QUIRKS FOR QUIDS!

If you fancy a classic bike with a styling edge, where do start looking? Starting at the bargain basement end may I present the Yamaha SZR660? Despite having a Deltabox chassis based on the geometry of a TZ250 race bike the SZR660 was bullied by everyone from the off. The single cylinder engine came from the Yamaha XTZ660; it kind of emulated what people had been doing for years, taking a large four-stroke single and plonking it in a lithe chassis. If Yamaha thought that they had created a smash hit they were to be seriously upset. It pretty much bombed, but why? The bike had decent suspension, three spoke wheels and good brakes: it also had a big bottom – the seat unit still looks daft over two decades later. The upside is they are cheap! I found three online, none of them was dearer than £1500. Our European cousins love a quirky bike, at times the idea gets lost in translation: take BMW’S K1. It was the first 16 valve water-cooled flat four engine that BMW had built, the base of the motor was pretty much the same as the early K100RS. BMW then decided to finish them in either a dull blue or a radiant red, both had custard yellow trimmings! Your typical BMW owner wasn’t ready for that, so who were they aiming it at? It’s a question that’s too big for me to answer. Talking of size, the bodywork was huge: it kind of makes you appreciate what a decent job Honda did when they built their early jellymould CBR models. K1 prices are pretty steady: the cheapest one I could find was a Japanese import. It was offered unregistered in the UK and lacked any service history. BMW owners love receipts and service history. For a K1 with history you’re looking at £5000! The Italians had a fixation for acres of bodywork too. The Ducati Paso was their effort and while it looks better than the K1, beneath that bodywork lurks an early 1990s Ducati engine and electrics. The later water-cooled models actually make for a decent ride, but prices for all varieties of the Paso settle at around £3000, they peak at around £5000, similar to the K1. At the other extreme of a quirky classic are those bikes with next to no bodywork. Honda threw off their suit and tie and let their hair down; the result was the Valkyrie, it is much more than a stripped down Gold Wing. In a way it paved the way for bikes like the Triumph Rocket III to come along. The flat six engine is delicious, so don’t turn your nose up until you’ve tried one. Honda must have been chuffed; they went on to build the Honda Rune, another Gold Wing inspired bike that was morphed with Judge Dredd looks. The Valkyrie holds its value well, they never end up in the wrong hands: most do however end up dressed in extras! Good ’uns are £5000. The quirkiest bike of the 1970s is where I’ll sign off: the Honda Phil Read Replica; was a bit of a balls-up from the off. It was commissioned by Honda Britain to celebrate Phil’s Formula One victory at the 1977 TT. Colin Seeley got the gig and around 150-ish were going to be built. The Phil Read Replica was the first Japanese bike to come with a full race fairing. It also had twin Cibie lights and an alloy fuel tank. The low volume run was never met, a dispute between the parties involved in its birth had some unresolved issues and they reckon fewer than 100 were actually sold. So at £8450, this is my most expensive suggestion of quirky classic that is also extremely rare. Pa yy our money and take your (quirky) choice.