The Hornet is one of the rarest of the BSA offerings, it was sold from 1964 through 1967 and almost exclusively in the US. Aimed at the US off road market it was known as the Spitfire Hornet in ‘64 and ‘65 but the ‘Spitfire’ was dropped for ‘66 and ‘67. The bike was sold with no lights or mufflers, …
1 of 250 – 2002 Ducati 748S
Post Sale Update: After 32 bids on eBay, this 748S sold for $8,100. Officially, Ducati called this special grey/white/red paint scheme Titanium Grey, but Ducati fans have called it something slightly different over the years. They call it the “Semi Senna”, as it harks back to the officially licensed Senna 916 from the mid 90s. The 748S variant was not …
Rare in Red – 1966 Honda CB450
It’s like a Zen Koan: Is a motorcycle truly rare with a serial # of 29,xxx? It may be. I am very familiar with the CB450 ‘Black Bomber’, I seriously wanted one at the time. Every CB450 shipped to the US in 1966 was black, and was called the ‘Black Bomber’. Except for less than 500 white ones which were …
1993 Honda CBR900RR
Years from now, pristine early Fireblades will bring silly money at the big bike auctions. One of the most important sport bikes of the 90s, it changed expectations of the market by coming in at an insane 76 pounds less than its lightest competition. It weighed just 4 pounds more than its little brother CBR600F2. As Motorcycle News puts it, …
2013 MV Agusta F4RR Corsacorta
When the 2013 F4RR was offered to the public, it got one of the most thorough electronics packages riders had seen to date. It was the first production road bike to offer an electronically-assisted shifter that would let you downshift without using the clutch (and automatically blip the throttle for you, as well). Despite all that and the gorgeous styling, …
Thunderball Repro – 1965 BSA Lightning
10-15-16 Update: Tom W notes that this bike is back up for sale. Even though no one seemed to want it at $10,999 8 months ago, the seller is now asking for $13,999 or best offer here on eBay. Post-Listing Update: This Lightning reproduction got no interest at $10,999. One of the coolest motorcycles to appear in the Bond franchise …
1 of 101 – 1983 Bimota HB3
Post Listing Update: This HB3 did not meet reserve despite bidding up to $8,950. Another rare and exquisite bike from Massimo Tamburini, the HB3 was Bimota’s third model with a Honda engine. This time around it utilized the air-cooled four cylinder from a CB1100F. 101 examples were produced (43 with a half fairing and 58 with a full fairing). Here’s …
Vintage Racer – 1974 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV 750
Post Listing Update: This Kawi was pulled off of eBay because it was “lost or broken.” Bah. This H2 was built up as a hot street bike in the past, however 6-7 years ago it was decommissioned and put on display. The seller was planning on modifying the bodywork and putting it back on the street, but he’s got too …
Mild Custom – 1966 Ducati 250 Mk3
Looks like this bike started as a Diana, and now it’s a tidy little custom that I think looks great. The seller is light on details but it’s said to run well and need nothing.
1960 Norton Dominator 99
The twin cylinder Dominator designed by Bert Hopwood was first available as a 500 CC in 1949 and evolved into the Dominator model 99. By 1960 it had vastly improved electrics and brakes which made it a great part of Norton’s line up. A factory tuned Domiracer variant was raced in ‘61 and ‘62 and the whole project was eventually …
1956 MV Agusta CSTL 175
MV Agusta was formed in 1945 by the heirs of Giovanni Agusta in an attempt to save jobs for employees of Agusta Aviation. The company won the first of its more than 30 GP titles in 1953 with a 125cc. Race it on Sunday, Sell it on Monday was the company motto and it worked really well for 25 years. …
1 of 2400 – 1977 Triumph Bonneville Silver Jubilee
Post Listing Update: This Silver Jubilee did not meet reserve despite 30 bids up to $6,500. One of the rarest forms of the Triumph Bonneville, this bike was one of 2,400 produced to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s time at the top. 1,000 went to the US, 1,000 stayed home in the UK, and 400 were built for …
1993 Ducati 888 SPO
Post Sale Update: This 888 SPO sold for $9,600 after 25 bids on eBay. The 888SPO gets less attention than the average limited edition Ducati, but values are starting to go up as riders are appreciating the wonder of a bike that won both the World Superbike and AMA Superbike championships in 1993. Just 390 were built between 1993 and …
Heinrich Tank – 1968 BMW R69S
Post Sale Update: This R69S sold for $15,100 after 13 bids on eBay. If you wanted to avoid gas stations on your classic BMW, then Karl Heinrich was one of very few people you wanted to talk to. He designed a few different sizes ranging from about 8-10 gallons – here’s a 8.2 gallon tank that’s turned a R69S into …
Pantah Project – 1980 Ducati Pantah 500SL
My least favorite phrase when perusing motorcycle listings has to be “ran when parked.” It’s often a dealbreaker but occasionally a bike is still interesting enough that I’ll just look past it and move on…like the case with this Pantah 500SL.