Post Sale Update: This project sold quite quickly at the asking price of $1,250. It’s a well known success story of how “Paco” Bulto resigned from Montesa in 1958 and formed a new company that had almost instant success on the track and a long and legendary run in dirt racing. The Matador started out as a 200 CC dirt …
5 Rarities in Italy
A elderly gentleman in Carini, Italy has a collection of bikes, most of which he has owned for over 30 years. Unfortunately, he is getting old and needs to sell some motorcycles, so a group of his friends are helping out. They’ve currently got 5 bikes up on eBay, and all are said to be “in beautiful restored condition” and …
1971 Norton Commando 750 Cafe Racer
Any reader of this site doesn’t need an explanation of why the Norton Commando is one of the legends of motorcycling history. I like this example because it’s got a “cafe” tank, seat, and clipons – I think it’s a beautiful twist on a legend. What do you say?
Entry Level Harley? 1967 Harley-Davidson M65 Sport
In the 1960’s Harley Davidson realized it had nothing to compete with the small, entry level motorcycles that were flooding into the US from the Far East. As a result, it teamed with Aermacchi in Italy to produce Harley-badged models for the US market. The first to appear in the US was the Sprint 250, and later this model, labelled …
1982 Honda Motocompo
Post Listing Update: After being relisted, this Motocompo was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. I don’t know why I like the Motocompo so much. It’s just so quirky and adorable that I can’t help but want one. Honda designed the Motocompo as a 50cc folding scooter that would fit in the trunk of subcompact cars Honda was …
Auto MX – 1978 Husqvarna 390 AMX
Husqvarna is a proud Swedish company with over a 100-year history of making motorcycles. While they built many street and road-racing bikes prior to WW2, they are best known for their dominance in motocross, enduro and desert racing in the 1960s and 70s. The 1978 Husky 390 put out 41HP at 8000rpm and was very competitive with the open motocrossers …
1970 Rupp Enduro
In the 70s, Rupp was one of the leading producers of minibikes in the US. They introduced the Enduro in 1970 along with a company-wide new design for the frame and carb.
280 Miles – 1969 Suzuki AS50 Maverick
This tiddler was Suzuki’s baby street scrambler – good for 59 miles per hour and 114 miles per gallon. This example still needs to be broken in as it has just 280 miles on the odometer.
2005 BMW 1150RT-P Police
Have problems with traffic, but don’t live in California and enjoy the advantages of lane-splitting? Here’s your answer. BMW has provided motorcycles for many state and local police units, and the R1150RT-P was a model purpose-built for Police use. The basic bike was a stock 1150RT, but it had several optional modifications to safety equipment (crash bars), storage(radio topbox), and …
1966 Suzuki S32-2 Olympian
Known as the Olympian, the Suzuki S32-2 was a handsome two-stroker with a 150cc twin engine. Here’s a runner which looks to be in decent shape thanks to new tires, new paint, and a reupholstered original seat.
Serial #1 – 1982 Cub Commuter Microcar Project
Built by Convenient Machines, the Cub Commuter was one of several efforts in the 80s to produce a cheap mode of personal transport for Americans. A seller in Vermont has two projects available. They’ll both need a lot of work, but one of them is the first example off the production line.
Twin Engined – Custom 2x150cc Baja Trike
When reader Christian E sent this over to me, he said it was most definitely “Bi” and “Curious.” How could I not feature it?
RC36 – 1991 Honda VFR750F
Now normally I would not get all too excited about a Honda sportbike. They generally fit into the category referred to as “UJMs”, that is, universal Japanese motorcycles, the standard inline-4 cylinder we are all so familiar with. But back in 1986 Honda took a slightly different route. The 1986 model was introduced as a fully-faired, V-4 of 748cc, with …
Beautiful Cosmetics – 1969 Yamaha DS6C
The seller says he doubts “there is a DS6C in this type of condition outside of a museum.” It hasn’t run in 4 years but it’s been properly stored. I haven’t seen one better – plus this comes with a spare bike that needs new rings so you’ve got nearly every spare you could want. (Yeah, except rings. Smartass.)
1977 Bultaco Frontera 370
In 1977, Bultaco had good success in the International Six Days Trail. The US entered a team of three riders on Bultaco hybrids that utilized both Frontera and Pursang parts and all three competitors achieved Gold Medals. Bultaco took what they learned from the competition and quickly revised the production Frontera.