Post Sale Update: After 25 bids on eBay, this Penton sold for $5,400. In 1968, John Penton and KTM started their fruitful relationship when they built some prototypes that eventually became the Penton Berkshire, powered by Sachs 100cc engines. In ’73, the Penton Hare Scrambler was introduced with a new 250cc KTM engine, and the rest was history.
1977 Harley-Davidson Super Glide Confederate Edition Replica
Post Listing Update: This Harley did not meet reserve with 3 bids up to $5,908. In 1977, Harley-Davidson built a limited edition of just 631 bikes across 6 models – they dubbed these motorcycles the Confederate Edition and they are some of the rarest Harleys ever built. Presumably due to political correctness, no Confederate Editions are on display at Harley’s …
3 Bikes – Police Motorcycle Collection
6-1-16 Update: The seller has let me know that the HD has sold. He’s now asking for $4,500 each for the remaining two, or $8,000 for both. Here are three police motorcycles being sold in a package deal – you’ve got an American, and Italian, and a Japanese bike. Sounds like the start to a bad joke (or the opening …
Ending Soon – 1964 Harley-Davidson Topper with Sidecar
Post-Sale Update: This Topper hack sold for $7,000 after 3 bids on eBay. In its long history, Harley-Davidson has only created one scooter. As you might guess, it was not a commercial success. Harley offered to rare factory options that could be mounted on the side – either a utility box or an adorable sidecar. This restored Topper has one …
2 Wheel Drive – 2013 Christini 450
You’ve seen two wheel drive bikes before thanks to companies like Rokon. But thanks to a fancy mechanical system enclosed within the head tub and frame, Christini has been the most successful manufacturer of two wheel drive bikes that can go anywhere and do it quickly.
1922/3 Ner-a-Car Model A
Designed by Carl Neracher in 1918, the Ner-A-Car was sold as a cheap automobile alternative. Approximately 10,000 were built and sold in the US, and another 6,500 were built and sold in England under license. I’ve featured one of the latter before – here’s one of the former.
Moo Glide – 1993 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail FLSTN
Post-Listing Update: This Moo Glide got no action at the starting bid of $8,993. In 1993, Harley Davidson releaseda limited run of the Heritage Softail: they called it the Nostalgia and produced just 2,700 examples. It was black and white with red pinstripes – that color scheme plus the cow-fur seat and bag accents led to the nickname of the …
1972 Alsport Steen Hodaka
Post-Listing Update: This Steen did not meet reserve with 12 bids up to $1,706. In 1967, John Steen discontinued the first run of his Taco mini bikes and started selling Hodakas. On the side, he also created custom dirt bikes using Hodaka engines like the 100cc Alsport Steen. Conveniently, John didn’t just sell Hodakas – he was also an importer …
1913 Flying Merkel
Built between 1911 and 1915, the Flying Merkel is one of the most iconic American motorcycles of all time. These are so cool that I’m going to break my personal rule of only featuring bikes with asking prices because I just want to make sure you’re aware of it.
Gigantic Custom Diesel Trike
I don’t really understand why, but it looks like the story of Emile Leray is making the rounds online again because I’ve been emailed about it a bunch of times in the past two days. It’s been 20 years since he escaped the desert with his hacked up motorcycle and four years since the last time this story got attention …
Nice Price – 1999 Excelsior Henderson Super X
At the turn of the 20th century, Excelsior and Henderson were two of America’s preeminent motorcycle manufacturers. Schwinn bought up both brands in the 1910s and shut them down in September of 1931. Skip ahead 60 years to Minnesota in 1993 and the founding of the Hanlon Manufacturing Company in 1993 – they secured the rights to both the Excelsior …
Jet Bike – 2002 Y2K MTT Turbine
Post-Listing Update: This jet bike did not get any interest at the asking price of $114,000. When this bike was released, it took the Guinness World Records for most powerful production motorcycle and most expensive production motorcycle. It featured 320 horsepower, 425 pound feet of torque, 227 mile per hour top speed, and one of the greatest startup sounds ever.
2008 Saxon Mad Jack
Post-Listing Update: This Saxon did not get any action at the asking price of $12,500. I’ve never been much of a cruiser/chopper/bobber guy, but I’ve had no choice to learn more about them and appreciate them as I constantly search for motorcycles for you to enjoy. Over time I’ve seen several names come up over and over again – one …
1962 Polaris Trail Tractor
Polaris was founded in 1954 by some partners and employees of Hetteen Hoist and Derrick Shop who wanted to create a vehicle capable of traveling through snow. Two years later, their first production snowmobile was released – called the Sno Traveler. A few years later, management decided that they could diversify a bit so they built the Trail Tractor.
1973 Auranthetic Charger
A small electric motorcycle with a 1 horsepower, 24 volt DC motor, the Auranthetic Charger was able to hit 25-30 miles per hour and cover a range of approximately 20-30 miles.