In the 70s, snowmobile manufacturer Chaparral saw how popular dirt bikes were becoming, and wanted to get in on the craze. They did so with a lineup of 3 small (and apparently mediocre) mini-cycles that were deemed “Familyweight”. This was the Bullet T172, a trail bike that was a downgrade of the ST80 (despite the smaller engine, the latter had …
Ending Soon – 1975 AMF Harley-Davidson SX-250
This AMF Harley-Davidson SX-250 has received a museum quality restoration and has spent time displayed at the New England Motorcycle Museum (owned by the seller).
1915 Indian Big Twin
Post-Sale Update: This Indian Big Twin sold for the BIN of $55,000. The Indian Big Twin was the last of an era – some even consider it to be the last “real” Indian as it was the end of the F-head engine in a cradle-spring frame. 1915 was the last year of production before Indian stopped racing efforts to help …
1968 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead Police
Here’s a rare, all original FLH Police Bike. Originally ordered for the police force of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, it was put into service and painted with the ’67 scheme to match the rest of the fleet. After being decommissioned, the bike was sold at auction and then put in storage for years. Now it’s back up for sale after having …
Power-Dyne Vehicles – 1974 PDV Gringo 360
Post-Sale Update: This PDV Gringo 360 sold for $2,801 after 30 bids on eBay. Power-Dyne Vehicles (also known as PDV) produced several motorcycles in the early 70s, nearly all of which were copies of something else on the market. The PDV Gringo was a knock-off of Yamaha motocross engines and Champion frames – the story is that PDV was put …
3 Hodakas and Misc Parts
Hodaka, a Japanese-American joint venture, produced a series of very popular small-engine bikes during the 60s and 70s, with some fantastic names. My personal favorite (just on name alone) has to be the Combat Wombat, but this seller is giving you a chance to accumulate some other great names with 2 Dirt Squirts and 1 Super Rat.
1981 HMV Free-way
The brain child of David Edmonson, High Mileage Vehicles (HMV) sold about 700 units of the HMV Free-way, a three-wheeled oddity that you’re about to learn a little bit about.
Mecum Kansas City 2014 Auction Preview
Whenever I note that an auction is coming up where motorcycles will be offered, I like to highlight my personal favorites for your perusal. Mecum’s Kansas City auction (coming up on December 4th) is only featuring 3 motorcycles, so I guess I’ll just show you all of them. They all happen to be American made cruisers.
1964 Van Tech Scrambler
The Van Tech Scrambler was Van Tech’s first bike. Using a McCulloch kart engine (evolved from a chainsaw engine), it was designed to be a tiny race bike.
Siksika – 1956 Harley-Davidson Panhead Custom
Post-Listing Update: After being relisted, this Panhead Custom did not meet reserve at $23,100. Built by Caleb Owens at Cro Customs, this is a custom Panhead dubbed “Siksika”. It’s received plenty of press from sites like BikeEXIF, and now it can be yours.
1971 Speedway Widowmaker
The Speedway Widowmaker has one of the greatest names ever affixed to a motorcycle. It also doesn’t sound like something you’d want to buy your kid who was learning on a tiny 80cc two-stroke.
Two Confederate Hellcats
Here’s two examples of Confederate’s iconic Hellcat, which featured all kinds of billet, Dymag wheels, Paioli forks, Works shocks, and plenty of other goodies. First, an example in the rare red color: This Hellcat (VIN: 1C9SF2754XB071117) has just 4,540 miles and a custom seat. Find this Hellcat for sale in Henderson, Nevada with bidding up to $11,750 here on eBay. …
Hot Rod Feature – 1987 Harley-Davidson XLCR
The XLCR is one of my favorite Harley-Davidson motorcycles, if only for the sharp departure it took from the company’s usual offerings. With that said, it couldn’t compete in the market for varying reasons. There weren’t many made (about 3,000), meaning the remaining ones are highly collectible.
Crated – 1999 Excelsior Henderson Super X
In the early 1900s, Excelsior and Henderson were two of America’s best motorcycle manufacturers. Excelsior produced the first motorcycle to official hit 100 miles per hour, while Henderson was producing the favored bikes of America’s police officers. There’s a reason for the similarities – the companies were both bought up by Schwinn in the 1910s, and were shut down in …
1979 Chrysler Snorunner
The Chrysler Snorunner has an interesting history – though some people disagree on the actual story. My favorite version is that Chrysler built them for the Army, which was looking for light weight snow transport that could carry a soldier for 30 miles. It wasn’t capable of handling powder snow, so the Army gave up on it. Chrysler decided to …