Post Sale Update: After 36 bids on eBay, this SDR200 sold for $2,925. Originally built just for the Japanese market, the SDR200 was a small cafe racer that predated the Ducati Monster with a trellis frame, naked styling, and the three-spoke wheels. It was only offered for one year, and a tiny amount of them found their way in to …
Built for Norman Reedus – 1982 Yamaha XV920 Custom
Classified Moto has made a name for themselves with a signature style and an affinity for classic Japanese machinery. They’ve made some oddballs but they’ve deservedly earned plenty of fans and done some celebrity builds in the process. One of those builds for celebrities was this Yamaha XV920 built for a star of the Walking Dead, Norman Reedus. Fans of …
Restomod Italimerican – 1970 Harley-Davidson Sprint SS350
In response to the sales success of smaller Japanese bikes in the 1960’s, Harley-Davidson formed a plan to offer a new small-displacement machine to compete as its own small-engined Hummer model left a lot to be desired. Around this same time Aermacchi was interested in focusing more resources on its aeronautical division and allowed Harley to grab a 50 percent …
Nourish Weslake Project – 1974 Norton Commando Custom
Post Listing Update: This Norton only saw one bid at the original ask of $8,000. It did not meet reserve. During the heyday of the Rickman brothers, they asked Harry Weslake to design a 8-valve head for the Triumph Bonneville. In conjunction with a small displacement increase, power was bumped up 20%. That sounds great but the idea was dropped. …
The Grinch – 2013 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic Custom
This bike has been up for sale for 11 days but I couldn’t bring myself to share it until we finally hit December because I can’t stand it when Christmas music and decorations go up right after Thanksgiving. Obviously, I don’t expect any of you to buy it, but I thought it was worth a chuckle for the last month …
Bonneville Record Breaker in the UK – 1957 Manx Norton JAP 1150cc Custom
When it was originally sold in July of 1957, this was a Norton Manx 30M. But the story gets much more interesting almost 5 decades later, when a racer named Eric Patterson swapped in a 1,150cc JAP Mk2 motor and took it to the Bonneville Salt Flats to set some speed records.
Capelo’s Garage’s x Elemental Rides – 2017 Yamaha SR400 Custom
I’ll just come out and say it, this is the coolest one-off cafe racers I’ve ever seen. I love almost everything about this build. It’s bursting with noteworthy features – all of which are beautifully executed. This one-off factory-esque SR400 is an interesting combination of old and new, boasting features like LED lighting and upside-down forks as well as old-school …
ISDT Tribute – 1965 BSA B40 Enduro Star
Post Listing Update: Despite 48 bids up to $3,049, this BSA did not meet reserve. In the 1965 ISDT, BSA’s factory efforts with 350s and 441s had ground to a halt by day four thanks to the Prince of Darkness, Joseph Lucas. That’s obviously a bit of a stretch, but every works bike was knocked out due to electrical problems. …
“V649HP” – 2009 Kawasaki Versys Custom
Starting with a Kawasaki Versys 650, this seller has created a hell of a gravel road runner. There isn’t much here that identifies this as a Kawi.
Born Free Best British – 1961 Triumph Bonneville by Choppahead Kustoms
Post Listing Update: Despite 72(!) bids up to $19,700, this custom Bonnie did not meet reserve. Built by Choppahead Kustoms in East Freetown, Massachusetts, this custom Triumph is called “The Hail Mary” and it recently won Best British at Born Free. In addition, it was shown at the Brooklyn Invitation and it was the cover bike for the August 2017 …
In England – 1949 Egli Vincent
Built in 1997 with a 1949 Vincent Rapide Series C motor (F10AB/1/2168), this beautiful Egli-framed motorcycle has a frame number from a 1952 Vincent Comet (RC/1/11576 B). It looks great but I’d love to throw a cowl on the rear end of that seat.
“Rouge One” – 1982 Yamaha Virago XV750 Custom
Cardsharper Customs is a shop in Lublin, Poland first founded in 2012 that seemingly specializes in professional-grade large-displacement cafe racers and bobbers. While hundreds of other reputable customs shops are also building cafe bikes, the folks at Cardsharper do phenomenal work with their bikes often featuring ample handmade custom bodywork. Pipeburn featured a ridiculously cool 1975 Honda Gold Wing cafe …
Foundry Inspired – 1987 BMW K75 Tracker
If you follow the custom bike scene you may remember back in February when a BMW K75 Street Tracker build by Carlos Ormazabal – the owner and founder of The Foundry MC just outside of Madrid – made its rounds on sites like Pipeburn. I loved the Foundry’s K75 build, so when I recently came across another K75 that is …
“Fauxari Enzo 1” – 2002 Honda VTX1800S Custom
This weekend, Mecum is auctioning off a whole bunch of collector cars…and two weird motorcycles. One is a special construction chopper that I can’t find interesting no matter how hard I try, while the other is a custom Honda with a matching trailer. For some reason, it’s been turned into a “Ferrari.”
De Angelis Elaborazioni’s “LaDina” – 1992 BMW K1100LT Custom
Giorgio De Angelis has been a diehard motorcycle enthusiast for the vast majority of his life. The Roman grew up competing in a diverse selection of motorized two-wheeled competition, but now that De Angelis has gotten older – or “more mature” as he puts it – his attention has turned towards building custom bikes under the name De Angelis Elaborazioni. …