1984 was the last year of the XR500R and it went out in style with a victory at the Baja 1000. The following year, Honda would bump up displacement to create the XR600. This example stands out as it is plated, it has just 850 miles, and it looks great.
A Collection of 6 Sportbikes
Someone in Denver, Colorado is letting go of a fine collection of 6 bikes. Normally when someone offers up a set like this the asking prices are all silly. In this case, I think they’re quite reasonable. Which would you want to take home?
Narrow-Case Duck – 1967 Ducati Monza 250
The Monza was one of a myriad of quarter-liter singles from Ducati, but it was an important one in the Italian marque’s history. Supposedly, the ‘narrow-case’ 250cc was originally designed in response to a request from a high-volume Ducati dealership in England. Ducati would produce singles between 1950 and 1974. For a reason unbeknownst to me, some of the Ducatista …
BeOn GP Kit – 2007 Aprilia SXV550 Road Racer
10-31-17 Update: Reader Frank S notes that this bike is back up for sale with a $1,500 discount – you can now find it here on Craigslist for $8,000. Based out of Valencia, Spain, BeOn Automotive has developed a “450 GP” kit to turn common 450 MX bikes into road racers. Here’s a kit-equipped Aprilia SXV550 that’s been raced by …
Lightweight ADV – 1988 Honda NX250
The easy complaint with what manufacturers are calling “ADV Bikes” nowadays is that they’re just too damn big. If you also subscribe to that theory, let me go back in time a few decades with you. The middle weight of the Honda NX line-up (which also included a 125 and a 650) was the NX250, which was available for just …
2004 Moto Guzzi V11 LeMans Nero Corsa
Post Sale Update: After 25 bids on eBay, this Nero Corsa sold for $7,000. The last of the spine frame Guzzis, the Nero Corsa was a beautiful limited edition of the V11 LeMans. I’ve seen rumors that just 200 were built (50 of which made it to the US), but I have not been able to confirm that with an …
Repsol Livery – 2014 Honda Grom Custom
The most obvious modification to this Grom is the Repsol livery, but the list of upgrades is extensive and pricey. Does that mean it’s worth owning?
In the UK – Pro Grade SBK Racers
The Honda CBR 1000RR and Yamaha R1 have earned a reputation for being highly competent production machines in their stock form, however an ample amount of factory and aftermarket performance-parts have the ability to take these race-inspired road-goers to professional racing caliber. Taking things one step further is the fact that professional level Superbikes like this receive the benefit of …
The French NCR – Roadson 1078R
Since 1992, Jean-Francois Robert has been designing ultra-lightweight race machinery, first under the brand name ’Tucson’ with the slogan “Light is Right.” The boutique French race house’s aim is to compete with other prestigious shops such as NCR and Pierobon. Robert would partner with Yann Bakonyi and together the pair of designers and engineers would churn out some seriously impressive …
V-Rod Destroyer – 2006 Harley-Davidson VRXSE
A drag bike straight from the factory, the Harley-Davidson VRXSE was an in-house bike created by the Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) department of H-D. With a skilled rider, one could knock-out ETs between under 10 seconds right from the dealership. According to Kevin Duke from Motorcycle.com, when this bike was released it was the quickest accelerating production vehicle ever built. …
Turbocharged Land Speed Competitor – 2001 Yamaha R1
The seller of this bike modified it to compete at Bonneville in 2014 – it most recently ran this summer but it only “ran OK.” The carb jetting wasn’t spot on so this bike has more to give. The seller also has more to give as he doesn’t mention how much power the motor is making or how fast this …
Inclined Depression-Era Brit – 1931 Triumph WO
1931 was a pretty significant year for the British motorcycle history. Ariel debuted its legendary Square Four (designed by Edward Turner), Britain issued its first Highway Code laws, and it was an even bigger year for Triumph who introduced an array of new offerings that brought the number of total models offered in the 1931 motorcycle range up to ten. …
$1,000 – 1981 Honda C70 Passport Deluxe
The Passport (or Super Cub, depending on where you live) is the best selling motor vehicle in history by a large margin. Over 60 million units have covered miles all around the world, and they’ve served all kinds of roles first bikes to family SUVs. James May has gone on record multiple times saying the Cub is the greatest machine …
In England – 1961 Honda Benly CB92 Racer
The CB92 was the king of its class in its day and was produced by many of the same Honda employees that were behind the marque’s first ever RC racer. Soichiro Honda released the CB92 – aka Benly Super Sport – in 1959, just a year after the RC71. Supposedly, 24,251 examples were produced from ’59-’65 (although some sources say …
1960 Matchless G80CS
Post Listing Update: After 32 bids on eBay, this Matchless did not meet reserve at $6,700. CS stands for Competition Suspension, and for several years it was the top-of-the-line variant of the G80 (if you ignore the 125 examples of the rare Typhoon G80TCS). In Matchless’ mind, all you had to do was pull off the headlight and you’d have …