A couple of years ago, I featured an Ecorider Hippo Petrol – and I had to specify petrol as the Ecorider was one of the very few production motorcycles that had an available diesel engine. Well, here’s the diesel-powered variant.
1980 Moto Morini 500 Strada
Most riders think of the 3 1/2 when they hear Moto Morini, but the firm was also known for their 500 Sei-V that was produced a decade later…to very little fanfare. What was once a classically beautiful motorcycle became an odd jumble of plastic and angular lines as the Italian company tried to compete with bikes coming out of Japan.
1972 Seeley Condor G50
Over on the auction site, I had the pleasure of writing up a motorcycle I had never encountered before. I love that kind of thing, and I figured there was a good chance some of you hadn’t heard of it before either so…come learn about the Condor that’s not a bike for the Swiss Army. Also known as the Golden …
2002 Moto Guzzi V11 Scura
Take the Moto Guzzi V11, add some higher spec components, black paint scheme, and limited production numbers, and you get the Scura. Approximately 700 examples of the Scura were built, and they were upgraded with Ohlins suspension (forks, shock, and steering damper), carbon fiber panels, and a single disc clutch/aluminum flywheel that was supposed to be more aggressive, though there …
1976 Moto Guzzi Race Bike
Built by Stan and Pearl Friduss, this Guzzi race bike competed in AHRMA Middleweight Superbike for years, though it’s been sitting for some time and it needs to be awoken from a slumber.
1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
Nowadays, Moto Guzzi offers several variants of the modern V7. They don’t sell particularly well, but they do hark back to one of Guzzi’s prettiest motorcycles of all time – the original V7 Sport. It was an instant classic that was created by Tonti to honor the Italian firm’s racing history.
1955 Vincent Black Knight
Designer Phil Vincent called this “a two-wheeled Bentley” – the Vincent Black Knight was built to be the ultimate sports tourer, a Black Rapide with ample bodywork to keep a rider protected from the elements.
855 Miles – 2002 Yamaha V-Max
The name told you all you need to know: when the V-Max debuted in 1985, it was a cruiser dedicated to speed. Reviewers and consumers responded positively – it instantly won Cycle Guide’s “Bike of the Year” award and it barely had any changes for the next 22 years. It was arguably the definitive muscle bike.
1991 Moto Guzzi 1000S
In 1990, Moto Guzzi released the 1000S, styled to look like an update of the ’75 750 S3. It sold poorly but the classic styling has held up over the years and unlike the average Guzzi, the resale values for this model are somewhat staggering.
63 Miles – 1982 Suzuki GS1100E
In the early 80s, Suzuki knocked off the CBX as the superbike du jour. The Suzuki GS1100E came into the market and instantly became the bike of choice for the power hungry. American press mags constantly raved about not just the power, but also the surprising handling abilities for such a large bike.
91 Miles – 1979 Honda CT90
Honda’s Trail 90 (or CT90, depending on the market) was a popular entry point for youngsters to learn how to ride in the dirt – one of the reasons it was so easy to ride was the 4-speed transmission with an automatic clutch. That apparently wasn’t too much of a concern for the owners of this example, as it has …
Honda “NC431V”
No, the NC431V is not an official model – but it’s a hell of combination: a 2-stroke NS400R engine shoved into a modified NC30 chassis, all wrapped up in NSR bodywork.
1,670 Miles – 2001 Kawasaki ZX-11
Here’s a final-year (and very low mileage) example of Kawasaki’s ZX-11, a bike that enjoyed a lengthy production run (from 1990-2001). When it was introduced, it was the fastest production motorcycle in the world, and it kept that title until 1996 when it was beat by the Honda Blackbird.
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Drag Bike
Kawasaki’s H2 750 is one of the craziest motorcycles of all time because it pairs an incredible motor with a chassis that simply could not keep up. This bike keeps the motor and takes it to the next level, but also eliminates the whole “need for turning” aspect that helped the stock bike the nickname of the Widowmaker.
1997 Bimota Mantra DB3
Following up on yesterday’s oddball Italian upright is…another oddball Italian upright. The Bimota Mantra is definitely one of the most distinctive motorcycles to come out of the Rimini company’s doors. With that said, I love that they took a chance – you may never see a bike that looks like this again.