I’ll give your retinas a second to recover after they were just seared like tuna steaks thanks to the above photo. All set? Good, here’s some more blinding yellow:
List Intermission – The 80 Best Bikes of All Time
In a move that I’m sure will have no dissenters, Devitt Insurance compiled a list of the 80 best motorcycles in history to celebrate their 80th anniversary of providing motorcycle insurance. There might be a slight nationalistic bias here – The first 7 (and 9 out of the top 10) are British bikes! What do you think of the list?
1974 Suzuki GT250
An evolution of the T250 Hustler, the Suzuki GT250 got a “Ram Air” cylinder head that was supposed to force cold air to the back of the cylinder, as well as fake air scoops in the sidecovers. Depending on who you talked to, the Ram Air system resulted in actual gains – or it was just as useful as the …
Bikers Helping Bikers – The Rabbit Hash General Store
The Rabbit Hash General Store is a 185 year old landmark in Northern Kentucky, and a regional destination for riders in the area. Unfortunately, it fell victim to a large fire the day before Valentine’s Day and was destroyed. Before the fire, the store had been in ‘continual operation since 1831’, spanning 38 presidents. Now an effort is underway to …
1989 Yamaha FZR1000
Post-Sale Update: After 52 bids on eBay, this Fizzer sold for $6,455. When it was introduced in 1987, the Yamaha FZR1000 was an instant classic – Cycle World called it Bike of the Decade two years later, no thanks to the overwhelming amount of horsepower.
1956 BMW R26
2-26 Update: After not getting any action at $8,000 the first time around, this R26 is back up for sale with bidding up to $5,300 and the reserve not yet met or a BIN of $7,300 here on eBay. Introduced in 1956 (and out of the market in 1960), the R26 was a significant revision of the R25, with upgrades …
One Year Only – 1916 Indian Model K
Older Indians are best known for their four-stroke V-twin powerplants, though the company did try their hand at other designs like the Indian Four or the two-stroke single found in the Model K. Designed to be low cost transportation (MSRP was $150), the Model K lasted all of one year before it was replaced by the Model O, which got …
1940s Brockhouse Corgi
A civilian version of the Excelsior Villiers Welbike, the Corgi was produced between 1948 and 1954 – 27,050 units were created. Based on the estimated year of production, I’m going to guess this is a Mk1, which means it has to be bump started. Either way, the Corgi was also known as the Indian Papoose when it was imported to …
1966 Triumph Bonneville
This Bonnie has sat for a couple of years, but the original paint and one owner history make it an interesting example of the breed.
1983 Honda CX650T Turbo
Just one year after Honda released the CX500T (their first turbo’d production bike), they enlarged the motor and and created the CX650T instead. The big 4 Japanese firms all had turbocharged bikes during this time period, but Honda had one of the more successful experiments with about 1,200 CX650 Turbos exported to the US>
Picture Intermission – Motorcycles of the 1920s
As a complement to the Audio Intermission about the history of motorcycles in the 20s, here’s a cool trip back in time to the 20s – this time with visual aids.
1973 Honda CB500 Cafe Racer
Here’s a simple cafe racer that has just 10 miles on it since a recent restoration. The Molly Orange is nice, though the shape of the tail doesn’t look perfect to me from the rear. Still, this would be a fun project to personalize and make your own, if one was so inclined.
1978 Harley-Davidson MX-250
In the late 70s, Harley was in a phase of small-displacement bikes while under the control of AMF. They decided to dabble in the world of motocross, and had their Italian branch, Aermacchi, build the Harley-Davidson MX250. It was the first (and only) HD MX bike, and it only lasted for one year with a production run of 65 bikes. …
Police Pack – 1942 Harley Davidson WLA
View PostIn England – 1981 Seeley Triumph Bonneville T120
Colin Seeley is a former sidecar racer who became famous as a motorcycle designer. Some of his most notable work came right after he retired from sidecar racing competition, where he built frames for racing motorcycles utilizing Matchless and AJS engines. As you’re about to see here, he also dabble with other brands, like Triumph.