If you are a trader, you are silent about your purchase prices. If you're not a trader, you can be a little more open-minded. So you may all know that the purchase of the extremely rare Yamaha XZ550 started with the comment from friend Kees van Rumpt that he had run into a motorcycle that could go for any serious offer above 150 euros. I offered 151 euros and an apple tart. Then there was the ride to Dirksland vv. More
At one time, the Suzuki GS 400 was a hassle-free everyday bike at the lower end of the mid-range. A conventionally thought and drawn friend of everyone. It was not a motorcycle from the prestige segment of Suzuki, a brand that has always been competitively priced. But with 36 hp and a top speed of about 150 km/h, the little Suzuki was (and is) not a moving traffic barrier. More
We can't get out of it. We get older and classics get younger. Of course it is 100% understandable for 60 +ers to have a Triumph Bonneville or Honda CB 750 OHC can be found at the top. But for the later born, that machine doesn't have the spell it did for us. In the meantime, the Yamaha FJ 1200 has been made from 1986 to 1993. And that was quite a few weeks ago. More
Like a Triumph Bonneville from 1969 you envision as a classic? Then an engine, a Honda NTV, from the eighties or nineties is of course just a new thing. So classic? Or just old? Oh, yes: it has shaft drive. The Honda NTV is an excellent all-rounder with its very own identity and the absolutely indestructible technology with which Honda has built its empire. More
There is nothing romantic about the creation of Lada. The Fiat 124 won the 1967 Car of the Year title. Meanwhile, the Soviets were looking for a family car that could be mass-produced locally in a yet-to-be-established city and then sold at a reasonable price, even in foreign markets. This car also had to be durable enough to withstand Soviet road conditions. And those Soviet conditions were… Well, picturesque. More
Willy van Gent was an importer and entrepreneur. He had vision. He thought he could give his company a fantastic boost and foundation by selling Moto Guzzi's to the Dutch government. In Italy, was the government also the cork on which the parent company floated? You don't want to know how much lobbying, scheming, conferencing and ladies of easy virtue have invested in it. But the bullet went through the church and the Royal Army was going to drive Guzzi. More
It is fair to report that, according to the selling party, the future of this Fiat could also be seen in a man cave. Honesty compels us to consider whether that is even an option. More
Many people are quite unimaginative. Some people are more flexible between the ears. Traditionally it was the case that it was best to buy a used motorcycle from a motorcycle shop that was not a dealer of that brand. The next step is to find your dream motorcycle at a car dealer. For a classic car dealer, classic motorcycles are often a kind of 'by-catch'. Or they were just bought out of emotion. In any case, they fall outside the ordinary 'commercial thinking & revenue modelling'. For example, we found a Gilera 150 cc at a well-known car dealer. More
Now we can all continue to grumble that the classic world has been held hostage by wealthy, opportunistic neoliberals. But yes: if, for example, you suddenly scored 9.000.000 on a deal with some masks, then you have to do something. Because putting it on the couch doesn't help. Then with some bad luck you even get into it. So that's why classics are priceless and kept in acclimated safes. According to the stories… More
Auto Motor Klassiekreader, fellow villager and good friend Hans Beltman asked: “When are you going to write something about sidecar driving. How that compares to normal motorcycling.” Hans has been dreaming about tricycles lately… So here it is: for Hans. But everyone can enjoy it! Hans has an advantage He is a classic driver with a […] More
Girls and women often melt when they see kittens / puppies or similar fry. I have that with lived, orphaned motorcycles. In addition, I have been riding a private Moto Guzzi (and Ural) for the last quarter of a century. This approach had apparently been noticed by AMK reader PJ from W., whom we call that for privacy reasons. Because nowadays you have to take all kinds of things into account and in the shed in W. there is even more fun than the abandoned Moto Guzzi Florida. More
Many of us started our careers on old motorcycles. Because we had no money for newer copies. And those old motorcycles? They were simply worth little. I bought a Norton 88 for 75 guilders. A BSA café racer without registration for one hundred and fifty peak. At Muts in Soest I bought a frame with license plate for twenty-five guilders. A nice T500 cost me six hundred guilders. When I was rich there was a very nice CB 750 K2 for two thousand peak and a Laverda SF for 3.250 rock-hard guilders. More
