Or Best Offer

Or best offer

UP FRONT

David Edwards

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT HAVING A motorcycle. If you’ve been contemplating motorcycle ownership, or if you know someone who has been sitting on the fence that separates rider from interested spectator, now is the time join the fold.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to becoming a motorcyclist is the purchase price of a new bike. There’s no denying that some models are beyond the reach of the average buyer, especially in these tough economic times, but there are many more that are reasonably priced. And if you consider new-bike prices in other parts of the world, we’ve got it lucky. In Europe, stout import tariffs and the vagaries of international marketing combine to elevate sticker shock to Himalayan heights. An example: The Honda CBR600F2 that you or I would part with $5899 for will set a British rider back some £5291, the equivalent of 8050 U.S. dollars.

All very well and good, but you still can’t come up with cash for a new bike? Well, the solution is as close as the classified section of your Sunday newspaper, where you’ll find a slew of possibilities, many at fire-sale prices. Or there are local publications made up of nothing but classifieds. Following are some entries from the motorcycle section of the Recycler, a Southern California paper, many followed by the abbreviation that quickens a bargain hunter’s pulse: obo, standing for “or best offer.”

“82 Kawasaki GPz550, xint cond, incl matching helmet & gloves, $700 obo.” This is a sporting motorcycle that in October of 1987, Cycle World picked as one of the 10 most significant modern motorcycles. “After the immense success of the GPz550,” the editors said, “ café-style bikes soon became the rule rather than the exception; we simply began calling them sportbikes. And the GPz550 can take most of the credit for the sportbike styling and performance boom that is still in full stride.” Okay, the GPz550 may not be a Triumph Speed Twin, but it is a slice of motorcycle history, all yours for $700, with riding gear thrown in to sweeten the deal.

“82 Suzuki GS550M Katana, ltd prod, collectible, 29M, many new parts, well maint, 93 tags, silver/orange, 6 spd, triple discs, mvg, must sell, sac $1400 obo.” Calling the Katana 550 collectible may be pushing it, but it is interesting, with styling a notch less weird than the original space-alien Katana 1000. In August, 1982, it finished second (to the GPz550) in Cycle World's middleweight shootout. Here’s what we said: “The Suzuki won points for having a big gas tank, easy to adjust suspension, tremendous brakes, precise steering, mechanical tightness and superior road feel.” Don’t pay more than $800 for it, though.

“82 Honda Gold Wing Aspenacade, full dress, loaded, footbrds, new batt, gd Dunlops, CB, streo cass, intercom, air susp, well maint, vry cln, $2200 obo.” Here’s a bike that started the turn-key touring rage, described in the July, 1983, issue as “a strong, silent, trouble-free touring bike, with few flaws and many attributes.” The GL1100 was judged Best Touring Bike in 1980, 1981 and 1982, and more than a decade later, this is a machine that can still chase horizons and deliver smiles.

“79 Kawasaki KZ650, runs xint, rent tune-up, new batt, kept in grg, chrm vy shiny, $750 obo.” Another Ten Best Bikes winner, so popular with the CW editors in 1977 that they said, “No matter what other roadbikes have been on test, when it’s time for going places, the man who draws the winning straw rides the KZ650.” The KZ is just one of the tens of thousands (millions?) of so-called Universal Japanese Motorcycles out there waiting to be snapped up and put to good use.

“80 Honda CB750K, Windjammer fairing, body and chrm perfect, grt ride for pleasure or commute, 32M, $1100 obo.” Another UJM, this was the twin-cam successor to the original CB750 Four. “The engine is terrific. The frame and suspension are balanced, and engineered for each other and the engine. Just about every detail has been done correctly,” readers were told in January, 1979. Speaking of the original 750 four-piper, my brother Kevin just found one sitting in a neighbor’s garage, a 1978 model with 30,000 mile on the clock, a Windjammer fairing and luggage rack. It had thrown a chain, which cracked the engine case, so the owner was looking to unload it for $100. Some metal epoxy, $150 worth of new chain and replacement rear tire, and a wash-and-wax session later, Kevin has a great motorcycle for $250.

“79 Husky 390CR, immaculate, all orig, mint cond, must see, must sell by Saturday, $395.” Too new to be eligible for vintage motocross racing, too old, slow and undersuspended to venture onto modern tracks, the CR isn’t really much good for anything other than gathering dust. Unless, say, you happen to be a street rider interested in honing your survival skills with a little trail riding. Then, the same engine that we called “a beautiful powerplant” and described as having “power that is smooth, abundant, responsive, with a powerband that starts at idle” in December of 1979 will still serve you well.

Be warned, though, that this classified-scanning stuff can lead to a distinct shortage of garage space. While researching this column, I came across an ad for a Yankee Z 500, the obscure but interesting dual-purpose bike built in Schenectady, New York, using two OSSA 244cc cylinders grafted to a common crankcase mounted in a Dick Mann-designed frame. In 1972, Cycle World called it “a six-speed enduro/street Twin, with...remarkable handling, destined to become an instant collector’s machine.” The Recycler ad read: “73 Yankee 500, runs, $575 obo.”

The guy let me have it for $400. □