Post Sale Update: This Clubman sold for $15,000 after 25 bids on eBay. Introduced in 1955, the Velocette Venom had a distinctive claim to fame – in 1961, a factory-prepped Venom Clubman was the first motorcycle to average over 100 MPH over the course of 24 hours. The challenge was completed at the 1.7 miles concrete oval track at Montlhéry, …
Rare Project – 1961 Norton Manxman
Post Listing Update: This Manxman did not meet reserve despite 39 bids up to $4,450 on eBay. Built just between November 1960 and October 1961, the Norton Manxman is a rare bike that was built for export only – most came to the US, though another significant chunk went to Australia.
What Do You Want To Know? 2019 Kawasaki Z400
UPDATE: Here’s my review! At the Long Beach International Motorcycle Show, Kawasaki debuted several models for the US market. The one I was most excited about was the new-for-2019 Z400 ABS. To oversimplify, it’s a naked version of the Ninja 400. That’s good news to me, as I love naked bikes and I think the Ninja 400 was excellent. This …
Wayne Ransom Build – Kawasaki KX500AF
Post Sale Update: This custom KX sold for $16,750 after 63 bids on eBay. On the cover of their February 2019 issue, Dirt Bike magazine featured a “high-tech KX500 for the 21st century.” Built by Wayne Ransom, this aluminum-framed KX500 features extensive use of titanium, as it was used to build the fuel tank, exhaust, subframe, front headmount, engine mount …
1964 DKW Hummel 115
Post Sale Update: This DKW – sold for $8,700 after 22 bids on eBay. In the early 1960s, Zweirad Union was comprised of DKW, Victoria, and Express. The first two companies shared a model that was boringly named either the DKW Type 115 or the Victoria Type 155. Both bikes got a much more interesting nickname from the public: the …
Lighting Kit – 1972 Honda TL125
Post Listing Update: This TL125 was sold on Facebook, final sale price unknown. The TL125 was Honda’s first production trials bike. It was introduced in 1973 and was much more affordable than the competition, but trials never truly caught on in the states and it was out of the market by 1976. This example stands out as it’s one of …
German Postal Service – 1962 Heinkel Tourist Model 103 A2
After World War II, the Allies banned manufacturers like Heinkel from producing airplanes. They decided to try their hand at personal transport with the production of vehicles like microcars, bicycles, and scooters like the Tourist you see here.
Japanese American Mini Trail – 1977 Hodaka Dirt Squirt 80
Hodaka Motorcycles first started as a producer of engines before later joining forces with another existing outfit and going on to build complete bikes. The Japanese (and American joint) firm capitalized on the influx in popularity of small displacement trail bikes — a phenomenon due largely thanks to Honda’s wares and marketing. Hodaka’s philosophy was that riding should be affordable/accessible, …
Water Scooter Project – 1957 Vincent Amanda
Post Sale Update: This Amanda sold for $1,701 after 6 bids on eBay. I’m stretching the definition of “scooter” here, but this “water scooter” is an interesting, if brief, footnote in the history of one of the greatest motorcycle manufacturers of all time. When Vincent was struggling to make ends meet in the 50s, they tried to diversify their portfolio …
Don Vesco-Bodied – 1982 BMW R65 w/ Rabid Transit Fairing
Don Vesco was a prolific name in the motorcycling world for several decades. On top of being a (US) Grand Prix winner, drag, and dirt-track Racer, he set well over a dozen landspeed records and ran a successful California-based motorcycle dealership. Vesco also famously sold a bevy or moto parts and accessories under the Don Vesco Products banner.
1969 Gilera 124 5V
Post Listing Update: This Gilera was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Also offered under the “Sears” brand, Gilera’s 124 5V was just about the last bike the Italian brand made before they were bought by Piaggio in 1969.
Endurance-Inspired – VTR Customs’ BMW K100 “24 Hour”
BMW motorcycles have become increasingly popular choices of donors for bespoke builds, and while plenty of shops utilize the German machines for one-off projects, very few do it better than VTR Customs. Be it a vintage flying brick or modern R1200R or R9T, the Swiss shop has one hell of a knack for customizing the Bavarian bikes, as demonstrated by …
1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado Police
The best selling model MG ever produced, the Eldorado has been a classic for decades. This Moto Guzzi Eldorado Police is an excellent example of MG’s pride and joy – though this is one of the many Police variants, which competed with Harley-Davidson for emergency service duty all across the country.
230 Miles – 2003 Yamaha V-Max
When it was first released in 1985, the Yamaha V-Max wan an instant hit that was named Bike of the Year by Cycle Guide. The first generation lasted a whopping 22 years with minimal changes, ending when Yamaha finally released an all-new bike (called the VMAX) in 2008 – as a 2009 model.
Post-War Unisex Scooter – 1951 Aermacchi Cigno 125
Post Listing Update: This Cigno did not meet reserve despite 31 bids up to $4,250 on eBay. Following the Second World War, Europe was in dire need of cheap, economical transportation. A bevy of companies pivoted to fill the new gap in the market. One of them was Aermacchi, which shifted to making bikes and scooters after producing aviation equipment …