Classic bikes - a worthwhile investment?

[roofman]

Yeah, that rings a bell. ISTR they also went through camchains like they were made from chocolate. But yes, after that, they appeared to go on to cover interstellar mileages in the hands of couriers.

No doubt about it, there are some seriously nice CX500's out there now! When cleaned up and (lets be honest) tarted up, that engine does display elegant mechanical beauty, especially the clean lines due to the shaft drive. Probably happened when the world ran out of old BMW's...

They even made turbo ones too..

 

[dobbslc]

Yeah the camchains we're crap! I think honda did a recall or something that basically sorted them out.
Honda became infamous for camchain problems in that era and that is why they developed the VFR series of bikes with gear driven cams.

 

[Cato]

The CX500 kept London and every other city alive with motorcycle couriers in the late 70,s and 80,s...plus some of the most iconic bikes ever built where from the 70,s and 80,s and a lot of today's retro,s are based on this era. Late 80,s brought in the slabside GSXR,s and FZR,s which full sports style then dominated the 90,s. I think 70,s/80,s was the time to be alive with regards to Japanese bikes and i am glad i was right in it from 76 on a Suzuki AP50

I remember the other courier favourite being the GS/Katana 650.

 

[Morrisman]

my mate had a new one when launched..remember them as a wonderful bike long distance

I actually broke my personal record on mine, 960 miles, South of France to Stafford: 16 hours, including ferry time. No more than 80mph, just a pocket full of chocolate eclairs to suck on occasionally and keep up the blood sugar. I used motorway north of Paris, but RN lower than that.

 

[Rannsachair]

I remember the other courier favourite being the GS/Katana 650.

A friend of mine despatched in London for a few years on a Suzuki GT750, he loved it!

 

[Morrisman]

Yeah the camchains we're crap! I think honda did a recall or something that basically sorted them out.
Honda became infamous for camchain problems in that era and that is why they developed the VFR series of bikes with gear driven cams.

My CX had 43,000 miles on when it fell into my brutal hands. It wasn't treated very well by me as I was more used to 1000++ cc four cylinder bikes.

I never had a problem with the motor, but when I started some modifications I found the swing arm was literally a rusty shell held together with paint.
I can't believe it never snapped on some of those tortuous French switchbacks and hills, as I could literally feel the whole pressed steel frame flexing as I braked hard into downhill hairpins etc.

 

[Robotstar5]

Plastic maggot!

My first brand new bike was a "plastic maggot" lovely comfortable touring machine and as one pillion once commented "there's enough room to hold a party back here"

 

[Robotstar5]

And the Yamaha XJ900 Diversion. Brilliant machine if a tad heavy. Not sought after now they’re too old for courier work but they used to be the dispatch rider’s weapon of choice.

I traded in my old GS850 for a new Diversion in the 90's.

 

[pedrobedro]

Yeah the camchains we're crap! I think honda did a recall or something that basically sorted them out.
Honda became infamous for camchain problems in that era and that is why they developed the VFR series of bikes with gear driven cams.

Brother in law had one and his brother had a turbo version. It was the camshaft that went on his bike. It wore out in a few weeks and had to be repaired under warranty.

 

[Rannsachair]

My first brand new bike was a "plastic maggot" lovely comfortable touring machine and as one pillion once commented "there's enough room to hold a party back here"

View attachment 356066

I have a German friend, back in the 80's he said in Germany they called it the Güllepumpe or Slurry Pump!

 

[Screwdriver]

And the Yamaha XJ900 Diversion. Brilliant machine if a tad heavy. Not sought after now they’re too old for courier work but they used to be the dispatch rider’s weapon of choice.

I traded in my old GS850 for a new Diversion in the 90's.

Yeah perfect. Dog ugly, heavy and slow. Nobody wanted one so they end up cheap as chips = courier fodder.

The passage of time has done it no favours.

 

[dobbslc]

I have a German friend, back in the 80's he said in Germany they called it the Güllepumpe or Slurry Pump!

