Classic Motorcycles Currently in the Collection
| 1965 BMW 69S: Germany's superbike of the era, it held the world 24 hr speed record and truly was a 'gentleman's express' being expensive, fast, smooth and quiet. This one was ridden across the US by Des to re-create the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ride immortalised by Robert Pirsig in the book of the same name. |
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| 1955 Triumph TR5 Trophy: An all-rounder from the Meriden factory intended for the club rider to use on the weekends in competition events. It could be considered an early 'trail bike' with its 21" front wheel and 18" rear giving good clearance for off-road use and the punchy twin cyclinder 500cc alloy engine providing plenty of urge. |
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| 1969 Jawa Californian: A rare iteration of the popular 350 cc two-stroke twin from Czechoslovakia, this model was intended for the US to take advantage of the burgeoning off-road riding boom of the time, although the small wheel sizes preclude serious trail riding. The engine's good power and the general layout do make it an ideal adventure bike limited only by the petrol tank size. |
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| 1971 Kawasaki A1 Samurai: A pocket rocket of the time, being a disc-valved two-stroke twin with performance to burn, running up to the imperial 100 mph which for a 250 cc bike was a quantum leap forward in comparison to similar bikes of only a few years earlier. |
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| 1965 Panther M120: Des's darling Penelope from Yorkshire's Phelon and Moore company is one of the last to leave the Cleckheaton factory. It is a 650 cc single cylinder long-stroke lugger which has faithfully carried Des (and Steph) across nearly 50 countries on 5 continents. |
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| 1973 Triumph Trophy Trail (Adventurer): Britain's attempt to meet the demand for trail bikes was to shoe-horn a 500 cc Triumph twin motor into a BSA competition scrambles bike rolling chassis and put light on it. Only produced for 2 - 3 years, it is light and lively. |
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| 1937 BSA Empire Star: One of the Molloy boys' absolute favourites it had only one private owner before Des bought it in Britain in 1975. It was ridden (mainly by Roly) on their adventure from New Orleans to Buenos Aries in 1976 – 77 and has been ridden all over NZ many times since and is still in almost daily use. |
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| 1971 MZ 150: From the East German factory known as the fathers of the modern two-stroke because of their success in racing in the early 1960s. Often thought of as utilitarian and lacking in style, they have a certain charm as well as a reputation for reliable service. |
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| 1960 BSA Golden Flash: Thought of by many as being Britain's best 650 cc parallel twin, it earned a reputation for being reliable and strong whilst still performing similarly to it's main rival from Triumph. Often used as a sidecar tug and work-bike the swinging arm models like this are very desirable, being unpretentious and easily able to be made into a bike for all seasons and modern use. |
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| 1959 Triumph Tigress: A 250 cc four-stroke twin cylinder design, when Italian scooters were almost universally a single cylinder two-stroke, meant that the Tigress was an expensive, posssibly over-complicated response from Triumph to the flood of imported scooters that swept Britain the 1950s. A sleek design loved by some, they were fast but a little fragile. |
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| 1972 Benelli Tornado: An example of a design being just a little too late to attain commercial success. The 650 cc twin cylinder design may have been modern for the time but it arrived at the birth of the multi cylinder era and suffered because of it. Des's bike is under restoration and another example is pictured. |
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| 1961 Panther M120: Samantha was one of the three bikes on the epic 1976 - 77 New Orleans to Buenos Aires ride and after 20 years has now returned to Roly's ownership and will be restored by him. A roadside photo from the ride is shown. |
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| 1958 Panther M100: Often thought as being a better model of Panther than the 650 cc Model 120 which followed it, Roly hopes to judge for himself when the restoration of this bike is complete. The Panther 600 cc design was built for about 30 years, winning many hearts along the way. |
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| 1929 Panther 600: Phelon & Moore's models from the late 1920s were modern in appearance, being early adopters of the 'saddle' tank design. They had lively performance and were well appointed. This particluar bike is not Roly's which is in storage awaiting it's turn for restoration. |
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| 1957 Nzeta scooter: Nzetas were the Czechoslovakian Czeta scooter assembled in Auckland with at least 40% local content to qualify for significant tax breaks. An ugly duckling of the time they now stand out from the crowd with a style of their own. They were powered by a 175 cc two-stroke single cylinder engine. Roly calls it his two man sub. |
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| 1949 Vincent HRD Rapide: With 1000 cc of almost brutal power, the vee twin engine dominates the bike just as the bike itself dominated the wish lists of a couple of generations of motorcyclists. At a time when a British family saloon would struggle to 60 mph, the Vincent could double this speed to two-miles-a-minute. |
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| 1959 Greeves Scottish: From the small Thundersley factory, the Scottish was successfully used for both scrambles and observed trials. Powered by a 250 cc Villiers two-stroke, the bikes were unusual with their leading link front torks and the aluminium alloy beam section of the frame. |
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| 1948 Panther M70: Part of P & M's 'lightweight' range, alongside the visually identical 250 cc, the 350 cc bike could still trace it's heritage back to the depression era Red Panther but with air sprung telescopic front forks and a 4 speed gearbox they were a good all-rounder of the immediate post-WWll period. |
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| 1973 Laverda SF2: Laverda, Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Benelli all launched high performing big twins at the end of the 1960s. Borrowing on the smaller Honda designs the 750 SF2 Laverda is robust and powerful with good electrics and excellent handling. With a very torquey engine that is less extreme than the production race SFC version, the SFC can and has been toured two-up around NZ. |
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| 1958 Velocette Venom: The epitome of the classic big British single cylinder with it's black and gold pin-striped tank, the 500 cc push-rod engine provides performance to match the looks. An observer once described the look of the engine's timing side as “proof that God was an Englishman". The distinctive 'fish tail' muffler was a design motif right up until the doors of the Hall Green factory closed at the beginning of the 1970s. |
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| 1995 Aprilia Moto 6.5 Starck: Phillipe Starck is a design guru who was given a free hand to design a motorcycle. Sadly for Aprilia, there were legions of admirers but few buyers. It was thought that the bike lacked purpose, being not a trail bike, not a sports bike, nor a commuter or tourer. It was a design statement that was probably a decade too early. Sadly this one was stolen and its appearance altered. The 5 valve 650 cc single cylinder motor gives appropriate performance. |
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| 1973 Aermacchi 350SS: Built in Italy but branded as a Harley Davidson (due to a period of HD ownership) this model is a nice mid-weight bike with quick handling and a suitably punchy engine. It may look like a trail bike but it really is just a style exercise rather than a serious attempt at making an off-roader. |
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| 1963 Panther M120 sidecar outfit: Over 90% of all Model 120 Panthers were supplied with sidecar gearing, such was the perceived nature of the model. With a longstroke engine developing it's maximum power at 4,500 rpm it was an ideal tug to pull the family around with. The sidecar is a locally made one. |
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| 1941 Indian 741B: Known to all as the Army Indian, Valentines of Hamilton purchased all the surplus production at the end of WWll and sold them 'new' until the beginning of the 1960s. Most have been civilialised like this one. The engine of Roly's bike was assembled from new parts by him in 1979 and has been ridden to rallies from one end of the country to the other in the period since. Of only 500 cc they are not fast but they are still loved by afficionados of the brand and make a delightfully throaty off-beat sound. |
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