Post Sale Update: This DR-Z sold for $3,000 after 20 bids on eBay. Everyone loves a dual sport, and the Suzuki DR-Z400 has been a dual sport staple since 2000. It hasn’t changed much, but that just means you’ll get plenty for your dollar. The suspension might be more adjustable nowadays, but even in 2018 it still came with carburetors. …
Needs Some Work – 1972 Kawasaki H2 750
Post Sale Update: This H2 sold for $11,703 after 16 bids on eBay. Widowmaker is a term given to vehicles with a tendency to face the wrong direction. Or, more elegantly put, vehicles in the “more power than chassis” club. In the right hands, widowmakers end up on the top step of the podium. Otherwise, they end up in the …
1975 Yamaha MX400B
Post Listing Update: This MX400B was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. 1975 was a crazy time. People were trying new things, and luckily for us, engineers were thinking outside the box as well. Long travel rear suspension made its way into motocross and changed the game. The monoshock-equipped Yamaha MX400 was Yamahas entry, part of their cheaper …
1979 C&J Framed “Horsepower Factory” Honda XR500
There are an elite few in the motorcycle world whose influence will be felt for generations to come. In the same way the vast majority of modern sportbikes were influenced by the designs of Massimo Tamburini, most of today’s racing frames bare some noticeable resemblance to Jeff Cole’s C&J frames.
Collection of 15 Bikes
Someone in San Diego has a collection of 15 bikes he’s selling “in an effort to purchase some prewar motorcycles [he] have my eye on.” As the above photo implies, most are special Hondas, though there’s a Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, and a couple of BMWs and Ducatis sprinkled in for good measure.
1995 Yamaha FZR1000
1995 was the final year of FZR1000 production before it was replaced by the parts-bin special Thunderace. The new model didn’t help that Honda was eating everyone’s lunch in the 1,000cc sportbike market with their 900RR Fireblade – it would take Yamaha until 1998 to reclaim the crown with the R1. Still, no one’s buying a mid’90s sportbike nowadays to …
1990 Honda RC30
Post Listing Update: This RC30 did not meet reserve despite 55 bids up to $27,100. A popular vote in the ongoing “prettiest bikes of all time” poll, the RC30 was built as a homologation special so that Honda could take on the World Superbike Championship. Between 1987 and 1990, 4,782 examples were produced, 316 of which were originally sold in …
Yamaha’s Yard Built Program — Deus Milan’s “D-Side” XV950 Sidecar
Built by Deus Ex Machina’s Milan shop, this bike was commissioned as the third project — and first sidecar build — in Yamaha’s increasingly prestigious Yard Built program. Based on the Tuning Fork Company’s XV950, this project, entitled “D-Side”, began when Fillipo Bassoli, CEO of Deus Ex Machina Italy, was traveling for work in Spain and stumbled across what he …
Hagerty Feature – 1978 Kawasaki Z1-R
Post Listing Update: This Z1-R did not get any interest at the asking price of $19,800. In a 1978 review of the Z1-R, Cycle Guide described it as such: “The bike has enough raw horsepower to be truly impressive on the straights, but the first rule of handling for a 90hp motorcycle is to give it a 90hp chassis, and …
1968 Honda CL125A
Post Sale Update: This CL125A sold for $1,875 after 50 bids on eBay. Introduced in 1967, the CL125A Scrambler featured the smallest overhead cam four-stroke twin that Honda ever built.
The French Bimota – 1980s Moto Martin M16 1135 EFE Suzuki
In a nutshell, Moto Martin was something akin to a French Bimota; the boutique firm dropped the latest engines of the day — in Martin’s case primarily from Japanese manufacturers — into bespoke frames, adorned them in unique bodywork, and then tacked on the latest and greatest track-focused running gear. The company is the brainchild of George Martin, who, prior …
California Titled – 1985 Honda NS400R
Post Listing Update: There were 28 bids up to $9,100, but then the seller got an offer he liked and pulled the bike off of eBay. Final sale price unknown. In 1983, Freddie Spencer became the world’s youngest 500cc World Champion, and he did it on a Honda V3. Honda responded by releasing a 250cc production bike to commemorate the …
Bought on Bike-urious – 1987 Yamaha SDR200
I recently got an email from Jim A in Pennsylvania, who let me know that he just acquired a Yamaha SDR200 that was featured here on Bike-urious.
Ending Soon – 2009 Kawasaki KLR650 M1030M1
Post Sale Update: This diesel KLR sold for $7,113 after 20 bids on eBay. KLR fans, take a close look at that motor. If it looks different than what you’re used to, it’s because this is a diesel-powered Kawasaki built by Hayes Diversified Technologies for the US Marine Corps. Hayes actually built 3 military Kawis – a gas-powered bike based …
Giveaway For A Vet – 2013 Honda NC700X
A generous donor is offering up his Honda NC700X (notable for its DCT transmission which removes the need for a clutch lever and shift pedal) – but only to “honorably discharged US Veterans that have lost their left leg or left foot, who still have the desire to ride motorcycles – either as a new rider or as a returning …