Sport Bikes Old And New, A Classic Yamaha Dual-Sport, And The Last Gas Jag: Members’ Rides

If there’s one common theme here at the Autopian, it’s the idea of holy grails – vehicles that are only offered for a short time with the best options. These “grails” are always rare and often somewhat obscure. Today I get the privilege of sharing a bit of a holy grail with you! Autopian Member A. Barth is a cybersecurity consultant living in the northeastern US. He has an awesome collection of vehicles, and I am excited to introduce him today. We’ll be looking at an unusual Jaguar and some incredible two-wheelers, including a personal grail bike for A.Barth.

Welcome to Members’ Rides! This is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

How did you get into cars?

When I was a kid, my family had a Plymouth Duster with the legendary 225cid slant-six. Dad did all the work on the car. Brakes, ignition, starter motors etc. When my older brother became old enough, he was enlisted to assist. I was fascinated by the work they were doing. Of course I wanted to learn to drive in the Duster! However, just before I was eligible for the learner’s permit, an unnamed jerkface crashed into the car while my mom was driving it. There were no human injuries but the car did not survive. Following this, the family had a series of comparatively uninteresting cars.

Later, in the 1990s when I was in the military, there was ample opportunity to explore different cars which were much more fun. I started with a 1972 Super Beetle and modded it extensively. When the urge for a convertible hit, I sold the Beetle and bought a 1978 MGB, a later rubber-bumper model with steel wheels. The MGB gave way to a beautiful 1973 VW Squareback, bone-stock except for the shifter. This VW was then replaced by a 1971 Dodge Challenger. The mighty E-body Mopar! It was a 318cid-2bbl so it really wasn’t all that mighty, but it was my first V8 and I was hooked.

What’s currently in your garage?

• Jaguar F-Pace
• 1981 Yamaha XT250
• Yamaha FZ6R
• 1981 Kawasaki GPz550

Ok wait, your name is A. Barth and there’s no Fiat Abarth?

I had a 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth. Loved that car! I will have another at some point.

How is the F-Pace?

I love the F-Pace! I’ve had it for about five years, and it might be as close to a perfect vehicle as I’ve ever owned. It’s quiet, extremely comfortable, handles well, and I think visually it’s fantastic. The front end is slightly reminiscent of the legendary E-Type, or maybe that’s only in my overactive imagination.

In the 1960s, Jaguar had an advertising campaign of “Grace… Space… Pace.” I think the F-Pace embodies those qualities well. It’s a very nice place to be, especially when you need to cover a lot of miles quickly … I mean, cover a lot of miles within the posted speed limits. At 70mph, the tach is at about 1950 rpm. With the 2.0-liter turbo inline-four, peak torque (269lb-ft) is available from 1500 rpm, so it pulls better at low revs than one might expect. It will definitely redline if asked but it’s not peaky at all, especially compared to a normally aspirated four-cylinder.

The F-Pace replaced a Range Rover Sport Supercharged. The Jaaag is wonderful, though I’d be lying if I said don’t miss the Land Rover sometimes. There is something magical about a 5.0-liter V-8 with a blower and 510hp to push you back into the seat when you plant your right foot, even if the vehicle weighs over 5,000lb.

How did you pick the F-Pace?

I was working from home and mostly driving for pleasure when, as we say, life happened. In 2019 I found myself obligated to go on longer road trips more frequently, and as much as I enjoyed the Range Rover Sport, getting 16mpg highway and 11mpg around town was suboptimal. In the F-Pace I’ve seen as high as 32mpg on longer trips, which is nice. The sad irony is that I got the F-Pace to support more extensive travel… then the pandemic started and travel was basically shut down. As a result, she now has only about 43,000 miles.

Thoughts on the F-Pace being the last gas-burning Jaguar?

Jaguar and Land Rover also have a lot of history. Jaguar’s announcement that they will be moving completely away from petrol-powered vehicles broke my heart a little bit. It’s the end of an era, and it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be much of a sendoff. I hope to be wrong about that. They formed the company officially in 1945, so making big changes in 2025 – on their 80^th anniversary – makes sense but I would like them to keep at least a few ICE vehicles around.  

What led to the XT250?

When I was 9 or 10 years old, a friend of my older brother came to visit and brought with him a Honda XL70 motorcycle. Up to this point, anything I had done on two wheels required pedaling, so the Honda – with probably all of 5 or 6 horsepower – was a revelation. I didn’t know how to shift and just wrung out first gear for all it was worth, but I got better at it and as an early teen was riding regularly off-road.

When my brother turned 16 and got his motorcycle license, our parents helped him buy a 1981 Yamaha XT250 so he could ride to his summer job.  I borrowed the XT whenever possible and learned to ride without going on the street. I also learned to wrench on that bike – sometimes for maintenance, sometimes after … mishaps. The original XT that we owned is long gone, but I found one just like it on eBay seven or eight years ago and it is now my go-to companion at vintage events.

Is it hard to get parts for?

When I need parts, the first choice is to look for genuine Yamaha items that are either New Old Stock (NOS) or are still in production. Otherwise, I’m more or less limited to what’s on eBay or what I can find at swap meets (really difficult).

Earlier this year I was looking for a new oil seal to replace the one on the shift shaft. It turned out that the part for the ’81 also fit a recent Yamaha ATV, which was nice. When I needed an oil seal for the countershaft (where the front sprocket lives) I had to measure the old one and get a non-Yamaha item.

Here’s a tip for anyone working on old machines: bearings are bearings and seals are seals. If you can’t find one with your vehicle’s manufacturer’s branding, take measurements and talk to a parts supply house. They will almost certainly be able to get you a replacement. 

