Toad’s Dream Garage – Pt 2 naked bikes
If money really were no object and your lucky numbers came up, what motorcycles would be in your dream garage?
AFTER last weeks rundown of the five sports bikes Toad would include in his lottery-win garage, he takes a look at the naked bikes that would command the floor space in this week’s Dream Bike Garage…
Instead of simply blowing the lot on just any motorcycle, he’s broken the winnings down into sports bikes, nakeds, cruisers and tourers.
You can read the sports bike Dream Garage here: visordown.com
5. Honda CB400 Four
It might seem like a weird pick, given that I have an almost unlimited budget to blow here, but there’s a story behind this one. I remember as a kid while on holiday in Devon, I saw a chap ride down the quayside in Salcombe on this bike. He looked a proper beech hippy; open-faced lid, Roll-up ciggie hanging off his bottom lip, ripped denim shorts, and a tatty shirt that you wouldn’t wear while decorating.
He rode along, kicked down the side stand while still moving, cut the engine, swung his leg off and vacated the bike while it was still just in motion. The bike dropped neatly on its stand and he undid his lid, tossing it over the handlebar before walking into the pub. And all I could think was: “you are possibly the coolest bastard I’ve ever seen in my life…”
4. Kawasaki Z1000 (1976)
Sticking with the classic theme, the next bike on the list is one that I would never be able to walk away from after ride without taking a glance back over my shoulder.
It may not be quick by today's standards but back in the day, the Z9 was the superbike for the aspirational motorcyclist. Fast forward to today, it’s a stunning example of engineering and styling working hand in hand.
3. Confederate P-51 Combat Fighter
I know it’s probably not going to handle as well as it looks, be less powerful than a conventional hyper-naked and as impractical as paper mâché submarine… but it doesn’t stop me wanting one any less.
Expensive, yes, exclusive, definitely. A bike I’ll ride more than a thousand miles a year, definitely not. It’s a show pony, a shelf queen but nonetheless, it’s a pretty stunning piece of brutalist design, and I want one.
2. MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro
Another one of 2020s 200+ bhp naked machines came mic-dropping into view at the tail end of last year. Boasting 205bhp, 208kg and a £38,000 price tag, there will be few other chances of me owning a bike like the MV unless my numbers really do come up. The next best thing though is riding it on the official launch, and I’ve been badgering the hell out of MV’s PR team for a go!
Watch this space!
1. Kawasaki Z H2
The only Kawasaki on this list and it also just happens to be one of the most bonkersly enthralling motorcycles I’ve ever ridden. Taking the fairing off a supercharged Kawasaki H2 was always going to create a truly phenomenal motorcycle. Taking the fairing off, shortening the wheelbase and then changing the geometry to make it as fast steering as a UFO is a stroke of pure genius.
I’ve had the Z H2 at home since this lockdown thingamajig started and have found it physically impossible to ride it without a huge grin on my face. It’s effortlessly fast, comfortable, easy to ride (at any speed) and has a crown jewel of an engine at its heart.
If I could sell bodily organs on eBay, I’d already own one. Until then, I’m keeping this one and will fight anyone from the Kawasaki PR team that tries to take it away from me.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
