Honda 400/4 F2

Ooh! Gorgeous! A mint, unused, 400/4 F2 (the later one with the passenger footrests mounted on extensions of the bike frame, rather than the swinging arm as on the F1 which results in the passenger's legs going up and down in unison with the rear suspension). This little beauty is up for sale at a couple of smackeroonies under £12k on eBay. Has to be one of my fave Hondas with its four cylinder engine and elegant four-into-one exhaust system. I vaguely remember an MCN article before the bike was launched which reported that the design team came to England to look at a number of different 'café racers' for styling tips. Not sure exactly what conclusions they drew but the little 400/4 has a sort of café-racer-style tank and an uncluttered look which contrasted with most other Japanese models. If I remember correctly, a third-hand F1 was my first bike after leaving college. Compared to my college runaround Honda 50 it was massive. However, bought an F2 around 30 years later and was immediately struck by how small it felt. And underpowered, compared with my previous Fireblade! Anyways..., looking back at all the bikes I've been fortunate to own, the 400/4 F2 has to be right up there as one of my all-time favourites.

 

Ariel HT5 and HT3

The 500cc Ariel HT5 is one of the most iconic trials bikes out there. It's extremely popular with pre-'65 trials riders, thanks mainly to the huge success enjoyed by Sammy Miller back in the '60s and '70s with his legendary, lightweight and much modified HT5, famously known as 'GOV 132'. In its original form the HT5 is a bit too heavy and cumbersome so it's been 'tricked up' by a few specialists to make it more suited to modern trials. Jim Susans produced a few versions back in the '90s and they're now collectors' items (he built one for me and I always regret selling). Ex-road racer Mick Grant built one and competed with much success, as has Frenchman Joel Corroy. Another name that comes to mind is John Bartram who built a number of HT5 frames which were much more lightweight than the original. Because of the HT5's popularity and increasing rarity, prices are rocketing. Back in the '90s you could probably get hold of a good 'un for under £5k. But that's all changed. For example, there's one currently being advertised on eBay for £15500. Mind you, I can't imagine anyone paying that price and then riding it, say, in the gruelling terrain of the Scottish pre-'65 trial. So, if it sells, it'll probably end up mothballed in some millionaire's centrally-heated garage. Makes me think I should have asked more for my superb HT3 (the 350cc version) that I recently sold for about a third of that figure. (March 2019 update: HT5 advertised for £16500!)

£15500 eBay Oct 2013 + £17995 eBay July 2019

my old HT3 UOV **2 (Sam's was GOV 132)

March 2020.
The above photo is of an Ariel described as an HT3 being advertised on eBay for £7250. I reckon it's the HT3 that I owned some time ago (see earlier photos) which I sold for around £5k. The ally mudguards have been swapped for a couple of plastic items, the engine panel featuring the HT letters has been swapped for a plain item and, being unregistered, there's only a very slim chance of proving it's a genuine HT3, albeit a 'tricked-up' one with a Bartram frame, some Steve Gagg goodies and various other upgrades.

P.S. I sold the bike in 2013 and the present owner purchased in 2016 for apparently £7250 - the same price it's currently advertised for. What happened during those intervening three years? More than likely that was when an expensive modern 'bitsa' gained a 1950's identity and instant provenance. Maybe a 500 masquerading as a 350. With its newly acquired DVLA recognition it would have immediately qualified for the Scottish Two Day Trial and increased considerably in value. 

P.P.S.
May 2020. Bike now re-advertised on eBay for £6500.
June 2020. Now advertised by Stav Bikes of Chorley (a dealership) for £9995.
July 2020. As above.


On the subject of trials Ariels, here's a rather handsome specimen with an interesting reg. no., but is it really an Ariel, and is it really a pre-65, and is it really an HT? Hmm...

HT5 advertised in France, 2 Dec 2020 (see photo below), €10,500 (about £10,000)

 

Honda RTL360

One of my fave bikes has to be the works Honda RTL360 of Eddy Lejeune. I remember seeing him on it (or maybe it was a 250?) a couple of times when he rode in the Scottish Six Days Trial. A geat bike and a great rider. Did a bit of an internet search and discovered, somewhat surprisingly, that a works ex-Lejeune 360 is now owned by a very lucky French chap. I say 'surprisingly' because I understood that it was Honda company policy to 'crush' works bikes when they were no longer being used. Having said that, back in the '90s, I heard of another works RTL (a 250) that had escaped the crusher and was available for around £10k. Much prefer the fire-engine red 360 though. Perhaps the most desirable trials bike of all time.

