10-3-2024 Update: Five years later and this bike is back on the market!
After I originally featured it, we actually picked it up over at Iconic Motorbikes just because we thought it was so cool. Well, we kept it on display for a little bit:
But eventually (as you can tell from that photo) we needed space so we sold it on our auction site. It went to a great home with someone who also owned a Bimota Tesi 3D at the time, and he was helpful in my decision to buy one.
Anyway, said owner has been selling a few bikes with us and it’s now time for the baby Vyrus to find a new home. He’s put it up on Iconic with no reserve – will it be yours?
Find it in Roanoke, Indiana with bidding up to $2,600 here on Iconic Motorbikes.
Disclosure: Bike-urious is a partner in Iconic Motorbikes.
Here’s the original post from five years ago:
I recently got an email from someone looking to sell a bike that I had never heard of, a 50cc Vyrus. My first reaction was that it must have been some sort of knockoff by a pocketbike manufacturer, because I never could have imagined Vyrus developing such a small machine. But it turns out I get to borrow a line from Teri Hatcher in Seinfeld – it’s real, and it’s spectacular.
The seller has shown me his correspondence with the Vyrus factory in Italy in which they confirm that 8 examples were built in 2005. A Vyrus rep even amusingly states that for a small bike, “It was too expensive, even for us“. To put that in context, Vyrus was selling a naked superbike with a supercharged Ducati 1198cc motor called the 987 C3 4VV back in 2010. Pricing started at over $90,000. So they’ve got a slightly different idea about pricing than the rest of us, and they still figured this little bike wasn’t sustainable.
The model name breaks down as:
50 = displacement
C3 = cubic centimeters
2T = two stroke
Vyrus claims that the motor was developed for the Italian minimoto championship and that it’s rated for 13 horsepower. From a horsepower/liter standpoint, that’s 260!
This example has never been started or even had fluids in it, though if you want to change that you’ll need to use 2% pre-mix. Approximate dimensions are 2 feet high by 3 feet long. The seller acquired it in 2010 and he’s looking to pass it along to an owner that will appreciate the unique rarity, as well as the incredible frame and hub-center steering setup that Vyrus is best known for.
This baby Vyrus is available for sale in Portland, Oregon (some of you may have seen this bike at this year’s One Moto Show) with an asking price of $9,750 or best offer. Email me: abhi AT bike-urious DOT com to be put in touch with the seller!
