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Buy A Shop – Ventura County Motorsports

In Blog by AbhiLeave a Comment

PJ Riley of RCS/Ventura County Motorsports has recently announced that he will be retiring at the end of the year, and that means his shop needs a new owner. He’s letting the shopt and all of its contents go – tools, wheelie machine, dyno, tractor trailer, and a whole lot more. For around a quarter million dollars, it could all …

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1992 Suzuki GSX-R1100

In Japan, Sport by Mathieu Guyot-SionnestLeave a Comment

The 70’s saw Japanese manufacturers starting to win more and more market share thanks to powerful, reliable, and cheap motorcycles. Honda and Kawasaki set new sport bike standards with the CB750 Four and the Z1. In 1982, it was Suzuki’s turn to release a bombshell with the Suzuki Katana. In 1985 the brand did it again with the GSX-R750, and …

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1956 MV Agusta CSTL 175

In Italy, Standard by AbhiLeave a Comment

Though MV’s first bike was built in 1945, it wasn’t until 1953 when they debuted their first production four-stroke motor. The CST and CSTL (Turismo Lusso) were ahead of their time thanks to features like an overhead cam in the stressed-member motor, a motor that was used as a stressed member of the frame, and a full suspension front and …

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JDM Bōsōzoku Bike – 1992 Kawasaki ZR400 Zephyr

In Cruiser, Custom, Japan by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

As motorcycle clubs like the Hells Angels rose to prominence in midcentury America, a similar phenomenon took place in Japan. In the land of the rising sun, the members of these flamboyant moto tribes are known as bōsōzoku, and in the height of their popularity in the early 1980s, there were supposedly more than 40,000 active bōsōzoku on the island …

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1979 Honda CX500 Deluxe

In Japan, Less than 5k, Standard by Mathieu Guyot-SionnestLeave a Comment

While the motorcycle market in the 1960s was essentially dominated by Europe and America, the 70’s allowed Japan to show off their skills. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki were very competitive with European manufacturers when it came to mid-market bikes in the US. Honda had released bikes at a wide variety of displacements based on the same design as its …

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1998 Suzuki TL1000R

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Produced from 1998-2003, this TL1000R was Suzuki’s V-Twin superbike, the fully-faired (and racier) brother of the TL1000S. This model was briefly used in Suzuki’s World and American Superbike Championship campaigns before they switched to the lighter 750 Gixxer.

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1978 Kawasaki Z1R-TC

In Japan, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Listing Update: This turbo Kawi did not meet reserve despite 12 bids up to $20,700 on eBay. TCC stood for the Turbo Cycle Corporation, and it was created to sell bolt on turbos for motorcycles built by American Turbo-Pak. The founder of TCC was a former Kawasaki USA employee named Alan Masek, and he used his contacts to help …

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“American” MXer – 1974 Indian MT100

In America, Less than 5k, Off-Road, Small Displacement by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

Decades before Polaris Industries acquired Indian Motorcycle, the manufacturer traded hands numerous times, giving rise to a number of very…non-Indian Indians. For a time Brockhouse Engineering sold rebadged and slightly modified Royal Enfields under the Indian name. The company was later sold off again, this time to AMC, which proceeded to sell rebadged AJS and Matchless bikes as Indians, though …

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2003 Kawasaki ZRX1200R

In Japan, Sport by Mathieu Guyot-SionnestLeave a Comment

Eddie Lawson is a famous American motorcycle road racer that won multiple world championship, including the 500cc AMA Superbike Series in 1981 and 1982 – these two 500cc titles are two of the four he won in the 80’s. Eddie was nicknamed “Steady Eddie” thanks to his capacity to consistently finish races, avoid crashing, and often ending on the podium …

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Wood Rotax 560 Four-Stroke – 1984 KTM 504 MX

In Austria, Less than 5k, Off-Road, Race by Tim HuberLeave a Comment

At the dawn of the 1980s, a myriad of manufacturers were experimenting with producing a competitive four-stroke motocrosser, though dethroning the mighty two-stroke was a major uphill battle. Quite a few marques put their faith in Rotax, who had then recently debuted an impressive 498cc four-stroke single. Seeing the potential of the half-liter thumper, KTM worked out a deal with …

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1990 Honda Transalp XL600V

In Dual-Sport, Japan, Less than 5k by Mathieu Guyot-SionnestLeave a Comment

Following the release of the R80GS by BMW and the birth of one of the greatest races of all time (the Paris Dakar), manufacturers started to add a new kind of bike to their product range. These new “adventure” bikes were road legal adaptations of off road racing motorcycles used primarily for the P-D. During the 80’s, Honda won the …