In the 80s, Honda offered what they called a “heavy duty” minibike called the Motra. Unlike the Z50 or original Monkey, the Motra was designed to be loaded up with gear and ridden just about anywhere you could imagine. A commonly-shared-but-unverified tale says that “Motra” is a combination of Motorcycle-Truck because the Japanese pronunciation for truck is “Torakku”.
C&J Framed – 1979 Honda XR500
The first Honda XR model was the ’79 XR500, which was notable for a 23″ front wheel. Here’s an example that’s got a smaller front wheel…and a whole bunch of other modifications, like a C&J Racing frame.
No Reserve Project – 1967 Honda CB450P Police
I have a weakness for older ‘service’ bikes, like this previously featured Honda Dream Fire Bike and today’s featured Honda CB450P Police Special, which may have also been officially called the Honda CP450. According to the AMA, just 25 were imported to the US to pilot an entrance into the police motorcycle market.
1965 Honda C100 with Roadster Kit
While Honda found success with its small step-through models in most markets, the Japanese marque struggled to sell scooters in the same numbers in the US. Honda looked to change this with the introduction of what it called the “Custom Group”, consisting of four different add-on kits (the Roadster, Rally, Boss, and Student) designed to make little runners like the …
2016 Honda CB500F
Back in 2015 I mentioned a wonderful blog called Rolling Physics Problem by Greg Shamieh (a frequent commenter here at Bike-urious). He’s selling his CB500F – what he calls “the great grandson of the famous CB450 ‘Black Bomber’ – only with the benefit of more than 50 years of technical evolution.”
2017 Yamaha SCR950 Super Hooligan
Built by Jeff Palhegyi in 40 hours, this Yamaha SCR950 has been converted to a street tracker after (according to the seller) it was built as a Super Hooligan bike for Ryan Villopoto.
White Brothers 601cc Kit – 1989 Honda GB500
Honda’s GB500 was an homage to classic British singles but there was a twist – it was reliable! The average American rider shopping for a Japanese bike at the time was more interested in the bigger supersport replicas, but the Tourist Trophy has become a cult classic. Here’s another twist: a California-based company called the White Brothers made a 601cc …
Pro Circuit Build – 2022 Kawasaki KX250
Pro Circuit is one of the legendary motocross and supercross teams of all time, and they occasionally have bikes for sale up on their site. Here’s a wildly modified KX250 that they’re ready to let go of.
1984 Yamaha RZ500
Over on Iconic we’ve got one of the cheapest RZ500s that I’ve seen in a long time – it’s already met reserve so it’ll find a new home!
First Generation – 1987 Yamaha TZR250 2MA
Loosely based on Yamaha’s TZ250 racer, the TZR was a 2 stroke sportbike built between ’86 and ’99 – in 1986 it was the first production 250cc motorcycle to lap Isle of Man’s TT course at over 100 miles per hour.
Teaching Project – 1990 Honda CB125T
For just one year, Honda made 2,000 examples of a 125cc twin specifically designed for US rider’s education schools. The bike itself isn’t really anything special, but there are some fascinating lights on the front and rear that should be explained.
Flying Dragon Tribute – 1972 Honda CL350
In ’72 and ’73, you could order an incredible set of alternate bodywork for CL350 or CL450 models – an idea that came from Honda’s paint department because they figured us crazy Americans were obsessed with tie dye, and some would want a similar scheme on their motorcycles. The Flying Dragon was born, but it didn’t sell well. That just …
Moto-X Fox Replica – 1976 Suzuki RM370A
Per the seller, this gorgeous bike is “built to replicate what the Moto-X Fox team used on their team bikes, using the aftermarket parts sold out of the Moto-X Fox catalog.”
Signed By Schwantz – 2018 Suzuki GSX-R1000R
At the 2022 Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio, the AMA Heritage Foundation showed off a ’18 GSX-R1000 created by Suzuki and painted in a tribute to his iconic ’80s Pepsi Racing livery. Schwantz himself was the Grand Marshall of the event – he did a parade lap on it and signed the top of the tank. A year later, the …
In Crate – 2002 Kawasaki KX250
The Kawasaki KX250 still exists today (and the KX lineup celebrates its 50th anniversary this year), though the current model name is the KX250F because it’s now a four-stroke. But from 1974-2007, the KX250 was a successful two-stroke MX bike that won several AMA Championships over time – especially with Jeff Emig and Ricky Carmichael in recent years.