Browsing my local HonKawZuki dealer the other day, I spied this pretty little gem, a 2020 Suzuki GSX-R600 in brilliant white with white wheels.

Honda did this trick back in 1986-87 and again in 1993, the white-on-white combination proving to have stylistic staying power, still popular today. The white wheel thing originated back in the day with race bikes (motorbike style often does), the street bikes mimicking the racers. But this Suzuki makes its own statement. I like it, but then I have a thing for white wheels.

Inflation and technology have taken their value toll over the decades, this 600 now sporting an MSRP of $11,400.

Back in the Fall of 2007 I embarked upon a memorable ride from Wisconsin to Birmingham, Alabama for a visit to the Barber Museum and its fledgling Vintage Motorcycle Festival.

My route took me on a bucket list ride down the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in autumn colors and perfect weather. One of my more memorable stops was at the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum in little Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

Antique American iron may not be my passion but I had to see this amazing collection amassed by the museum's founder, Dale Walksler. As I strolled through the place, almost alone, I spied Dale himself futzing with a display. My regret is that I didn't stop to say "hi."

Dale passed away on February 3d at age 68. I first heard of Dale through Tom Cotter's book, "The Vincent In The Barn" and later on the TV shows "What's In The Barn" and "Chasing Classic Cars." Dale's life-long passion was motorcycles, beginning at age 18 when he started a H-D parts business, then at 22 becoming the youngest H-D dealer in the U.S. In 2002 he opened Wheels Through Time and in 2019 the AMA recognized his contributions to the sport by inducting him into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

By all accounts Dale lived his dream with conviction, fairness and good humor, while instilling his passion in son Matt, who will hopefully continue his dad's legacy. Dale was truly one of the good guys of our sport…I just wish I would have paused to chat on that beautiful October day.

SOLD: $7500

Just sold via eBay classified (set price), this 2012 VFR1200F Interceptor has found its new owner.

While the first-year 1200s are plentiful in the used market, the later 2012-13 models are more scarce. This example, resplendent in its Candy Tahitian Blue, is a non-DCT with only 11,000 miles and some desirable extras, including hard bags, Corbin seat, 2-Brother's can and Heli-bars.

The VFR1200s can be had for $5000 and up, this one's selling price reflecting the "near perfect condition," nice farkles and in ready-to-ride condition. Our new owner's major cost will, unfortunately, most likely be depreciation, as these bikes have shown no sign of an uptick in popularity. 

What: 1994 RC45
Where: Sun City, Arizona
Why: 0-mile RC45
Price: Current bid $41,100

UPDATE: Bidding ended at $71,000 but the bike sold for $90,000 in private negotiations.
The rarest of the V4 family, this homologation special was available to U.S. buyers for its first year of production only, with only 50 made available in this country. This is production number 52. The bike was on display in an East Coast dealer's showroom for many years before being acquired by its first owner in 2002 and by the current seller in 2010.

The RC45's rarity pretty much ensured that bikes sold outside the racing world would see little road time and this one takes that to the extreme, showing less than a tenth of a mile on the odometer. Personally, I'd rather see it doing display laps at the Barber Vintage Festival every year, but such is the reality of private collections.

​I would expect this one to go well north of $50,000 when the virtual gavel drops. Auction ends Feb 5th.

SOLD: $5450

Last month this very nice 1984 "F" model 1000 sold on eBay for $5450 after 27 bids.

Showing only 10,345 miles the bike was recently brought out of storage and put back in running condition. The photos show a very nice looking example with none of the usual surface corrosion or scarred mufflers found on these early VFs.

Someone got a nice collectible Interceptor.

Chicago was the unfortunate recipient of our second major storm of the season a few days back and our daughter's B-friend spotted this sad sight on the mean streets of Wicker Park.

This is just no way to treat a motorbike, and parked in a tow zone, no less. Maybe an unsuspecting snow plow will come along in the middle of the night and put it out of its misery? 

In any case, I'm guessing an '80's 450-ish HonKawYamaSuz.

UPDATE: I submitted this to Abhi at Bike-urious.com and it didn't take long for a reader to correctly guess that it's a 1982 Kawasaki 440 LTD.

This morning Patti and I motored to Crystal Lake, IL, less than an hour from the V4 Dreams campus, to pick up an exceptional find in a third-generation VFR — a very original 1993 with only 10,933 miles on the odometer. I wish I could claim it as my own, but in fact, it belongs to Brett who recently managed to convince his brother-in-law to part ways with his baby.

This bike is a diamond in the rough, wearing original bodywork in Pearl Crystal White, the only significant modification being a Predator brand muffler. I'm not familiar with this English-made pipe, but it's a beauty (and currently off the bike). One other change involves the seat cowl, which was replaced years ago with an OEM part from Europe, hence the "VFR750F" scripting.

The approach with the '93 is to bring the mechanics up to par and do our best with the body panels, as there's a bit of rash on the left side. These panels are getting rare as rocking horse poo, so they're worth saving. The bike is not currently running, so first up, as usual, the carburetors and valve check, followed by brake checks, passenger peg-ectomy, general detailing, tires and anything else needing attention. I look forward to returning this one to the road. Welcome to Project 33.

The final piece of bodywork for Project 30 was to bring the fairing infill panels to the level of the rest of the bike. The ghostly white stains, shown here, are common on these panels. I don't know the source, but I've discovered that a thorough sanding with 5000-grit wet/dry will gently remove them, along with many other imperfections.

As expected, that will leave us with a dull, dark gray surface finish. Note that these particular panels are from an "F" model, which are black — in the case of the F2 models, the color is a smoky blue.

To bring the panels back toward their original darker shade, I use Mother's Back-to-Black Trim & Plastic Restorer. Despite its name, this product is clear colored and can be used on other than black surfaces.

This will usually give an acceptable final finish. The original finish on these panels was a raw plastic look, somewhere between a gloss and satin. In this photo, the panel on the right has been treated with Back-to-Black.

If the panel finish is damaged beyond this simple fix, then I go to a black dye, like Griot's Garage Bumper & Trim Reconditioner. Beyond that, a repaint would be called for. Repainting is a problem with the blue panels, as a color match would be unlikely.

Last week, after three and one-half months of effort, Project 30 was trailered home to southern Michigan. Despite showing only 6000 miles, this 1986 VFR750F was treated to a nose-to-tail refurbishment including all the mechanical systems plus a cosmetic massage. Owner Chris intends to use this bike so some nods were made to modern upgrades, but the goal was to have a very original appearing classic Interceptor. I would call our efforts a success, and Chris can be proud to call this head-turner his own.

For a full gallery of photos, click here.

For those of us in the northern latitudes, huddled in our chilled garages, feverishly completing our off-season bike maintenance and mods, today represents a bright ray of hope in the midst of this lonely, gray Covid Winter.
For today is the mid-point of the winter season, and tomorrow we begin the slow slog toward longer days and warmer weather. And to everyone on the south side of the globe, sorry, your summer is half gone.
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For a reminder of why we love this two-wheeled thing, here's a video from Schorschi6134, climbing the Penser Joch pass in northern Italy aboard his fourth-gen VFR750. Maybe it's just the video, but our pilot seems to be on a very fast pace on an often frighteningly narrow and unforgiving road. I wish I were right there behind him. Enjoy.