 

Zero miles Yamaha GTS1000

Just spotted an unused, brand spanking new, burgundy coloured, Yam GTS being advertised for a penny under £10,000. Apparently it was registered in 2003 and immediately stored. It's probably the only unused GTS on the planet. A good investment for someone - unfortunately not me.

Yamaha GTS1000

Had one of these about ten years ago. Bit heavy, but great for touring. Rather expensive when new which put a lot of people off, so it wasn't the success that Yamaha were hoping for. The main feature that makes it stand out from the crowd is, of course, the hub centre steering which does away with conventional front forks. Makes for a very smooth ride and means you can brake in corners without affecting handling (no forks to compress under braking and wheelbase doesn't shorten when braking). Low slung engine and underseat petrol tank lower centre of gravity which further enhances handling (traditional petrol tank area houses airbox). Engine is basically the FZR1000, but slighly detuned and reset to provide greater midrange, housed in an 'Omega' frame. Altogether a fine machine which one bike mag recently voted 'coolest bike' (or some such title). Few were produced in the years '93 to '96 so those that survive are a rare breed. Spotted a one owner example recently that's only done about 7000 miles priced at a very reasonable four grand. Bargain. And surely a future classic. (Photo 'borrowed' from some other site.)

 

Honda CB1100RD

Favourite bike?  Tough question. I'd be hard pushed to narrow it down to six, but the question demands just one. Er..., umm..., I give up! Too tough to answer.

Okay, put it another way..., with a budget of five or six grand, what road bike would you actually buy, given that you can only have one...? Right..., tricky, but I'll go for Honda's superb CB1100RD. There, I've said it.

Prices are on the up, but I reckon a buyer could be lucky and find one for around the £6k mark. Or maybe not! Recently saw an RC advertised for nearly twelve grand! Silly money. Same for the CBX1000, RD500 and RG500. All four bikes are now collectors' classics and are consequently going up in value almost daily. But I'd only go for one of them!

29 Dec 2020  - Just spotted a 1982 model on eBay (see below) being advertised by a Sheffield classic bike dealer. Has the 4-into-1 exhaust fitted, one owner, 41616 kms, price £19,999. Wow! Yes, they do seem to have shot up in value, but the asking price ain't always the selling price. 

 

Then spotted a very similar model for sale in France (see below). Same year, 44930 kms, all standard with original 4-into-2 exhaust, price €15,390 (about £15,150) - about £4850 cheaper, but still pricey to a tight-fisted, elderly biker such as moi. Lovely bike though. Good investment.

MZ ETZ250

MZs - you either love 'em or hate 'em. Personally, I love 'em. They're simple, basic and honest. And, if properly serviced, they're reliable and capable of high mileages. What's more, even though some ill-informed bikers regard them as a joke, they actually make pretty good racers. Indeed, there's an MZ racing club which runs a series devoted entirely to MZs. And..., not that long ago, the engineering genius Walter Kaaden developed a grand prix bike which took on, and beat, the Japanese works bikes. And..., the great Mike Hailwood raced one, as did Bill Ivy (unfortunately Bill fell off one when he was pootling back to the pits without his helmet on - died from his head injury... very sad). Anyway, MZ works rider Ernst Degner (an East German and Kaaden's trusted jockey) defected from behind the Iron Curtain and resurfaced as a Suzuki works rider. Having gained Kaaden's MZ engineering secrets, Suzuki then began winning world championships with bikes that bore an uncanny similarity to Kaaden's MZs - take a look at Barry Sheene's Suzi for example. Then Honda and other Japanese racing factories followed suit. Thus, it's widely recognised that Japanese race brands owe a big debt of gratitude to MZ and Walter Kaaden in particular.

Anyways..., having owned five MZs in the past, I regularly keep a lookout for any good 'uns that come up for sale. Spotted this one the other day - a 1982 ETZ250 that's only done just over 4000 miles. Up for grabs at £800. Seems a good deal to me. Am trying really hard to resist the temptation to buy it, but I feel myself weakening...

Dammit! Someone beat me to it!

P.S. I've also included a photo of one of my fave MZ models, the TS250 which was produced from 1973 to 1982 (it's the blue one).