Post Sale Update: After just 2 bids on eBay, this Chief sold for $15,100. Flat Tracker builds are popular nowadays – we’ve featured several in the last few weeks – but very few of them have a history like this fantastic purpose-built Chief. It most recently scored a victory at the 1/2 mile in Wauseon, Ohio last year, but it’s …
A Good Story – 1948 Norton International Manx
Norton has a long and storied history building and racing motorcycles. The International was built in 350 and 500cc variants from 1931 to 1957, with a break for that big war. As it evolved, so did its engine, frame and suspension. In its final form, it used the “Featherbed” frame, famous for it’s roadholding ability.
Guess That Bike – British Motor Edition
I was just at a museum in the UK, and I encountered this fascinating motor. Can you tell me what bike it belongs to?
Gold Ghost Street Tracker – 2009 Honda XR650L
Most so-called Scrambler builds stray away from the original meaning of the term with even factory “Scrambler” offerings not really being designed for any off-road use (the Ducati Desert Sled being one of the few exceptions) so while most custom scramblers simply throw on a high front fender, flat seat and some knobby tires, this custom Scrambler example has actually …
112k Miles – 1972 BMW R75/5
This short wheelbase /5 has six figures on the odometer, and some choice period upgrades.
4 Miles – 2002 Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans
Post Sale Update: After 22 bids on eBay, this Le Mans sold for $8,000. Sonny Angel Motorcycles is a family owned dealership in National City, California that goes back to 1953 – his story was documented in this article on Motorcycle Classics. I bring him up today because this featured Guzzi was sitting on the showroom floor from 2002 until …
Video Intermission – Rennie Scaysbrook’s 2017 Pikes Peak Run
In the 101 year long history of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, only 5 riders have completed the course in less than 10 minutes. Rennie Scaysbrook (Road Test Editor at Cycle News) is part of that list, thanks to his 9:57.712 run this year on a KTM 1290 Super Duke. What’s even crazier is that he placed second to …
Harley or Indian? Early 1900’s American Board Track Racer “Replicas”
From the 1910’s to the 1920’s board track racing in the US was thriving. The races were exciting as the wooden tracks were wide enough to allow for ample overtaking and banked to enable high speeds while stadium-style seating was easily placed around the ovals (or sometimes circles) so audiences could enjoy all of the action. Unfortunately the Great Depression …
Ending Soon – 1968 Minarelli P4 Competizione
Post Sale Update: After 27 bids on eBay, this P4 sold for $4,651. Minarelli was founded in 1951 as a motorcycle manufacturer, but within five years they narrowed their focus to just building two-stroke motors. Over time they went back to building complete bikes, including some factory racers. One of their best known powerplants was the 49cc P4, which was …
Built for Shaq – 2001 West Coast Choppers El Diablo
Post Listing Update: Despite 73 bids on eBay up to $44,100, this Shaq-sized chopper did not meet reserve. Wild custom choppers like this aren’t usually my cup of tea, however this one stands out because it’s big…it was designed to fit Shaquille O’Neal – both his 7’3″ frame and his size 26 shoes! The build process was shown in Motorcycle …
Video Intermission – Restoring Barry Sheene’s ’76 Championship Bike
A couple of days ago I shared a ’82 Suzuki RGB500, and commenter RoadRash left a note about a couple of videos that Suzuki had released detailing the restoration process of Barry Sheene’s XR14 RG500 – the bike he won the 1976 World Championship with. Get a cup of coffee out and give these two videos the next 10 minutes …
Black and Blue – Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker
Flat Tracker builds have become increasingly popular lately but like cafe racers they’ve moved into the territory of being over saturated. This custom Yamaha however is the type of tracker-build that inspires dozens of others, albeit usually of a lower quality. While this one-off machine is fully street-legal, it does a fantastic job of looking like it belongs on a …
Mandello del Lario Mutt – 1975 Moto Guzzi 1000
View PostThe First Ducati Model – 1946 Ducati Cucciolo T1
Post Sale Update: After 28 bids on eBay, this Ducati sold for $5,676. The story of Ducati motorcycles can be traced back to a man named Aldo Farinelli, who developed a small motor that could be mounted to a bicycle to help mobilize the people of Italy after World War II. He named the motor “Cucciolo” (Italian for “puppy”) because …
Video Intermission – Great American Hill Climb
Next month (July 28-29), Billings, Montana will host the 99th running of the Great American Championshill Hill Climb. It’s great to see a motorcycle event with such longevity, and after you see the next couple of videos, I think you’ll see why it’s lasted so long.