In the early 70s, John Taylor of Schenectady, New York started building the Yankee Z500, an American dual-sport designed to compete with the best bikes coming out of Europe. Yankee Motor Company started by importing machines from OSSA, the Spanish off-road powerhouse, and then moved to modifying OSSA engines in their own custom frames. Eventually, they combined two OSSA 250cc …
1 Owner For >90 Years – 1928 Harley-Davidson JD with Sidecar
By 1920, HD was the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer – with dealerships in 67 countries. One of their featured bikes at the time was the 1000cc Harley-Davidson JD, which became the first motorcycle to ever win a race with an average speed of over 100 mph in 1921, on a board track in Fresno, California. Here’s an example that has …
175 Miles – 2000 Buell Blast
As most of you know, the Buell Blast was designed as an entry-level motorcycle to get people into the H-D family. This one’s barely been used and seems like it would work just fine at its intended design if a new rider wanted something less ubiquitous than a R3 or Ninja 400.
1983 Harley-Davidson XR1000
Post Listing Update: This XR1000 did not meet reserve with 30 bids up to $12,600 on eBay in Pismo Beach, California. The XR750 is one of Harley-Davidson’s most iconic motorcycles – though it was never intended to be street legal. But what if Harley took a XR motor and shoved it in a Sportster frame? Willie G himself had a …
See It At Handbuilt – 1979 Honda CX500 Custom
Post Listing Update: This custom CX sold for $6,313 after 18 bids on Iconic Motorbike Auctions in Phoenix, Arizona. 8/28/20 Update: Two years later, Obersten Regal is back up for sale…and I saw it at Handbuilt, like I said I would! Since then, the bike has covered approximately 300 miles – the seller bought it as “my first bike was …
2 Semis Worth – Pre-1983 Harley-Davidson and Indian Collection
Someone’s father spent a lifetime collecting Harley-Davidson and Indians made before 1983 – now what’s left is packed into two semi trailers (which are included in the asking price). “Hook them up and easily take them away.”
“Death Trap III” – Cadillac V-8 Powered Custom Trike
Post Sale Update: Death Trap $6,300 after 3 bids on eBay in Alpharetta, Georgia. Called the Death Trap III, the back half of this oddball custom trike is a Cadillac 350 V-8 that was originally used in a FWD platform.
1967 Rokon Trailbreaker
Post Sale Update: This Rokon sold for $3,700 after 11 bids on eBay Rokon was founded in the early 60s with the intent of developing a “moto-tractor” that featured two wheel drive. This task was achieved with a combination of shaft, chain, and belt drives, and it enabled riders to go nearly anywhere – as long as they weren’t in …
2002 Buell Thunderbolt S3T
Post Sale Update: This Thunderbolt sold for $3,701 after 10 bids on eBay in Collinsville, Illinois. Based on the S3 Thunderbolt sport-tourer, the “S3T” gained some extra touring bits to go with the extra T – taller bars, lower fairings, and color-matched hard bags.
2010 Kris Krome Board Tracker
Post Sale Update: This sold for $4,550 after 6 bids on eBay in Edmond, Oklahoma. The styling isn’t really for me, however I’m using this bike as an excuse to share a product I rarely see in the wild: the Hawg Halter Sprotor (as in a combined Sprocket/Rotor):
Ending Soon – 2014 EBR 1190SX
Post Listing Update: This 1190SX did not get any action at the BIN of $8,995 on eBay. The streetfighter option in Erik Buell Racing’s lineup, the EBR 1190SX was supposed to be a bit more than just a streetfighter – Buell called it a “Superfighter”.
2009 Ronin Motorworks #7 Kurabayashi Takeyuki
Back in 2014 I shared a post about Ronin Motorworks and their limited run of 47 motorcycles based around the Buell 1125CR – each bike was named after a member of the 47 Ronin, an impressive (and true) tale which exemplifies the Japanese samurai code of honor, which includes ritual suicide, revenge…and more ritual suicide.
1908 Bradley White Lightning
7-17-20 Update: Four years later, this Bradley is back up for sale. It doesn’t look like anything has changed, though the asking price has gone up by $25k. Find it for sale in Redondo Beach, California with a BIN of $300,000 or best offer here on eBay. Did the SS Lottery sail into your port? If so, you may be …
Trackmaster Frame – 1977 Harley-Davidson XR750
Post Listing Update: This XR750 did not meet reserve despite 19 bids up to $22,200. Tom Berry Sr., was a professional AMA flat track racer who competed between 1970 – 1980. He spent some of that time on this Trackmaster-framed XR750, then the bike was campaigned by Matt George and Rodney Noel before being “placed on display some years ago.”
Half Harley, Half Vincent – 1984 Sportster Custom
Post Sale Update: Looks like the seller should have taken the $6,100 from three years ago, as this “sold” on Bring a Trailer for $4,300 after 9 bids. However, it seems that the high bidder backed out, so I guess we may see it up for sale again some time in the future… 6-30-20 Update: Another two years later and …