View Post

2010 Ducati 848 Nicky Hayden Edition

In Italy, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Ignoring the fact that Nicky Hayden never had the kind of success with Ducati that he did with Honda, the Italian firm released a limited edition of the 848 called the Nicky Hayden Edition in 2010. It was an US-exclusive model with custom paint, signed gas tank, and a MSRP of $14,495. The drivetrain wasn’t touched, so you still got …

View Post

1971 Ducati 450 Mk3 Desmo

In Italy, Sport by Abhi2 Comments

Post-Listing Update: This Desmo did not meet reserve, with bidding up to $11,408. Presumably the next Ducati that will skyrocket in value (if it hasn’t already), the 450 Desmo is one of the best singles in history, thanks to the desmodromic system that allowed for 14,000 rpm engine speeds and lovely styling. For some details on what made this bike …

View Post

One Owner – 1982 Yamaha XJ650 Turbo

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

The Yamaha XJ650 Turbo was one of the quintessential examples of the 1980s Japanese movement to bring turbochargers to motorcycles. Right after Honda brought out the CX Turbo (an example of which is found here on Bike-urious), Yamaha brought out a turbocharged variant of their 650 Seca. In my opinion, this was the best looking of the 80s turbo bikes, …

View Post

1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Sale Update: This XN sold for the opening bid of $8,500. 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 …

View Post

6 Miles – 2004 Ducati 998 Matrix Reloaded Edition

In Italy, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

As a vehicle aficionado, I thought the best part of the Matrix Reloaded was the incredible chase scene which was basically a GM ad. Just for the movie, production crews built a 1.5 mile freeway on old runways of a decommissioned Naval Air Station. At some point in the scene, a Ducati 996 is featured for some high-speed lane splitting:

View Post

1999 Ducati Monster Cromo

In Italy, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

In 1999, Ducati released a special edition of the Monster. They called it the Cromo, and it was obviously named due to the distinctive tank, which was complemented by a carbon fiber rear seat cover and rear fender. It also got adjustable front forks and the high-po 74 horsepower engine. The next year, Ducati added fuel injection to the Monster …

View Post

Non-US Model – 1987 Cagiva Alazzurra 650

In Italy, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Produced for just three years, the Cagiva Alazzurra 650 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.

View Post

“Hot KLR” – 1995 Kawasaki KLR650 Supermoto

In Japan, Sport by Abhi1 Comment

Post-Sale Update: This KLR sold for $4,200 after 12 bids on eBay. If you take the seller’s story at face value, it seems that some employees at White Brothers Exhaust decided to get a little crazy and build a tricked-out supermoto based on the KLR. After Vance & Hines bought White Brothers, this project stalled, so the seller picked it …

View Post

1982 Bimota HB2

In Italy, Sport by Abhi1 Comment

The successor of the uber-limited HB1 (one of which just sold at Bonhams Grand Palais for $72,103), the Bimota HB2 replicated the formula of Honda engine inside a Bimota frame. This time Bimota used the engine from the CB900F, and produced a much more reasonable number of examples – 193 of them.

View Post

1975 Kawasaki Z1

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Before Honda released the instant classic CB750, Kawasaki was also working on a a four-cylinder, 750cc sportbike – except Kawi thought it was going to be first to market. They were thus shocked when Honda released the CB750, forcing them to go back to the drawing board until they could bump up displacement to 903cc. When Kawi was developing the …

View Post

In the UK – Rickman Honda CR750

In England, Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

The Rickman brothers made a name for themselves by building incredible frames to put (usually) Triumph motors in, but in the 70s they also expanded to building frames for Japanese bikes like the Kawasaki Z1 and the Honda CB750. This is one of the latter, which can be summarized from a quote from the Rickman brothers themselves: