The seller sums this bike up better than I probably could: “This is the answer to a question nobody asked. Its a BSA B50 single in a Yamaha RZ350 chassis. I can say with 100% certainty you will never find another, and you will be the only person out there with one in the entire world.”
99 Miles – 1980 Yamaha XS1100 Midnight Special
Like most Japanese manufacturers, Yamaha offered a “Special” variant of their UJM to appeal to American consumers – these typically offered pullback bars, extra chrome/polished covers, different exhausts, wider rear tires, stepped seats, and different paint jobs. Yamaha also offered a “Midnight Special” version across several models (even on the tiny RX50 cruiser!), including the XS750, XS850, and XS1100. Here’s …
Rare Project – 1987 Ducati Indiana
In the early ’80s, Yamaha introduced the Virago, prompting the rest of the big four on the island to follow suit with their own American cruiser-style offerings, (Honda with the Shadow, Kawa with the Vulcan, Suzuki with the Intruder). Cagiva — which acquired Ducati from the Italian government in ’85 — took notice of this and, wanting to nab a …
Factory (?) Flat Tracker – 1984 Honda RS600
Jeff Blackmore of Blackmore Ranch has a hell of a bike collection (and a facility), though it looks like he’s selling one of flat trackers.
High Miles, Low Price – 1990 BMW K1
Impressively, previous owners of this K1 have put more than 90,000 miles on it – Flying Bricks are known for being quite reliable but the exotic K1 variant typically gets less use than its touring siblings like the RS or LT. Still, it’s very cool to see that someone enjoyed this bike, and now it’s your chance to.
289 Miles – 2008 Benelli Tre-K 1130 Amazonas
Over on the auction site we’ve got a rare touring bike with a shockingly low amount of miles – just 289 on this big dual-sport for those of you that think the Ducati Multistrada is too common. Like the Multi, the TRE K is a street-oriented adventure bike, though this is one of the “Amazonas” variants that adds spoked-wheels (with …
2004 BMW R1150R
BMW’s R1150R standard wasn’t a particularly sexy bike (I normally feature the Rockster variant when possible) but they’re excellent workhorses for taller commuters or people that just want to travel on two wheels, especially when equipped with a tall windscreen and factory luggage like this example features.
1989 ATK 406
Over on the auction site we’ve got one of the most interesting American-built dirt bikes of all time. ATK was founded by Horst Leitner, an Austrian motorcycle racer who came to the US in a quest to build his own bikes. In 1981, Leitner developed and patented what he called “Anti-Tension Kettenantrieb”, a device designed to eliminate chain torque. He …
1993 Yamaha Seca II
I have a bit of a soft spot for the Seca II – I bought one for $600 to start riding again after some time away from riding during school. It wasn’t particularly great at anything, but the riding posture was much better suited for commuting that the average 600cc ‘sport’ bike. The relative lack of excitement around the model …
“Hardon” – Norton Featherbed Frame with H-D XL1200 Engine
Usually when I see a Harley motor stuffed into a Norton frame, the resulting creation is called a Narley or Norley. The builder of this went…a different way.
2001 MZ Baghira Black Panther
Normally a manufacturer releases a bike with multiple color options and it’s not a big deal. But when MZ wanted to update their “Street Moto” model called the Baghira with different colors on the plastics, they created separate model names such as the “Forest” for a military green or the “Black Panther” for…well, you can guess.
346 Miles – 1997 Moto Guzzi Sport 1100i
More of a sport-tourer than an outright sportbike, the 1100i (i is for fuel injection) is a beautiful anomaly from the usual Guzzi fare of torquey cruisers. Don’t worry – this still packs the trademark V-Twin, but in this incarnation the motor is surrounded by Brembo brakes, WP suspension, Marchesini alloy wheels, Bitubo steering damper, Pirelli tires, and more.
Super Single Racer – 1986 Yamaha SRX600
The Yamaha SRX600 is a cult classic, but it started as a commercial flop. In the US, it sold for just one year, and it was during a time when American riders valued power above everything else. A relatively light weight bike with a 41 horsepower motor just didn’t cut it – but for riders who can appreciate the styling, …
First Year – 1981 Yamaha PW50
Yamaha’s PW50 has been the first motorcycle for generations of dirt bikers over the years, so it’s cool to see a nice example from the first full year of production that started it all.
#36 of 100 – 1998 Ducati 748L Neiman Marcus Edition
The little brother of the bike that put Ducati back on the map, the 748 was produced in many variations. None were more rare than the Ducati 748L, also known as the Neiman Marcus edition. Only 100 were produced in 1998, and they were exclusively sold through the Neiman Marcus catalog. Though the 748L is the rarest of the 748’s, …