As a motorcycle enthusiast with a library background, I'm very much of two minds about new-in-crate machines.
On the one hand, maybe someone has protected a vital piece of motorcycle history! Maybe it can end up in a museum somewhere, to be displayed to hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of fans, particularly if it becomes part of a destination collection, like the Barber Vintage Museum or something.
There's absolutely a great case to be made for that, as I love a good motorcycle museum and can gladly spend hours in most of them, soaking in all the rich history there is to absorb.
But on the other hand, at a much more visceral level, I'm of the opinion that motorcycles are meant to be ridden. From my own experience, because I don't have enough hours in the day or hands and legs to ride them all (sadly, I'm still not an octopus), I've seen firsthand how even motorcycles I profess to love can develop problems if they're not ridden regularly.
My partner's Tuono V2 had a leaky shift shaft issue when he got it, because it hadn't been ridden in a long time. It's a problem that resolved itself once it started getting ridden more regularly. Likewise, I haven't ridden my Hawk in longer than I should have, and now its throttle cable is seriously playing up. Classic rider neglect stories! We don't mean to do it, but we also can't be riding all the time, even if we'd like to. Sadly, we have other things that need doing as well.
Motorcycles want to be ridden, just as riders (usually) want to ride them. And both of us suffer if we don't do the thing, you know?
Gallery: 1988 Yamaha XT 500 New In Crate
So, with all that in mind, I'd like to draw your attention to an upcoming auction that's taking place through the world-renowned auction house, RM Sotheby's. At its upcoming Munich auction, which is scheduled to take place in October 2025, one of the items up for bid with no reserve is a 1988 Yamaha XT 500.
But it's not just any old 1988 Yamaha XT 500. It's one that has somehow, against all the odds, remained completely in its crate, with zero miles on the clock, for almost the past 40 years. I mean, I know it's not a living, breathing thing, but just looking at these photos makes me think it must be kind of uncomfortable, being crammed in that one position for all these years. No movement, just crate. That's no way to live!
Still, if you're a collector, or a museum, or maybe you relish the challenge of seeing how well an unridden XT 500 has held up over the past four decades and you want to take on the behemoth task of making it ridable now, it is being offered with no reserve. Estimates from Sotheby's expect it to fetch between €15,000 and €25,000, or about US $17,500 and $29,000.
It's currently registered for the road in France, so if you're located there, you might have an easier time if you think of it as a large, running, motorized puzzle and you decide to put it all together and go out for a spin. It's all up to you.
