Founded in England in 1959 by Derek and Don Rickman, Metisse Motorcycles quickly developed a name for off-road excellence with their custom frame designs for British engines that led to wins in the Moto Cross des Nations as well as 250cc and 500cc GP motocross championships. Their success soon expanded into road racing as well, but they were best known …
One Year Only – 1992 Yamaha WR200
Yamaha’s competitor to the very successful KDX200, the WR200 (WR stood for “Wide Ratio”) was only offered in the US for one year, though it was sold in other markets for longer.
1979 Honda CR250 Moto-X Fox
Founded by Geoff Fox in 1974, the company we currently know as Fox Racing was started under the name of Moto-X Fox as a mail order business. They quickly expanded to offer hard parts, protective gear, casual apparel, and even products for ATVs, cars, and bicycles. In ’77, they started their own race team in AMA, and it led to …
1984 Can-Am CMT 320
After Can-Am ended up under the wing of Amstrong/CCM, they experimented with some different models. One of the rarer bikes was the CMT series, trials bikes that were available between 1983 and 1987 in varying displacements.
1965 Tule Trooper
Jim Edwins was the man behind the J. I. Edwins Company in Issaquah, Washington. The firm was best known for the production of the “Trooper”, a competitor to the better-known Tote Gote.
CR500-Powered – 2009 KTM 450
This bike combines a KTM 450 chassis with a Honda CR500 motor, and the seller states that it weighs 225 pounds and makes 70 horsepower at the wheel. Good lord. Plus it’s got a Florida title, because they’ll title anything! He says that “the bike feels flickable in the air yet solid on the ground. It’s the best of old …
1969 Maico 360 X4
Cycle World’s May 1st 1968 review of the X4 starts with the following: “What a difference a year has made to Maico’s 360-cc motocross model. In a little over 12 months, the West German factory has transformed the bike from a competitive but unsensational mount, to one of the fastest and toughest scramblers available.”
Mugen Kitted – 1981 Honda CR250R
One of the coolest upgrades one can find for their classic Honda dirt bike is a Mugen upgrade kit – here’s one that comes with a NOS “Mugen Works Water Cooled Super Pro Kit” built for a CR250.
2006 Suzuki RM250 Ricky Carmichael Edition
2005 marked the last time that a two-stroker won an AMA Supercross championship, and the feat was accomplished by Ricky Carmichael on a Team Makita Suzuki. To commemorate the feat, Suzuki announced a limited edition model for the following year.
1985 Cagiva WMX 500
Though they sold many more examples of the WMX 125 and the 250, Cagiva also offered a 500cc open class monster of their MX series in the 80s.
1981 Montesa VG250
Restored by Southwest Montesa as a replica of the works Montesa 414 raced in 1981, this VG250 is equipped with a rebuilt 414 motor and a few other goodies – it has “never been ridden and has been stored indoors for 10+ years.”
Race Replica – 1969 Yamaha RT1
Restored by Chuck Davis Restorations, this RT1 has been covnerted into a replica of Yamaha’s ’69 factory MX race bike, the 250cc DT1M. As Yamaha put it, “here is proof that high performance machines can also be beautiful.“
1971 Rokon Trailbreaker
Rokon was founded in the early 60s with the intent of developing a “moto-tractor” that featured two wheel drive. This task was achieved with a combination of shaft, chain, and belt drives, and it enabled riders to go nearly anywhere – as long as they weren’t in a rush!
2020 KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
For the last few years, KTM’s offered a customer version of the race bike they use in legendary competitions like the Dakar. Called the RFR (for Rally Factory Replica), it features a race-spec chassis, WP XACT PRO suspension, Akrapovic exhaust, windshield with navigation tower, and a whole bunch of pedigree – when this bike was released, KTM had won the …
Restored – 1983 Husqvarna 500 XC
In 1983, Husqvarna introduced a new 500cc motor for their Open Class bikes, and they promptly won the 1983 Baja 1000 in 14:48:10 with the US team of Dan Smith and Dan Ashcraft. While there were obviously plenty of modifications to the race bike, the production motorcycle was quite formidable in its own right. They’re also not easy to find …