Seeing as I’m heading out to the US launch of the Trail125 today, it only seems appropriate to feature the last Trail sold in the US – the 1986 Trail 110.
First Ride Review – 2021 Honda Trail 125
View Post1971 BSA Firebird Scrambler
BSA and Triumph released the new 1971 range to much fanfare…but journalists were underwhelmed. As Frank Westworth stated in a Bennetts review, “The press hated the brave, new, etc 1971 Beezers. They hated the style. They hated the colours. They hated the old engines, which is understandable, but most of all they hated the height.” 50 years later, no one’s …
1981 Suzuki DR500
Yamaha’s success with the XT500 was hard for competitors to ignore – Suzuki’s attempt at fighting back was the DR500. Many riders who sampled both bikes felt like Suzuki had a superior package, however Yamaha was much more commercially successful, and that’s what makes this a relatively rare find.
1982 Can-Am Qualifier 250
The successor to the TNT (Track ‘n’ Trail), Can-Am’s Qualifier was an enduro sibling to the MX-3 with a Rotax motor tuned more for mid-range torque than top-end horsepower. When they launched it in 1977, Can-Am said it was their first purpose enduro bike so you no longer had to strip down a TNT or add lights to the MX.
In Ireland – 1997 BMW R80GS Kalahari
Here’s one that I had never heard about as it was never offered in the US – the “Kalahari” version of the BMW GS lineup. All the times you’ve heard someone talk about how they wish a company would just bring back an old model and put it up for sale again? Well, BMW tried that here as they basically …
Toaster Bitsa Scrambler – 1988 BMW R-Series Custom
Post Sale Update: This custom BMW sold for $6,000 after 27 bids on eBay…to Bike-urious reader Carl L! The seller of this custom calls it a “Urban Toaster Scrambler”, with “the idea to build a reliable daily modern classic motorcycle that can go anywhere.” This combines a toaster tank R75/5 with the chassis from a BMW R100RT.
Rare Project – 1989 Cagiva Elefant 750 Bifaro Lucky Explorer
Post Listing Update: This Cagiva was pulled off of eBay due to “an error in the listing”. The Elefant is a rare bike in the US, though we only saw it officially imported in 900 guise. Much harder to find in America is the 750cc version, which was introduced in 1987. The following year, Cagiva gave the 750 a double …
1964 REX KL35
10-18-20 Update: Four years later, Robert VanSlyke notes in the comments that this REX is again up for sale. The asking price is down to $2,500 and it’s moved from Idaho to Arizona. It’s titled and still a runner – find it in Cave Creek, Arizona here on Facebook Marketplace. 9-12-16 Update: John K notes that this REX is back …
1995 Kawasaki KLX650
Post Sale Update: The seller lowered the asking price to $3,000 – it ended up selling but the sale price is unknown. Everyone knows the KLR650, but in the mid-’90s Kawasaki also offered both a Tengai variant (same basic bike extra plastics) as well as the KLX, a faster and beefier version dual-sport. There was even a KLX650R, which was …
Imported from New Zealand With 1 Km – 2014 Honda CT110
Post Sale Update: sold for $4,001 after 12 bids on eBay in San Diego, California. America last saw the CT series in 1986, though we’re about to get the newest version (which will be called the Trail 125) in a few months. If you can’t wait that long or you just want a pristine example of the current generation, here’s …
1955 Royal Enfield Indian Woodsman
Between 1955 and 1960, Indians sold in the US were actually re-branded Royal Enfields. It was the idea of an English company called Brockhouse Engineering (you may remember that they created the adorable Corgi) who owned the Indian trademark at the time. They thought they could capitalize on the goodwill of the Indian brand by selling some Brit bikes, and …
Lucky Livery – 1995 Cagiva Elefant 900 AC
Post Sale Update: This Elefant sold for $10,651 after 20 bids on eBay in Anaheim, California. In 1989, Cagiva debuted a limited version of the Elefant adorned in the Lucky Explorer livery of their Paris-Dakar winner. It was the coolest of the Elefant line-up. In 1993, they went in a different direction than the usual motorcycle manufacturer and actually offered …
One Owner – 1988 Yamaha DT50
Introduced in 1981, the Yamaha DT50 (also known as the DT50MX) was barely updated throughout its 15-year production run.
1994 Honda XR250L
Simple, cheap, and well-preserved: this small XR checks off a lot of boxes!