For years, Harley-Davidson dominated the American police cruiser market. Though BMW, Kawasaki, and other manufacturers are now also making motorcycles you’re constantly scanning for when you’re on the road, Harley also offered a police variant of the Buell Ulysses called the XB12XP which offered better ergonomics and the potential for easier patrolling on fire roads or rough surfaces. This example …
Bike Review – 2018 Royal Enfield Himalayan
View Post1971 OSSA Pioneer 250
Ossa was a Spanish firm that offered a wide variety of dirt bikes to cover anything that an off-road enthusiast could want to do. The Pioneer was OSSA’s enduro bike, though realistically the pavement experience was limited to putting around in town. In the dirt, it was quite impressive for something that was street legal. In fact, in a 1969 …
TR7T-Inspired – 1978 Triumph T140E Custom
Post Listing Update: This custom Triumph did not get any interest at the opening bid of $5,000. In 1981, Triumph created a dual-sporter based on the TR7V Tiger in response to BMW’s R80GS. It was called the TR7T Tiger Trail, and it was never officially exported to the US because of emissions regulations. It was an interesting (and very yellow) …
1986 Moto Guzzi V65 TT
8-12-2018 Update: Three years later, this bike seems to be back up for sale (at least based on the reference to the serial number). It’s available in Lawrence, Kansas with quite a jump in the asking price – now it’s $6,500 here on ADVRider. After BMW carved out a new niche of the motorcycle market with the GS, many competitors …
1974 Honda XL350
The specificity and history of the enduro/off-road motorcycle market is quite different from the road bike market. It starts the same, with essentially British brands that dominated the scene in the 1950s with four-stroke 350s and 500s. Then the Spanish arrived with brands like Ossa and Bultaco and their very minimalist two-stroke bikes, engines that Yamaha used as well when …
Rare 4-Speed With Clutch – 1971 Honda CT70 HKO
Post Listing Update: This CT did not meet reserve despite 19 bids up to $4,300 on eBay. Thanks to the success of the Z50 “Monkey”, especially in Europe and the US, Honda knew there would be room to create another mini-bike with a slightly larger engine. Keeping the simple and positively childish concept for their new creation, Honda built the …
1990 Honda Transalp XL600V
Following the release of the R80GS by BMW and the birth of one of the greatest races of all time (the Paris Dakar), manufacturers started to add a new kind of bike to their product range. These new “adventure” bikes were road legal adaptations of off road racing motorcycles used primarily for the P-D. During the 80’s, Honda won the …
Wacky Kwacky – 1995 Kawasaki KLR250
In 1984, Kawasaki debuted a pair of new dual-sport models that quickly proved to be major hits with the motorcycling world. The larger of the models was the KLR600, which was bumped up to 650ccs, where it remains to this day as one of Kawa’s best-selling models, and (as of 2015) the best-selling dual-sport period. The smaller of the two …
Nice Price – 2017 KTM 1090 Adventure
Nick Livingston of WideOpenADV is letting go of his well-prepped 1090 Adventure, and his asking price is more than fair considering the extras he’s added. The circumstances are unfortunate (his wife is very sick and he’s focused on her) so hopefully you can help him out with some cash and get a hell of a dual-sport in the process.
Baby Sidecar Crosser – 1995 Rokon Scout
The history of the Rokon Company is riddled with rumors and falsehoods involving a particularly clever gas station attendant and a few hunting trips to Kenya that never actually happened. In a nutshell, the real story is that the original machine was invented by one Charlie Fehn in Southern California. Fehn’s bike, dubbed the Trail-Breaker, boasted two particularly nifty features, …
1981 BMW R80G/S Paris Dakar
Post Listing Update: This GS did not get any interest at the asking price of $14,979. In 1978, a French man named Thierry Sabine created one of the toughest and rally raids in the world: the Paris-Dakar. Racers have to find their way in arid and sandy deserts, making repairs when necessary. It is a test not just of pilot …
Time Traveler – 1991 BMW R100GS
Post Listing Update: This BMW did not meet reserve despite 2 bids up to $5,100 on eBay. This interesting build is what the seller calls a “retro-ification”. What do you think of this R100GS that’s been given some dashes of the 70s?
Interesting History – 1959 Ducati 200 MotoCross
Post Listing Update: this Ducati did not meet reserve despite 25 bids up to $12,065. I’m going to need some Ducati experts to chime in here, because I find this bike fascinating but I don’t know enough about classic Ducatis to know if the seller’s description is accurate. This is claimed to be one of 20 to 25 early “scramblers” …
1971 Bultaco Matador 250
In the post war world of enduro motorcycling, a few brands have earned legendary status: the Swedish Husqvarna and three famous Spanish brands: Ossa, Montesa, and Bultaco. Bultaco was founded in 1959 by famous Spanish road racing champion, Francisco Xavier Bulto. It was not Francisco’s first shot, as he created Bultaco right after he resigned from Montesa (which he co-founded …