs or throw the rider off the road, though the chassis, due to the relative lack of power and mass, had the easiest time of all the triples. Argue about any Kawasaki triple as to whether it was good or bad but none of them could ever be called ugly.

The Eighties...

A decade when weight was lost, handling improved, engines became more powerful and the overall package more useful. It was also one of ever increasing complexity, poor frugality and ridiculous sticker prices. The two strokes, except for some odd bikes, a dying breed and the Japanese perfected the straight four, though they strayed far and wide in search of viable alternatives.

Honda went out on a limb with their vee-four series, no doubt annoyed that their primacy in straight fours had been put in doubt by superior rival designs. They took a big bath due to valvegear problems that were only ultimately cleared up when they used extremely expensive gear camshaft drives in the VFR750. Both the VF750 and 1000 were hopelessly complex, far too heavy, inappropriately suspended and didn’t do anything better than rival straight fours. Apart from having an interesting mix of low rev torque and high rev power, and superior smoothness, but the secondary vibes in big straight fours were rarely destructive. Not even time has been kind to their designs, both bad and ugly.

The VF400 and 500 were less of a mess, more able to benefit from the vee-four layout in terms of usable power and torque. Still complex, still finicky in their top ends, they could nevertheless be a joy to ride hard. Time has killed most of them off, once the engines go they are very difficult to resurrect. Toss a coin, decide if they were good, bad or ugly!

Definitely good, the VFR750 took all that was fine from Honda’s vee-four range, produced a brilliant all-rounder with a racy edge. It would take most of the rest of the decade to shrug off the earlier effort’s poor showing but minor improvements with each passing year finally managed to assuage Honda’s earlier massive loss of face.

Honda didn’t completely forsake the straight four, the CBX750 finally offering a modern rendition of the breed. Tough as they come, the DOHC four shrugged off the somewhat evil reputation of its predecessor and could play with the big boys from rival Jap companies. Lacked the dangerous handling of earlier CB’s, ran like clockwork to at least 40,000 miles under a minimal maintenance regime. A good ‘un.

The near miss of the decade, the CBX550 - better than its rivals in almost every way, it was burdened with a nasty, short-lived camchain tensioner that made long distance touring an interesting experience. Various fixes tried but even the last model still had a dodgy reputation. You don’t see many about, these days - wonder why?

Kawasaki spent the first half of the decade trying to get their big fours to handle properly - with limited success. The engine redefined ruggedness in GT550/750 form, became loved by DR’s and long distance tourers. It wasn’t until halfway through the decade that they redefined the straight four, in the form of the GPZ900. More than the watercooled engine, it was the way the mill was integrated into the spine chassis that finally absolved the company of its reputation for building strange handling motorcycles. Ultimately, the GPZ900 was still too heavy to make the grade but it had a couple of years before Honda got back into the game with the splendid CBR600.

The latter bike totally restored Honda’s fortunes as makers of high performance motorcycles; an instant hit that remains, to this day, at the top of the sales chart. So well rendered that some riders complain it’s too sophisticated and bland. No pleasing some folk, but it has to be the best motorcycle of the decade!

Kawasaki had a shot at the 600 market with the GPZ and GPX 600’s but they never really threatened the CBR. Yamaha came closer, at the end of the decade, the splendid FRZ600 only lacking comfort - despite the race looks it actually had more low rev torque than the CBR. The Yamaha sported the innovation of its alloy Delta-box frame, so neatly drawn that the bike looked about ten times better once the fairing was removed. Its slanted forward watercooled engine was mildly troubled by gearbox and clutch weaknesses but usually only when the rider insisted on full power wheelies. A bit more attention to detail it could’ve beaten the Honda dead.

Yamaha’s whole range of earlier aircooled fours was bland to the point of non-existence. Whereas the GPz550 four could be crowned as the best aircooled four of the decade (in its blend of handling, performance, frugality and ruggedness), the XJ550 could only be called worthy. The XJ900, in early editions, harked back to the glory days of speed wobbles, circa CB750K1 and Z1, later emerged clothed in yet more worthiness, if heavy, slow turning tourers are your game.

