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 …
Upgraded Wee-Strom – 2009 Suzuki V-Strom 650
Affectionately known as the Wee-Strom as it is the smaller of two V-Strom models, this model was introduced by Suzuki in 2004. The bigger brother V-Strom 1000 had already been out for a couple of years, but Suzuki created a new bike by pulling out and slightly tweaking the V-Twin from the SV650, then surrounding it in the street-oriented adventure …
Nice Price – 1993 Yamaha GTS1000
Reader David N sent me a link to this bike saying that it was the cheapest example he’s ever seen. I have to say the same, and it doesn’t look to be in bad shape at all! The GTS1000 is a fascinating bike – I used it as an example of a motorcycle that was ahead of its time for …
A Vision – 1982 Yamaha XZ550
Post Listing Update: This Vision did not get any interest at the BIN of $2,950. It was relisted at $2,850 with the same result. While the theme of the late 70s was outright power, the 80s saw OEMs looking to show off their visions off the future of motorcycling. Yamaha’s vision was the XZ550…also known as the Vision!
One Owner – 1989 BMW K100RS Special Edition
The BMW K100RS SE, or Special Edition, was a limited run of the K100RS that featured a lovely blue and white paint job, hand drawn pin stripes, and color-matched hard luggage. It also just happens to be the first production motorcycle with ABS.
1969 and 1970 Suzuki TS250 Savage
The TS250 was known by a few names across the globe – it was called the Hustler in Japan, though we called it the Savage. No matter the name, it was a dual-sport with 23 horsepower, 5-speed transmission, and a top speed of about 80 miles per hour. A seller in Santa Barbara has two of them in nice original …
2009 Buell 1125R
Post Listing Update: This Buell was pulled off of eBay due to an “error in the listing”. Erik Buell was a dreamer, and the American sport bike was one of those dreams. We are lucky to still be able to experience them, though sales never quite living up to expectations. There may be some weirdness as is usually evident with …