Post Sale Update: This limited edition Honda sold for the BIN of $6,750. We’re on a Monkey kick this week! First there was my review of the upcoming 2019 Monkey, and today we’re going back in time a few years for a limited edition. This bike was originally only offered in Japan, a country that has a prolific history of …
Modified – 1986 Suzuki GSX-R 750 Limited Edition Japanese Spec
Post Sale Update: This Suzuki sold for $14,499 after 24 bids on eBay. The Suzuki GSX-R 750 Limited Edition is already a legend in the US among 80s sportbike collectors, but here’s something even rarer – a home market (JDM) version, which had a different paint scheme. In the US, the Limited Edition cost 1.5 times as much as the …
For Charity – MXoN Team Puerto Rico’s 2019 Honda CRF450R
Post Sale Update: This Honda sold for $30,100 after 60 bids on eBay. Since 1947, the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) has brought together MX riders from all over the world to compete as country-based teams. There have been 70 contests, and the US has won 22 of them. France won last year, and they’ll try to defend their title on …
Smallest Harley Ever – 1965 Harley-Davidson M50
The conclusion of the Second World War saw a huge demand for lightweight, economical, two-wheelers, leading to an influx in the segment’s popularity. A decade or so later, and it became increasingly clear to the suits at Harley-Davidson that by neglecting this segment, money was being left on the table. The MoCo did offer a few small-displacement scoots based on …
1973 Triumph Trident
Post Listing Update: Though the BIN was $6,500, this Trident stalled and did not meet reserve with 23 bids up to $6,200 on eBay. The Triumph Trident was the obvious solution to the engineering limitations of twin cylinder engines that had previously reigned supreme. Isle of Man TT racing bikes derived from the Trident took the production class wins from …
1951 Vincent Comet Series C
Post Listing Update: This Comet did not meet reserve despite 7 bids up to $16,700. While both V-twin models of the Rapide and the Black Shadow were the real stars at Vincent, the company lasted as long as they did because of the singles. The Meteor and the Comet, both singles with a 500cc engine, were a real revolution in …
Museum Intermission – Honda Collection Hall
While I was searching for a photo of the original Honda Monkey/Mini Trail that I could use for my review of the new Monkey, I discovered that Honda has a virtual tour available of their Collection Hall which is oddly located at Twin Ring Motegi as opposed to their corporate headquarters. In Honda’s words, it’s a “360° virtual recreation of …
Located in Greece – 1974 Ducati Scrambler 350
The Desmodromic valve system has become a Ducati trademark, though it goes back to at least 1910 where the English brand Arnott created the first Desmo system, “a shaped annular cam”. It remained in the racing sector until Ducati started using it. In fact, after Ducati’s first usage in 1956 on a 125 Grand Prix at the Swedish GP, the …
First Ride – 2019 Honda Monkey
View PostPress Release – Hugo Moto Partners with Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro to add Scrambler Class
It’s rare that I get a press release that truly captures my interest – most of the time it’s something similar to “here’s a bike that makes 2 more horsepower than the previous generation thanks to a new airbox design” and I’m yawning after the first sentence. But when I hear from the guys from Hugo Moto, I’m inclined to …
Piece of Art – 2001 Ducati MH900e
We can easily say that the 1990’s and even the 2000’s were not a golden era of motorcycle in terms of design. But obviously, there were some exceptions. By 2006, the Paul Smart was a wonderful tribute to Ducati’s victory at the Imola 200 in 1972. But that was not the first limited series tribute made by the Italian brand. …
MT660 Heritage Scrambler” – 2008 Yamaha MT-03 Custom
Back in 1976, Yamaha released the XT500, the company’s second attempt at a four-stroker. It was the first in a long line machines that can trace their roots back to the Dakar-winning half-liter XT. One of said machines was the MT-03, and though it’s now based on the R3, early versions of the bike (2006-2014) were powered by the same …
1985 Yamaha BW200
Post Sale Update: This BW200 sold for the BIN of $2,250 on eBay. Built between 1985 and 1989, the BW200 (BW stood for “Big Wheel”) was part of a series of off-roaders with…big wheels. Other displacements were 80 and 350. The motor pushed 15 horsepower and 10 pound-feet of torque through a 5-speed transmission, which is plenty to move a …
Guess That Bike – No Picture Edition
I recently got an email from Jeff M, a reader in the Bay Area. I met up with him during my last trip to SF and we had a discussion about how no motorcycle manufacturer makes the exact bike he wants. Well, after some careful consideration it turns out there was actually one bike that checked all of his boxes, …
No Reserve – 1972 Honda CB350
Post Sale Update: This CB350 sold for $2,624 after 39 bids on eBay. The CB350 was one of Honda’s most popular motorcycles – they sold over a quarter of a million of them! Here’s a well preserve examples that’s being offered with no reserve.