View Post

1970 Honda CB750 K0

In Japan, Standard by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Sale Update: Per the comments, this bike later sold for $13,500. Post-Listing Update: This CB750 sold for $15,000 but was then relisted and then did not meet reserve at $11,100. Built by the multiple show-winning restorers at Vintage Motorcycle Rescue, this K0 CB750 is an excellent example of an early die cast CB.

View Post

Company Killer – 1998 Bimota V-Due

In Italy, Sport by Abhi2 Comments

The V-Due is one of the most interesting things that ever came out of Bimota. It came out to tremendous fan-fare as the first two-stroke with fuel injection – yielding a greater power to weight ratio than anything else available on the market. But the fuel injection was awful, and the bikes were incredibly difficult to ride. Combine that with …

View Post

Auction Preview – Bonhams Grand Palais Paris

In Blog by AbhiLeave a Comment

So the giant auctions in Vegas have come and gone, but the circuit keeps going. In two weeks (February 5th), Bonhams is having an auction in Paris with some very cool motorcycles up for sale. As usual, here’s some of my favorites. This time I’m highlighting 7 – not necessarily what I think are the best buys, but rather bikes …

View Post

Japanese Harley – 1959 Rikuo VLE

In Cruiser, Japan by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Listing Update: After being relisted, this Rikuo VLE did not meet reserve at $9,200. During the Great Depression, Harley-Davidson was on the verge of bankruptcy – partially due to the 1921 Safeguarding of Industries act which imposed a 33.3% tariff on American products like Harleys that were threatening UK manufacturers. Because this pretty much shut Harley out of the …

View Post

1946 Indian Chief Roadmaster

In America, Cruiser by AbhiLeave a Comment

The Indian Chief had three model lines – the Clubman, the Sportsman, and the top of the line Roadmaster. The Roadmaster (which Polaris has brought back) was the full touring option, which came with extra chrome, a Sport windshield, twin spotlights, saddlebags, and Indian’s “Chum-Me” seat which allowed you to bring “your best friend along, too.”

View Post

Highly Original – 1940 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead

In America, Cruiser by AbhiLeave a Comment

Here’s an unrestored EL Knuckle that’s in impressive original condition. The paint on the front fender, tank, frame, and forks are original. The rear fender was repainted to match. There are some minor issues but nothing unexpected – the front crash bar and wheel hubs are from a different year, and the muffler is a repro. When the seller originally …

View Post

1 of 500 – 1999 Yamaha R7 OW-O2

In Japan, Race by Abhi1 Comment

I think this is beautiful road bike to ever come from Japan, the Yamaha R7, also known as the OWO2. Right from the factory floor, it was a ready to race World Super Bike (WSB) racer with the trimmings (lights/signals/plate) necessary to make it street legal. Prices were incredible – with an MSRP of approximately $32,000, it was twice as …

View Post

1958 Mondial Sprint 175

In Italy, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

The (FB) Mondial Sprint 175 was one of the few street bikes developed by the niche Italian manufacturer. Specializing in high performance, small displacement bikes, FB Mondial hand built most of their motorcycles, resulting in production numbers between just 1-2 thousand a year.

View Post

1987 Yamaha SRX250

In Japan, Sport by Abhi1 Comment

For decades, Kawasaki ruled the 250cc ‘sport’bike market – though Honda has recently taken a chunk of the market with their CBR250R. Honda also challenged the little Ninja in the 80s with the VTR250, though it did not have much commercial success. For one year in the States, even Yamaha threw their hat into the ring with the Yamaha SRX250.

View Post

1951 Vincent Rapide

In England, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

The baby brother to the legendary Black Shadow, the Vincent Rapide was sold from 1936-55 in 3 distinct ‘Series’. The final run was the Series C, which commenced in 1949. It offered the Rapide as a base model and the Black Shadow as the higher state of tune. Here’s one of the former in the very rare Chinese Red tinwork.

View Post

1972 OSSA MAR

In Off-Road, Spain by AbhiLeave a Comment

The OSSA MAR (Mick Andrews Replica) was built after OSSA hired the English rider to design and ride a new trials bike – he went on to win two consecutive European Trials Championships and three consecutive Scottish Six Days Trials with it. In 1973, Andrews moved to Yamaha, but OSSA kept producing this bike into the late 70s and it …

View Post

1979 Benelli Quattro

In Italy, Standard by AbhiLeave a Comment

The Benelli Quattro – named for its four-cylinder engine, was built under Alejandro de Tomaso’s leadership in an attempt to revitalize Benelli and to directly take on the Japanese (particularly Honda’s CB500 Four). In fact, de Tomaso bought a CB500 for his engineers and told them to ‘get inspiration’ from the bike, though the styling was handled by Paul Martin …

View Post

3 Years New – 2012 EBR 1190RS Carbon Edition

In America, Sport by AbhiLeave a Comment

Post Listing Update: This Carbon Edition EBR did not get any action at the BIN of $34,999. Motorcycle enthusiasts are all familiar with the story of Erik Buell, and the disappointing end of his partnership with Harley-Davidson. Good News – Buell is back! In 2011, Erik and his company, Erik Buell Racing (EBR), decided to get back in the sportbike …

View Post

The Raider – 1968 Suzuki T-305

In Japan, Standard by AbhiLeave a Comment

Also known as the Raider, the Suzuki T-305 was a small two-stroke twin that produced 37 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and was capable of 94 miles per hour. Here’s a reasonably priced example that was recently restored – the only flaw is that the speedometer is broken. This bike has 28,342 miles and looks like a fun runabout with the …