10 Classic Sports Bikes That Are A Collector’s Dream

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Any motorcycle that is more than 25 years old has the right to be called a ‘classic’. But that doesn’t mean all of them are collectible, even when they might be 50, 60, or 70 years old. Throughout time, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of run-of-the-mill motorcycles, built for practical purposes but they are not what collectors lust after. The classic models that provoke the most interest are the manufacturer’s flagship motorcycles from any particular era, which are generally the flagship sports bikes. After all, they had the performance and status to reflect glory onto models further down the pecking order. In this top tier category are some bikes that are more equal than others and will always be collectible, as well as very expensive. That’s our focus today.



In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including www.motorcyclespecs.co.za. They are ranked in ascending date order.

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10 Vincent Black Shadow – 1948

Price guideline: $20,000 to $150,000

Vincent Black Shadow 5
Mecum

When it was new, the Vincent Black Shadow was the fastest production motorcycle in the world with a top speed of 125mph. Powered by a thundering 998cc, 55 horsepower, V-Twin engine, it both looked and went like nothing else on the road at the time, more often than not finished in flawless gloss black shade (including the engine). Vincents were chock-full of interesting engineering solutions. For example, the steel backbone (from which the engine was suspended) featured the headstock at one end and rear suspension mounting points at the other.


Philip Vincent was obsessed with lightness and eliminated both weight and complexity by doing away with a conventional frame. The last Vincent might have rolled off the production line in 1955, but its appeal has never dimmed. Many collectors consider their collections incomplete without one.

Performance Specifications

Displacement

998cc

Engine Type

V-Twin

Frame Type

Steel Backbone

Max Power

55 horsepower

Max Torque

N/A

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

9 Norton Manx – 1950

Price guidelines: +/-$15,000

Norton-Manx-30M
rmsothebys.com


The Norton Manx was, quite simply, the most successful British racing motorcycle ever, with dozens of Grand Prix, Isle of Man TT, and Clubman racing victories to its name, not to mention World Championship titles. It was the model that many of the British stars of Grand Prix racing in the 1950s and 1960s cut their teeth on, be it Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood, or John Surtees. The Manx name was coined in 1947, but the definitive model came in 1950.

It had Norton’s famous ‘Featherbed’ frame which gave the Manx unrivalled handling, even if its single-cylinder 500cc engine was being outpaced by the Italian rivals. Production ended in 1962, but it was still winning races, recording its last Grand Prix victory in 1969. The Manx also took home the Bol D’Or endurance race in France in 1971.


Performance Specifications

Displacement

499cc

Engine Type

Single cylinder

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

45 horsepower

Max Torque

N/A

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

8 BSA Gold Star DBD34 – 1956

Price Guideline: $14,000

1960 BSA Goldstar
bringatrailer.com

The BSA Gold Star, along with the Norton Manx, was the pinnacle of British race bike engineering in the 1950s. Even if it was quickly rendered obsolete by the new generation of multi-cylinder Italian racing bikes from Gilera and MV Agusta, the ‘Goldie’ inspired a whole generation of young motorcycle enthusiasts. Its style could be said to have inspired the cult of the Café Racer: swept back exhaust, chrome gas tank, clip-on handlebars, twin Smiths Chronometric clocks, and single seat became the must-have styling cues for the speed-mad Rocker.


The Gold Star wasn’t especially successful in racing (although it was by no means a failure). Yet it was a stunning road bike, with the tall gearing of the 34 allowing for 60mph in first gear. A pig to start but pure 1950s British motorcycle style.

Performance Specifications

Displacement

499cc

Engine Type

Single Cylinder

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

50 horsepower

Max Torque

N/A

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

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7 Triumph Bonneville T120 – 1959

Price Guideline: $14,000

Triumph Bonneville T120 (2)-2


BSA might have had the volume of production, Norton its racing success, but it was Triumph that was arguably the most desirable motorcycle of the post-war period. In 1959, the new T120 Bonneville model was released, with a claimed top speed of 120mph and beautiful lines that immediately became the most desirable sports bike of its day. What set the Bonneville apart from previous Triumph sports models was the twin carburettor cylinder head which had been an option on the T110 but standard fitment on the Bonnie. Once again, Triumph set a trend that all other British manufacturers followed and the Bonneville would soldier on as the last British sports bike up to the beginning of the 1980s. Early examples are highly prized and, therefore, becoming very expensive.


Performance Specifications

Displacement

649cc

Engine Type

Parallel Twin

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

46 horsepower

Max Torque

N/A

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

6 MV Agusta 750 S – 1970

Price Guideline: $60,000

1973 MV Agusta 750 Sport in red, white, and blue
1973 MV Agusta 750S – The Vintagent

Despite the best efforts of the Japanese manufacturers, Grand Prix racing in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s was the preserve of one manufacturer: MV Agusta. However, at the time, MV Agusta’s road bike production centered around small-displacement models, despite the racing success. Luckily, the company made amends in 1970 with the arrival of the 750 S. Produced in tiny numbers (583 examples in five years) and eye-waveringly expensive, it was also technically complex, fast, and utterly beautiful.


The absolute pinnacle of Italian exotica which has now become a much sought-after model in collector circles. They rarely come up for sale but, when they do, the prices are astronomical and, sadly, that means very few are ridden. It’s a shame as the sound of an MV four-cylinder engine at full cry is something else.

