Entire tribal wars are waged over it: "what's a classic?" Purely administratively, in terms of tax and insurance you can tie an age to it. So then the 2022 model Waddannook SS will be classic in a quarter of a century. Because I am a technical fossil, I have little use for it.
For me, what is classic stops with motorcycles (and cars) that are still mechanical. Okay, except for ABS then. And a TomTom or Garmin is also handy. For me, the story stopped with an ad touting a motorcycle as the ideal platform for your smartphone.
In that corner of My Last Classics there are just top machines
Heavy, fast smooth to fast touring machines. And those powerhouses don't cost a drop right now. We have certainty about the future. But just jokingly consider that now expensive classics also changed hands for small change.
My Norton 99 Domiracer cost me 75 guilders
That was excluding rear wheel. At Muts in Soest I bought that missing wheel with a neat tire for 25 guilders. I had my Kawasaki three-cylinder – including a now priceless Robinson front brake with eight ascending shoes – for 800 guilders. I can go on like this for a while. But then I get a little sad. Come on, one more then. Nobody wanted a Ducati 750 GT. The desperate dealer turned his shop daughters over to his mechanic. So in the 2.000 guilders that I ticked off for the Duc there was also another 100 guilders 'profit' for that mechanic.
So we move forward with the knowledge of today, one step into the past.
Because now you can make serious demands if you have less than € 1.500 to spend. Because for that money you can buy a neat to nice, good Yamaha FJ1200, a Kawasaki GTR1000 or a Honda CBR1000f. Those motorcycles were at the end of the development of the authentic Japanese four-cylinder. They steer and brake well. They're fast enough to lose your driver's license. You can easily make long, fast journeys with it and you can dance through the Ardennes or Vosges with it. And we don't care about people who think you need at least 100+ horsepower to be able to drive well.
The machines have been sold a lot and the parts supply – new or used – is still in good order, especially if you look beyond the borders. It's just helpful to do your homework. Because there are sometimes technical changes between the types and years of construction that do not allow a purchase to fit.
Just endlessly good
With an ordinary well-maintained example, a mileage of more than one ton should not be an obstacle to purchase. In terms of electronics, they are on the manageable side.
As impressive as those powerhouses are: they are so dated that they still seem really classic when you compare them with the current (driving) technical state of affairs. And if you can easily keep up with a very expensive high-tech Ducati Panigale in the French Ardennes… Well, yes. Let's be honest. That's because that Ducatist had better financing than driver training.
So we dived into that world once and we will pay attention to those toppers of the time in the near future. That might hurt the buyers. But let's be honest: It's actually unnatural that you - as a young AMK reader did - scored two FJ1200's for € 1.200. And if anyone still has a nice Honda CBR 1000, they can report. Not because we would have room in the shed. But he is worth a story in AMK. And Auto Motor Klassiek is our monthly magazine. That is not free like the visit to our site. But one Subscription is so cheap that you can't really let yourself and us go wrong. So thanks in advance for subscribing!
Read more stories about classic engines.
A long time ago someone at BMW or something suggested that the maximum safe power for a motorcycle would be something like 50hp. That is now outdated. But someone who really makes full use of 50hp while driving, he can ride a motorbike really well, so yes. In the meantime, there sometimes seems to be predictive value in the ability with regard to the driver's inferiority complex. There are not that many motorcyclists who replace a block and even go for less power. Simply because they don't even need all that power, but they do need torque and other conveniences from such a block. And well, what is classic. It will remain an academic discussion. Indeed…. buy and drive what you like and/or tinker with it. Makes you totally zen!
Amen!
Dolf, classic or not, buy and drive what you like and whether you let yourself or someone else tinker does not matter, as long as you enjoy it.
Something completely different for me is your particularly tasty way of expression, with which I think you bring people together, you create a large group of enthusiasts. And works Auto Motor klassiek co-created by almost priceless Goudhaantjes to stay in the genre, also connecting for me.
We think the same way
All those prices that are now being paid for a
classic from 200 to 999 there I bought a royal enfield two cylinder sixty years ago, a bsa a norton atlas etc etc, the history
repeated itself , the only thing that has changed ???
The technique !! But put a classic of now and a new kawa or yamaha with such spaghetti
frame side by side 🤗 then you see what is modern and classic , as I said History repeats itself and we get OLD we become classics too
As a final note: Could they restore us too?
Bought a Suuz GSX600F for €250 four years ago as a beginner's bike for my brother-in-law.
New already inexpensive, now completely a joke…and, also not unimportant; bullet proof.
Two and a half years a VFR for €150…
It is still possible, and as indicated, the late 80s- early 90s are excellent all-rounders for everyday use.
We therefore do not drive on investment or investment documents. Status doesn't matter either. And impressing the more economically modeled sex is also heavily overrated. We just do what we like. And eighties and nineties are great. Friend Rens is a young man in his thirties who has great fun for change on his FJ 1200. Bought for 500 e. By the way, Rens' motorcycles are in the most recent AMK
I myself bought a 600 kawasaki gpx 1988 r last year.
Is a very nice bike, dirt cheap and can be maintained yourself.
Only the ignition is electronic. Costs little for a mountain of fun.
Let's keep that between us. Otherwise they will be expensive!!!