Is that something to do with the old Moto Guzzi V twin engines they used to used as ditch pumps years ago?

 

[Rannsachair]

Is that something to do with the old Moto Guzzi V twin engines they used to used as ditch pumps years ago?

Google says: "As the draftsman Rötger Feldmann alias Brösel published the comic 'Eiskalt' in 1985 in Semmel-Verlach, in which the title hero Werner uses the cooling circuit of a CX 500 to pump liquid manure, the name sticks."

 

[pawsnizzy]

cbx 1000 springs to mind , just about worth the money at the moment , but buy two , one to ride and one to polish.

A good one is currently fetching £20k

 

[julianthegypsy]

A friend of mine despatched in London for a few years on a Suzuki GT750, he loved it!

Someone I knew when I did a bit of long distance couriering on a Z550 turned up on a kettle. It sounded lovely but two days in he realized that 22 mpg really wasn't going to work for him!

 

[dobbslc]

Google says: "As the draftsman Rötger Feldmann alias Brösel published the comic 'Eiskalt' in 1985 in Semmel-Verlach, in which the title hero Werner uses the cooling circuit of a CX 500 to pump liquid manure, the name sticks."

No wonder the water pumps were also a weak point!

 

[pedrobedro]

Someone I knew when I did a bit of long distance couriering on a Z550 turned up on a kettle. It sounded lovely but two days in he realized that 22 mpg really wasn't going to work for him!

Mate of mine used to get his Kettle down to 12mpg, mind you he did spend a lot of time on the back wheel.

 

[minimutly]

Well I have a few xj's of the early type - xj650 maxim - the one with the ugly curly bars. Bought it on ebay from Basingstoke, £110. A JDM version (light comes on on the dash at 70kmh to warn you of impending doom). The owner had decided he was going to "chop it", so the back end had been cut off, ugly bars, sidepanels and for some reason the carbs binned. 27000 km, sweet as a nut, I welded the frame back on, made sidepanels from tigged ally, and a tail tidy. Will it ever be worth more than £500? Who knows, but its a nice runabout.
Xj no2 is a 650 Seca, slightly drunk ebay buy, came on a pallet, without front forks, tank or footpegs, but with a box of engine bits. I think I paid £70 for it. It's running and I've ridden it, everything works, its now complete but needing a rebuild. Going for £1500 to £2k these days. It won't make me any money but I like the look of it.
Last Yamaha is the xj 900F. Bought in bits. Will be rebuilt with xj900S wheels and brakes, maybe a turbo, to look like a Seca. My grandson call it the bitsa.
Oh, I also have a 650 turbo frame and engine, who knows why I bought that, probably to make a trike...
On that subject, forgot to add the Yam 1200 full power vmax which came with two back wheels, dog rough Kawasaki S500 and dads old Honda 90 c200.

 

[Greeves246]

So many variables. Do you want a bike to use or just to look at? Do you mind doing some work or would it have to be fully sorted? You mentioned a 900 super sport, do you mean a bevel round case or square case or a later belt drive? Assuming you mean the later ones, motors are fairly bulletproof with good maintenance and plenty of spares available, prices are reasonable and will probably go up, look what the MH900 are now fetching.
I’ve got a low mileage Honda 400/4 that will always bring good money if I ever needed to sell it but it is nice to ride and is quite manageable, also free tax and cheap insurance.
The Norton is a different kettle of fish, purely a race bike and now I’ve retired just for showing. Taken it to a couple of shows, won best Norton at one and recently Best British and European at a VJMC show. The Greeves are the same, just for showing now, again the 350 has won Best Two stroke and a Best British award. Quite satisfying to win something for the work put in, and they are nice to look at as well as appreciating in value.
Go to Bonhams at Stafford in October to get some idea of the way the market is going, look at the club stands and chat to owners and join if a particular marque is your fancy, club mags always have a for sale section.

 

[Screwdriver]

400/4 is a jewel of a machine. Bumped into one recently while out on the trusty Fazer.