Most nostalgic bikes aren’t though in fairness. Atleast the k5 was good. Some bikes that are now worth a fortune are pants
Whatever you think doesn’t really impact the market. Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
888. Who in their right mind would pay 5 grand for an old tech bike with dodgy electrics and no power or comfort. And they go for way more if two little letters Sp in model
Haven't ridden an 888 but I own an 851 and it's ace, even compared to more modern bikes. Light, beautifully balanced and precise. Has a lovely bellow and still feels great fun. Handsome devil... Some nostalgia is misplaced but I will step up and defend the first Desmoquatro bikes. The reason early GSXR1000's are so regarded is maybe linked to the changes required to meet more stringent standards? The K5/6 in particular was felt to look more cohesive than the K1-4 and didn't have the Euro 3 compromises that weakened the mid-range punch. The K7/K8 are still good lookers, and the all-black K8 of the Guy Martin Relentless era was a handsome thing. Toward the latter years the colour schemes seem to have lost their way and the current GSXRs are kind of gopping IMO. A GSXR Million is a thing of beauty... And back toward the topic, I reckon a blue Gen 1 S1kRR is
I can still buy a 2020 pre reg 0 miles GSX-R1000R for under £14k otr delivered, and I really like them in black. I never liked the Beemer in blue though.
851...888...Hailwood F1 thingy...all old, slow, unreliable, aged bikes...case in point....a £1000 tops bike that pulls in 7 times that!
74 Z1B, 78 Z1R, 80 CBX 1000. Loved mine back in the day, all under £1500. £15-20k now, best looked back on fondly.
Falling in nastily off power, standing up like crazy if you dared trail brake, and squirming around horribly on overbanding unless the tyre was nearly new?! I knew what the front end of my 900r was doing, but I often didn’t like it !
Old = time passes, can't do anything about that Slow = relative, TBH the MHR feels faster at 100mph than the 899 at 150mph Unreliable = selective with parts, on top of maintenance and ridden frequently they don't have to be unreliable A heady brew of nostalgia, but I guess a bit of "back to what it's all about" for one man will be utter garbage for another. I like my old stuff, I like my new stuff. The older stuff is more hard work, the newer stuff does a lot of the clever stuff for me. No point moaning about the market, 10k LCs and 100k split screen campers are either the pinnacle or the pits... they are what they are though. A Submariner is a £2500 watch that costs £10k+... it's not just bikes. Do like my 851 though...
That was good! Might not have been quite so much fun on 1983 rubber though Reminded me of when throttles were switches. Either on or off No modulating.....
