Post Sale Update: This R1 sold for $18,303 (including the 7% buyer’s fee) on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. The Yamaha R1 LE was Yamaha’s celebration of its 50th anniversary. Taking their incredibly popular 1000cc sportbike as a platform, Yamaha produced a very limited run of only 500 bikes that were full of incredible extras and turning them into near-production racers. Over …
Custom Streetfighter – 1986 Suzuki GS1150EF
In the early 80s, Suzuki knocked off the CBX as the superbike du jour. The Suzuki GS1100E came into the market and instantly became the bike of choice for the power hungry. American press mags constantly raved about not just the power, but also the surprising handling abilities for such a large bike. Here’s an interesting example which was turned …
28 Miles – 1979 Yamaha RD400F Daytona Special
The last in the long line of Yamaha’s RD series, the RD400F (also known as the Daytona Special) is considered by many to be the best of the model line.
Custom Paint – 2010 Honda VFR1200 DCT
Honda didn’t sell nearly as many VFR1200s as they were hoping for, but here’s one that stands out thanks to a paint job inspired by the legendary VF1000R of the 80s.
77 Miles – 1990 Honda NSR250SP Cabin Racing
In the world of MC21 NSR250SP specials, the ’92 seems to get most of the love because of the Rothmans livery. But the ’91 (Pentax livery) and ’90 (Cabin Tobacco livery) are just as enjoyable, and the Cabin colors work for me – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one. Like the other SP models, just 2,500 were …
CA Plated – 1997 Honda CB50V Dream
Honda has always been one of the world’s best at sub-100cc bikes, from commuter bikes for the people to full on works racers. Over the years, however, the company slowly moved towards bigger bikes in an effort to capture more of an American market that has always been obsessed with power. For a couple of years in the Japanese market …
No Reserve – 1976 Honda GOGO 7 (Kick ‘N Go Senior)
Post Sale Update: This GOGO sold for $425 (including buyer’s fee) on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. Back in 2019, Honda invited me to their campus/museum in Torrance, California (which is being moved to Georgia right now) for the launch of the Honda Super Cub. While walking around the museum, I couldn’t help but notice a three-wheeled scooter that was on display. …
CA Plated – 2002 Honda CRF450R Supermoto
A rare case of a California-plated supermoto conversion, this CRF450R features a motor built by Ron Wood for Tokyo Mods and some serious upgrades to just about everything around the frame.
400RR Tribute – 1989 Honda CB-1 Custom
I’ve featured Bexton Craft Motorcycles before here on Bike-urious – once for a wild FZR1000 with a Suzuki GT750 motor in it and once for an awesome custom GT750 cafe racer. This time, he went with a Honda four-stroke for an interesting tribute build.
New In Crate – 2007 Yamaha YZ250
Yamaha completely redesigned the YZ250 for 2005, so for 2007 they just made some minor chassis updates (including revised Kayaba 48mm forks). That may not matter in this case, as this bike has spent the last 16 years in the original delivery crate, and one assumes that it will stay that way for the next collector owner.
Still In Crate – 1988 Yamaha Route 66
2-19-23 Update: 14 months later, this Yamaha is back up for sale on eBay (though it’s crossed the country and is now in California) with an opening bid of $4,100. As dnaj points out in the comments, this doesn’t look like a factory crate that Yamaha would have used, but it’s still an interesting find and I’m curious to see …
425 Miles – 1988 Honda RC30 Bol d’Or
Over at Iconic we’ve sold plenty (over 40) RC30s, but I wanted to point out this specific example as it’s one of the “Bol d’Or” branded RC30s that was created specifically for the French market. Now it’s in Los Angeles, it has just 425 miles, and it’s been freshly serviced so that it’s ready to ride if the next owner …
581 Miles – 1995 Honda NSR50
Post Sale Update: This Honda NSR50 sold for $6,688 (including the 7% buyer’s fee) after 42 bids on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. Yesterday I shared a video about how we got 30 bikes in a container from Japan – including some lovely small-displacement machines. Well, here’s the first one we put up for auction: a NSR50.
Street Tracker – 1980 Yamaha SR500
Thanks to a combination of light weight and a torquey, simple motor, Yamaha SR500s are popular fodder for custom builders. The 499cc single is a call back to the legendary thumpers from BSA, Matchless, Velocette, Norton, and Triumph, and the bike’s svelte curb weight makes for big fun factor despite its humble top speed. (We’ve actually featured quite a few …
2000 Honda Superhawk Track Bike
Honda first introduced the VTR1000F (known as the Superhawk in the US, and as the Firestorm around the rest of the world) in 1997 in an effort to challenge Ducati’s sportbike dominance. The model was intended to combine the soulful performance of a big V-twin with the trusted reliability of Japanese manufacturing.