6-15-2018 Update: Over two years later, Zack B notes that this Tomos is back up for sale. It looks much different now (and not for the better, I’d say). Check out pictures in the listing with an unmet opening bid of $999 in Crawfordsville, Indiana here on eBay. Post-Sale Update: After being relisted, this Tomos sold for a hefty $10,420.69. …
Reader Ride – Baker Formula One Sidecar
5-30-2018 Update: Two years later, this interesting sidecar is now actually up for sale! “The electric motor has since been removed and a race-prepared Suzuki GSXR 1000 engine and 6-speed transmission will be included along with a bodywork mold, extra wheels, and a North Carolina bill of sale.” Find it with bidding up to $2,750 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina …
Rod Spry Engineering – John Banks Replica Honda 520
When BSA announced that it would be closing its doors in the early 1970s, a handful of talented riders were left needing a new mount. One of those riders was “Big” John Banks, who would ink a deal to compete on a Cheney machine in the ’73 GP season. He would end up winning the ’73 British Championship on a …
1994 BMW R1100RS Battle of the Legends
One of the most popular American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) race series with fans was the Battle of the Legends, a partnership with BMW that had motorcycling legends face off against each other on identically-prepped BMW bikes. It ran from 1993-1997, and in 1994 the series utilized the R1100RS sport-tourer in a pearl white. The next year would also …
CRTT Tribute – 1973 Aermacchi Sprint 350 Racer
As little bikes from Japan increasingly flooded the market in the ‘60s, American manufacturers started looking into emulating the more nimble foreign offerings rising in popularity. Instead of developing an existing engine, Harley-Davidson opted to purchase a 50 percent stake in Aermacchi, an Italian marque that produced small displacement bikes. This led to the release of the Sprint 250 in …
Team Cycle World/Attack Superbike – 1993 Yamaha YZF-750SP
Post Listing Update: Despite 28 bids up to $12,500, this Yamaha did not meet reserve. Back in the days when motorcycle magazines actually had money to goof around with expensive projects, Cycle World partnered with Attack Performance to campaign a Yamaha YZF-750SP in two runnings of the Daytona 200 as well as a World Superbike race at Laguna Seca. It …
Ex-Bob Stark Flat Track Racer – 1949 Indian Arrow
Indian Motorcycle is in Bob Stark’s blood. His father had an Akron, Ohio dealership started half-a-decade prior to the Hendee Manufacturing Company changing its name to “Indian Motocycle” (that’s right, no “r”). Stark first started wrenching at his dad’s dealership in 1944 – at which point Indian was almost entirely focused on producing machines for the Allied war effort, making …
XR69 Tribute – 1980 Suzuki GS Racer
Post Listing Update: This Suzuki XR69 tribute did not get any action at the asking BIN of $26,000. Also known as the GS1000R, the Suzuki XR69 was born out of Pops Yoshimura’s request for Suzuki to help him with some development of his GS750-based Formula 750 racer. In 1977, F750 became Formula One and they allowed 1,000cc motors. Suzuki started …
ESO Powered – Cheney Vintage MX Project
I’ve featured a few Cheney-framed off-roaders before, but this project may have the most interesting motor out of all of them. One of the legends of off-road frame design, Eric Cheney started as one of Britain’s best MX riders. Unfortunately, he picked up a blood infection while racing in Algeria and it became so bad that he had to stop …
Ex-Drag Racer – 1947 Ariel Red Hunter
Post Sale Update: This Ariel sold for $4,550 after 18 bids on eBay. The seller does such a good job telling the story of this bike that I almost feel silly trying to summarize it. In his words: In January of 1947 George Boskoff, a 20 year old gearhead from the South Bay area of Los Angeles, purchased this very …
T20-Powered, T200-Framed – Well-Farkled Vintage Suzuki Racer
The X6 Hustler was an important model in Suzuki’s history, helping the Japanese marque gain much-needed traction in the US market with the 247cc, two-stroke parallel twin. While motorcycles have obviously come a long way technologically in the more-than-half-century since the model’s release, the Suzuki can still make for an excellent little vintage racer. Case in point: this well-optioned, X6-hustler-powered, …
Brit Speedway Racer – 1928 Douglas SW5
Douglas Motorcycles was a British marque founded in 1907 by brothers William and Edwin Douglas. The Bristol-based outfit was probably best known for its horizontally opposed twins, though it also had a reputation for producing some solid race machines and even dabbled in automobile manufacturing for a decade or so, resulting in the “Cyclecar”. Eventually a myriad of factors would …
Trackmaster Frame – 1967 Triumph Flat Tracker
This gorgeous Triumph has recently been refurbished – if I lived in a state that allowed it, I’d throw the front brake on, add some lights, and get this plated!
Guess That Bike Revealed – Rare Italian Racer Edition
Congratulations to reader yrrah, who was the first to identify this Sanvenero 125 GP! Turns out it’s currently for sale, so here’s what Tim Huber has to say about it:
First Year Race Legend – 1970 Harley-Davidson XR750
For decades, Harley’s XR750 was the machine to beat. From 1972 to 2008, the XR was responsible for taking home 29 out of the 37 possible AMA Grand National Championships, leading to some referring to the machine as the “most successful race bike of all time”. The XR750 was also famously Evel Knievel’s go-to choice when performing jumps/stunts. Before it …