Trikes have the unique ability of empowering and enabling people to ride who otherwise couldn’t due to age, injury, handicap, or plenty of other reasons. Enter Martin Conquest, a UK-based moco who wanted to give the gift of riding to those bound to wheelchairs, creating the world’s first – as the creators call it – “Wheelchair Motorcycle” that can be …
1974 Benelli Tornado 650S
Post Sale Update: After being relisted, this Tornado sold for a BIN of $3,800 on eBay. While Benelli had some good success with small displacement bikes, they knew that many American and British riders were only throwing their money at big bikes, and the Italian firm had nothing to attract those dollars. They decided to target these riders with a …
Ex-Ben Bostrom Racer – 2007 Graves Yamaha R1 AMA Superstock
Ben Bostrom was born in 1974 in Redding, California into a family of moto nuts. Ben’s father was Dave Bostrom, whose brother was Paul Bostrom, both of whom were successful dirt racers. Like his father and uncle, Ben sharpened his skills aboard an MXer, winning the 1993 AMA National dirt championship before making the switch to tarmac in 1995. In …
Euro Model – 1984 Kawasaki KZ1100R
For some reason, the seller of this KZ keeps calling it a Eddie Lawson replica (even though he admits that’s not the case at the end of the listing), but I still think this is interesting because it’s a West German model that was originally acquired by a member of the US Army who brought it back to California after …
Out of Office – Heading to Italy!
View Post1989 Yamaha TDR250
I didn’t feature a TDR250 for years, but now this is the third one I’ve seen in the last month! Considering how unique it is, I’m OK with that – a dual-sport frame with a retuned two-stroke motor from a TZR250 sportbike is a recipe for success in my book. Yamaha called it “Ultimate Dual”. I call it weird. Whatever …
Video Intermission – 101 Year-Old Motorcyclist
Meet Jock Stares, a rider who’s still enjoying two wheels of transportation at the age of 101. May we all be so lucky.
1968 Gilera 124 5V
Post Listing Update: This Gilera did not get any interest at the BIN of $5,750. Also offered under the “Sears” brand, Gilera’s 124 5V was just about the last bike the Italian brand made before they were bought by Piaggio in 1969.
1965 Skat Kitty Minibike
The Skat Kitty was one of many American minibikes of the 60s, but it stands out as it was the first production “scooter” with a cast aluminum frame and fender assembly. It was sold by Projects Unlimited out of Dayton, Ohio, and this is probably only going to appeal to someone who either had one themselves as a kid (or …
Early Carbon Fiber Bikes – Silverstone Armstrong Racers
I loves me some carbon fiber. For roughly the last three decades, this precious material has been helping to shave off weight while simultaneously looking pretty trick in the process. The high tensile strength, low weight, temperature tolerance, and stiffness have made it a go to choice for many components of all types. Though it has technically been in use …
DG Race Replica – 1975 Honda CR125M Elsinore
In the 1970’s, motocross racing had become fairly mainstream with several top racers becoming household celebrity names. In this highly competitive era, the big manufacturers poured absurd amounts of funding into race R&D, driving the constant evolution of MXers. Despite the large staff and state of the art facilities that the big mocos possessed, a few talented wrenchers created something …
1971 Jawa Bizon 350
Built between 1970 and 1973, the Bizon (Bison) was a distinctively-styled motorcycle designed to capture sales in export markets. It wasn’t tremendously successful, and just 4,436 examples were built.
Video Intermission – 34th Annual Italian Motorcycle Owners Club Meet
This weekend, my home state of Massachusetts hosted the 34th annual meeting of the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club. Thanks to unseasonably warm weather, they had a great turnout of some lovely bikes.
Japan Only – 1986 Suzuki GSX-R 750 Limited Edition
Post Sale Update: This Gixxer sold for the BIN of $18,700. Suzuki’s Limited Edition variant of the first-generation was a special bike, but if you if you want something special AND incredibly rare in the US, then here’s the JDM-version of the Limited Edition. Lucky for you, it’s already been legally imported and registered in Washington. I’ve only featured a …
Roland Sands x Technics – 2010 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Iron
Roland Sands has built one-off motorcycles of all kinds, the vast majority of which are pretty awesome customs. Some are obviously more extensive transformations than others, but even the lesser-involved builds are easily distinguishable from the donor bike’s stock form. Often times RSD-built bikes are the work of the company’s design team, but Roland himself is often personally responsible for …