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Needs Work – 1969 Indian Boy Racer

In America, Off-Road, Race by Abhi1 Comment

Back in the days when Floyd Clymer owned the Indian name, he dabbled with a few small motorcycles like the Papoose, MM-5 minibike or the MT series of dirtbikes. One of the more interesting offerings from Indian at the time was the Boy Racer, a “scaled down ultra-lightweight for the budding enthusiast in your family“, aimed at getting 6 to …

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Rocket Performance – 2016 Yamaha YZ250F

In Japan, Off-Road, Race by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post-Listing Update: This Yammie MX bike got no interest at the BIN of $15,000. Rocket Exhaust builds parts to help privateers compete with with the big boys in Motocross and Supercross. Don Leib is the president of Rocket, and he built this bike for his son to compete with – until the son was signed to a pro team. Now …

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1984 KTM 495 MX

In Austria, Off-Road by AbhiLeave a Comment

Available as the MX or MXC (motocross or cross-country off-roader), the KTM 495 was an absurdly fast Open class dirt bike – Rod Bush apparently took a re-geared example up to 123.75 miles per hour on El Mirage Dry Lake with an ’81.

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Needs Some Work – 2 1973 Alouette AX125 Projects

In America, Off-Road by Abhi1 Comment

Normally when you think of motorcycle makers based out of Canada, the first thing that comes to mind is Can-Am. But some of you may remember Alouette, a Canadian snowmobile manufacturer that expanded into dirt bikes so that their dealers would have vehicles to sell and service during the summer. The AX125 was introduced in 1973, but sales were abysmal …

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Signed By Penton – 1978 KTM 400

In Austria, Off-Road by Abhi3 Comments

KTM started as a workshop in 1934, named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. Kraftfahrzeuge roughly translates to Motor Vehicles, Trunkenpolz was the last name of the founder, and Mattighofen is the town where the manufacturing plant was located. In 1953, Ernst Kronreif bought into the firm – the K was renamed after his last name, and KTM introduced their first production bike …

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Needs Some Work – 1979 Chrysler Snorunner

In America, Less than 5k, Off-Road, Small Displacement by Abhi2 Comments

Post Sale Update: This Snorunner sold for $1,065 after 25 bids on eBay. The Chrysler Snorunner has an interesting history, though there isn’t 100% consensus on the origin story. Some people claim that Chrysler built them for the Army, which was looking for light weight snow transport that could carry a soldier for 30 miles. Unfortunately, the finished vehicle was …

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ESO Engined – 1965 Rickman Metisse

In Off-Road, Race by AbhiLeave a Comment

ESO was a Czech motorcycle manufacturer that is not well known because they ran from 1949 to 1964 and they only built racers. The company was founded by Jaroslav Simandl, a former motorcycle racer who started with JAP engines and then had his company start building their own in 1950.

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1957 BSA Spitfire Scrambler

In England, Off-Road, Race by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Sale Update: This Spitfire Scrambler sold for the BIN of $8,500 on eBay. Of the many BSA A10 models, one of the rarest would have to be the Spitfire Scrambler (aka the Rocket Gold Star Scrambler). Here’s a beautiful example that was acquired by the seller as a ‘rusted rubble of parts’ and rebuilt to ‘a quality standard.’ The …

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DirtWise – 2014 KTM 250 SX

In Austria, Off-Road by AbhiLeave a Comment

DirtWise is an off-road riding academy run by Shane Watts, former World Enduro champion, ISDE Overall champion, and GNCC champion. Part of his program includes a race team sponsored by Maxxis and Klim, as well as a “Ready to Race” rental program. Unfortunately, those programs are closing, so they’ve got some bikes to get rid of. Here’s a KTM 250 …

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Needs Some Work – 1970 Moto Beta Premier Bebe 50

In Italy, Less than 5k, Off-Road, Small Displacement by AbhiLeave a Comment

Moto Beta was almost 50 years old when they expanded from bicycles into motorcycles. They’re probably best known for their trials bikes of the 90s – Dougie Lampkin won the World Championship in ’97, ’98, and ’99 with the marque. In the 70s, some Moto Betas were imported to the US under the Premier name, like the little off-roader you …