Post Sale Update: This CNW Commando sold for $18,999 after 7 bids on eBay. In the world of Norton Commandos, there’s very few modern legends that owners will trust to hop-up their bikes. Kenny Dreer and his VR880 is high up there, as is the firm of Colorado Norton Works, one of the best restorers out there. Here’s your chance …
1958 Royal Enfield Indian Tomahawk
The Royal Enfield Indian Tomahawk was a result of the odd marriage between (surprise) Royal Enfield and Indian. The Indian marque was owned by an English firm called Brockhouse Engineering, and during this time, they imported Royal Enfield bikes under the Indian name.
1964 Norton Atlas Cafe Racer
Named after the ICBM, the Norton Atlas was released in 1962, earning a so-so reputation before being replaced by the classic Commando. Built to appeal to American aesthetic preferences, it was initially only produced for export. Here’s an example that’s been turned into a cafe racer.
1957 Ariel Square Four
The Ariel Square Four design goes all the way back to 1931, soon after Edward Turner designed an interesting new four-cylinder motorcycle engine formed from two OHC parallel twins. The design became known as the square four engine, and lent its name to this Ariel motorcycle.
1960 Norton Manx 40M
Post Listing Update: This Manx did not meet reserve despite 25 bids up to $29,100.29. Built for a whopping 15 years in long stroke and short stroke variants, the Norton Manx has a long, complicated history – which means that I defer you to The Vintagent to learn more. In recent times there has been a resurgence in its popularity …
1967 Triumph Rickman Metisse
After Thursday’s street-based Rickman Velocette, reader Steve F. shares what most people associate with the company- a Rickman Metisse. These popular bikes utilized a Rickman frame with (in this case), a Triumph engine. Just like a dog with no discernible breed, this bike was a mongrel of sorts – so they used the french translation (Metisse) to name it.
1951 Sunbeam S8
After WWII, as part of reparations, BMW gave up its designs of the BMW R75. Bikes like Chang Jiang and Ural used these designs, but England’s take was the Sunbeam S7. You can see the BMW influence when you look at a side profile, but Sunbeam wanted to differentiate themselves by utilizing a inline vertical twin instead of the German …
1969 Rickman Velocette
Post-Sale Update – After 31 bids on eBay, this Rickman Velocette sold for $25,000. Do two names in the motorcycle industry sound better together than Rickman Velocette? Probably, but at the moment I can’t think of any. Take one Rickman street frame and one 500cc Velocette Venom engine and you’ve got an absolute beauty of a bike that I want …
Nearly Finished – 1958 Ariel Square Four 1000
Post-Sale Update: This Square Four sold for $10,605 on eBay. The Ariel Square Four 1000 design goes all the way back to 1931, soon after Edward Turner designed an interesting new four-cylinder motorcycle engine formed from two OHC parallel twins. The design became known as the square four engine, and lent its name to this Ariel motorcycle.
1961 Velocette Venom
7-21 Update: This Velocette Venom is back up for sale with bidding up to $8,650 and the reserve not yet met here on eBay. The first production motorcycle to hit an average speed of over 100 miles per hour over 24 hours, the Velocette Venom was the ‘big-brother’ to the Viper and was an evolution from the MSS. Powered by …
$100k Project? 1955 Vincent Black Prince
Unlike the Honda CB750 Sandcast Prototype I featured a while back, this Vincent Black Prince project did not make it to $100k. Instead, it did not meet reserve at $40,100 after 36 bids on eBay. How much can a project be worth? We’re about to find out with this Vincent Black Prince project which has a BIN price of over …
1962 Norton Manx
Post Listing Update: This Manx did not meet reserve despite 57 bids up to $30,100. The Norton Manx was a racing bike built for a whopping 15 years built in long stroke and short stroke variants. The Manx has a long, complicated history, but in recent times there has been a resurgence in its popularity for classic motorcycle racing, leading …
1955 AJS Model 18CS
The AJS Model 18CS was an evolution of the Model 18 – a bike that can trace its roots back to the G3L, an ex-military bike that was sold off in surplus once the war had ended. The C stood for Competition (as a scrambler bike), and the S stood for the fact that it had a suspension as opposed …
1952 Norton Manx 40M
Post Listing Update: This Manx was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Today’s trifecta of wonderful Nortons ends with one of the most iconic racing bikes ever built – the Norton Manx 40M. Built for a whopping 15 years built in long stroke and short stroke variants. The Manx has a long, complicated history – which means that …
1961 Triton
If you don’t know what gives the Triton name, here’s a little history lesson. The term Triton came about as many private builders (and even some dealerships in London) started to take the best features of Triumphs and Nortons – the engine from the former and the frame from the latter – to make a bike that had the best …