I’ve recently been stumbling upon a decent number of C&J-framed examples, but this particular specimen has to be my favorite one yet. Constructed by C&J in the late ’70s, this machine features a Yamaha TT500 engine housed in a C&J chassis. It’s builder(s) also opted to outfit the bike with fenders, tank, and tail units off of other Yamaha MXers.
“Wooden Horse” – Custom Wooden Motorcycle with Suzuki GS250 Engine
According to the seller, this is “the first street legal wooden motorcycle in the United States.” Morgan Motor Company would be proud.
1 of 25 – 1985 Can-Am 350 Trials
Bombardier Recreational Products created their motorcycle division (Can-Am) in 1973, but by 1980 they had decided that their resources were better spent in snowmobiles and jet skis. As detailed by Canned Ham, a deal was struck in which CCM/Armstrong took over production and Can-Am sold the machines. During this time, Can-Am experimented with some new models and they expanded into …
25th Anniversary – 2008 Buell Lightning XB12Scg
Erik Buell is often at the forefront of technology, building bikes we aren’t quite ready for yet. Now he’s building electric bikes, but in the mid-2000s he was doing his best to bring Harley-Davidson into modernity. The Buell XB12S was one of those efforts, with a 1,203cc air/oil cooled V-twin updated in 2008 and churning out a smooth 103hp. The …
1972 Harley-Davidson Sprint SS350
One of the many Italian-built Aermacchis with a Harley-Davidson logo on the tank, the Sprint SS350 was introduced in 1969 with a bigger motor (the previous Sprint had a 250) as Harley tried to fight off competition from the Japanese. The Sprint was available in two forms: the SX had some off-road flavor with knobbies, high fenders, and a scrambler …
First Year Knucklehead – 1936 Harley-Davidson EL
Post Sale Update: This EL sold for $120,000 after 20 bids on eBay. Harley-Davidson debuted the Knucklehead motor in 1936 (though it didn’t earn the nickname until after the Panhead was released) and just 1,704 first year examples were built. As HD made several changes to production in the first few months, particularly to timing covers and kickstart gearing, some …
Cycle World Cover Bike – ESMC’s “Desert Wolf” Harley Roadster
The Desert Wolf was one of three identical bikes constructed for an ambitious 2017 project which was the brainchild of El Solitario’s head honcho, David Borras. While you can read all about Borras’ and the El Sol crew’s Saharan adventure on said bikes in a full-length Cycleworld writeup — the issue’s feature/cover story — in a nutshell the idea was …
Rare & All Original – 1979 C&J-Framed BSA B50MX
Post Listing Update: This C&J framed BSA was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Back in January we featured a C&J-framed “Horsepower Factory” Honda XR500 racer, however what we have here is a markedly rarer C&J specimen. This is a 1979 C&J Framed BSA B50MX. Not only is this vintage Brit bike said to be in 100% original …
Restored – 1963 Harley-Davidson Aermacchi 250 Sprint H
Post Sale Update: This Sprint sold for $3,500 after 27 bids on eBay. The Harley-Davidson Sprint H is a classic moto built from the Italian-American partnership of HD and Aermacchi. The H was a sport model that was introduced in 1963 with a small amount of additional off-road capability thanks to 18″ wheels and a bigger air filter. An increase …
Period Dragster – 1960 Harley-Davidson Sportster XLCH
Post Listing Update: this Harley did not sell despite 50 bids up to $13,100 on eBay. According to the seller, this Sportster was built as a dragster in the early 60s with HD parts including a XLR exhaust, modified KR frame, KHK flywheel, Hummer forks, and more. The seller (Full Moon Cycle) calls it a “work of art” and notes …
Ending Soon – 1949 Lowther/Indian Trike
Post Sale Update: This Lowther sold for $8,000 after 4 bids on eBay. In the late 40s, when Indian was in its death throes, they partnered with the Lowther company of Joliet, Illinois. Lowther had already been producing scooters with a slogan of “Park Avenue Scooters with the Main Street price”. Indian rebadged an existing Lowther scooter and called it …
572 of 800 – 2000 Buell X1 Lightning Millennium
Presumably named after its year of release, the Buell X1 Lightning Millennium was a limited production run (800 bikes) that was all about silver aesthetics. Half of the bikes were sold in the US, and the majority of the remaining units went to Europe.
Championship-Winning Thunderbike – Survivor Customs’ Rotax Flat Tracker
Building a high-caliber race bike starts with the addition of race-grade, bespoke and aftermarket components, though it’s the countless hours of expertly dialing each element in that really separates pro-level racers from the rest. And that’s exactly what we’ve got here, a professionally-built competition machine from Mike Hill of Survivor Customs.
Unrestored Factory Flat Tracker – 1955 Harley-Davidson KR750
Post Listing Update: This KR did not get any interest at the BIN of $22,500. Fresh on the heels of the Great Depression, the AMA introduced what was known as “Class C” racing — an organized form of motorized two-wheeled competition created and structured to allow for a relatively low cost of entry in hopes of attracting more riders to …
Japanese American Mini Trail – 1977 Hodaka Dirt Squirt 80
Hodaka Motorcycles first started as a producer of engines before later joining forces with another existing outfit and going on to build complete bikes. The Japanese (and American joint) firm capitalized on the influx in popularity of small displacement trail bikes — a phenomenon due largely thanks to Honda’s wares and marketing. Hodaka’s philosophy was that riding should be affordable/accessible, …