eBay item 280638441355 Opinions?
It's not the best model to have, and it's not the best colour[1]. And there's sod all description and the seller is a newbie and those last two alone often spell trouble. And at £2450 and not yet on reserve, I think he's probably expecting too much for it as well. [1] In my biased opinion, that would be a Mark Two in black & gold. The original Mark One is The One To Have, but I actually think the Two is a better bike. After that they went downhill.
That was exactly my impression as well. The "value" is opposed to be what someone is willing to pay . . . but I wouldn't be surprised if a winning bidder of >3k£ backs out after discovering something unexpected, when coming to collect this one. The 1st incarnation seems to attact similar money as the BMW R90S (i.e. value based more on iconic status than performance); I'd hope the mark 2 remained to the first as the R100S to the 90S
The engines were completely unchanged from the Mark One to the Two. The Mark Two just got the excellent fairing, the extra clocks, and better switchgear, all of which made it a good bike to ride at speed. The Mark Three got a not-entirely-successful restyle and the fairing lowers were dropped. I think the cylinders were coated, as well, but I cba to Google. The Mark Four went to 1000cc and got 40mm carbs plus the dreadul 16" front wheel. The bigger carbs meant you needed a very strong right wrist. The Mark Five was basically the Mark Four with an 18" front wheel. A few years, one of The Doctor's colleagues was selling a Mark Two, and I've always wanted one. "As long as it's not in that dreadful blue colour..." I said. It was, and it was a rustbucket from one end to the other. He wanted £1500 for it. I left it. It's probably still in the same shed.
