Yesterday at Iconic we had a shipping container full of bikes come in from Japan, and I thought you guys might enjoy seeing the new arrivals!
Normally I help out with the unloadings but today I had a meeting with Alpinestars at the same time, so this was basically all I saw of the container and the unloading process.
A few hours later, and the staff had everything unloaded and lined up to check out! There’s 20+ bikes and there’s some really cool stuff in here – including the NR750 and the RC30 (French market, which is why it says “Bol d’Or” on the side) that start things off.
One of the most interesting was this Suzuki Katana with a sidecar – as it’s a JDM bike, the sidecar is on the opposite side from what I’m used to. We’ll get back to this one later.
The cool Suzukis continue with this Hayabusa – it’s a first year bike (the only year for the now-collectible “Light Copper Brown” paint job.
How often do you get to see a motorcycle dash with speeds of over 300 on it?
The Z1 was one of Kawasaki’s most legendary motorcycles, and it’s the reason why the company released the Z900RS as a modern take on the classic. But did you know that Kawi also created a little sibling specifically for their home market? Meet the Z2, which was almost identical to the Z1, save for a decrease in displacement. We imported this one on behalf of a client in the Midwest who will be restoring it for his collection.
The 746cc motor was good for 69 horsepower and a top speed of almost 120 miles per hour. You might wonder why Kawasaki offered both the Z1 and Z2 in Japan, but they weren’t actually able to offer the 903cc original as Japanese laws required a maximum displacement of 750 cubic centimeters.
There’s a couple of MV Agusta F4s – one of which is the limited production 750 Senna.
There’s also a few duplicates – two Ducati MH900es (one of which is a zero-mile bike) and four Paul Smarts (one of which has just 845 miles on it).
This YSR50 in the Gauloises-inspired livery has just 8 kilometers (5 miles). We’ll make it a runner and clean it up a bit and then put it on the auction site.
The lineup ends with a few other cool Yamahas – two FZR750Rs (also known as the OW-01) and a TDR250. The first FZR is quite nice, the second one has a dent in the frame – we may sort it out ourselves or maybe we’ll find someone who wants a cool project.
I rode my BMW HP2 Megamoto in to work today, and it might have been a little bit jealous of the attention I was giving everything else.
My buddy Heath from Alpinestars stopped by to discuss a possible partnership with some branded gear and to measure my partner Adam and I for some new suits. He had a soft spot for the TDR250 – I can’t blame him! Yamaha called the TDR250 the “Ultimate Dual”, and it blended a dual-sport frame with a retuned two-stroke motor from a TZR250 sportbike. This 30+ year-old bike makes more horsepower than a new KLR and weighs ~120 pounds less! Most of these ended up getting street rubber and acting as commuters/pleasant supermotos over the years, and this one’s in the same boat with a few upgrades (bars, exhaust, wheels, Brembo calipers, etc).
Laying outside with all of the bikes was the tank to my Bimota Tesi 3D – I’m seeing some signs of expansion due to ethanol (a common problem for Italian tanks of the era) so my shop drained the fuel and took out the fuel pump. I’m letting it outgas a bit and then a buddy is going to line the inside of the tank.
My partner Adam is currently unable to ride as he’s recovering from a few broken bones due to a highside at our last track day. But he can get in the sidecar! We may have to do a Sunday ride together in this thing.
It’s got a Marshall exhaust (which I hadn’t heard of before) and it sounds great. Has plenty of pep even when lugging the hack around, though it’s definitely not as stable in corners as the Ural sidecar I’m used to.
If you’re more of a video person, you can check out the whole lineup here: