You folks know I love my sidecars, so I was highly intrigued when Ural announced that they were putting a hold on production of their traditional Gear-Up model and coming out with a new rig. There’s lots to cover about it (and I’ll do so in my upcoming written review) but I’m sharing this post now because I have one …
Picture Intermission – 5/10 Sunday Ride
Yes, this one’s from a month ago. But here are some highlights of bikes (and cars) I encountered on a quick ride out to the Rock Store and the Old Place…enjoy!
Video Intermission – Race of the Power Bikes, 1973
The BBC Archive recently shared a fantastic video on YouTube called Race of the Power Bikes, which focuses on John Player Norton’s effort for the Formula 750 race at the 1973 Isle of Man TT.
Snowbike – Husqvarna FC450 with Timbersled Kit
Equipped with a kit from Timbersled, this Husky is ready to tear up the snow – but it comes with all the parts to go back to a dirt bike once the snow has all melted.
Still In Crate – 2007 Honda CR250R
The winningest dirt bike in US history (in terms of championships), the Honda CR250R debuted to the public in 1973. The final year of production was 2007, and that’s presumably why the original owner of this bike snapped up a 2007 model and kept it in the crate.
Rare Project – 1968 Bultaco El Bandido Model 18
One of the rarer Bultacos ever made, the El Bandido 360 was an open class racer that could be ordered with either a 19″ or 21″ front wheel depending on your desire to compete in MX events or Scrambles. Either way, you’d get a beautiful bike with one of my favorite logos in motorcycling.
1983 Yamaha XS650 Special II
Yesterday we showed off a “Midnight Special” – today we’re going back to daylight, I guess. In varying forms, the Yamaha XS650 was built between 1968–1985. In 1978, Yamaha introduced a “Special” variant that was more of a cruiser, as well as a Special II that had less chrome, decals instead of plastic on the side covers, and for some …
Unexpected Hybrid – 1984 Yamaha RZ350 with BSA B50 Engine
The seller sums this bike up better than I probably could: “This is the answer to a question nobody asked. Its a BSA B50 single in a Yamaha RZ350 chassis. I can say with 100% certainty you will never find another, and you will be the only person out there with one in the entire world.”
99 Miles – 1980 Yamaha XS1100 Midnight Special
Like most Japanese manufacturers, Yamaha offered a “Special” variant of their UJM to appeal to American consumers – these typically offered pullback bars, extra chrome/polished covers, different exhausts, wider rear tires, stepped seats, and different paint jobs. Yamaha also offered a “Midnight Special” version across several models (even on the tiny RX50 cruiser!), including the XS750, XS850, and XS1100. Here’s …
Rare Project – 1987 Ducati Indiana
In the early ’80s, Yamaha introduced the Virago, prompting the rest of the big four on the island to follow suit with their own American cruiser-style offerings, (Honda with the Shadow, Kawa with the Vulcan, Suzuki with the Intruder). Cagiva — which acquired Ducati from the Italian government in ’85 — took notice of this and, wanting to nab a …
Factory (?) Flat Tracker – 1984 Honda RS600
Jeff Blackmore of Blackmore Ranch has a hell of a bike collection (and a facility), though it looks like he’s selling one of flat trackers.
High Miles, Low Price – 1990 BMW K1
Impressively, previous owners of this K1 have put more than 90,000 miles on it – Flying Bricks are known for being quite reliable but the exotic K1 variant typically gets less use than its touring siblings like the RS or LT. Still, it’s very cool to see that someone enjoyed this bike, and now it’s your chance to.
Press Release – Kawasaki Brings Back The 2-Stroke!
Big news for two-stroke fans – after more than 20 years of hiatus, Kawasaki is offering a two-stroke engine displacing more than 250cc. Meet the 2027 Kawasaki KX327!
Picture Intermission – The Californian Moto Show
View Post289 Miles – 2008 Benelli Tre-K 1130 Amazonas
Over on the auction site we’ve got a rare touring bike with a shockingly low amount of miles – just 289 on this big dual-sport for those of you that think the Ducati Multistrada is too common. Like the Multi, the TRE K is a street-oriented adventure bike, though this is one of the “Amazonas” variants that adds spoked-wheels (with …