Post Listing Update: This Commando did not meet reserve despite 36 bids up to $18,362 on eBay. The 1970s Norton Commando was one of several notable products coming from the British motorcycle industry. As electric starters, disc brakes, and smooth operation became mainstays of Japanese competitors, British bike sales declined and quality stayed the same. Then, in 1975, the Mark …
Restored Vintage Enduro – 1980 Yamaha IT175
Immediately after Yamaha unveiled the IT400 in 1976, a trio of Yamaha riders nabbed gold medals at the Austrian International Six Day Trials on the newly debuted IT’s. With the success of the 400, the Tuning Fork Company opted to expand the IT — or “International Trial” — range the following year to include smaller displacement variants, one of which …
1978 Kawasaki Z1-R
Post Listing Update: This Z1-R did not meet reserve despite 3 bids up to $10,500. Wayne Moulton has had quite a career in the motorcycling industry, including roles as President for Triumph Motorcycles America and Vetter Fairings, as well as Vice President of Kawasaki. He was known for a philosophy that “a popular motorcycle can have four different variations – …
Ready to Race – 1992 Yamaha TZ250D
Post Listing Update: This TZ250 did not meet reserve despite 20 bids up to $10,177 on eBay. 2-26-19 Update: Two years later, Mazlow Petosa notes that this TZ is back up for sale. It’s got a new racing number, a new home, and it looks like it’s covered about 120 miles since it was last offered for sale. Find this …
Unrestored Factory Flat Tracker – 1955 Harley-Davidson KR750
Post Listing Update: This KR did not get any interest at the BIN of $22,500. Fresh on the heels of the Great Depression, the AMA introduced what was known as “Class C” racing — an organized form of motorized two-wheeled competition created and structured to allow for a relatively low cost of entry in hopes of attracting more riders to …
1972 Suzuki RV90 Rover
Post Listing Update: This Suzuki RV90 did not get any interest at the opening bid of $1,200. Minibikes are back in! What started with the just the Honda Grom 125 has turned into a multi-class 24 hour endurance race featured on motorcycle.com with a cameo by me, and culminated with Abhi riding a new Super Cub to an event at …
1,045cc – 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 MkII
Post Sale Update: This KZ sold for $13,450 after 13 bids on eBay. An evolution of the KAZ900, the KZ1000 was the fastest production bike when it was released in 1976 (as a ’77 model) thanks to its 83 horsepower, 1,015cc inline four motor. The bike might be most famous for the police variant, which gained popularity on the show …
1969 Velocette Venom Clubman
Post Sale Update: This Clubman sold for $15,000 after 25 bids on eBay. Introduced in 1955, the Velocette Venom had a distinctive claim to fame – in 1961, a factory-prepped Venom Clubman was the first motorcycle to average over 100 MPH over the course of 24 hours. The challenge was completed at the 1.7 miles concrete oval track at Montlhéry, …
Rare Project – 1961 Norton Manxman
Post Listing Update: This Manxman did not meet reserve despite 39 bids up to $4,450 on eBay. Built just between November 1960 and October 1961, the Norton Manxman is a rare bike that was built for export only – most came to the US, though another significant chunk went to Australia.
What Do You Want To Know? 2019 Kawasaki Z400
UPDATE: Here’s my review! At the Long Beach International Motorcycle Show, Kawasaki debuted several models for the US market. The one I was most excited about was the new-for-2019 Z400 ABS. To oversimplify, it’s a naked version of the Ninja 400. That’s good news to me, as I love naked bikes and I think the Ninja 400 was excellent. This …
Wayne Ransom Build – Kawasaki KX500AF
Post Sale Update: This custom KX sold for $16,750 after 63 bids on eBay. On the cover of their February 2019 issue, Dirt Bike magazine featured a “high-tech KX500 for the 21st century.” Built by Wayne Ransom, this aluminum-framed KX500 features extensive use of titanium, as it was used to build the fuel tank, exhaust, subframe, front headmount, engine mount …
1964 DKW Hummel 115
Post Sale Update: This DKW – sold for $8,700 after 22 bids on eBay. In the early 1960s, Zweirad Union was comprised of DKW, Victoria, and Express. The first two companies shared a model that was boringly named either the DKW Type 115 or the Victoria Type 155. Both bikes got a much more interesting nickname from the public: the …
Lighting Kit – 1972 Honda TL125
Post Listing Update: This TL125 was sold on Facebook, final sale price unknown. The TL125 was Honda’s first production trials bike. It was introduced in 1973 and was much more affordable than the competition, but trials never truly caught on in the states and it was out of the market by 1976. This example stands out as it’s one of …
German Postal Service – 1962 Heinkel Tourist Model 103 A2
After World War II, the Allies banned manufacturers like Heinkel from producing airplanes. They decided to try their hand at personal transport with the production of vehicles like microcars, bicycles, and scooters like the Tourist you see here.
Japanese American Mini Trail – 1977 Hodaka Dirt Squirt 80
Hodaka Motorcycles first started as a producer of engines before later joining forces with another existing outfit and going on to build complete bikes. The Japanese (and American joint) firm capitalized on the influx in popularity of small displacement trail bikes — a phenomenon due largely thanks to Honda’s wares and marketing. Hodaka’s philosophy was that riding should be affordable/accessible, …