ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Before splashing your cash on a Gold
SR, you might like to consider its contemporaries. Honda built various versions of their single-cylinder middleweights to fulfil demand from ‘those who yearn for a traditional big single but don’t want all the temperamental quirks.’ The XBR500, they said, ‘combines the attributes which make big singles popular. The technology that makes them a pleasure to own and the performance that will give other, bigger displacement motorcycles a run for their money.’
Speaking of, the price of XBRS has moved with the recent downward trend, so you’ll now find them selling for between £1500 and £3000 (don’t pay the £5k which some sellers suggest!). The GB 400/500 TT versions with wire wheels and Velo-inspired styling are worth up to 25% more but you’d be a bold chap to pay the £8000 asking price on some dealer bikes (there’s a private ad on ebay right now with a 1988 GB500TT up for £4500).
Honda’s FT500 is another machine which thrives in the hands of enthusiast owners, and the Ascot import versions attract some attention. Just make sure the electric start works on UK models because there ain’t no kicker.
Yamaha’s SRX600, on the other hand, didn’t have an electric start to start with, and that turned out to be its Achilles’ heel. The four-valve SRX engine inherited the hot-starting horrors of the old XT trailbikes but, if you could get the thing going, then it provided a more spirited ride than the XBR. Better suspension and twin front discs helped.
Look out for the later, home-market models which incorporated the more civilised, electric-start engine from the XT600E and which stayed in production until 1997. Very sweet.
You’ll also see 250 and 400 versions of the SRX, but we’d hold out for a 600 for better spare parts availability. You will pay for the privilege, however; the last SRX600 we saw sold for double the current cost of the Honda equivalent.
Our final wild card is the Devon-built Harris Matchless G80, about which we have wittered many time before. The robust 494cc Rotax motor sits in its own oil-bearing frame and benefits from Dell’orto, Brembo, Paioli and Marzocchi ancillaries, but some of the other bespoke components can be impossible to find these days. Starting by kick or electric leg is an acquired art but, once fired up, Harry Matchless does go really rather rapidly. Prices ITRO £3500 to £5000 for an electric-start edition, £1800 to £3500 for the kickstart bikes.
Overall, if you want to spend more time on the road than in the workshop and are looking for the absolute best value for money then it’s hard to beat the XBR.
Rowena Hoseason