Nicky Hayden was a Tissot ambassador, and the Swiss luxury watchmaker celebrated that fact with annual releases of Limited Edition watches inspired by Nicky and his MotoGP career – they had similar arrangements at the time with Danica Patrick and Michael Owen. 2007 was a special year, as the watch came out right after Nicky’s 2006 MotoGP World Championship.
2004 BMW R1100S
Thanks to the S1000RR, the idea of BMW making a true sportbike is no longer a laughing matter. Back in 1999, however, BMW took the most powerful boxer engine it had at the time and made their most aggressive looking bike so far, the BMW R1100S. Despite the looks, this is more of a sport-tourer than an outright sports bike. …
1981 Montesa VG250
Restored by Southwest Montesa as a replica of the works Montesa 414 raced in 1981, this VG250 is equipped with a rebuilt 414 motor and a few other goodies – it has “never been ridden and has been stored indoors for 10+ years.”
1 Mile – 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo
In 1982, Honda introduced its first production turbocharged motorcycle, the CX500T. The next year, they bumped up displacement to form the Honda CX650 Turbo. While Kawasaki, and Suzuki also offered turbo’d competition, Yamaha and Honda were the most successful from a commercial standpoint. With that said, turbocharged production bikes never caught on, and only approximately 1,200 of these bikes ever …
CA Plated with No Reserve – 2002 Aprilia RS50
Introduced in the early 90s, the Aprilia RS50 became a breakout hit in 1999 thanks to an aluminum frame (making it the first mass-produced 50cc with a die-cast aluminum frame) as well as a styling update reminiscent of Aprilia’s GP race bikes. European youths were all over it as licensing rules were relaxed for <50cc motorcycles and scooters.
1983 Ducati 900 MHR
Built to celebrate Mike the Bike’s comeback triumph at the ’78 Isle of Man TT, the Ducati 900 MHR (Mike Hailwood Replica) was initially produced solely for homologation purposes. As such, just 200 were built in 1979. But demand was so high that Ducati decided to keep production going, and by the end of the run in 1986 the Italian …
1973 OSSA Pioneer 250
OSSA was a Spanish firm that offered a wide variety of dirt bikes to cover anything that an off-road enthusiast could want to do. The Pioneer was OSSA’s enduro bike, though realistically the pavement experience was limited to putting around in town. In the dirt, it was quite impressive for something that was street legal. In fact, in a 1969 …
1968 BMW R60US
The BMW R60US was a 30 horsepower classic that typically included telescopic forks and higher handle bars as part of the “US” designation. US models also came without sidecar lugs, one of the few distinctions that separated it from the Euro models.
2000 Triumph Speed Triple T595 Custom
In partnership with Accossato Racing, MetalBike Garage created the MBG_001 concept out of a Triumph T595 Speed Triple. Metalbike was founded by Simone Lecca, former member of storied Italian design firm Bertone.
1972 Yamaha RD250
From early 2011 until late 2019, I crisscrossed the lower 48 in search of weird, wonderful and rare motorcycles that were destined to head overseas. If Abhi abides, maybe Bike-urious will feature a longer story on a grey-exporters experiences in the future. I learned a lot not only about buying bikes during those eight years and 400,000 miles, I also …
Original Owner – 1980 Suzuki PE175
I recently complained about the over use of “1 owner” in bike sale descriptions, which is why I’m glad to say that the seller of this example is the same person who purchased it new in 1980. Even better, his asking price is quite reasonable – just $1,100!
Video Intermission – Hercules W2000 In Crate!
In the early 70s, Suzuki, Norton, and DKW all brought rotary-powered bikes to the market, but DKW was the first. Outside of the UK, it was sold as the Hercules Wankel 2000 (W2000), and while the engine was unconventional, everything else was as you’d expect. Bike magazine called it “an outstanding machine in its own right”, even ignoring the novel …
Surprise ADV – 2006 Suzuki SV1000
The SV1000 wasn’t as popular as the SV650, but it offered a lot of the same benefits with a bit more oomph right off the dealer floor. This one’s quite a bit different than how Suzuki chose to offer the machine, as it’s been converted to an unexpected ADV machine.
Not Broken In – 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R SP
Every once in a while you come across that just out of the crate current year bike you were looking to buy new and you can get yourself a deal on the used market. This appears to be one of those times with the all new and very limited production CBR1000RR-R. With just under 100 miles and still covered by …