Owning a Grand Prix motorcycle, a true concentrate of technology and years of development, is no longer an unattainable dream. Some teams offer their old racing machines for sale, allowing you to acquire a piece of motorcycling history. But what does purchasing these motorcycles actually involve, and how do they position themselves on the market? Is it possible to ride with it?
Buy a Grand Prix motorcycle? You have to find it and have the means.
Acquiring a MotoGP seems impossible. However, in 2020, KTM sold for €288,000 2 RC16 prototypes (Moto GP 2019) by Pol Espargaró. The factory still specified: « Serious inquiries should be directed to [email protected] (current contact)after which KTM reserves the right to draw up a list of buyers and make a final decision on the destination of the two racing motorcycles. “. The 2019 RC16s were cutting-edge motorcycles, jewels of technology and performance and it was obviously not easy to run them without the presence of trained technicians, or even team technicians! In addition, few circuits are able to accommodate such noisy motorcycles… So, having them in your living room, yes, rolling them on the other hand, is hardly an option. Note that KTM was the only manufacturer to offer this, because the motorcycles are generally completely dismantled at the end of the season, go to a museum, or were even simply destroyed at the time of the GP 500!
Treat yourself to a Moto2 for track days? Yes, it can do it!
Acquire a Moto2 is already easier and that's correctement what an advert offers: a Kalex having run with the team Elf Marc VDS during the Moto2 World Championship in 2022. It is therefore a fairly recent motorcycle in question.
Listed for sale by a Barcelona-based owner, this machine is described as “fully equipped”. She sports a Chassis KalexÖhlins suspensions, a Triumph engine developing 145 horsepower and an SC Project exhaust. It was available at a price of €75,000. However, some do not hesitate to make margin under the pretext that it is a high-priced motorcycle. We must not forget that it will not be never the exact configuration that we find on the circuits, because it would be good too sharp to use and adjust for an average person. Also note, a very rigid Moto2 works with adequate tires and you cannot equip it just like that. On the other hand, its engine remains the three-cylinder Triumph 765, which can be replaced quite easily if necessary.
Another example, at the end of saison 2016we could even find the Moto2 Johann Zarco world champion on sale for €95,000. It then used the 4-cylinder Honda type engine. Robust, but less intoxicating than the current Triumph block. Honda-powered Moto2s have few electronics, so it is quite easy to run them without requiring the presence of a supervising engineer.
For a lower budget, Sutter sells a moto2 also equipped for 26,900 CHF or 29,000€.
Finally, if you want a custom motorcycle, some sellers on the marketplace sites sell spare parts like executivesof the bras oscillants or even electrical harnesses whose origin is not always known.
Regardless, at the end of each season some teams get rid of their bikes and this is a good time to look at all the announcement sites. The few examples cited are not isolated cases. VR46 also sold its bike last year for a more “reasonable” price of 59 000€.
For a more reasonable budgetgood name of Moto3 and Moto4 are on sale. We find brands like Beon which are the equivalent of the pre-Moto3. For information, Red Bull Rookies Cup riders train all year round on Beon motorcycles due to their close similarity to the machines used in competition. These motorcycles are equipped with motocross engines of 250 cm³ or 450 cm³developing approximately 45 horses for the smallest displacements, and which can reach up to 65 horsepower for the best 450. With a weight of barely 85 kgit’s an excellent school.
An old 2-stroke glory, does that tempt you?
This Aprilia RSW 125 2-stroke is enough to make more than one member of the editorial team salivate, isn't it Bertrand Gold from Moto Revue! Official Aprilia 2-stroke single cylinder developing 54 hp at 13,000 rpm, 72 kg without gasoline. This motorcycle is sold by the Amatumoto site, a Spanish site specializing in the sale of competition motorcycles. It's a 2008 RSW, one of the last customer competitions offered by Aprilia. These bikes raced in GP 250 under the Derbi and Gilera colors… a real, real, real racing bike. Light, sharp, rigid, responsive… for an experienced pilot collector. It has a new engine, price not communicated.
Une ex star du BSB ? Point d’assistance… big balls only !
Here is a Kawasaki ZXR-7 from the 2002-2003 English Superbike Championship seasons. A little over 150 horses, rather wild and without any assistance… In addition, these motorcycles were quite heavy. Powered by carburetors, it is easily adjusted with a good “old-fashioned” mechanic and should be robust. These engines were generally solid. The result is virile riding… count between 10 and 20,000 Euros for a healthy motorcycle. Be careful, the Honda RC30 and Ducati 916 are becoming overpriced! While the Yamaha YZF 750s are affordable.
A MotoGP in “Low-Cost” mode, either a CRT or an Open, is this a good deal?
During a certain period, to lower costs in the MotoGP category, Dorna had the idea of setting up a CRT category, or even an Open. These motorcycles used a prototype chassis with a series-derived engine and electronics also behind the best motorcycles. This made it possible to keep a certain number of bikes on the grid, but in reality they were not very competitive. The GP drivers with whom we were able to discuss their subjects never spoke well of them to us… also, perhaps they are not such good deals especially since their prestige also remains in the background, even if they belong to the history of sports.
A new MotoGP, made to order! The DR Moto Reynolds at €100,000
The DR Moto Reynolds is a motorcycle made to order and which takes the spirit of a MotoGP for the chassis, a pre-aerodynamic period with a lot of wing reinforcements. It is refined, uses a Yamaha R1 Superbike engine of more than 200 hp and Motec electronics. Its design dates back to 2014 and it must match in performance a today's EWC endurance motorcycle. It is designed to work with MotoGP tires. €100,000, in 2014 and a little waiting…
The 2024 French Superbike champion motorcycle for sale!
If you want a minimum of 200cvthe Tecmas team which runs Kenny Foray, the 2024 French FSBK champion, is currently selling its M1000RR racing. You can find it for €44,000 on leboncoin. A good deal? Possible, the Tecmas team being attentive to maintenance. Note that Kenny's BMW rocket is not that different from the commercial motorcycle, compared to the fairly strict regulations in FSBK. In fact, it will be significantly more efficient in terms of suspensions and brakes, but the engine does not change enormously (complete line, intake, little more).
Finally, if you are very rich, you can turn to an old Grand Prix motorcycle generally sold at auction. For example, this summer, Stoner's Ducati was awarded for 475 000€. Here again, driving with it will be very complex and driving with it in Casey's times is simply impossible!
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