Before BMW introduced the RT in 1978, a rider who wanted to tour had to buy a bike and then slap on the usual accessories like a fairing and bags. The RT was a revelation in that you could just sign the paperwork at your dealership and then immediately put on your break-in mileage in a few days as you …
WRTT + WLD – Factory C Class Harley-Davidson Racers
Harley-Davidson’s race heritage could have very easily never happened. Arthur Davidson wasn’t fond of the idea of a H-D race team and felt it made very little sense. He was confident his company was more than capable of producing competitive racers, but felt all of the special R&D was largely irrelevant to the bikes on the showroom floor. “We can …
Vasquez Rocks with a Kawasaki Vulcan S
View PostVideo Intermission – The American Wall of Death
When Revival Cycles puts on the annual Handbuilt Show in Austin, Texas, they provide some evening entertainment in the form of a Wall of Death show. A 5 minute short is one of The Vintagent Selects, and it’s worth a view:
British Chassis Legend – Pair of Seeley Racers in Europe
Colin Seeley built some of the most legendary British motorcycle racing frames of all time. The chassis expert grew up a stone’s throw from Brands Hatch Circuit where a young Seeley would be drawn to the world of two-wheeled competition. He enjoyed a decently successful racing career, starting as a solo rider before becoming increasingly involved in sidecar competition where …
Red or Blue – Pair of 1960’s Sportsters
Since the mid-1950’s, Harley-Davidson has been producing its Sportster model, one of the iconic brand’s stronger sellers. Dozens of updates and changes have been made to the Sportster over roughly six decades of production, though they’re all powered by the same iconic 45-degree V-Twin. The Knife and Fork ironhead engine on the original Sporster utilized connecting rods where both units …
Bare Bones Rides Build – 1989 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200
Built by Bare Bones Rides out of Florida, this custom Sportster is currently being enjoyed by a medical student who unfortunately has to let it go. It might not be your preferred style for a custom, but you can’t deny it’s a much more interesting way for a student to bop around campus and the surrounding area than the usual …
Best of the Bolts – 2014 Yamaha Star Bolt
9-19-17 Update: Over two years later, this Hageman build is back up for sale. It’s moved up north a bit, so you can find it in Charlottesville, Virginia with bidding up to $3,100 and the reserve not yet met or a BIN of $14,900 here on eBay. Post-Sale Update: After being relisted, this Yamaha Star Bolt sold for $16,250. Back …
Sitting for 4 Decades – 1952 MV Agusta 125 Turismo D
Post Listing Update: This Turismo D was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. The “D” model of MV Agusta’s 125 Turismo was produced in 1952, and the main upgrades from the “C” included the front suspension (as MV calls it, a “pressed steel front parallelogram suspension”) and a new gas tank. This beautiful example has spent “almost all …
Hondas and Indians – 3 Cool Minis
Minibikes have a more universal appeal in the motorcycle world quite possibly more than any other type of motorized two-wheeler. So many motorcyclists have stories to share of piloting a mini that they, a cousin, or a kid down the street owned. For many of these riders, this would be their first introduction into a lifelong moto-obession. Indian wasn’t particularly …
1952 Monark Super Twin Tribute
The Super Twin was one of the rarest products from the Monark Silver King bicycle company. This example…is not a Super Twin, but it’s a cheaper model with some Super Twin parts added to it.
Video Intermission – Akrapovič’s Tribute to Superbikes
Akrapovič recently released a video to share their passion for making exhausts for the current crop of superbikes. It’s short and the audio and visuals are excellent, so give it a quick look!
Mini DT1 – 1971 Yamaha JT1 Mini Enduro
The Yamaha JT1 Mini Enduro was a bonafide motorcycle that was simply scaled down. The fact that the motorcycle it was largely based on was the DT1 – and “On Any Sunday” came out the same year this example was made – helped Yamaha succeed in selling huge amounts of these bikes. Cycle World’s Andrew Bornhop said the JT1 “helped …
Purpose Built Supermono Racer – 2017 Kramer Motorcycles HKR Evo2
The current version of Kramer Motorcycles was created in 2009 by Marcus Kramer and two co-founders – I say “current” because a few decades ago a gentleman named Adolph Kramer partnered with Maico to build a limited production run of off-road race bikes. The new Kramers are built to compete in Supermono racing in Europe, and if I’m allowed to …
No Reserve – 1989 Kawasaki ZXR400
Due to licensing laws, Japan saw much more competition in the 400cc sportbike market compares to the US and Europe. Kawasaki’s entry was the ZXR400, and compared to the competition it was more of a race replica.