Suzuki held steady with their aircooled designs. First developing the GS into the GSX four valvers and then developing that motor into the GSXR series, which used both air and oil cooling to achieve outrageous power outputs; all three series giving no ground on the reliability front. The 16 inch wheel GSX’s were amusing handlers, though it was the undoubted high speed ability of the 1100 Katana that took the crown for the most frightening speed wobbles. Also give the Kat’s the nod for the most interesting styling.

The original GSXR750 showed the way things were going even though it appeared midway through the decade. It was going to take a while before anyone else was going to match its 400lbs and 100hp. The alloy frame was too closely related to the old wrap-around tubular steel affairs, lacked totally the innovation of Yamaha’s Deltabox chassis, and the GSXR750 was never really settled in the corners and sometimes very dangerous. But that didn’t stop people thrashing the balls off them - no coincidence that many of them ended up without fairings, defining the street-fighter look; cheaper than buying new plastic after a crash. Its lack of comfort was also unbelievable. The 1100 version was a touch more comfy but much heavier. The 750 was street racer of the decade, then!

Suzuki showed that no company’s perfect, fitting the GSX400F with a too small sump; crankshaft bearing longevity questionable even with later upgrades. Like the CBX550, its general performance was ahead of the pack, lacking the blandness of devices like the Z400 four. Another near miss, then.

Suzuki’s smallest twin, the GSX250 was also screamed to a premature death by giddy youngsters though it wasn’t, overall, a bad bike. Yamaha’s XS250 twin never ran in a particularly happy way, neither did the 400 version; any mismatch in the exhaust/carburation or degradation of the electrical system left them in a mess. Kawasaki’s GPz305 was a high revving little nutter that harked right back to the original sixties Honda Dream but would melt its engine when provoked

The GS450E would’ve emerged out of the ether as the best of the twins had not Kawasaki sliced one of their grand dame 1000cc motors in half to produce the GPZ500. Fast, comfortable, good handling, passably frugal and relatively easy on consumables its only real fault lay in the sixteen inch front wheel, that on original rubber could flip away without warning when it hit some diesel. Despite this it makes it as the best twin of the decade.

The greatest missed opportunity of the eighties goes to the Suzuki GR650 Tempter, the only aircooled big twin the Japanese ever made that didn’t have to trundle along with an excess of mass. Beyond comprehension why they weren’t marketed strongly.

And the most underrated bike of the decade must’ve been the Yamaha FZ750. A tough, high tech watercooled four, slanted forward to give radically better weight distribution, it had a nice mix of power, handling and general ease of use. It was a step back from the more radical replicas that were to take over the scene but a far from boring motorcycle. Decent used ones are available very cheaply, maybe making it the bargain of the current decade on the used scene.

Dog of the decade - well, Suzuki’s GN400 and Yamaha’s SR500 are both in there with a chance at that title, though the trailsters from which they were derived weren’t half bad. The SR has too little power and too much vibration, the GN too much blandness and awful looks. The SR’s considered a classic motorcycle in Japan, still, amazingly, in production (with a TLS front brake, no less). On that basis, the Yamaha wins the title.

If Yamaha had a tough time of it making thumpers, they excelled themselves with their watercooled strokers. The RD350 YPVS the defining motorcycle of the breed. Cracked exhaust systems, dodgy handling from the back end, didn’t diminish the stroker power pulses nor the sheer fun inherent in combining 60 horses with 320lbs of metal. The engines were reasonably tough, though not that many left on the road. Easily the stroker of the decade. Yamaha lost the plot with the RD500 vee-four, though - too complex and finicky to make it as anything other than a boy-racer. The TZR250 somehow lacked the wholeness of the RD350, though it was in every way a ball to ride.

Both the Suzuki RG250 and 500 were harsher more temperamental attempts at stroker nirvana. The four cylinder 500 running amok amongst bigger four stroke fours until something went wrong with the motor. The RG250 had serious engine and handling problems, once a little mileage was under its wheels, but nevertheless kind of fun. Both very good and very bad, then!

Kawasaki’s stroker efforts never really distilled into anything coherent, the KR1 250 not really up to the game - too many things likely to go wrong. Of the smaller stroker singles, Yamaha won out again with the RD125LC and TZR125, both able to take 25 horses and more without easily exploding, in many ways all the motorcycle that a sane person would need.

The commuter of the decade, the Suzuki GS125, a neat little OHC thumper that had a more serious build quality than the pushrod CG125. Every other wannabe commuter was plagued with dreadful styling, poor handlin