Post-Sale Update: After 40 bids, this Moto Guzzi Ercole sold for $12,759. The Moto Guzzi Ercole (Italian for Hercules) is a fantastic vintage three-wheeler typically used as a shop/farm runabout. Able to carry nearly a ton, this bike truly earned its’ nickname. On either side of the rider there are fold out seats, upping capacity to 3 total individuals, and …
1974 Benelli Tornado 650S
Benelli is one of the very few motorcycles that has been around for over 100 years. An Italian company that has a great history in small displacement racing, the firm decided to specifically target the US and British markets with a vertical twin – the Benelli Tornado 650S that you see in front of you today. At the time of …
Yamaha Power – 2001 MZ Baghira
Post Sale Update: This Baghira sold for $2,025 after 12 bids on eBay. MZ decided to expand their product line with the introduction of the MZ Baghira, a dual sport with excellent components – bodywork from Acerbis, motor from Yamaha, and suspension from WP. It all combined to make a rare and very satisfying dual purpose motorcycle.
1982 Ducati TT2
Among many other things, Ducati is known worldwide nowadays for its trellis frame and belt-driven camshaft V-Twin engine, both of which owe their formation to the 1980 Pantah. The Pantah also formed the base of one of the greatest motorcycles of the 80s – the Ducati TT2 racer.
Electric Dual Sport – Zero DS 11.4
Dual-sport bikes usually conjure up dreams of trips to Alaska and remote exploration. You might not associate a bike that needs to be charged every 100-150 miles with those types of trips, but if you’re someone who trailers a bike to the good stuff, the Zero DS 11.4 might just be the bike for you.
1978 Ducati 900 SD Darmah
Post-Sale Update: After 9 bids on eBay, this Ducati 900 SD Darmah sold for $7,000. After the classic 750 GT of the 70s, Ducati looked to evolve with a simpler engine, and they ended up with the first ‘square case’ bevel twin – the 860 GT. It was a commercial flop, so just a few years later, the Ducati 900 …
Beemer Cruiser – 2000 BMW R1200C
Post-Sale Update: This BMW R1200C sold for a hidden best offer less than $6,250. First shown to the world in the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, the BMW R1200C was Germany’s attempt at the cruiser market. With very distinctive looks, the R12C survived for 7 years, but BMW decided to kill it as the engine wasn’t very suited to the …
Italian Bonanza
Reader David N. alerted us to a veritable treasure trove of classic late 80’s Italians, all being offered by one seller outside of Oklahoma City. We’ve actually written descriptions on all of these models of bikes before, so we won’t bore you with individual details this time around. If you want to learn more about the history about any given …
The Rarest Turbo – 1983 Suzuki XN85
Post Sale Update: This XN85 sold for the BIN of $7,495. On the market for less than a year, Suzuki XN85 was the first factory bike to feature a 16-inch front wheel – previously reserved for race bikes. That wheel, combined with low clip-ons and a Suzuki Full Floater rear suspension made it a nearly peerless handler for the time. …
Double Kitty – Minsk Wildcat 125
After yesterday’s Rare Russian, reader David N. though we’d like to see another one. Meet the Minsk Wildcat, a 125cc dual sport made by the Minsk Motorcycle Company of Belarus. Known for being incredibly durable, they are widely available in Russia, Cambodia, the UK, and Vietnam.
1968 Puch Sabre
Post-Sale Update: After 27 bids on eBay, this Puch Sabre sold for $959. Manufactured for Sears by Puch, the Puch Sabre is technically a motorcycle, though it was marketed as a moped. This European beauty features one of the more interesting-looking engines we’ve ever seen.
Rare Russian – 1992 Voskhod 3M-01
Post-Sale Update: This Voskhod 3M-01 sold for $1,100. Since 1965, a company based out of Kovrov, Russia has been pumping out a variety of motorcycles, all of which utilize a 173cc engine. Some of you may remember these bikes branded as the Cossack, sold in the UK in the 70s, but we’d be impressed if you’ve heard of any of …
Benelli Dreaming – 1974 Yamaha RD250
Post-Sale Update: This RD250 sold for $5,700 on eBay. Produced from ’73 to ’79, the air-cooled Yamaha RD250 was always in the shadow of the famous RD350, but today it provides the base of an interesting Italian-influenced custom. The RD250 produced 30 horsepower and interestingly enough, had 6 gears in the transmission, but you could only access 5. Removing a …
Japanese Muscle – 1978 Kawasaki Z1-R
Post Sale Update: this Z1R sold for $7,400 after 19 bids on eBay. The Kawasaki Z1-R was the brainchild of Wayne Moulton, known as the “Father of the Japanese Cruiser.” His belief was that a solid motorcycle could be moderately tweaked to form four versions, one of which is a sport-tourer.
1990 Honda CB-1
Post-Listing Update: Apparently it’s not meant to be for this CB-1, which did not attract any bids at the opening $4,000 bid after being relisted. 12-6 Update: This CB-1 did not meet reserve, and it’s been re-listed on eBay here. In a time when Japan’s export portfolio to the US was dominated by repli-racers, the Honda CB-1 was a ‘standard’ …