Want 8 cylinder power in a cruiser but think that Boss Hoss bikes are ostentatious and ridiculous? Check out this Honest Charley-branded bike, which features a 60 horsepower Ford flathead! Honest Charley was one of the original speed shops – older readers may remember seeing ads for hop-up Ford parts half a century ago. According to some comments over at …
1977 Laverda Jarama 1000 3CL
In America, Laverda offered the 3CL (and the up-spec Jota), but they renamed the former the Jarama in 1978 after the racetrack in Spain. It didn’t sell particularly well in the United States, so some dealers converted the base Jaramas to Jotas (and some people call these “Jarotas”).
4-Speed – 1971 Honda CT70H
For many CT70 enthusiasts, the “H” models were desirable as they came with 4-speed transmissions and a manual clutch (as opposed to the 3-speed semi-automatic transmission of the non-H models.
No Reserve – 1962 BMW R60/2 with Stolz Sidecar
Imported to the US by a serviceman in the early 2000s, this BMW was soon paired with a Stolz sidecar that was imported from Turkey immediately after.
2009 Kawasaki M1030M1
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 on the KLR250 (M1030), another gas-powered bike but based on the KLR650 (M1030B1), and …
2016 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Flat Tracker
Starting off with a Royal Enfield, the customizer of this flat tracker implemented custom bodywork and rear suspension to create something unique. But do you like it?
1981 BMW R80GS Paris-Dakar
Hindsight has shown that the introduction of the GS model line was one of the best things BMW did for their Motorrad business. But at the press launch in 1980, journalists (and the public) shared a general sentiment of “what’s the point of a large, heavy dual-purpose bike?” Modern cynics still have the same complaint as the bike seems to …
Rare Project – 1938 Genial Lucifer
Here’s one I had never heard of before – a Genial Lucifer!
Two Of A Kind – 1972 Yamaha JT2
A seller in Montana has a pair of JTs that are claimed to be original (unrestored) and appear to be in quite nice shape. They were built in the same month with VINs within 50 of each other, and both have less than 800 miles each. These were popular mounts for many first riders, and Yamaha sold plenty of them. …
1979 Cosmo Colt
Cosmopolitan Motors of Hatboro, Pennsylvania closed down several years ago, but for a while they had claim to the title of America’s oldest motorcycle distributor. Back in their heyday you could stop by and find bikes from a wide range of smaller Italian manufacturers – many Parillas, Benellis, Capriolos, Garellis, Betas, (and more) featured here on Bike-urious were originally sold …
#001/100 With Zero Miles – 2007 Ducati SportClassic 1000 Special Edition
In 2007, Ducati released a limited edition of just 100 SportClassics exclusively for the North American market. Called the Special Edition, it combined modern tech with traditionally-inspired design that was designed to remind Ducati fans of the 1978 900SS Darmah with its classic black and gold paint scheme. 90 were sold in the US, and 10 were sold in Canada. …
1969 Maico 360 X4
Cycle World’s May 1st 1968 review of the X4 starts with the following: “What a difference a year has made to Maico’s 360-cc motocross model. In a little over 12 months, the West German factory has transformed the bike from a competitive but unsensational mount, to one of the fastest and toughest scramblers available.”
2004 MV Agusta 750 Brutale America
Introduced in 2001, the wonderfully-named MV Agusta Brutale debuted with a 750cc inline four engine. As they offered with some other models, MV made some upgrade kits available for the Brutale – one of which was the America. Just 300 were made worldwide – here’s #30.
CA Plated – 2003 Kawasaki KRR150
I have to admit, at first glance I thought this was just a poorly repainted Ninja 250. But it’s actually a KRR150, a mini two-stroke that was never officially sold in the US.
Euro Model – 1982 Kawasaki GPz1100
See that flag on the sidecover? That’s your hint that this big Kawi was originally sold in what used to be known as West Germany. It has since found its way to the US through Ireland, however it does not have a US title and is being sold on a bill of sale only.