A 646cc parallel twin, the BSA Golden Flash was the predecessor of the Super Rocket. It was available in black and chrome, but also in the gold paint scheme shown here that led to the distinctive name. Oddly enough, the gold color (called Polychromatic Golden Beige) wasn’t an option for home-market British customers.
1951 Harley-Davidson Servicar
Following-up on yesterday’s Indian 3-wheeler, here’s the more common competitor: the Harley-Davidson Servicar. Produced for nearly 40 years, the Servicar was a three-wheeler HD produced in an attempt to further expand their target customer base during the Great Depression. One of their selected targets was automotive mechanics, so this bike was designed to allow mechanics put their tools in the …
“Royal Rickshaw” – 1958 Indian Patrol Custom
Built in England out of a Royal Enfield Bullet, “Patrol Car” was branded as an Indian when sold in the United States. Others were sold as “Pashley Enfields”. By any name, it’s a rare find. This one’s even more rare as it has been customized and now features a 1964 Royal Enfield Mark 1 Interceptor engine.
In France – FCR Original’s “Green Legend” Triumph Bonneville Custom
The fine folks over at Motorcycle.com recently shared a profile on FCR Originals, a French custom motorcycle shop that loves building beauties out of classic English twins. This is the “Green Legend”, a custom Bonneville built as a tribute to the enduro that Steve McQueen used in the famous scene in The Great Escape.
In Canada – Colorado Norton Works #82
4-14-20 Update: A year and a half later, this beautiful custom Commando is still up for sale – but the price is almost 50% off. It looks like nothing else has changed but the price, which is down from 40k to 25k Canadian dollars (currently about $18,012 USD). Find it still on sale here at Robin’s Classic Motorcycles in Parksville, …
1980 Honda “SL750”
No, Honda never actually made a SL750, but someone thought it would be fun to take a CB750 and make it look a bit like a SL70 had taken steroids thanks to the custom paint on the bodywork, powdercoat on the frame, spoked wheels, and dual-sport tires.
1995 Honda 750 Nighthawk with Tomco Wheelchair Sidecar
Based out of Valley Center, Kansas, Tomco Enterprises made it possible for riders confined to a wheelchair to enjoy motorcycling thanks to a sidecar with the controls transferred over.
Giveaway Intermission – “Nick Hayden World Champion 2006” Artwork
Over on the auction site, we’re giving away a limited edition canvas print (1 of 69) based on a pencil/watercolor illustration of Nicky Hayden from his 2006 championship year in MotoGP. Just leave a comment on the listing to be entered – we’ll pick a winner on Saturday!
“Thrasher 2” – 1983 Moto Guzzi LeMans III Custom
Jim Knaup of Encore Performance and Fabrication (EPF) built a custom Guzzi based on a 1977 T3 – it featured hand formed bodywork from Evan Wilcox and was part personal project/part rolling parts catalog for their shop. An anesthesiologist in Phoenix liked what he saw and came to EPF with a beat up ’83 850 Le Mans III with “a …
Leaning Hack – 1991 BMW K100RS with Flexit Sidecar
As you might be able to guess from the name, Flexit sidecars were designed to lean with the motorcycle, yielding much better handling characteristics than a traditional sidecar rig. Approximately 167 were built between 1981 and 2005, making this a rare and interesting take on 3-wheeling.
Restored – 1969 Honda CT90
The Honda CT90 has an interesting folk tale of a creation story: Honda America’s first sales manager, Jack McCormack (who would go on to create the American Eagle line of bikes) noticed that a Honda dealership in Boise, Idaho was selling more Honda 50cc bikes than all 6 dealerships based in Los Angeles. The Boise dealership had swapped out the …
Video Intermission – MotoGP Virtual Race 2
Today at 6am PST, MotoGP will start streaming their 2nd “Virtual Race” (they’re calling it the Stay at Home GP), which is as close as you’re currently going to get to watching a MotoGP race right now.
In England – 2003 Petronas FP1
Post Sale Update: This Petronas FP1 sold for $32,785 after 41 bids on Collecting Cars in Hampshire, England. The FP1 was the result of Sauber and Petronas coming together in late 2001 to compete in MotoGP. Their GP1 prototype was powered by a 989cc triple, but Petronas decided to instead tackle WSBK and so the engine had to be modified …
Power Products Project – Motorized Bicycle
Based out of Grafton, Wisconsin, Power Products was formed in 1946 and was sold to Tecumseh in 1957. One of their products was the “1000” motor, a tiny two-stroke that they would sell to manufacturers and slapped onto all kinds of products – personal lawnmowers, farm equipment like augers, outboard boat engines, go-carts, you name it! Obviously, someone figured it’d …
1982 Kawasaki KZ1100
In 1982, Kawasaki grabbed some headlines with their KZ1000-based Eddie Lawson Replica. But for riders who wanted 100+ horsepower in a more relaxed ride, the shaft-drive KZ1100A was sitting right alongside the ELR in Kawi dealerships.