The Honda Pacific Coast was truly an oddball of a motorcycle, but it’s become a cult classic and resale values typically surprise motorcyclists who don’t follow these bikes closely. For a certain type of rider, this is the perfect two-wheeler – reliable, comfortable, ample integrated storage, and adequate handling. For the seller of this specific example, it’s a “piece of …
One Owner – 1981 BMW R100RT
Before BMW introduced the RT in 1978, a rider who wanted to tour had to buy a bike and then slap on the usual accessories like a fairing and bags. The RT was a revelation in that you could just sign the paperwork at your dealership and then immediately put on your break-in mileage in a few days as you …
Hondas and Indians – 3 Cool Minis
Minibikes have a more universal appeal in the motorcycle world quite possibly more than any other type of motorized two-wheeler. So many motorcyclists have stories to share of piloting a mini that they, a cousin, or a kid down the street owned. For many of these riders, this would be their first introduction into a lifelong moto-obession. Indian wasn’t particularly …
Mini DT1 – 1971 Yamaha JT1 Mini Enduro
The Yamaha JT1 Mini Enduro was a bonafide motorcycle that was simply scaled down. The fact that the motorcycle it was largely based on was the DT1 – and “On Any Sunday” came out the same year this example was made – helped Yamaha succeed in selling huge amounts of these bikes. Cycle World’s Andrew Bornhop said the JT1 “helped …
Santa Barbara – 1964 Yamaha YA6
The YA6 was best known for being Yamaha’s first production bike with automatic oil injection – you may remember the feature by the name of “Autolube.” The oil injection was immensely popular and was offered throughout Yamaha’s lineup for decades. The YA6 was much less successful, making them a rare find nowadays. This survivor has remained in good shape and …
Ex-Red Bull Rookies Cup – Metrakit 125 GP Racer
For the last decade, the Red Bull Rookies Cup has been allowing up-and-coming riders to prove themselves on professional-quality machines at world-class motorsport circuits. The league has clearly accomplished what it set out to do, as Johann Zarco was the champion of its inaugural season, followed by JD Beach. Other riders like Jake Gagne, Lorenzo Savadori and the late Luis …
Matching Numbers – 1972 Triumph TR6R
The early 1970’s saw an innovative period of motorcycle development. It was an era of evolution, with engineers building on previously proven models and increasingly refining each manufacturer’s respective two-wheeled offerings. Triumph’s TR6 shares its lineage with the majority of its vertical-twin powered machines, tracing back to the ’38 500cc cast iron Speed Twin. After things calmed down a bit …
Rare in the US – 1955 Express Werke Radex 175S
Express Werke AG (AG = Aktiengesellschaft: a type of German corporation that’s owned by shareholders and is often publicly traded) had a 75 year history of producing bicycles, mopeds and small-displacement motorcycles, starting all the way back in 1884. Express Werke utilized engines produced by ILO and Sachs to power its lightweight scoots for a good deal of its time …
Blast From The (Not-So) Distant Past – 2004 Triumph Daytona 600
In the early 2000’s, when Triumph was being referred to as an “upstart moco”, the iconic revived British manufacturer surprised the world by entering the wildly competitive and state-of-the-art supersport 600 market. Japan was dominating in this class and with sales booming the technological arms race was at full steam, so it was seemingly a questionable – or bold, depending …
200 Miles – 1976 Harley-Davidson SS175
One of the several models offered by Harley during the dark days of the AMF partnership, the SS175 is never going to be high up on the collectibility scale of two-wheelers with the Harley-Davidson logo on the tank. Despite that, this example stands out as it is in impressive condition – it has only done 200 miles over the last …
Fully Restored – 1987 Yamaha YZ250
Yamaha’s YZ series – more than any other bike – has arguably had the most profound impact on American motocross in the last couple decades. The YZ boasts a laundry-list of firsts for production MXers, including reed valves, single-shock suspension, and power valves. To the best of my knowledge, the YZ250 is the longest running production dirt bike. Interestingly, the …
<1,000 Miles - 1978 Honda CB750 Hondamatic
In 1976, Honda introduced the “Hondamatic” variant of the immensely popular CB750. The model was known as the CB750A and it featured a two-speed torque converter that allowed a rider to switch between Low or Drive (shown on the dash as 1 or 2) while stopped. It wasn’t very popular, and after 1978 the model was killed off. Only 1,700 …
Why Buy New? 1989 Yamaha TW200
Post Sale Update: This TW200 sold for $1,526 after 28 bids on eBay. Over the years, Yamaha’s TW200 has barely changed – they just announced the specifications for the 2018 model a couple of months ago and it’s still going to be rocking carbs instead of fuel injection. In fact, over a 30+ year model run Yamaha has only given …
A Variety of Minimotos
For the majority of the today’s fastest Grand Prix racers, their racing careers began on pocket bikes, or as they’re better known around the world: minimotos. Some riders started as tots on micro-displacement dirt machines, but most of today’s champions all honed their skills by dragging their knees in local parking lots that served as impromptu circuits thanks to a …
Honda vs. Kawasaki – 1982 250cc MX Racers
For decades, two-stroke MXers were big business. Production versions of factory competition machines became desirable off-roaders, leading to some of the most iconic quarter-liter off-road racers of all time. Two of those machines are undeniably the Honda CR250R and Kawasaki KX250. Both bikes were “out of the box racers” that were instant classics, receiving various updates over the years in …