Last fall, a group of engineers from Indian Motorcycles decided they would tackle the land speed races at El Mirage with a Scout and a Dark Horse. Indian decided to tag along and create a series of short videos chronicling the process. They call it “Passion For Speed.” I call it a decent excuse to avoid working.
2003 Honda CBR954RR
Produced for just two years, the 954 generation of the Honda Fireblade was commercially overshadowed by the competition from Suzuki and Yamaha, but I always thought it was the most “practical” literbike you could buy at the time. That inherently might have been the problem – who was looking for practical supersports? I fell in love with the Fireblades after …
1994 Ducati E900 Elefant
Ducati was sold to Cagiva in 1985, and one of the things the latter did with this infusion of bikes and technology to try and compete in the Paris-Dakar rally. They created the Elefant, which won the rally in 1990 and 1994. In the US, the bike was branded as the Ducati E900 – this may give you a hint …
Video Intermission – Dan Dutra’s Ariel Cyclone at the 2016 Quail
The Cyclone was one of Ariel’s most famous motorcycles, partially due to the fact that Buddy Holly owned one – it sold for $450,000 two years ago and it’s now on display at the Buddy Holly Center. Bike-urious reader Dan Dutra is the proud owner of one of the rare Cyclones and he brought his out to the Quail Motorcycle …
950 Miles – 1968 BSA Firebird Scrambler
Some Beezer fans consider the Firebird Scrambler to be the best bike that BSA made, which might make sense considering it was the last new design they created before they went out of business in 1973. It wasn’t as popular as the Gold Star but by this point BSA was in dire straits financially, and they couldn’t support the marketing …
1964 Pointer Super Lassie
Post Sale Update: This Super Lassie sold for the opening bid of $2,500. A Japanese aircraft manufacturer, Kawanishi (eventually rebranded as Shin Meiwa) was looking to expand their product portfolio so they got into motorcycles. I’ve really struggled to find good information on the brand, but it seems that they started motorcycle producion in 1946, called themselves Pointer in the …
Rare in the US – 1983 Suzuki Tempter GR650D
This Suzuki is rarely seen in the US as it was only offered here in ’83 and ’84. In other markets it was called the GR650 (and available until ’89), for some reason it was called the Tempter in America. It’s a fairly straightforward UJM but it featured one interesting innovation: a ‘dual-stage’ flywheel with an centrifugal clutch that would …
3 Bikes – Police Motorcycle Collection
6-1-16 Update: The seller has let me know that the HD has sold. He’s now asking for $4,500 each for the remaining two, or $8,000 for both. Here are three police motorcycles being sold in a package deal – you’ve got an American, and Italian, and a Japanese bike. Sounds like the start to a bad joke (or the opening …
Video Intermission – 2016 Handbuilt Motorcycle Show
Early in May I went to Austin to check out MotoGP and the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show. Here’s my recap of the latter if you need a reminder. The guys at Revival Cycles, who put the show together, released a short highlight video that I only discovered a few moments ago. Enjoy!
Needs Some Work – 1962 Tohatsu Runpet
Post-Listing Update: No one seems interested in this Tohatsu – it keeps getting relisted at a lower opening bid, with no action. As of 6-14 it’s got a unmet opening bid of $550, find it here on eBay. Founded in 1922, Tohatsu is now best known for their outboard motors. But in the 50s and 60s, they produced some excellent …
Award Winning Restoration – 1955 BMW R50
This R50 was given a ‘ground-up restoration’ in 2008 and it has 3,500 miles on the odometer since the work was performed. The bike won Best in Class and Best in Show at the 2012 Dayton Concours d’Elegance and followed that up with an “Award of Excellence” at the same show the next year.
Restored or Original – Honda SS125A
The predecessor to the CB125, Honda’s SS125A was the ‘Super Sport’ option in a series of rare quarter-liter slopers that also included the CL125 (scrambler), CD125 (touring), and a Japan-only CS125. They are not easy to find nowadays, which makes it all the more surprising that I’ve got two for you to peruse. One’s been restored and the other…hasn’t.
Ending Soon – 1965 Ducati Sebring 350 Roadracer
Post-Sale Update: After 4 bids on eBay, this Ducati racer sold for $6,256 on eBay. The Sebring was introduced to the world as a 350 race bike, and it claimed a class victory at Sebring when piloted by Franco Farne. Based on this victory, Ducati went ahead and named the bike after the race. This example stands out as it …
Video Intermission – 1989 Honda Africa Twin Marathon at the 2016 Quail
View PostEnding Soon – 1964 Harley-Davidson Topper with Sidecar
Post-Sale Update: This Topper hack sold for $7,000 after 3 bids on eBay. In its long history, Harley-Davidson has only created one scooter. As you might guess, it was not a commercial success. Harley offered to rare factory options that could be mounted on the side – either a utility box or an adorable sidecar. This restored Topper has one …