Here’s a little Italian I’ve never heard of, let alone seen: a Benelli Devil!
1990 Moto Morini Dart 400
When the Dart was introduced, Moto Morini was owned by Cagiva – at the time the latter had no mid-sized bike in their model range. They decided to remedy that by taking the frame of their Freccia 125, and then shoving in a Morini 350cc V-Twin. It’s a little odd to see an air-cooled engine surrounded in plastic, but hey, …
Harley-Powered Honda Interceptor
Is this fun or heresy? Or maybe…both?
1967 Suzuki K15 Hillbilly
Introduced in 1965, the Suzuki K15 (also known as the Hillbilly) was a 2-stroker for the trail with features like a skid plate, luggage rack, and swappable sprockets.
1965 Montgomery Wards Riverside 450SS
Post Sale Update: This MW sold for a best offer under $1,100 (eBay does not confirm the final number). Despite the “450” name, this bike (a rebadged Benelli Fireball sold out of Montgomery Wards stores) has a 49cc engine. Maybe the name translates to “4” – number of gears in the transmission and “50” – displacement?
2016 Honda CB500F
Back in 2015 I mentioned a wonderful blog called Rolling Physics Problem by Greg Shamieh (a frequent commenter here at Bike-urious). He’s selling his CB500F – what he calls “the great grandson of the famous CB450 ‘Black Bomber’ – only with the benefit of more than 50 years of technical evolution.”
Unexpected Quad – 1987 Honda Hurricane 600
’87 was the first year of the first generation of the CBR600 – it was quick enough to compete in 600cc racing, but user friendly to still enjoy on the street during the week. When it first came out, it was quite an improvement on the competition – Kawasasaki’s GPZ600 (arguably the class leader at the time) was 28 pounds …
Rare Project For $375 – 1969 Panther 175 Super Sport
The “Panther” name has been part of a few bikes in motorcycling history – the MZ Baghira Black Panther, the Benelli Panther, and even a company named Panther, which was a subsidiary of the British firm Phelon & Moore. But there was a another motorcycle company named Panther in the 60s that was based out of Taiwan, and today we’re …
1:3 Scale Model – Bimota DB1
Well, you’re not going to be able to ride this one, but I still think it’s pretty cool! A company in Italy called Linea Moto is making a run of 100 display models of the famous Bimota DB1.
1990 Honda Zook
Sold only in Japan (and only in 1990), the Zook is a rare 50cc scoot from Honda. Per this press release, Honda planned on selling 40,000 Zooks to young people “as a trendy new model” for urban transportation. They called it “fun to ride” and “fun to look at”. It features a two-stroke, 49ccm motor that produces 3 horsepower.
1984 Moto Guzzi V65 SP
The V65SP was Guzzi’s mid-sized tourer, complete with full upper and lower fairings – it was the little brother to the 1000 Spada.
Pichler Fairing – 1982 Honda MB5
I’ve featured a few bikes with Pichler fairings in the past, but they’ve generally been large-displacement BMWs. Today I learned that Pichler also made a full fairing for something much smaller – a Honda MB5!
1984 Kawasaki KDX200
As Dirt Bike Magazine put it in their model history of the KDX200, “To this day, no one can clearly define the Kawasaki KDX200. Was it a beginner bike designed to teach wives and kids the fine art of off-road riding? Or was it a Navy SEAL of a bike built for the toughest enduros and the most grizzled riders? …
The First Ducati – 1948 Ducati 60
Post Sale Update: This Ducati 60 sold for $3,570 via Buy it Now on eBay. I’m sure I’ll get someone who wants to say that the Cucciolo was actually Ducati’s first motorcycle – but that was really just a bicycle with a mounted engine. The evolution of the Cucciolo (which translated to “little puppy”) was the Ducati 60, what the …
Honda-Powered EML Off-Road Racing Sidecar
This interesting off-roader combines a ’80s EML frame with a Honda XR650R motor – though the frame was originally built for a CR500 motor!