Honda introduced the 600 CBR series in 1987 – most riders remember it as the “Hurricane”. The second generation (F2) was built between 1991 and 1994, and it was an excellent performer for the time. This example stands out as it’s adorned in a delightfully ’90s paint scheme.
1963 Norton Electra
In the late 50’s and early 60’s, Norton produced a couple of smaller displacement bikes in the hopes of appealing to starting riders. They had the 250cc Jubilee and the 350cc Navigator, both of which were 4 stroke vertical twins. In 1963, at the request of the US importer Joe Berliner, they bumped the size of the Jubilee up to …
1986 Yamaha Fazer FZX700
Also known as the Baby V-Max, the Yamaha Fazer FZX700 was quite a revelation when it was released – the styling was distinctive and it was quicker than riders expected. No one complained about the speed, though not everyone loved the looks, and the bike didn’t sell tremendously well.
Baby Harley – 1974 Harley-Davidson X-90
In the early 60s, Harley-Davidson had to make changes to resist advancements from the Japanese. Indeed, specialized in big V-twins only, Harley did not have any bikes to get into the small-size engine market. To fix that, the American brand decided to outsource their production of small cc bikes to the Italian manufacturer Aermacchi. Among the various bikes built in …
1969 Kawasaki C2TR
Post Sale Update: This C2TR sold for the BIN of $2,650. Nowadays with “dual-purpose” bikes we see imposing bikes with high-power engines, but this was not the case a few decades ago. Indeed, the image of dual-purpose bikes changed in 1984 with the release of the R80G/S, first all-road bike with such a big engine. Before that, these kinds of …
1973 Honda ST90
Post Sale Update: This ST90 sold for a best offer of $1,400 on eBay. After the huge success of the Monkey in the US, Honda decided to release a slightly bigger version of their baby-bike, the CT70. The CT, also called Dax in other countries, is a mini dirt bike that was used both for leisure in American families as …
1980 Honda CX500/CX650 Custom
Every year, retired master tech Kevin Murphy takes decent examples of Honda’s CX platform and restores them. He also takes bad examples and turns them into customs. He’s got an annual tradition of building a Honda CX custom for Daytona Bike Week, and each year a reader sends me a link when he puts up another bike for sale. This …
1987 Yamaha SDR 200
Originally sold only in the Japanese Domestic Market, Yamaha’s SDR200 can now occasionally be found in Europe and the US thanks to the grey-market. Reminiscent of a tiny Ducati monster, the SDR features a distinctive trellis frame.
1969 Suzuki AC100 Wolf
Suzuki’s little bike lineup in the late 60s consisted of the 125cc street-based Stinger, the 120cc off-road Trail Cat, and the dual-purpose 100cc Wolf.
Swiss Army – 1975 Condor A350
A bike built for the Swiss Army, the Condor A350 was produced between ’73 and ’79. 3,000 were produced, and the military only started releasing them to the public about 15 years ago.
Diesel Powered Home Build – Qujos TrailMaster 200
The builder/seller of this of this unexpected custom sums it up as “Chinese love, Japanese torque, American ingenuity”. It’s a Chinese-made Qujos (QJ) Trail Master frame housing a Kubota Z482 diesel motor. Oh, and there’s a turbo on it, too!
1990 Kawasaki Zephyr 550
Before Kawasaki emulated the Z1 with the new Z900RS, they had the “Zephyr”. It was a standard that vaguely pulled styling cues from the Z1, and it was offered in 550, 750, and 1,100cc options. A 400 was also built but that was solely for Japan.
Well Preserved – 1982 BMW R65LS
Post Sale Update: This R65LS sold for $4,999 after 19 bids on eBay. Between 1983 and 1985, BMW built a limited edition of their R65. Called the R65LS, it featured a polarizing front fairing that probably makes the bike look faster than the bike actually was. I dig the 80s look…you may not. Whether or not you care for the …
2001 KTM 640 LC4 Enduro
Post Listing Update: This KTM did not get any interest at the asking price of $4,500. My research for the KTM 640 LC4 Enduro led me to the conclusion that KTM took their race bike, put blinkers on, and sent them to showrooms. Spotty reliability before 2004 and rough vibrations lead to some second thoughts when commuting to an off-road …
1988 Cagiva WMX 250
Post Listing Update: This WMX did not get any interest at the asking price of $2,350. 10-27-2018 Update: Almost 3 years later, this WMX is back up for sale. Find it with slightly better photos and a slightly higher BIN of $2,350 or best offer here on eBay. Built between 1988 and 1991 (and succeeding the MXR), the WMX 250 …