This year marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War. Here’s one of the machines that contributed to the Allies’ success: a Harley-Davidson WLA. It’s a pretty famous machine, enough that non-motorcyclists tend to know about it and claim that their granddad or great-uncle or whoever used to have one, and foolishly sold it without understanding the …
In Canada – 1986 Yamaha FZX750S
Here’s a beauty that was never sold in the United States. Indeed, you’ll need to travel north of the border to get your hands on it. The bike may look familiar, however. In the United States, a smaller-capacity, lower-power version was sold as the FZX700 Fazer. That bike’s 698cc engine promised 65 horsepower. And one assumes it wasn’t terribly popular; …
170 Miles – 1995 MZ Saxon Country 500
In 1990 (soon after the fall of the Berlin wall), MZ was privatized. The new owners realized that they needed a four-stroke motor if they were going to sell bikes in Europe and the US, so they called up Rotax and got themselves a 494cc single. Then, they designed a family of bikes around it, like the Silver Star retro …
“Fabbri Special” in Holland – 1960 Rumi 4-Cylinder Special
Moto Rumi decided to build small motorbikes in Italy after World War II to provide transportation for the masses, and they built all their models (from scooters to race bikes) around the same 125cc two-stroke twin engine. The man in charge of two-wheel design (Donnino Rumi) was a sculptor, and you could see that in several of his designs – …
1998 Honda Valkyrie
Controversial statement time: in my opinion, the Honda Gold Wing’s flat six – be it in 1500cc or 1800cc form – is one of the best engines in motorcycling. Possibly THE best. There are caveats to that depending on specific intended use, of course. It probably wouldn’t be the best powerplant for an off-road bike, for example. But, overall – …
1958 Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide
Not long after its biggest domestic competitor had gone belly up, Harley-Davidson was feeling many of the same financial pressures that had driven Indian to bankruptcy. Cheaper foreign imports, largely from Britain (the Japanese wouldn’t really hit the scene until the ’60s), were making things difficult. To its credit, Harley decided the answer to its problems was innovation. Among popular …
1947 Indian Chief
The Indian Chief doesn’t need much introduction. It’s one of the all-time icons of motorcycling. The model was first introduced in 1921, amid one of Indian’s many rough patches. With sales down 30 percent, the brand decided that luxury was the path to success. On Labor Day (kind of late in the season to be rolling out a new model, …
Bosozoku – 1981 Honda CB400T
Built by Good Call Works, this bosozuku bike (a subculture of Japanese motorcycling which translates to “violent running tribe”) definitely offers one way to get noticed on your next ride!
1972 Moto Guzzi 850 Eldorado
This bike “needs some fine tuning before being ridden,” according to its seller, but it’s worthy of your attention thanks to its accessories: a full set of Wixom luggage and fairing.
2000 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES
Moto Guzzi took their well-known 1,064cc twin and threw it in an ADV package to compete against BMW’s GS bikes. The result was as you’d expect – too heavy and under-suspended for serious off-road work, but very capable as a sport-tourer that could also play on fire roads or light trails. This example is well-modified for touring and it’s had …
1971 Moto-Ski Moto-Skeeter 450
Founded in 1964, Moto-Ski was a Canadian snowmobile manufacturer that was acquired by Bombardier in 1971. In ’76, Bombardier moved production to a different facility, but before that happened, they dabbled in mini bike production with a bike called the Moto-Ski Moto-Skeeter.
Harley-Davidson Kit Bike – 1974 Magnacycle
5-22-2025 Update: Eight years later, this Magnacycle is back up for sale – and with a much lower asking price! Also, please note that it’s now being called a 1978 model. Find it (still in Carlisle, Pennsylvania) for $8,500 here on Facebook Marketplace.
1973 Honda CB750 K3
Given the number of CB750s to be found on the internets, you’d be inclined to believe that every single one of the bikes made in the the 1970s survives to the modern day. Unfortunately, quite a lot of them have been tinkered beyond recognition. Finding one that hasn’t been permanently scarred by previous owners’ questionable choices is a challenge. Step …
Salvage Title – 2008 Bimota Tesi 3D
The name Tesi comes about because this motorcycle was actually the designer’s (Pierlugi Marconi) Mechanical Engineering thesis – on paper, at least, there are technical advantages to hub-centric steering. The simplified story here is that hub-centric steering completely isolates braking forces from suspension travel, which should improve mechanical performance of both aspects. This is one of the Limited Edition “Concept” …
1999 Kawasaki Drifter VN1500
There’s something strangely appealing to me about metric cruisers from the 1980s to 2000s. On one hand, you might argue that they were lazy attempts to cut into Harley’s dominance of the US market. On the other hand, they may have helped push the game along when Harley didn’t have much competition.