Spoiler Alert: I think this is a W1SS which isn’t so rare as the seller seems to think. There has been a great discussion on the W1 here on Bike-urious. 1968 was the beginning of the end for the Kawasaki W series. Part of the Kawasaki takeover of Meguro motorcycles was a licensing agreement with BSA that resulted in the …
1978 Kawasaki Z1-R
Post Sale Update: After 16 bids on eBay, this Z1-R sold for $11,099. Wayne Moulton has had quite a career in the motorcycling industry, including roles as President for Triumph Motorcycles America and Vetter Fairings, as well as Vice President of Kawasaki. He was known for a philosophy that “a popular motorcycle can have four different variations – a standard, …
Kenny Roberts Framed – 1978 Yamaha TT500 Flattracker
Post Listing Update: This Yamaha flat tracker got no interest at the opening bid of $3,395. The legendary Kenny Roberts put his name on a few frames back in the day – here’s serial number 5. It’s filled up by a Yamaha TT500 engine and the bike has racing history in the Northeast.
Rare ADV – 2008 Benelli TRE K 1130 Amazonas
Post Listing Update: This Amazonas was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Here’s a big dual-sport for those of you that think the Ducati Multistrada is too common. Like the Multi, the TRE K is a street-oriented adventure bike, though this is one of the “Amazonas” variants that adds spoked-wheels (with a larger 19″ wheel up front) and …
Upgraded – 1948 Indian Chief
Those of you that have been around here for a while know how I feel about Indians in general and Chiefs specifically. It’s always a pleasure for me to find and write up another Chief. At the start of 1948 the Chief was the only model that Indian sold. By the end of 1948 Indian had introduced the parallel twin …
Raw Steel – 1978 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead Custom
Starting as a ’78 FLH, this bike has been converted into a custom by the seller over the last 5 years. The most distinctive feature is the raw steel finish, which does not have a clear coat on it (so you’ll have to paint it, clear coat it, or stay diligent about keeping the finish maintained.
Rare Pair – 2x 1999 Yamaha R7
Post Listing Updates: Both bikes were pulled off of eBay because they had an “error in the listing.” Yamaha released just 500 examples of the homologation special R7 (also known was the OWO2). Only 31 of them were sold through US dealers, while another three were imported directly by Yamaha’s US division. Someone in Southern California has two example – …
1987 Honda NSR250R MC16
Honda NSR250R is a legendary two-stroke race replica – and it all starts with the MC16 generation from 1987. Honda sold 18,798 examples of this instant success and production would continue on until 1996.
2000 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES
In a 2012 review, Ed Milich of Motor Cyclist called the Quota “One of Moto Guzzi’s famous engineering answers to questions no one asked.” So what is it?
One Of A Kind – 1967 BSA Trials
Post Listing Update: This custom trials bike sold for the BIN of $7,500, but was then relisted a couple of days later and eventually pulled off of eBay. I’m baffled. I don’t even know what to call this motorcycle. BSA motor and transmission but that is just about it. It’s a no doubt custom built Trials bike fabricated around a …
1964 Royal Enfield Bullet 350
The first Royal Enfield was built in 1901, the last one built in England was in 1970 but a direct descendent of the company builds them today in India. The Bullet was introduced in 1948 as a 350 CC single, with a 500 CC single added in 1950. From 1964 to 1970 the Bullet was produced both in England and …
1954 MV Agusta TR 125
Long before MV Agusta began building the super bikes that make me think of writing bad checks or mortgaging my house they built high grade small motorcycles. Lots of them for the post war Italian market. In the late 1940s they decided to build a four stroke motor and to go racing. The result was a world championship in the …
Nice Price – 1988 Honda NX125
I have very fond memories of my Honda NX650, which means I got excited when Zack B sent over this cheap-as-chips baby NX – a NX125 for about $10/cc.
Rare in the US – 2001 Italjet Dragster 180
One of the most interesting two-wheelers of all time, the Italjet Dragster is the only scooter to have ever combined a space frame and a RAAD forkless front suspension (think of what was equipped on the Yamaha GTS1000. It was built between 1998 and 2003, and very few made it to the states as the bike was never officially imported …
1969 Yamaha Trailmaster 100 L5T
By 1969 the race to the American dirt market was in full swing. All the manufacturers that relied on the US had dirt and dual sport offerings. Yamaha was no exception. They brought out the Trailmaster series in 1967, but in ‘69 they really cracked the egg. Not only was the LT5 a good looking example of the genre, it …