Growing up, I thought being a police officer was a super cool job. And the coolest of the cool jobs was to be a California Highway Patrolman, AKA a CHiP. Every morning before I trotted off to attempt my luck at penetrating the many social hierarchies of middle school, I took in an episode of CHiPs. Erik Estrada was my …
Rare Indian – 1976 Indian MS175
Post Listing Update: This MS175 did not get any action at the opening bid of $3,400. It was relisted with an opening bid of $3,000 and then pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. In the midst of their affair with small-displacement runabouts, Indian had a triplet of 175cc bikes called the MI175, MT175, and MS175. The MI was …
XR750 Tribute #2 – 2009 Harley Davidson XR1200
Post Listing Update: This XR1200 did not get any interest at the opening ask of $7,500. In 1983, Harley-Davidson tried to make a tribute to the mighty XR750 flat-track from the 70’s by releasing the XR1000, a custom evolution of the original Sportster at the time. 25 years later, HD got the idea of doing another tribute bike, but only …
2009 Buell 1125R
Post Listing Update: This Buell was pulled off of eBay due to an “error in the listing”. Erik Buell was a dreamer, and the American sport bike was one of those dreams. We are lucky to still be able to experience them, though sales never quite living up to expectations. There may be some weirdness as is usually evident with …
XR750 Tribute – 1983 Harley-Davidson XR1000
Post Listing Update: This XR did not get any interest at the BIN of $16,000. Following the success of the XR750 during the 70’s, notably thanks to Jay Springsteen, Harley-Davidson decided in the beginning of the 80’s to create a tribute bike to please the aficionados. The bike would be a blend between of XR750 character with some XLX Sportster …
Rare Project – 1942 Harley-Davidson XA
Post Sale Update: This XA sold for $33,544 after 6 bids on eBay. During World War II, the US Government asked HD to build a motorcycle similar to what BMW was making for the Germans – with shaft drive, boxer engine, and other features that made the bikes low maintenance. The Harley-Davidson XA was born. XA stands for eXperimental Army, …
Military Vehicle – 1999 Harley-Davidson MT500
Post Listing Update: This MT500 did not meet reserve despite 36 bids up to $5,101 in Costa Mesa, California. The seller relisted the bike with a BIN of $7,000 with no interest. The history of the MT500 is pretty unique. The bike actually finds its origins in Italy at the beginning of the 80’s with the brand SWM (Speedy Working …
Street-Legal Factory Flat Tracker – 1977 Harley-Davidson XR750
Aside from a handful of championship titles sporadically earned by the big four from Japan, Harley-Davidson reigned supreme throughout the majority of American Flat Track history. While the MoCo obviously employed some top-notch pilots, its dominance in AFT can be largely attributed to H-D’s XR750. Introduced in 1970 as the successor to the venerable KR, Harley would successfully campaign the …
Still New – 2015 EBR 1190SX
Post Sale Update: This EBR sold for the BIN of $6,000. I have written about EBRs before, and I will write about them again. I love them, I love what they stand for, and I cannot believe the deals you can find on what was once a $16,995 bike (according to Cycle World). The gas tank is a lie, the …
Smallest Harley Ever – 1965 Harley-Davidson M50
The conclusion of the Second World War saw a huge demand for lightweight, economical, two-wheelers, leading to an influx in the segment’s popularity. A decade or so later, and it became increasingly clear to the suits at Harley-Davidson that by neglecting this segment, money was being left on the table. The MoCo did offer a few small-displacement scoots based on …
Great “Body” – 1998 Harley-Davidson Springer Softail Custom
Riding a motorcycle can have multiple purposes. Some use it to feel speed and adrenaline. Some use it to go from one point to the other quicker than a car. Some use it because it is easy to park. But ultimately, some use it for style. Makers like Harley-Davidson have proven their ability to produce bikes full of style, but …
2018 Jack Daniel’s Limited Edition Indian Scout Bobber
Post Listing Update: This Indian did not meet reserve despite 27 bids up to $12,403 on eBay. In 2016, Indian Motorcycle started a partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, and that has led to an annual tradition of creating a limited edition based on an existing Indian bike. The first year celebrated the 150th anniversary of Jack Daniels with the …
2016 Harley-Davidson V-Rod
Post Listing Update: This V-Rod did not meet reserve despite 3 bids up to $6,200. As some of you may have noticed by now, especially if you read my bio here, my tastes lean towards the performance end of the motorcycling spectrum. I have always loved what Harleys stood for, but every time I rode one I couldn’t help but …
1965 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra Glide
1965 was the last year of the Panhead and the first year of the electric starter – the latter is what led to the name of “Electra Glide”. 6,900 examples of the FLH were built that year.
American Hand Craftmanship – 2008 Confederate Hellcat
Founded by a lawyer named Matthew Chambers, Confederate Motorcycles was created in 1992 in California. By 1994, the firm was relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and on November 11th 1994, the first Confederate prototype was released. Thanks to the gathering of some talented engineers, it took only two years to release the prototype of something that had never been seen …