Considered by some as the ultimate Honda Z50, the “Christmas Special” was a limited edition – you can probably guess what time of year it was released. Honda gave two examples to each of their top dealers, though they typically called it the “Chrome Edition” seeing as nearly every part on the bike (even the frame!) was chromed. This example …
46 Years of Hondas
A seller is offering Hondas built between 1959 and 2005 – including standards, cruisers, and dirt bikes. My pick of the litter? The 1988 Honda NX250 in rare factory red.
In England – 1982 Honda CB750 Custom
Billy Mackenzie is a professional MX racer in England that has completed his first custom build, starting with a Honda CB750. He says he was inspired by the CB custom built by Hookie Co, and he calls this build X-Axis because of the horizontal and parallel lines of the design. What’s your verdict?
Preserved Survivor – 1984 Honda XL350R
In 1985, Cycle World called Honda’s XL350R the best dual-purpose bike of the year, noting that riding most dualies ‘is a lot like going shopping with your grandmother: It’s all right as long as no one see you…while the owner of an XL350R might not have the fastest, most expensive, or most prestigious bike on his block, there’s a good …
1978 Yamaha XS750
In 1973, Yamaha released the TX750 – an incredibly smooth parallel twin that journalists loved…until the fancy Omni-Phase balancer that kept the twin as smooth as a four started eating up crankshafts. Even though Yamaha fixed the issue pretty quickly, the reputation of unreliability had already stuck – the bike was out of the market after 1974. Still, Yamaha knew …
1985 Suzuki RG400 Walter Wolf
Introduced in 1983, the RG-Gamma series spanned displacements between 250 and 500cc – but the cream of the crop was the Suzuki RG400 Gamma Walter Wolf – a bike made for just two years and only sold in Suzuki’s home market of Japan. None of them were officially exported. A replica of the race bike, it was full of the …
Do You Believe? Pre-Production Suzuki RG500
Post Listing Update: This Suzuki was relisted and then pulled off of eBay because the bike is “no longer available.” The seller of this bike claims it is the only known no-mileage (though there’s 9 kilometers on the odometer) pre-production RG500 in the world, complete with a letter of authenticity from Suzuki that says this bike “is a pre-production motorcycle …
Showroom Condition – 1977 Honda XL175 With 481 Miles
Post-Sale Update: After 51 bids on eBay, this XL 175 sold for $3,500. Honda’s XL series of “enduro” or dual sport bikes began in the early ’70s and continues to this day. The early models steadily grew in displacement over the years and were all distinguished by their single-cylinder, four-stroke engines. These were not true off-road designs, but street riders …
New In Crate Moto3 Racer – 2016 Honda NSF250R
Post-Listing Update: After getting no action at $12,850, this was weirdly relisted at US $13,400…where it again got no interest. 2011 marked the end of two-stroke world championships – the next year, Moto3 moved to four-strokes, and Honda’s first factory effort was the NSF250R. Rules capped bore size at 81mm, revs at 14,000 rpm, and valves at four. Claimed power? …
1971 Suzuki T250 Hustler Cafe Racer
Built by Tired Cycles, this little cafe racer is based on Suzuki’s Hustler – a 247cc two-stroker from the 70s. The stock ’71 Hustler weighed 319 pounds dry and was motivated by 33 horsepower and 22 pound-feet of torque from the air-cooled twin engine. Obviously, this example is a bit different from stock, thanks to some parts I like: DG …
1976 Yamaha RD400
This is a first year example of the big RD – an excellent example of a hooligan bike. The 399cc engine was an evolution of the powerplant from the RD350, and it was good for 44 horsepower and a top speed of about 105 miles per hour. Thanks to a repaint and some storage, this is one of the cleaner …
Ex-Moto GP Racer – 2006 Honda/Kenny Roberts KR211V
I try to avoid featuring motorcycles for sale that don’t have an asking price, but some times, you just have to make an exception. This is one of those times. In 2006, Kenny Roberts Jr. rode this KR211V (a home-brew build from Kenny Roberts Racing powered by the engine from Honda’s incredible 250-horsepower RC211V) to two podium finishes. It is …
Stored in a Church Basement – 1982 Yamaha XJ650
Built from 1980 to 1983, the XJ650 Maxim was actually quite distinctive from a standing standpoint when it was introduced, though it’s easy to consider it typical of the time. In ’82, Cycle Magazine said “…after the wide proliferation of special styling, it’s easy to forget what a landmark bike the Maxim was…The 650 was striking, controversial, sensational, and wildly …
Back Door RC30 – Honda VFR750R in Canada
Perhaps the most iconic of Honda’s homologation specials (or maybe any manufacturer’s), the VFR750R, colloquially known as the RC30, was produced from 1988-1990, with worldwide production totaling 4782 units. Only 316 of these made it to the U.S. as 1990 models due to the EPA dragging their bureaucratic feet. In some European markets the bike was named the Bol D’or …
Honda’s Mini Sports – 1982 MB5
Mr. Honda was never a fan of the two-stroke concept. Nor was he blind to effective marketing, and by the late seventies the emerging market for lightweight sporty motorbikes couldn’t be ignored. In many countries laws limiting engine size for young riders meant a big market for 50cc machines.