Post-Sale Update: This GPR50 sold for $1,599. Derbi is a small Spanish company that started as a little bicycle shop near Barcelona, Spain. In fact, the name Derbi itself refers to the company’s beginnings, as it’s an acroynm (in Spanish) for “Derivatives of Bicycles). Derbi ended up being the only major Spanish manufacturer to survive the country’s transition to democracy, …
1929 Indian 101 Scout
Considered by some to be the best Indian ever made, the Indian 101 Scout was introduced in 1928 as an upgrade of the Scout that was initially introduced in 1920.
2002 Foggy Ducati Monster
If you’re looking at the number of championships and individual race wins, Carl “Foggy” Fogarty is the most successful racer to ever rule in World Superbike. In 2002, Italy’s most famous motorcycling firm released the Ducati Monster S4 Fogarty Edition, to honor Foggy himself with a limited run of 300 bikes.
1971 Yamaha R5
The Yamaha R5 350cc twin punched way above its weight class and was one of the best bangs for the buck of any bike in the 70s. Though Honda had moved into the world of 4-strokes, Yamaha was making great strides in two-stroke technology. Unlike the Suzuki Titan, Yamaha was looking to get every last drop of power from their …
1984 Honda VF1000F
The Honda VF1000F Interceptor (VF standing for V-Four) was launched in 1984 as the flagship of the V4 line. Featuring a DOHC 998cc engine that produced 113 horsepower, adjustable Pro-Link suspension, and triple discs, this bike was released in response to America’s demand for an even bigger Interceptor.
1998 Laverda Ghost Strike
Talk about a fantastic name for a motorcycle. The Laverda Ghost Strike is one of the many variants the Italian firm pushed out in the late 90s that were powered by either the 650 or 668cc parallel twins. Laverda actually offered a Ghost and a Strike as separate models, the former a trellis-framed naked bike, the latter a perimeter-framed naked. …
1989 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1000 Series V
Moto Guzzi learned from their mistake of putting a 16″ front wheel on the Mk V Le Mans, so the Mk5 went back to the usual 18 incher. Many other small but helpful improvements came together to form the last generation of Le Mans’, in a very color-matching design.
Heavily Farkled – 1958 BSA Super Rocket
In the 50s, BSA was considered to be a manufacturer of reliable motorcycles, though general consensus was that they were falling behind in performance to Triumph and Norton. Birmingham Small Arms fought responded with the BSA Super Rocket, which has to be fast just based on the name, right?
Slippery Sam Replica – 1976 Triumph Trident 150V
Just a couple of days ago I featured a nifty custom Trident 150V, and I was stunned to find another in such a short timeframe: a production class racer based on the T150 Triumph Trident, “Slippery Sam” was bequeathed its unique name during the 1970 Bol d’Or 24 Hour Race when an oil pump failed, covering Percy Tait in black …
Nice Price – 1984 Honda Interceptor
The Honda Interceptor VF750F was the direct result of changes to the AMA Superbike rules. Because race bikes had to be production based, the VF750F was the first replica racebike to come out of Japan. Why is this important to you, the motorcycle aficionado? Because Honda kept the bikes surprisingly similar while still maintaining street legality. And why is it …
Harley-Suzuki Hybrid
Should I call it a Harzuki?
Company Killer – 1998 Bimota V-Due
The V-Due is one of the most interesting things that ever came out of Bimota. It came out to tremendous fan-fare as the first two-stroke with fuel injection – yielding a greater power to weight ratio than anything else available on the market. But the fuel injection was awful, and the bikes were incredibly difficult to ride. Combine that with …
1958 Mondial Sprint 175
The (FB) Mondial Sprint 175 was one of the few street bikes developed by the niche Italian manufacturer. Specializing in high performance, small displacement bikes, FB Mondial hand built most of their motorcycles, resulting in production numbers between just 1-2 thousand a year.
1987 Yamaha SRX250
For decades, Kawasaki ruled the 250cc ‘sport’bike market – though Honda has recently taken a chunk of the market with their CBR250R. Honda also challenged the little Ninja in the 80s with the VTR250, though it did not have much commercial success. For one year in the States, even Yamaha threw their hat into the ring with the Yamaha SRX250.
1951 Vincent Rapide
The baby brother to the legendary Black Shadow, the Vincent Rapide was sold from 1936-55 in 3 distinct ‘Series’. The final run was the Series C, which commenced in 1949. It offered the Rapide as a base model and the Black Shadow as the higher state of tune. Here’s one of the former in the very rare Chinese Red tinwork.