Based out of the UK, Clews Competition Motorcycles is a niche manufacturer that owes its start to the failure of BSA’s racing division – Alan Clews was looking to build a better motocross bike and he snapped up anything he could from BSA after they shut down the competition department. A tumultuous history ensued – Clews sold the company in …
NCR Leggera 1200 Special Tribute – 2008 Ducati Hypermotard
NCR is unobtanium for most of us, but it doesn’t cost anything to simply lust after their wares – and lusting is all I can do with this exotic called the Leggera 1200. It started as a Ducati Hypermotard but thanks to extreme fettling it produced 30 more horsepower and 16 more pound-feet of torque. More impressively? It weighs 295 …
“Bike” Review – 2018 Polaris Slingshot SLR LE
View Post1 of 11 – 1974 Moto Carrera Del Mar Yamaha RD350 Street Tracker
Based out of North Hollywood, California, Moto Carrera was a specialty shop for 2-stroke sportbikes. They were probably best known for the development of some aftermarket parts (especially for Yamaha RDs) like their rearsets and Millenium GP exhausts, but their most significant accomplishment was the creation of the “Del Mar”, a limited production run of RD350-based street trackers. 11 were …
1974 Benelli Tornado 650S
Post Sale Update: After being relisted, this Tornado sold for a BIN of $3,800 on eBay. While Benelli had some good success with small displacement bikes, they knew that many American and British riders were only throwing their money at big bikes, and the Italian firm had nothing to attract those dollars. They decided to target these riders with a …
Euro Model – 1984 Kawasaki KZ1100R
For some reason, the seller of this KZ keeps calling it a Eddie Lawson replica (even though he admits that’s not the case at the end of the listing), but I still think this is interesting because it’s a West German model that was originally acquired by a member of the US Army who brought it back to California after …
Out of Office – Heading to Italy!
View Post1989 Yamaha TDR250
I didn’t feature a TDR250 for years, but now this is the third one I’ve seen in the last month! Considering how unique it is, I’m OK with that – a dual-sport frame with a retuned two-stroke motor from a TZR250 sportbike is a recipe for success in my book. Yamaha called it “Ultimate Dual”. I call it weird. Whatever …
Video Intermission – 101 Year-Old Motorcyclist
Meet Jock Stares, a rider who’s still enjoying two wheels of transportation at the age of 101. May we all be so lucky.
1968 Gilera 124 5V
Post Listing Update: This Gilera did not get any interest at the BIN of $5,750. Also offered under the “Sears” brand, Gilera’s 124 5V was just about the last bike the Italian brand made before they were bought by Piaggio in 1969.
1965 Skat Kitty Minibike
The Skat Kitty was one of many American minibikes of the 60s, but it stands out as it was the first production “scooter” with a cast aluminum frame and fender assembly. It was sold by Projects Unlimited out of Dayton, Ohio, and this is probably only going to appeal to someone who either had one themselves as a kid (or …
1971 Jawa Bizon 350
Built between 1970 and 1973, the Bizon (Bison) was a distinctively-styled motorcycle designed to capture sales in export markets. It wasn’t tremendously successful, and just 4,436 examples were built.
Video Intermission – 34th Annual Italian Motorcycle Owners Club Meet
This weekend, my home state of Massachusetts hosted the 34th annual meeting of the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club. Thanks to unseasonably warm weather, they had a great turnout of some lovely bikes.
Japan Only – 1986 Suzuki GSX-R 750 Limited Edition
Post Sale Update: This Gixxer sold for the BIN of $18,700. Suzuki’s Limited Edition variant of the first-generation was a special bike, but if you if you want something special AND incredibly rare in the US, then here’s the JDM-version of the Limited Edition. Lucky for you, it’s already been legally imported and registered in Washington. I’ve only featured a …
First Year – 1988 Honda XRV650 Africa Twin RD03
Post Sale Update: This Africa Twin sold for $8,700 after 37 bids on eBay. The first generation of the Africa Twin was introduced in 1988 in response to Honda’s success with the NXR750 racebike – it would end up winning Paris-Dakar four years in a row, starting in 1986. Honda already had the single-cylinder NX650 and the V-Twin Transalp, but …