Considering that you can buy a brand new SR400 from Yamaha for $5,999, how do you feel about a classic SR500 for $4,500?
9 Miles – 2000 Buell X1 Lightning Millennium
Post Sale Update: This X1 sold for the BIN of $4,495. Presumably named after its year of release, the Buell X1 Lightning Millennium was a limited production run (800 bikes) that was all about silver aesthetics. 400 were sold in the US, 375 were sold in Europe, and I have no idea where the other 25 went. A typical example …
1979 Honda CX500 Deluxe
While the motorcycle market in the 1960s was essentially dominated by Europe and America, the 70’s allowed Japan to show off their skills. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki were very competitive with European manufacturers when it came to mid-market bikes in the US. Honda had released bikes at a wide variety of displacements based on the same design as its …
Baja Legend – 1974 Honda “XL432” Bill Bell Hybrid
The name Bill Bell goes hand-in-hand with the Baja 500 (and 1000). For more than a decade, the legendary tuner churned out countless purpose-built racers that gave deep-pocketed factory works teams a good run for their money, and with the occasional exception of Husqvarna, Bell’s Hondas were the machines to beat at the Baja 500.
“American” MXer – 1974 Indian MT100
Decades before Polaris Industries acquired Indian Motorcycle, the manufacturer traded hands numerous times, giving rise to a number of very…non-Indian Indians. For a time Brockhouse Engineering sold rebadged and slightly modified Royal Enfields under the Indian name. The company was later sold off again, this time to AMC, which proceeded to sell rebadged AJS and Matchless bikes as Indians, though …
Wood Rotax 560 Four-Stroke – 1984 KTM 504 MX
At the dawn of the 1980s, a myriad of manufacturers were experimenting with producing a competitive four-stroke motocrosser, though dethroning the mighty two-stroke was a major uphill battle. Quite a few marques put their faith in Rotax, who had then recently debuted an impressive 498cc four-stroke single. Seeing the potential of the half-liter thumper, KTM worked out a deal with …
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 …
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, …
Bevel Drive Single – 1965 Ducati 160 Monza Junior
Brothers Joseph and Michael Berliner played a highly influential role in the motorcycle industry for several decades starting in the 1950s. Their company, the Berliner Motor Corporation, was the US distributor for a number of European marques such as Norton, Moto Guzzi, Zundapp, and Ducati. With the American moto market being one of the world’s biggest purchasers of bikes, the …
Vance & Hines Supersport Replica – 1992 Yamaha FZR 600
In 1992, Yamaha offered 600 examples of a limited edition replica of their Vance & Hines AMA Supersport bike. This is #505, and it’s nicest example I’ve seen offered of a model that rarely comes up for sale.
Unexpected Road Racer – 1998 Honda CR500
7-7-18 Update: Tim H notes that this bike is back up for sale with a serious discount – the asking price has been reduced from $4,500 to $3,200. It looks like someone bought the bike from Brian last year and is now looking to let it go themselves. Find it Glenview, Illinois for $3,200 here on Craigslist. Built by Brian …
Kitted Cub – 1966 Honda C100 with Roadster Kit
While Honda found success with its small step-through models in most markets, the Japanese marque struggled to sell scooters in the same numbers in the US. Honda looked to change this with the introduction of what it called the “Custom Group”, consisting of four different add-on kits (the Roadster, Rally, Boss, and Student) designed to make little runners like the …
No Title – 1986 Honda GB400TT Cafe
Never sold in the US, the GB400 was imported by the seller from Japan with the intention of “doing a cafe build”. Thankfully, his priorities have changed and this bike is still stock.
162 Horsepower “Dirt” Bike – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Custom
It’s in Finland and it makes very little sense, so I don’t expect any one of you to buy this. But, it IS for sale and it’s good for a laugh, so I feel like I have to share it!