Mike Hailwood was a legend. Short story: 9 World Championships, 76 Grand Prix wins, and 14 Isle of Man Victories. The full story, which I can’t recommend enough, can be found here on his official website. At age of 40 (which doesn’t seem as old as it used to) in 1978, he came out of retirement to win the Isle …
1975 Honda CB400F
Post Sale Update: This CB400F sold for $6,000 after 31 bids on eBay. An evolution rather than a revolution, the Honda CB400F is blessed with one of the most beautiful production exhaust systems ever created – known by some as the “waterfall pipes”. It’s so iconic that Honda has brought the style back for the new CB650F! Though it wasn’t …
1981 Moto Guzzi V50 Monza
Post Sale Update: This Monza sold for $6,328 after 35 bids on eBay. When Moto Guzzi first released the V50 in the late 70s, they were met with a tepid response from an American market that preferred bigger bikes and expected smaller bikes to be cheaper. To help the model stand out, Guzzi released a sportier version in 1980 called …
Upgraded – 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750
Post Listing Update: This Gixxer 750 was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Though the model debuted in 1985, Suzuki’s legendary Gixxer line did not make its way to the US until 1986. The changes were minor – better headlights, a revised belly pan, and 25mm longer swingarm, but Americans were probably too busy drooling over the first …
1986 Yamaha SRX600
The Yamaha SRX600 is a cult classic, but it started as a commercial flop. In the US, it sold for just one year, and it was during a time when American riders valued power above everything else. A relatively light weight bike with a 41 horsepower motor just didn’t cut it – but for riders who can appreciate the styling, …
No Reserve – 1983 Kawasaki KZ1000R2 ELR
Post Sale Update: This ELR sold for $20,100 after 46 bids on eBay. A limited edition tribute to Eddie Lawson, just 750 examples of the Kawasaki KZ1000R ELR (Eddie Lawson Replica) were built between 1982 and 1983. With the exception of subpar rear shocks, the press and the public loved this bike and how aggressively it was set up.
Supermoto Conversion – 2003 Honda CRF450R
Supermotos make the world go round, and the Honda CRF450R is a great place to start. Honda was never known for outright power, but the chassis was incredibly light and the benefits of reliability in a performance machine cannot be overstated. 2002 was the first year for the CRF, which is now a staple in both motocross and supermoto alike. …
25th Anniversary – 2008 Buell Lightning XB12Scg
Erik Buell is often at the forefront of technology, building bikes we aren’t quite ready for yet. Now he’s building electric bikes, but in the mid-2000s he was doing his best to bring Harley-Davidson into modernity. The Buell XB12S was one of those efforts, with a 1,203cc air/oil cooled V-twin updated in 2008 and churning out a smooth 103hp. The …
Original Owner – 2009 Suzuki Hayabusa
Post Sale Update: This Hayabusa sold for $4,955 after 28 bids on eBay. I don’t feature many Hayabusas, but I recently discussed the model in a “Performance Steals” themed Smart Money in the current issue of Motorcyclist, and it got me thinking about how nice they can be. Normally, modified Hayabusas are either lowered show bikes or lengthened drag racers …
1996 Aprilia RS250 Chesterfield
If you’ve had your heart set on a Aprilia RS250, the ultimate expression of the model might just be the Max Biaggi replica Chesterfield Edition. One of the best-handling bikes ever made, the RS250 was the result of Aprilia working some chassis magic around a tweaked engine from a Suzuki RGV250.
1982 Yamaha Seca Turbo
There is a part of me that would like have to been a bit older in the early 80s, and one of the reasons would have to be all the turbochargers that were being bolted onto motorcycles by OEMs. The theory behind turbocharging is simple: making horsepower out of exhaust. For a short period of time in the 80s, the …
2014 Norton Commando 961 SF
Post Sale Update: This Commando sold for $11,000 after 2 bids on eBay. Norton has had a long history in racing, but their street bikes are best remembered currently as exactly that: historical pieces. Recently however, a large injection of cash has saved the brand and created the masterpiece Norton Commando 961. Available in several trims, the SF model featured …
1972 Harley-Davidson Sprint SS350
One of the many Italian-built Aermacchis with a Harley-Davidson logo on the tank, the Sprint SS350 was introduced in 1969 with a bigger motor (the previous Sprint had a 250) as Harley tried to fight off competition from the Japanese. The Sprint was available in two forms: the SX had some off-road flavor with knobbies, high fenders, and a scrambler …
No Reserve – 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma
Post Sale Update: This Gamma sold for $23,100 after 13 bids on eBay. One of the coolest motorcycles built in the 80s, the RG500 Gamma was a repli-racer inspired by Suzuki’s dominant Gamma, which won 7 consecutive manufacturer titles in the 500cc class.
0 Miles – 1974 Norton Commando 850
According to the seller, this bike is “as brand new as possible, unrestored and 100% original, with 0 miles ridden. Neither gas nor oil have been added since being drained at the factory in Great Britain prior to its being shipped to North America 45 years ago.”