Author: August. If there is one bike I have a lot of experience with it is the RC51. I bought my first one late in 2004, it was a 2003 model that was very clean and had some nice mods, I had never ridden one, but I knew it was special and I knew I wanted it. At $9,000 it …
Cafe Custom – 1978 Yamaha SR500
Featuring an aluminum gas tank and seat cowl built by Evan Wilcox, this Yamaha SR500 looks the part and has a few more modifications to back up the style.
130K Miles – 1989 Yamaha FZR400
At a time when Japanese manufacturers were getting increasingly aggressive and race-oriented with their 400s to compete in their domestic Formula 3 championship, Yamaha introduced the FZR400 in 1986 as a bike to be enjoyed “on twisty public roads where the customers would actually be riding and enjoying them.” The US got it in 1988, and many riders preferred it …
In Canada – 2009 Yamaha MT-01
Blackfoot Motorsports in Calgary, Alberta is selling off their collection of motorcycles (including the DR800 we recently shared), and one of the more interesting finds is a Yamaha MT-01 – the original “Master of Torque.” The MT-01 was never officially sold in the US. But other lucky markets were able to buy it between 2005 and 2012, and it was …
2008 Suzuki Hayabusa Drag Bike
Turning the fastest production bike of the period into a drag racer may seem like a bad idea for some but others would highly encourage such ideas!
1984 Yamaha RZ350
The last street-legal two-stroke sportbike officially imported into the US, the RZ350 is very much a sought-after collectors bike in the US. Only sold in the states from 84-85, these bikes were incredibly fast for 350cc, and absolutely look the part.
No Reserve – 1992 Suzuki RGV250 VJ22
When Suzuki introduced the RGV250, it was a revelation. MCN put it thusly: “back in the day 250cc race replicas were the sharpest handling, most frenzied, maddest things you could buy on two wheels. Nowadays the RGV250 is a modern classic and is probably a bit slower and softer than you’d remember. It still looks good, sounds amazing and the …
1978 Honda CB750 F2 Phil Read Replica
Post Sale Update: This Phil Read Replica sold off eBay for an unknown amount…to Bike-urious reader John B! Honda Britain commissioned 400 examples of a Phil Read Replica from Colin Seeley to celebrate Phil’s victory at the ’77 Isle of Man TT, but only 150 were built before Colin and Honda had a disagreement.
1985 Suzuki GS700ES
In 1985, Suzuki offered a slightly downsized 700 version of their popular GS750 to get around newly-implemented tariffs for motorcycles of 750cc and above. But by that point the GS750/700 was basically at the end of its run – the next year Americans would get to enjoy the game-changing GSX-R750 anyway.
In Canada – 1990 Suzuki DR800
Here’s a rare example of the DR BIG (introduced in 1988 as the DR750), a production version of the DR-Z (a Paris-Dakar racer piloted by Gaston Rahier). The DR750 featured the world’s largest single cylinder engine in a production bike – only to get topped by the DR800 in 1990. Neither version was offered in the US.
One Year Only – 1992 Yamaha WR200
Yamaha’s competitor to the very successful KDX200, the WR200 (WR stood for “Wide Ratio”) was only offered in the US for one year, though it was sold in other markets for longer.
1979 Honda CR250 Moto-X Fox
Founded by Geoff Fox in 1974, the company we currently know as Fox Racing was started under the name of Moto-X Fox as a mail order business. They quickly expanded to offer hard parts, protective gear, casual apparel, and even products for ATVs, cars, and bicycles. In ’77, they started their own race team in AMA, and it led to …
525 Miles – 2001 Honda CBR929RR Erion Racing
Erion Racing has had a long line of success flying around racetracks in AMA competition as Honda’s premier support team. Back when Honda released the 929 version of the Fireblade, Honda honored Erion’s work with the Honda CRB929RR Erion Racing Edition. Mechanically, it was the same as the stock bike, though the cosmetics were exclusive and a Erion Racing pipe …
“24K Gold Edition” – 1980 Kawasaki KZ1300
In a period review, Cycle World called Kawasaki’s KZ1300 “an incredible hulk”, saying “There are motorcycles with more speed, but not with the same combination of power, strength, comfort and handling…the sophistication is incredible, the size is enormous.” Displacement-wise, it was the biggest of the classic six-cylinder motors like the Benelli Sei and the Honda CBX. Like the competition, the …
No Reserve – 2007 Honda VFR800 25th Anniversary With 963 Miles
Post Sale Update: This VFR sold for $7,276 after 42 bids on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. In 2007, Honda celebrated the 25th Anniversary of their venerable sport tourer with a special red/white/blue paint job. I always maintained this paint scheme looked amazing, though the stock black wheels were a mistake…they should have been white! But this one’s got gold powdercoated wheels …