You too can can be like Prince! Here is your starting point…. This 1982 Kawasaki Spectre 1100 comes with a complete set of Vetter bags, tail trunk AND the Windjammer fairing. It’s even got some purple trim! For the complete look you’re going to have to add a sissy bar, but that’s easy – no welding required.
In England – 1978 Yamaha SR500 Custom
The English Electric Lightning was a Cold War era jet fighter known for having an incredible rate of climb – pilots said flying it was like “being saddled to a skyrocket.” That plane was the inspiration for this Yamaha custom built by Old Empire Motorcycles – a SR500 dubbed “Lightning.”
Old and New – 1975 Honda “CB450R”
Post Listing Update: This CB450R did not get any action at the opening bid of $3,550. Built by Kurt Blankemeyer of Design Cycle, this “CB450R” combines a heavily modified frame from a ’75 CB400F and mates it to a Honda CRF450R motorcross engine. It is glorious, and it’s on offer with no reserve.
High Mileage – 1980 Yamaha XS1100 LG
Yamaha released the XS11 in 1978 as the most powerful production motorcycle on the planet. Astoundingly it was Yamaha’s first 4 stroke 4 cylinder motor ever. In 1979 Yamaha issued the XS 11 in two trim levels: ‘Standard’ and ‘Special’. This was to continue throughout the entire production run. The Special had higher bars, a stepped seat, smaller diameter rear …
Bicentennial – 1976 Honda GL1000 LTD
In 1975, when Honda introduced the Goldwing it was aimed completely at the American market. Soichiro turned loose his engineers and the ‘Wing came out with quite a few ‘firsts’. Start with the liquid cooled flat 4 motor, and belt driven camshafts. The alternator was gear driven from the crankshaft and rotated counter to the crank to reduce ‘shaft whip’. …
1982 Kawasaki 650 CSR Cafe Racer
Post Listing Update: 29 bids got the action up to $6,000 but that wasn’t enough to meet reserve. In 1981, Kawasaki introduced a new generation of cruiser called the CSR. The next year yielded updates to the clutch, carb, chain cover, and fork internals – and very little of that matters with this example because it’s been customized into an …
Ending Soon – 1983 Honda CB1100F
An evolution on the CB900F, Honda’s CB1100F was a fast standard that was sold for just one year – but for that year it was king of the hill. Cycle World called it the fastest stock bike they had ever tested in a review in January 1983.
1965 Honda Dream 305
I actually owned one of these (a ‘63) back in the day. Marketed as a ‘Tourer’ it was sorta slow and clunky but it had electric start and started every time. The ‘Dream’ was model CA77 and was nowhere near as sexy as stablemates CB77 (Supersport) and the CL77 (Scrambler).
Open Your Wallet – 1996 Honda RC45 RVF750
The RC45 is a rare homologation bike in the US – thought it was produced internationally between 1994 and 1999, the US only got the ’94 model. 200 examples were built in 1994 for homologation purposes, and then 500 more were sold in Japan over the next few years. From what I’ve gathered, only about 20 are still in the …
2001 Kawasaki W650
Want a classic Bonneville that doesn’t leak? Check out this Kawasaki W650.
1965 Yamaha YDS3
In the early 60’s Yamaha was widely considered to have the best mannered 2 stroke motors, but in 1964 they broke new ground with the YDS. A parallel twin two stroke with the first direct injection oil pump – and it worked!
1975 Suzuki GT380
Introduced in 1972, the GT380 was one of several legendary two stroke Suzuki triples. As opposed to the Kawasaki triples of the day, the Suzuki models were well mannered and very road worthy. The GT380 (and the GT550) were air cooled with a “Ram Air” head that allowed increased cooling air flow. One other strange fact of the Suzuki GTs. …
1984 Honda VF1000F Interceptor
In 1984 Honda released two versions of the VF1000 Interceptor. Both models were very similar and based on the current Honda race bikes. The VF1000F was the more modest of the two builds, and the VF1000R was considered the fastest production motorcycle on earth. The VF1000F was only produced for one year. The VF1000F boasted a 113 HP, 998 cc …
Gravel Express – 1980 Honda GL1000 Goldwing
I didn’t really care for this bike when I saw it on BikeEXIF two months ago, but I do have a fascination with seeing what the asking prices are for custom builds that get some attention. This Goldwing was built by Roy Holtman – the man behind RH Motorcycles. It’s been given up a ground-up rebuild and turned into some …
1978 Yamaha SR500
Here’s a nice example of Yamaha’s classic SR500. It spent years in a collection and the seller bought it hopes that he could replicate a SR500 from his youth. After he cleaned it up, he decided it was too nice to modify, so now it’s your chance to pick up a well-preserved, original bike.