When it was first released, the Honda GL500 basically sat in a class by itself – a full dress, middleweight tourer. In general, press and riders liked the bike but thought it was underpowered. So Honda responded by throwing in the engine from the CX650, making the GL650 you see here in front of you.
1969 Nova Ruff Rider
Based in Gardena, CA, “Nova Products of Calif.” called themselves a “developer of recreational vehicles” with a lineup of mini-bikes and even a mini-boat called the Guppie. One of their five mini-bikes was a trail model called the Ruff Rider, itself available in two options (50cc/100cc).
1 of 500 – 1995 Aprilia RS250 Loris Reggiani Replica
Take one of the world’s best small sportbikes, and then add an air of exclusivity to it. That’s what Aprilia did with their legendary RS250 by honoring Loris Reggiani, the first racer who won a Grand Prix for the Italian brand. Aprilia created just 500 examples of the bike – here’s #275.
1986 Honda Interceptor VF500F
The smallest of the Interceptors, the VF500 is claimed by some to be the best, thanks to absolutely incredible handling.
No Reserve and 89 Miles – 1966 Honda 50
The most produced motor vehicle in history, Honda’s Super Cub is still in production (and just got a 125cc facelift with the powertrain from the Grom). These wonderful bikes, which changed the face of motorcycling in the United States in conjunction with the famous marketing campaign, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.” It was a motorcycle for the …
Well-Loved – 2007 BMW R1200S
4-6-20 Update: Two and a half years later, this bike is back up for sale. It’s now on the third owner, it’s moved to Los Angeles, and the mileage is up to 97,000 and change. It’s recently had the 96k mile service and it’s got nearly new Pirelli Angel tires. The price has also dropped significantly – you can find …
1979 Yamaha RD400F Daytona Special
The last in the long line of Yamaha’s RD series, the RD400F (also known as the Daytona Special) is considered by many to be the best of the model line. The press went nuts for it – Cycle magazine called it “Dennis the Menace on Yokohama tires, and…the most fun street motorcycle currently available for sale.” Compared to the RD350, …
1994 Yamaha FZR1000
Here’s a slice of the 90s in one paint job, found on the Yamaha FZR1000 – predecessor to the now-ubiquitous Yamaha R1. The Fizzer was an instant classic when it was introduced in 1987. Just two years later, Cycle World named it the “Bike of the Decade”, thanks in part to a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds and a top …
Retro Custom in Belgium – 2002 Ducati 900SS
We’re seeing a lot of OEMs build modern bikes designed to look like old ones – here’s a custom effort that tries the same thing, taking a 900SS ie and trying to make it look like the black/gold Darmah stunner from 1978. This generation of Ducati’s air-cooled SuperSports wasn’t particularly loved by the public from a styling standpoint. Does this …
3 Miles – 1987 Yamaha FZR750RT
To homologate the FZR for AMA Superbike racing, Yamaha was obligated to produced 200 examples of their 750cc sportbike in 1987 – so that’s all they built. At the time, the FZR750 sold for $4,599. But the homologation RT version, as shown here, would set you back $8,999. The hefty price and the exclusivity weren’t the only things that limited …
Ex-Racer in Italy – 1994 Ducati 916 SP
The Ducati 916 was an instant classic when it was released in 1994 – as Mick Walker put it, “the 916 changed the face of sports bikes in a way that only the original Suzuki GSX-R750 had managed a decade earlier.” Even the “base” Strada model, if you could call it such as thing, was spectacular, but Ducati also released …
Restored with 890ccs – 1982 Honda CB750F
Post Listing Update: This custom CB750F did not get any interest at the opening bid of $6,000 on eBay. Did Honda’s CB-F prototype get you hankering for the original? Here’s a CB750F that’s been slightly restomodded to give you a bit of old and new.
1992 Yamaha TDM850
The Yamaha TDM 850 is definitely an oddball…a well-rounded bike in a US market that seems to prefer hyper-specialization. Sold in the US for only two years (1992-1993), there aren’t very many of these bikes still around, but the TDM definitely has a cult following. Well suited for tall riders, Yamaha designed this bike to enjoy mountain roads and also …
Vintage Bicycle Pacer in Holland – 1935 Meier-BAC
Louis Bac was an aircraft engineer at Peugeot who had an interesting side project in 1925 – he built approximately 50 examples of a pacing machine to be used at bicycle tracks. The second generation was released in 1932 – it was called the Meier and just 30 of those were built.
New Old Stock – 1958 Capriolo TV 75
Post Listing Update: This Capriolo did not meet reserve despite 13 bids up to $1,711.66 on eBay in Escondido, California. 3-29-20 Update: Almost six years later, this bike is back up for sale. The seller (who is a Tom Cruise impersonator) acquired it the last time I featured it and has bumped the mileage up from 2 to 16, typically …