Post Sale Update: This ex-Police Harley sold for $12,600 after 13 bids on eBay. Claimed to be the former ride of the Chief of SFPD’s Motor Unit, this Police Electra Glide is being offered by the third owner.
Video Intermission – Dump the Clutch, Episode 1
As you’ve probably figured out by now, Spurgeon Dunbar is one of my favorite buddies in the motorcycle industry. We originally met at the launch of the Yamaha SCR950, and since then we’ve been able to get around the fact that we live on opposite sides of the country to connect for some normal rides (like BMW R1200GS’ in Baja) …
Classic Trials – 1954 Matchless G3L
Post Listing Update: This Matchless did not meet reserve with 4 bids up to $3,350. Originally developed for the British military, the “L” version of Matchless’ G3 (L stood for Lightweight) ended up becoming one of the most popular motorcycles of the time because the Teledraulic forks were a significant improvement over the usual girder units. This example truly benefits …
Rare Italian Project – 1964 Ducati Mountaineer 90
Post Listing Update: This Mountaineer was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. In the mid 60s, Ducati offered a pair of singles called the Cadet and the Mountaineer – the Cadet was a road bike and the Mountaineer (as you can guess from the name) was more of a dual-sport before the term existed. Both were available in …
Introducing Ride the Classics
View PostFirst Year Race Legend – 1970 Harley-Davidson XR750
For decades, Harley’s XR750 was the machine to beat. From 1972 to 2008, the XR was responsible for taking home 29 out of the 37 possible AMA Grand National Championships, leading to some referring to the machine as the “most successful race bike of all time”. The XR750 was also famously Evel Knievel’s go-to choice when performing jumps/stunts. Before it …
Zuma-Powered, Composimo-Built – Custom Honda Ruckus
At any given point you can find dozens of custom Honda Ruckus examples floating around on Craigslist and eBay. Extended swing-arm conversions and bespoke paint jobs are pretty run of the mill modifications and I’ve never given much thought or attention to bespoke Ruckus examples, but today’s thoroughly modified build is a different story altogether.
Never Started – 1985 Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo
Post Listing Update: As expected, this Kawi did not get any interest at the BIN of $100k. Considered by many to be the best of the Japanese turbo’d bikes from the 80s, the GPz750 was sold for just two years. This example is from the second year of production, and it stands out because it has never been started before.
Triumph and Tribulations – Exploring the UK
Every summer, Vy and I take a motorcycle trip – we try to alternate between staying in the US or going out of the country. In 2017, we took 12 days to explore England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. I’ve shared the story in several parts over the last few months, so here’s one place where you can catch it …
Land-Doo – Custom Sea-Doo Trike
Built by placing a Sea-Doo body on a homemade frame (isn’t that a sentence that inspires confidence?), this custom trike would be an amusing way to get around town before you were inevitably arrested and tested for a DUI.
Triumph and Tribulations – Exploring the UK, Day 12
June 28th, 2017 – London, England to London, England: ~25 miles Missed Day 11? June 27th, 2017 – Birmingham, England to London, England: ~130 miles Just like that, we’re at the last day. Vy and I spend some time in London to see the usual sights, and of course we bring Baby Jack along for our tourism spree: As our …
Video Intermission – Kawasaki’s Science of Supercross
A couple of years ago, Kawasaki started to produce content to be shared during televised Supercross races. They call it the Science of Supercross. I call it a great way to advertise. As you probably have noticed, the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship has started up again – the 4th race of the season happens on Saturday in Phoenix …
Magazine Feature – 1978 Honda CB400A Hawk Hondamatic
In 1976, Honda debuted the “Hondamatic” transmission on their popular CB750. It was designed to help bring in new riders who may have been intimidated by the requirement of using a clutch, but Honda quickly figured out that newbies may not necessarily want to start on the big 750. So two years later, the Hondamatic transmision found its way to …
135 Miles in England – 1989 Norton Commander
Just 253 examples of the Norton Commander were ever built, and this one stands out as it only has 135 miles. The Commander was offered in two variants: P52 was for police, and P53 was for civilians. You’d probably expect the police version to be the rarer of the two, but in this case you’d be wrong.