Nick O’Kane eats, sleeps, and breathes motorcycles. By day, the California-based, UK-native serves as Powersports Sales Manager at K&N Filters, but the lion’s share of O’Kane’s nights and weekends are spent building (and riding) some pretty stellar customs. O’Kane’s typical MO consists of using vintage donor machines that are then laced up with modern suspension and electrical components. If you …
No Reserve – 1975 BMW R90/6
Post Sale Update: This R90/6 sold for $4,050 after 58 bids on eBay. Between 1970 and 1973, BMW was producing its /5 motorcycle series with three displacement options of 500cc, 600cc and 750cc. The 70’s were a decade of modernity and development of power for motorcycle manufacturers and competition pushed BMW to make its 750cc engine grow to a 900cc …
1995 Yamaha Virago XV1100
Post Sale Update: This Virago sold for just $1,185 after 6 bids on eBay. 7-24-18 Update: The seller has let me know that he’s put his Virago up on eBay with no reserve, so it’s about to find a new owner – will it be you? Find it with bidding up to $1,009 here on eBay. Introduced in the early …
Guest Writer – “Death of a Motorcyclist”
View Post2001 Chevy V4-Powered Custom
Are you an automotive engine expert? Maybe you’ll know what’s going on here, because I sure don’t. What we’ve apparently got is a “custom built 156 cubic inch Vee-Four Chevy” motor in a “Harley type” chassis. I’ve featured a couple example of the SuperVee (front two cylinders from a SBC Chevy 350) before, but this is even odder.
Trackmaster Framed – 1970 Triumph Bonneville T120
Trackmaster Frames can trace their roots back to the 1960s, when Triumph Motorcycles approached Ray Hensley and commissioned the famed race tuner and engineer to build a handful of bespoke chassis to be used in competition. Henley’s earliest frames were chromoly steel units with much more race-oriented geometry compared to the stock Bonneville chassis of the era. In the years …
Ex-Josh Day Racer – 2008 Yamaha YZF-R1
Josh Day was a professional American motorcycle racer who most recently rode for Yamalube/Westby Racing prior to his retirement. Day won the 2009 AMA Supersport East Champion and finished runner-up in the 2011 European Superstock 600 Championship. At the height of his US career, Day shared the grid with some of the country’s top riders, like Ben Spies, Mat Mladin, …
1987 BMW K100LT
Ever since they introduced the R100RS, BMW has arguably invented and managed to stay at the top of the sport-touring bike segment. In the mid 80s, BMW wanted a bike that wouldn’t use the famous boxer engine. In fact, BMW was scared that the customers would get bored of the boxer, and without any other alternative in the BMW line, …
Meet Mathieu Guyot-Sionnest!
View Post1984 Kawasaki GPz1100 and GPz550
Post Sale Update: The GPz1100 sold for $3,300 after 31 bids on eBay. Post Listing Update: The GPz550 did not meet reserve despite 15 bids up to $2,525 on eBay. In 1984, Kawasaki offered four displacement options of naturally aspirated motors in the GPz lineup in the United States: 550, 750, 900, and 1100. A seller in Gainesville, Georgia is …
Featured in The Matrix Reloaded – 2001 Ducati 996
The 2003 blockbuster The Matrix Reloaded includes an epic stunt sequence that in features a Ducati 996. To commemorate that scene (and to cash in on the franchise’s popularity), Ducati partnered with the film to release a limited run of Matrix Edition 998 bikes. Despite the movie featuring a 996, by the time the second installment of the Matrix trilogy …
1935 Indian Dispatch Tow
Post Sale Update: This Dispatch sold for $32,500 after 22 bids on Bring a Trailer. According to The Iron Redskin, the Indian Dispatch Tow was built to fix a problem that a Packard dealership was having near the Indian plant. The dealer wanted a way to deliver customer cars without requiring an additional employee with a car to go alongside. …
First Ride – 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900GT
View Post1973 Kawasaki H2A 750
The 1970s were a pivotal decade for motorcycle manufacturers in terms of engine and emissions technology. Motorcycles had to be more modern, safer, but still powerful. While Honda was focused on 4-strokes, especially inline four cylinder motors as equipped in the CB750, Kawasaki was splitting their time with 4-strokes like the Z1 and with 2-strokes like the big triples found …
Jack Simmons Restoration – 1973 Norton Commando 850
During the latter half of the 20th century, a number of key individuals in Southern California played highly pivotal roles in influencing motorcycling. One of those individuals was Jack Simmons. Over the decades he was involved in the moto industry, Simmons wore a myriad of different (proverbial) hats, making a name for himself as a racer, motorcycle dealer, machinist, and …