Performance Specifications

Displacement

743cc

Engine Type

Inline four cylinder

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

68.5 horsepower

Max Torque

N/A

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

5 Kawasaki Z1 -1972

Price Guideline: $20,000

Kawasaki Z1 Motorcycle
Rainmaker47, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons


Kawasaki had been developing a 750cc inline four-cylinder engine at the same time as Honda was developing its own version. When the Honda was launched first in 1969, Kawasaki went back to the drawing board to enlarge the engine to 903cc, making it the most powerful Japanese four-cylinder, four-stroke at the time. Like the Honda, the Z1 had an electric start and a front disc brake, even though Japanese chassis technology still had a way to go before it caught up with European manufacturers.

That hardly mattered as many owners were drawn to the Z1 not only by its acceleration and 130mph top speed but also its attractive lines and promise of reliability. From that moment, Honda and Kawasaki were joined in battle in the sports bike class, soon to be joined by Yamaha and Suzuki. It set the template for sports bikes for decades to come.


Performance Specifications

Displacement

903cc

Engine Type

Inline four-cylinder

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

82 horsepower

Max Torque

54 foot pounds

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

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4 BMW R90 S – 1973

Price Guideline: $11,200

BMW R90S Static shot
BMW

BMW built its reputation on solidly built, slightly staid motorcycles that were admired for those qualities. By the 1970s, however, BMW was under threat from the Japanese and something had to be done. BMW’s answer was to go against type and produce a sports bike, albeit one with all the quirkiness owners had come to expect.


The R90 S was powered by an 898cc version of the usual boxer-twin engine, producing 67 horsepower, giving a top speed of 124mph. The most remarkable aspect of the bike, however, was the two-tone paint job in bright colors, the bikini fairing, and the low-set handlebars, giving an unheard-of sporting air to the model. Completing the transformation, two R90 S bikes placed first and second at the very first AMA Superbike race at Daytona in 1976. BMW was no longer the dowdy aunt sitting in the corner at a party!

Performance Specifications

Displacement

898cc

Engine Type

Flat twin

Frame Type

Steel tube

Max Power

67 horsepower

Max Torque

55 foot pounds


(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

3 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade – 1992

Price Guideline: $8,000

1992 Honda CBR900RR Fireblade front 3/4 shot
Bring a Trailer

Throughout the 1980s, Japanese sports bikes had been developed into fast machines, often hampered by too much weight and questionable chassis design. Then, the Honda CBR900RR Fireblade arrived and immediately made all of its Japanese foes look old-fashioned. The Fireblade was much lighter than its contemporaries (76 pounds lighter than the Yamaha FZR1000) and only four pounds heavier than Honda’s own CBR600 F2 model.


Not only was it light, but it was also very compact and stiff, Honda, having finally worked out how to make a good chassis, meant the 900 handled superbly and could make full use of the power (121 horsepower in that first generation model) to run rings around the competition. If the Honda CB750 had re-written the rules back in 1969, the CBR900RR Fireblade did exactly the same in 1992.

Performance Specifications

Displacement

893cc

Engine Type

Inline four cylinder

Frame Type

Aluminium beam

Max Power

121 horsepower

Max Torque

64 foot pounds

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

2 Honda NR750 – 1992

Price Guideline: $80,000

Honda NR750
Mecum


There was a time when Honda’s engineering ambition had no equal among motorcycle manufacturers. The 60s had seen the mechanical marvels of twin-cylinder 50cc, five-cylinder 125cc, and six-cylinder 250cc racing engines and then, at the end of the 1970s, the astonishing 500cc NR500 came to light with oval pistons. Honda re-entered Grand Prix racing with the NR, attempting to use four-stroke technology in the face of two-stroke domination. It didn’t work, but that didn’t stop Honda from developing the engine into a road bike unit in the early 1990s.

The NR750 introduced a series of firsts for a production motorcycle: electronic fuel injection, carbon-fiber bodywork, inverted forks, and under-seat exhausts. Yet, it was the engine that got all the attention, being in effect a V8, with each bank of cylinders featuring two oval combustion chambers. Always rare and expensive, they are even more so today.


Performance Specifications

Displacement

747cc

Engine Type

Oval Piston V4

Frame Type

Aluminium beam

Max Power

125 horsepower

Max Torque

48 foot pounds

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

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1 Ducati 916 – 1994

Price Guideline: $11,000

Ducati 916
Ducati 


Arriving two years after the game-changing CBR900RR Fireblade (see above), the Ducati 916 moved the goalpost yet again. The 916 was a logical development of the Ducati sports bike (started with the Pantah model) which replaced the shaft-and-bevel-gear drive to the cylinder head of the original Ducati V-Twin with toothed belts. What took everyone by surprise was the beautifully sculpted lines of this Italian thoroughbred which, even if they borrowed heavily from the Honda NR750, signaled a new era in sports bike styling.

Single-sided swing arm, underseat exhaust, and twin, narrow headlights looked cracking with the bodywork finished in bright red. The engine screamed, the handling was impeccable, and race success in World Superbike racing (titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1998) made the 916 the ultimate dream bike of the 1990s. Ducati also paid homage to it recently with its special edition Panigale V4 SP.


Performance Specifications

Displacement

916cc

Engine Type

V-Twin

Frame Type

Aluminium beam

Max Power

114 horsepower

Max Torque

66 foot pounds

(Specs sourced from www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

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