Post Listing Update: This CL360 did not get any interest at the opening bid of $2,450. It was relisted for $1,995 with the same result. In the crazy 70s, a huge battle was going on for the mid-size engine segment. The majority of Japanese makers even had two models to create an “inner” competition. For example, Kawasaki had the KZ400 …
1988 Suzuki GSX-R250
The GSX-R has a long history in the sport bike world, raising the bar time and time again. Their legacy is so great, I even bought an SRAD GSX-R750 myself. The GSX-R250 is one of the lesser known displacements. I myself have only seen this one, and didn’t know these four cylinder screamers even existed. Suzuki launched a new GSX250R …
Museum Condition – 1998 Honda VFR800
Post Listing Update: This VFR did not get any interest at the opening ask of $4,800. The improvements made to the redesigned 1998 Honda VFR800 resulted in a capable successor to the outgoing VFR750, worthy of bearing the Honda name and sharing the VFR moniker. It just took several years to be appreciated, being that Honda riders were upset that …
2 Stroke Titan – 1975 Suzuki T500 Cafe Racer
Post Sale Update: This T500 sold for $12,100 after 36 bids on Bring a Trailer. 11-1-18 Update: Over a year later, this custom Titan is back up for sale! Now it’s up on Bring a Trailer where bidding is currently at $3,995. Where will it end…? Post Listing Update: The $2k discount was not enough to find a buyer, as …
#198 of 200 – 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 Spirit of America
Post Sale Update: This “Spirit of America” sold for $8,200 after 23 bids on eBay. In 1978, Kawasaki was the only Japanese manufacturer with a facility in the US. Kawi’s president (Dave Mehney) and Marketing Vice President (Dick Terrell) decided to highlight that with an “All-American Ride-away” – a program where Kawi customized 200 of their KZ1000s with an American …
Restored First Year Mini MXer – 1973 Honda XR75
Predating the legendary Honda Elsinore’s US debut by only a matter of weeks, the XR75 represented a foray into a new sector for Big Red as the little XR was the brand’s first serious go at a high-performance dirt-goer. Honda did already offer the Z50 and CT70, though neither were really engineered for rugged off-road riding. Two years before the …
Restomod – 1983 Suzuki Katana GS1100
Post Sale Update: This Katana sold for $7,600 after 21 bids on eBay. The Suzuki Katana is a very distinctive bike designed by Hans Muth (the fairing might remind you of a similar Muth creation – the BMW R65LS). In the late 70s and early 80s, Japanese manufacturers were selling standard bikes as fast as they could make them. And …
26 Miles – 1966 Suzuki Bearcat B105P
Post Listing Update: This Bearcat did not get any interest at the opening bid of $3,000. Suzuki’s Bearcat was a small dual sport that was marketed as a “thrifty swifty” – go anywhere and carry anything for cheap. At 25 miles per hour with the touring sprocket, the Bearcat returned 153 miles per gallon. This example has just 26 miles …
“Triple Trouble” – 1980 Yamaha XS850 Restomod
Built by Brick House Builds (a one man shop run by BJ English), this custom XS850 was built to be a ‘cafe racer with some muscle to it’.
1977 Honda CB550F Super Sport
Post Sale Update: This CB550F sold for $6,400 after 16 bids on eBay. We usually think about bikes like the CB750 or the Z1 when we talk about the 70s. Although they are the symbols of this era, middle-size machines were usually the best sellers and they were some of the most interesting bikes to own thanks to their good …
Restored With No Reserve – 1981 Suzuki RM465
Post Sale Update: This RM465 sold for $4,550 after 33 bids on eBay. The RM465 was Suzuki’s first open class MX bike with a single shock – it was the debut of a system that was marketed as the “Full Floater”. A Suzuki ad described it the 465 as “built from the ground up to lead the open class. Winning …
1972 Honda CB750
Post Sale Update: This CB750 sold for a best offer of $6,000 on eBay. If I had to put a starting year on modern motorcycling, it would most likely be 1969. If I had to put an end year to European (and particularly) British supremacy on the motorcycle market, it would probably be 1969. Finally, if I had to designate …
3 Miles – 1981 Honda CBX
Post Sale Update: This CBX sold for $15,100 after 3 bids on eBay. This week’s other CBX feature got a discussion going in the comments about how much a CBX is worth. While that bike was an early example in fair condition, today we’ve got a later model that’s said to be of “collector quality” with just 3 miles on …
Ending Soon – 1974 Suzuki Exacta
Post Listing Update: This Exacta did not meet reserve despite 27 bids up to $2,800. Suzuki introduced the Exacta (aka the RL250) in 1974, and nowadays it’s considered a solid vintage trials bike (though there were some issues with frames breaking above the swingarm pivot). They were only imported in the US for 1974-1975, and the main difference was an …
Upgraded Wee-Strom – 2009 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Affectionately known as the Wee-Strom as it is the smaller of two V-Strom models, this model was introduced by Suzuki in 2004. The bigger brother V-Strom 1000 had already been out for a couple of years, but Suzuki created a new bike by pulling out and slightly tweaking the V-Twin from the SV650, then surrounding it in the street-oriented adventure …