I keep it original mostly out of nostalgia for the one I had, and also because I am a member of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) and take it to vintage events. The XTs were not popular when they were new, but at each event, I usually get at least a few people asking if it’s for sale so maybe there is some renewed interest. For the record, it is definitely not for sale! However, I will consider an even trade for a Vincent Black Shadow.

How did you end up with the FZ6R?

After rekindling the relationship with motorcycles around 2015, I decided it would be a good idea to have a modern bike that started every time and was suitable for longer rides at totally legal highway speeds.  A local shop had a lightly-used 600cc Yamaha that looked like a perfect fit. It was sporty, without being a race replica, so it had full bodywork and a mildly aggressive riding position. Score!

I had brought riding gear along to the shop in case a test ride became necessary, so I suited up, got on the bike, switched on the key … and proceeded to look high and low for a choke lever. The salesperson realized what I was doing, chuckled, and said “It’s fuel-injected – there’s no choke.” D’oh. The test ride was great, so I snapped it up.

What do you love about the FZ6R?

I like the Fizzer because it’s sporty without being an uncomfortable race replica. The riding position is more aggressive than you would find on a UJM but it isn’t the super hardcore crouch of a MotoGP bike. Right now it’s at about 15,000 miles and the bike is largely unmodified, though the Ace Café London stickers add 5hp each! It has enough power to be entertaining and is relatively quiet, so I haven’t felt the need to monkey around with much. Sadly this has been a busy summer and I haven’t gotten much riding in. I need to take full advantage of whatever decent weather we have left this year.

When the time came to replace the chain and sprockets, I went one tooth higher on the countershaft (i.e. front). This lowered the cruising RPM in sixth gear and incidentally made the speedometer more accurate, which was a nice touch. I also swapped the factory windscreen for a taller model. It pushes the airflow over my helmet instead of into my face, which is a big help on longer trips. Bridgestone Battlax tires keep me stuck to the road.

How did the GPz550 come to join the fleet?

A co-worker wanted to buy a motorcycle and asked if I would go along to help him evaluate the available options. He was looking for something a little more sedate, like a cruiser, but I saw the GPz and had to take a closer look. The salesperson brought the key. I fired it up and was immediately hooked. The test ride was amazing, so we struck a deal and I picked up the GPz a few days later.

Have you modified it at all?

When I got it, the 550 was completely stock except for a 4-into-1 exhaust. UJMs were typically configured from the factory with 4-into-2 exhausts, with one muffler per side. The most common modification at the time was to remove the heavy factory setup and install a lightweight aftermarket performance replacement. It has a raw, raspy, mechanical sound that really appeals to me.

I made two modifications shortly after purchase. The factory handlebar was low with about 1.5 inches of rise, but I wanted to go lower so I installed a clubman-style bar with a 3-inch drop. This made the GPz feel more like a race bike to me. Unfortunately, the new bars interfered with the upper mount for the bikini fairing, but I made peace with that and the fairing has been stored since then. 

The other mod was a performance clutch with heavier springs. There was a dragstrip not far away that had street nights. Anyone could bring their street-legal vehicle and make passes down the quarter-mile. I was going there one weekend with some friends and figured I should replace the clutch before heading out. I worked under a bicycle parking pavilion and performed a clutchectomy basically by intuition. Thankfully it worked! The new setup was much firmer, and engaged hard enough to lift the front wheel on the shift to second gear. The best I could do on the dragstrip was a 13.9. This was slower than the 12.6 that the reviewers had gotten when the bike was new, but in the bike’s defense my technique was terrible.

Being a one-year-only model are parts hard to come by?

After moving into a house with a detached garage in 1999, I started searching for GPz parts. EBay was auction-only at that time (there was no Buy It Now function) and the results could vary widely. Because so many parts for the 1981 GPz550 fit only that specific model, one of two things would happen: there would be no one else bidding on an item and I would win the auction by default, or there would be another GPz owner who also really wanted the part and a bidding war would ensue.

I still have a lot of the parts purchased during that time, including a really nice OEM fuel tank, some spare body panels/covers, and a period-correct fork brace. UJMs tended to suffer from front fork flex when really pushed through the curves, which made handling a little wonky. To address this, one could add a brace to connect the left and right forks (just above the front fender) and increase the rigidity of the front end.

Have you had any issues with it?

There were significant changes from 1980 to 1981 models and then more changes from 1981 to 1982. As such, there are a lot of parts that fit only the 1981 GPz550. And by “parts” I mean little things like the fuel tank, seat, exhaust, rear brakes, side covers, swingarm, tail section, etc. I had no idea about any of this when I bought my ’81. It was a just a really nice used bike to me. That was 30+ years ago and I’ve held on to it since then.

The primary issue I’ve had with the GPz is the rarity of rear brake parts. The rear brake master cylinder was corroded and the piston was stuck in the bore. When this happens the bore itself will frequently become pitted and will no longer be usable even if you can somehow get the piston out.

Typically there is a fair amount of parts compatibility in the UJM market and swapping in replacements from another related model would be easy, but this rear master cylinder was used only on the one model for a single year. Because of this limited scope there is no aftermarket support. Companies that sell caliper and master cylinder rebuild kits for other bikes simply do not have anything for the ’81 GPz550.

This leaves owners with two options: search for OEM Kawasaki parts or adapt a master cylinder from another bike. I searched for OEM parts genuinely for years before finding a good used MC from one eBay seller, and an NOS piston and seal from another. The alternative would have been adapting the equivalent part from a newer Ninja 250.     

Thanks A. Barth!

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