Produced for just three years, the Cagiva Alazzurra was a rebadged Ducati street bike. Cagiva purchased Ducati in 1985, and was looking to grow their market share in larger-displacement bikes. Instead of building one from scratch, they used a 650cc version of the Pantah engine for both the Alazzurra and the Elefant.
In England – 1979 Honda CB650Z Custom
View PostNice Price – Restored 1987 Honda VFR700F2
For a few years in the US, Honda was importing a VFR700 in conjunction with the legendary 750 to get around the “Save Harley” tariff. But by ’87, Honda stopped shipping the big brother, and in ’88 and ’89 they stopped sending over the VFR in any displacement. Here’s a final year example of the second generation VFR, which is …
1984 Moto Morini 3 1/2 Sport
Imported from England into the United States 3 years ago, this bike is claimed to be in very good condition.
1973 MV Agusta 350B Elettronica
View Post1976 Benelli 500 Quattro
The Benelli Quattro – named for its four-cylinder engine, was built under Alejandro de Tomaso’s leadership in an attempt to revitalize Benelli and to directly take on the Japanese (particularly Honda’s CB500 Four). In fact, de Tomaso bought a CB500 for his engineers and told them to ‘get inspiration’ from the bike, though the styling was handled by Paul Martin …
1992 Suzuki RGV250 VJ22
30 years ago, Suzuki built a 250 two-stroke race-replica of its Gamma V-2 racer – good for over 50 horsepower in the narrow power-band. The Suzuki RGV250 was born, and it was impressive.As MCN puts it, “back in the day 250cc race replicas were the sharpest handling, most frenzied, maddest things you could buy on two wheels. Nowadays the RGV250 …
1991 Ducati 851
Released in 1987, the Ducati 851 was a technological leap forward that made Ducati relevant in racing again. Here’s an example that’s spent some time as a vintage road racer, but it’s now street legal again for you to enjoy wherever you please.
Purple Widowmaker – 1973 Kawasaki H2
Post Sale Update: This H2 sold for $10,000 after 21 bids on eBay. A legend in the motorcycling world, the Kawasaki H2 750 is remembered so fondly thanks to its peaky, narrow powerband and its poor handling characteristics. A bike for experts only, the Widowmaker commands respect wherever it goes.
1958 Ariel Cyclone
A 650cc high-compression variant of the Huntmaster, the Ariel Cyclone was a very rare bike. It seems that the list of documented Cyclones is 174 over two years of production. Ariel called it their “Super Sports Twin”, thanks to a 40 horsepower engine that was an option on the Huntmaster.
Restored – 1964 BSA Lightning Rocket
In their seemingly never-ending quest to take over the US market, BSA took their Rocket and then made it faster with a high state of tune. Here’s a ‘completely restored’ example that’s been given some tasteful upgrades.
106 of 800 – 2000 Buell X1 Millennium
Post Sale Update: After 6 bids on eBay, this limited edition Buell sold for $3,100. 6-27-15 Update: This X1 Millenium is back up for sale, this time with bidding up to $2,800 here on eBay. Post-Listing Update: This X1 did not sell as bidding only got up to $2,025. Presumably named after its year of release, the Buell X1 Millennium …
1964 BMW R-Series Hot Rod
View Post1953 Vincent Comet
A single-cylinder evolution of the famous Rapide, the Vincent Comet was one of four models using the 499cc single engine. The 499cc single engine was a stressed member of the frame and put out 28 horsepower thanks to an impressive (for the time) 7.3:1 compression ratio. Those ponies went through a four speed transmission and the bike was rounded out …
Concourse Sandcast Resto – 1969 Honda CB750
Post-Listing Update: After 24 bids on eBay up to $18,600, this CB did not meet reserve. Starting with an abandoned chopper project, the seller of this bike took two years bringing it back to life as a beautiful sandcast bike.