It looks like a KLR…but take a second look at that motor. Are you as confused as I am?
2000 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport
Moto Guzzis are an acquired taste. If you’ve ever ridden one, you would immediately know what I mean. Their owners can be a quirky group, but you have to give them credit for their loyalty, and they tend to rack up the miles. The V11 was Guzzi’s attempt to grab a piece of the “sportbike” market in the late 1990’s.
El Diablo – 1981 Moto Guzzi CX100 Custom
Post Sale Update: El Diablo sold for $9,500 on BaT. 6-15-17 Update: A month later, reader Sam P pointed out to me that this bike is now up for bidding at Bring a Trailer. Bidding is up to $3,001 and you can find it here on BaT. Post Listing Update: This CX100 did not meet reserve as bidding stalled at …
In Italy – 2006 Moto Guzzi MGS-01 Corsa
Post Listing Update: 30 bids on eBay got up to $22,300, but that wasn’t enough to meet reserve. Moto Guzzi Sport, Number 1 – that’s what MGS-01 stood for. Doesn’t matter what you called it, it was an unexpected taste of what Guzzi would be capable of if they wanted to rub shoulders with Ducati or Aprilia in the exotic, …
1987 Cagiva Alazzurra SS 650
Post Listing Update: Despite being relisted several times, this Alazzurra could not get interest at the asking price of $4,500. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati to jump start their entry into the big bike market. Cagiva immediately took the Pantah and evolved it into the Alazzurra, and in 1986 they released a fully-faired version called the SS 650.
Gentleman’s Tourer – 1985 Moto Guzzi California II
Moto Guzzi is a proud Italian company that has been making motorcycles for close to 100 years. Prior to WWII, they were primarily small-displacement singles and twins, and they have a long history of success in racing, with 14 World GP Championships and 11 TT wins. At the end of the 1960’s, they produced their first transverse twin that powered …
Rare Racer – 1979 Bimota YB3
For most of Bimota’s history, their bread and butter has been taking proven existing power plants (in the YB3’s case the Yamaha TZ350) and dropping them into advanced frames and outfitting them with trick components and bodywork. The YB3 is a rare example of one of the Italian manufacturer’s late-seventies/early-eighties race machines. Different sources made different claims but anywhere from …
Moto Giro Mount – 1962 Wards Riverside (Benelli) Cobra
Back in the 60’s some of the major US department stores sold European small-displacement motorcycles in the American market. Montgomery Wards rebadged Benellis and sold them under the Wards-Riverside name. You could buy them in the store, or from their long-gone catalogs. Here’s an ad for the 4-stroke 250.
Custom Scrambler – 1999 Ducati Monster 750
This custom 1999 Monster 750 is by far one of the coolest looking Ducati’s you can get for under $3,500. Although this one-off bike has undergone a major transformation with its more modern Scrambler meets Mad Max style, you can still clearly identify this two-wheeler’s Monster roots.
Street Legal Road Racer – 2007 Aprilia SXV550
Aprilia’s SXV550 was an absolute monster that journalists fell in love with as soon as it was released. A supermoto with a powerful V-Twin, excellent components, and race-bred pedigree: the bike had already won the S2 World Supermoto Championship as a prototype before it was released to the world. Unfortunately, the early bikes had serious issues with the sealant used …
2016 Ducati X Italia Independent Scrambler
Over the years Ducati has teamed up with various hip companies to deliver interesting and stylish versions of Ducati’s two-wheeled offerings. The Diesel (the clothing company) Diavel and Monster are both pretty cool, but their collaboration with Italia Independent, a high-end and trendy sunglasses company, is my personal favorite: the limited edition 2016 Scrambler Italia Independent.
Nice Price – 2006 Aprilia Caponord
Aprilia’s response to the surge in popularity of adventure bikes was the Caponord, also known as the ETV1000. Compared to the competition, it’s happiest on pavement but it won’t stop you from exploring fire roads that you may encounter along the way. This example is on offer for less than three grand, which is a cheap way of entering the …
Unexpected Custom – Ducati ST4S
Thanks to extensive work by Fast by Ferracci, this Ducati ST4S puts out 140 horsepower at the rear wheel, 30 more than the stock bike. The FbF kit includes a new crank, billet titanium rods, pistons, lightweight flywheel, slipper clutch, and cylinders. The kit was apparently worth $10k, which explains why the seller says that the total work cost $15k.
Expensive and Shiny – 2017 Ducati Monster S4R “Infinita”
Last year, an appropriately-named Italian shop called Metalbike Garage decided to rebody a Ducati Monster. They apparently went a little overboard as they ended up making three rear subframes with different bodywork, as well. It’s shiny, and it’s very expensive – what do you think about it?
Movie Star – 2000 Ducati 996
A Ducati featured in a big-budget Hollywood movie focused on motorcycles has gone up for sale again. Unfortunately that movie was 2003’s ‘Bike Boyz’ (not a typo) and though I haven’t seen it a quick google-search revealed reviews to be less than stellar. The movie did have a $24M-budget and somehow they spent more than $215K for every one of …