75 Rickman on ebay

1975 Kawasaki | eBay

This part is buzz kill...

Bike was never registered since new from Rickman and will come with Bill of Sale.

Very nice price but it needs a lot of work to get it on the road again.  The colour of the sidecovers seems out of place.

Hardrock,
Any guess how many rickman in usa or canada?
Were these titled as rickman or kawasaki?
What do rickman sell for?
I've never seen one, I know they are rare, who would want one?
 

I don't know how many were made, or how many are still running.  But they are uncommon, if not rare.  I've only seen a few over the years and never seen one for sale.  I have a friend who has one, but at my age I wouldn't want to ride one.  This one appears to have been in a collection somewhere.  Going on memory for price...they usually sell for the same amount as an early Z1.

Here is some info you may find interesting.

www.rickman-motorcycles.com

When I was finally legally allowed to ride "big" motorcycles in '78, the Rickman Kawasakis (alongside the Rickman Hondas) had already been on the market since '75. - Such Rickman Kawasakis are regularly offered on the usual online marketplaces, and the price has settled somewhere between 8,500 and 15,000 euros.


There is, and always has been, a relatively small community of those who preferred a Rickman; perhaps it was due to the special design... Many others, including myself, preferred an EGLI-Kawasaki, or a BIMOTA.....( In addition, it was somewhat difficult for a Rickman in the early years here in Germany to get the TÜV and initial approval for road use.

Because the "bronze welding" used by Rickman in the frame construction with the Reynolds tubes, which is more accurately a brazing, was initially rejected by the TÜV for public road use here...it was then declared legal here at some point...(It was really difficult here in Germany in the 70s to get anything other than "off the stock" approved...I speak a lot from my own experience.

I had own my first "RAU"-Kawasaki in the winter 1983-`84, with a special "central-tube"-frame like EGLI, also Nickel-plated. Whenever I was stopped by the police almost weekly with this racer, there was a lot to explain, and I had to point out the official approval with all its exceptions!

However, these Rickman-Kawasakis are not sooo rare here so buy in old germany, if you will invest about 10000,- Euro, the chance to catch one is big enough nowadays!


Here are 2 actual offers for Rickman-Kawasaki 1000 CR  in germany:..

www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/rickman-k.../3044908385-305-9292

www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/kawasaki-...3051031965-305-19412

.( and they have legal registrations, not like the one at ebay.....without any "first" registration from the past, it is not possible, to claim an registration for it here in germany: ALL the technique has than to be ACTUAL standard 2025...safety,..lights , brakes,..blabla bla

 

In the late 70's and 80's aftermarket frames for muscle bikes where big in the UK and the rest of Europe from the likes of Harris, Spondon, Rickman, Moto Martin, Egli etc. These where small production company's so their products probably never reached across the pond in any volume. The below video explains why they were so popular to tame the ever increasing power from the "big 4" although Harris also did frames for Laverda Jota's. First Harris I ever saw was Jota powered (I can still remember it was called Elizabeth's taxi so it must have made an impression given that was 1979)

Monkeys Riding a Wild Boar - Donkey Kong Country

Great information Joe, I remember seeing some of these when I used to go to watch the racing in the 70’s at various tracks around the UK. 

Thanx, Rich!I had already been very involved with this theme in the late 70s and early 80s because the chassis of my '73 Z1 (like almost all motorcycles of that era) was a bit "overwhelmed" by the engine's power, especially if you owned a "Monday bike" ...and of course, i was ever a big fan of race bikes!!!

Money was also an issue, of course, and usually tight...So, i was going to think about seriously...what´s important, and what´s not...

So it wasn't until a few years later that I was able to buy a "special chassis motorcycle."
I sold my customized '73 Z1, my sportive customized BMW-car, and borrowed another 4,000 bucks from the bank... My racer cost me 13.400 DM back then....
I bought a "RAU-Kawasaki RK900" from our local EGLI dealer,..was an realy big bite for me at this time....

Fine bike, with a modified z900 engine, PVM fife spoke wheels, a very well liked tight gastank, ( with only 11 liters capacity, .....I've never had a motorcycle before or since that broke down so often due to a lack of fuel. There was no reserve position on the fuel tap...

Here you can see me on this bike shortly after i´ve bought it,...proud on it like a king on wheels...hahaha..sweet youth, it was a great time for me! - I really wish, i hadn´t sold it in `88 and  i still own it today....!!!


 

To explain: The RAU-frame was an nearly copy to the EGLI frame, nearly same style and layout, twinshocker design, but with a shorter wheelbase, depending on position of the steeringhead...
 


Years later, i´ve had  another 2  RAU-Kawasakis,....and from `06 to "14  again a EGLI EK 900.... 



 

This was my Harris (Honda power I know but "on topic")

Fantastic bikes, (Joe and Guy), Guy, do you still own yours? must have been great round the track if you ever managed to do that:}} I did a few track sessions at Donnington and Silverstone using the race school bikes, and even had the chance to ride round the Donnington circuit on the back of Ron Haslam doing a wheelie over the start/finish line over 100mph. A great day.
I used to live near the Spondon M/C builders, which also did some very nice kits.