10 Very Old Motorcycles You Can Still Buy New Abroad

It’s ‘new bike’ season with a flood of exciting fresh motorcycles being primed for both online and show stands at EICMA. 

But in with the new often means out with the old, a process accelerated further by the onset of Euro5+ regulations, which signalled the end of the road for some of the more niche, lower-selling models. But was it really good forever, or do we find ourselves just waving at them from this side of the water?

While it’s true that in the EU zone (which, Brexit or not, UK bikes still aligns with in a motorcycle sense) few older bikes survive, and certainly not without modification (BMW’s 2013 R nine-T, for example, has now been updated to meet Euro5 as the R12 Nine-T – along with its K1600 sixes), in the rest of the world it’s a very different story. 

In the US, Japan, Africa and Australasia, all unbound by Euro5, far older bikes are still on sale to live out their latter years (eventually). In the US you can still get a Suzuki GSX-R750, or Honda Fury custom. In Japan you can still get a Honda CB1300S and in some countries ‘farm-orientated’ trail bikes date back even further.

In short, pesky emissions laws may have brought the axe down on several models recently, but there are some surprisingly old models still soldiering on in other markets.

As a disclaimer, we don’t claim to be perfectly definitive (there are only 24 hours in a day and there is a lot to watch on Netflix), but it still makes fascinating reading…

Yamaha Super Ténéré 1200 (2020/USA)

Thought the ‘old’ 1200 Super Ténéré was no more? Think again. Although Yamaha’s big, shaft-drive, adventure twin (which, come to think of it, never did get the recognition it deserved) was dropped in the UK (and Europe) at the end of 2020 for failing to meet Euro5 (you’ll find this is a common theme here), it wasn’t the end of the line for the bike itself which remains in production to this day and is currently on sale in the UK and New Zealand (among others).

Kawasaki ZZR1400 (2020/USA)

Another big old favourite that fell foul of Euro5 but lives on elsewhere is Kawasaki’s hyperbike rival to Suzuki’s Hayabusa, the ZZ-R1400. Originally launched in 2006 then given a substantial makeover in 2011, the 197bhp 1441cc four was big, burly and FAST. But despite dropping off the UK’s radar in 2020, it lives on in the USA (and elsewhere, but not in the EU) as the Ninja ZX-14R, there’s even a natty version in 40th anniversary Ninja colours…

Kawasaki Vulcan 900 (2016/USA)

Here’s another unexpectedly still available new/old bike from the States. Remember the old VN900? One of the best Japanese V-twin cruisers of all thanks to its sweet 903cc V-twin? Well, although it was killed off in the UK (and Europe) way back in 2016, that time due to the earlier Euro4, it happily lives on elsewhere and is still available in the US, where it’s called the Vulcan 900.

Honda CB1300S (2013/Japan)

Honda’s big, four-cylinder, half-faired CB1300S bit the dust in the UK all the way back in 2013 so you may be surprised to learn it still lives on – in Japan.

Always one of the most versatile, stylish (and best equipped) of the original wave of four-cylinder retro roadsters, the 113bhp CB is powered by a reworked version of the old CBR1000 motor and remains classy and popular.

Honda Fury (2013/USA)

As with the Kawasaki VN and others including Suzuki’s Boulevard, Honda’s bold VT1300CX Fury, which remains probably any Japanese manufacturer’s most extreme production custom bike, didn’t prove much of a hit in Blighty, leading to its premature demise – although the opposite was true in its target market of the US where the big, chopper-styled, raked-out cruiser remains on sale to this day. So, if you want one, you know where to go…

Suzuki DR-Z400E (2008/New Zealand)

The liquid-cooled, DOHC, single-cylinder DR-Z400E was Suzuki’s all-new successor to its hugely successful but air-cooled DR350S trail bike when launched in 2001 and it proved a big hit, too – so much so that it was also launched in supermoto DR-Z400SM trim.

Unfortunately, it was also one the earliest high-profile casualties of early EU emissions regulations and thus was discontinued from importation after 2008. Like many other bikes, however, it’s still legal in other countries such as New Zealand and Australia.

Yamaha XV250 Virago (2001/USA)

Who can forget Yamaha’s brilliant, entry-level, 1990s, air-cooled, V-twin cruiser, the XV535 and its even more novice-friendly little brother, the XV250? Well, seeing as the latter was dropped in the UK way back in 2001 yet remains on sale to this day in the US, it seems we have… and the Americans can’t.

Now called the VStar 250, the cute little twin has been updated slightly, mostly with its styling, but not by much, still being an air-cooled, carb-fed twin we just can't have here anymore. 

Suzuki DR650SE (1996/USA)

Now we’re starting to get seriously old. Suzuki’s 644cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke trail bike can trace its lineage back to the late 1980s and, in this final SE form, was last available in the UK around 1996.

But like some other Suzukis, the big mud-plugger remained in production and is still currently available in the US, South Africa and others.

Yamaha DT125 (1983-ish/South Africa)

No, it can’t be – a 1980s two-stroke! Yes, it is, it’s still in production and is still available new, most notably in South Africa – although there is a bit of a twist (and catch).

Firstly, this DT125 is a bit of a mongrel, using the chassis (including front drum brake and Monocross cantilever rear suspension) from the 1983 DT125LC, but with the air-cooled engine from an earlier incarnation.

And secondly, and more damningly, it’s not actually road legal, being sold instead as a ‘farm bike’.

But, hey, there’s also a DT175 version and the mere fact that these air-cooled two-strokes still exist in this green-obsessive age warms our hearts… and atmosphere, too.

Suzuki TS185ER (1981/Kenya)

But when it comes to ‘old’ bikes which are still being offered new, there can surely be only one winner. Suzuki’s TS185ER air-cooled, single-cylinder, twin shock trail bike was first offered for sale in the UK way back in 1979 as an updated, restyled version of the previous TS185, and was also offered alongside sister models the TS50ER, TS100ER, TS125ER and TS250ER. 

All were successful, but the range was updated in 1981 with the deletion of some models and a gradual switch to monoshock rear ends and liquid cooling. Still made, in slightly updated form, this example was found on Suzuki Kenya’s website.