After Pat French passed away in 2007, his business partner Gerry Lisi continued the tradition of Rickman Metisse builds under the name “Metisse Motorcycles Limited“. In 2012, the company announced a “Mark 5” lineup, an attempt to cosmetically evolve the classic Rickman design. But the firm is better known for a run of 300 replicas of Steve McQueen’s Desert Racer …
1974 Rickman Honda CR750
Post Listing Update: This Rickman Honda did not get any interest at the opening ask of $11,995. Apparently it’s Rickman week on Bike-urious. After the CR900 and Chantland-powered Metisse from a few days ago, here’s a CR750 (named for the Honda CB750 motor). The Rickman concept is well-summarized by the brothers themselves: “The Japanese produced very good engines, but they …
1963 Norton Electra
In the late 50’s and early 60’s, Norton produced a couple of smaller displacement bikes in the hopes of appealing to starting riders. They had the 250cc Jubilee and the 350cc Navigator, both of which were 4 stroke vertical twins. In 1963, at the request of the US importer Joe Berliner, they bumped the size of the Jubilee up to …
Chantland 750 Kit – 1970 Rickman Metisse MkIII
Post Sale Update: This Rickman Triumph sold for the BIN of $10,000 on eBay. From the seller of yesterday’s Rickman Kawasaki CR900, here’s another special Rickman that’s been stuffed with a bored-out motor. This time around it’s a Metisse with a Triumph 650 motor that’s packing a Chantland 750 kit.
Build By A British MX Champ – X-Axis’ Custom 1984 Honda CBX750
Billy MacKenzie first made a name for himself in the motorcycling world competing in various MX events before eventually going on to claim back-to-back MX1 British Championship titles in 2007 and 2008. The Edinburgh-born rider also represented the UK in the Motocross of Nations before MacKenzie announced he’d be hanging up his race leathers to focus on building custom motorcycles.
Restored – 1939 Triumph 3H
Post Listing Update: This Triumph got no interest at the opening ask of $25,000. Triumph introduced the 5T Speed Twin in 1938, and it immediately set the standard for other English manufacturers when it came to parallel twins. It was one of Edward Turner’s most notable designs, and it had a long production life – it sold until 1966 with …
1995 Triumph Daytona Super III
11-2-18 Update: This Super III is back up for sale with a lowered BIN to $5,250 here on eBay. Post Listing Update: This Daytona did not get any interest at the BIN of $6,250. This is one of the pricier Super IIIs I’ve seen, though that may because it’s in great shape, it’s got low mileage, and it comes with …
2003 Triumph Daytona 955i
Post Listing Update: This Daytona did not get any interest at the opening ask of $2,995. According to Bennetts, the Triumph Daytona 955i was a ballsy attempt to go toe to toe with Hondas Fireblade. Ultimately, the Fireblade was the better bike, and the Daytona 955i was never going to match Yamaha R1 performance on its platform of the time. …
New In Crate – 1975 Triumph Trident T160
View PostNo Reserve – 1966 Velocette Thruxton
Post Listing Update: This Thruxton was pulled off of eBay due to “an error in the listing”. In 1961, the Velocette Venom set a 24 hour speed record – that records still stands for a 500cc bike. 3 years later, the Venom won its class at Thruxton’s 500 mile endurance race. The next year, the Venom gained the Thruxton name …
1967 Norton P11
Post Listing Update: This P11 did not get any interest at the BIN of $12,000. The American off-road motorcycling market has a very interesting history since the sector was pretty competitive. Indeed, every maker, especially the British, tried to find the best mix of chassis, weight, and power to win trophies. To that extent, Norton P11 story is pretty odd.
No Reserve – 1995 Triumph Daytona Super III
Post Listing Update: This Super III was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Considering that just 179 of the 805 Triumph Super IIIs ever built made it to the US, I see a surprising amount of them for sale. What’s also surprising for a bike this rare is how cheap they can be snapped up for. In fact, …
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 …
1973 Triumph Trident
Post Listing Update: Though the BIN was $6,500, this Trident stalled and did not meet reserve with 23 bids up to $6,200 on eBay. The Triumph Trident was the obvious solution to the engineering limitations of twin cylinder engines that had previously reigned supreme. Isle of Man TT racing bikes derived from the Trident took the production class wins from …
1951 Vincent Comet Series C
Post Listing Update: This Comet did not meet reserve despite 7 bids up to $16,700. While both V-twin models of the Rapide and the Black Shadow were the real stars at Vincent, the company lasted as long as they did because of the singles. The Meteor and the Comet, both singles with a 500cc engine, were a real revolution in …