On December 7th, Bonhams will be auctioning off 41 motorcycles and a whole bunch of cars. Let’s take a look at the good stuff – here’s my 5 favorites:
LA-Barstow-Vegas 2016 – Preparation
View PostNice Price – 1988 Honda NX125
I have very fond memories of my Honda NX650, which means I got excited when Zack B sent over this cheap-as-chips baby NX – a NX125 for about $10/cc.
Rare in the US – 2001 Italjet Dragster 180
One of the most interesting two-wheelers of all time, the Italjet Dragster is the only scooter to have ever combined a space frame and a RAAD forkless front suspension (think of what was equipped on the Yamaha GTS1000. It was built between 1998 and 2003, and very few made it to the states as the bike was never officially imported …
1969 Yamaha Trailmaster 100 L5T
By 1969 the race to the American dirt market was in full swing. All the manufacturers that relied on the US had dirt and dual sport offerings. Yamaha was no exception. They brought out the Trailmaster series in 1967, but in ‘69 they really cracked the egg. Not only was the LT5 a good looking example of the genre, it …
Picture Intermission – The Rome “Moto Show”
Contributor Ted C. just spent some time in Rome and was kind enough to share some of his favorite finds. Let’s see what he encountered! I wish Moto Morini sold bikes in the US still…
1982 Honda MB5
“You meet the nicest people on a Honda.”
1974 Kawasaki F11 250
By 1973 Kawasaki decided that another warmed over trails bike wouldn’t cut it with the American dirt market. They brought a very limited (250 made) F11M to the market which was based roughly on their existing F11 and proved to be very fast and a good competitor. In ‘74 they brought out the F11 250 which had lights and could …
Factory Race Bike Project – 1969 Yamaha TD2
In the middle 60s English singles dominated the European racing world. 125, 250, 350, and 500 class were ruled by English singles. Several Italian manufacturers took a run at the 125 and 250 CC classes, and in 1968 Yamaha brought out the TD1 a 250 class two stroke twin. The two stroke was light and blazingly fast, but had some …
October 2016 Result Highlights
View PostOut of Office: LA-Barstow-Vegas
View Post2005 Ural Troyka
Seeing as I’m setting off on a Ural today, here’s a special Ural for sale. Troyka is Russian for “3-horse carriage”, which is why Ural bestowed the name on their luxury version of the Tourist. For Ural, luxury meant telescopic forks, chrome wire wheels, two-tone paint, and a deluxe sidecar.
2005 MZ 1000S
Post Sale Update: This MZ sold for the BIN of $4,499. Someone in Latrobe, Pennsylvania apparently loves the MZ 1000S, as just 30 were imported to the US and this is the second he/she has had for sale recently (here’s the first). The 1000S was MZ’s first superbike, built after a Malaysian group took over the company in 1996 and …
Sitting for 2 Years – 1968 BSA B25 Starfire
The B25 (known as the Starfire) was basically BSA’s twin to the Triumph TR25. They weren’t revolutionary, but the classic British style has aged nicely and it has now evolved into a pretty vintage runabout. This example has been sitting for two years, but the cosmetics are great (minus the sidecover decals) and it won’t take much to get it …
1969 Honda CL90
The ‘69 Honda CL90 was essentially an S90 that was ‘scramblerized’ to take advantage of America’s lust for off road motorcycles. In Honda terms that meant wide, braced handlebars, a ‘high rise’ exhaust with burn shield, increased height, ribbed tires and improved fender clearance front and rear. The rear clearance was more than adequate but I can tell you that …