I love naked bikes and when I was in Paris I couldn’t help but notice quite a few examples of the Honda CB1000R, a bike I almost never see in the US. What’s hard for me to understand is why it sold so poorly here in the US.
1980 Kawasaki Z1R KZ1000
Post Sale Update: After 28 bids on eBay, this Z1R sold for $12,100. The Kawasaki Z1R was the brainchild of Wayne Moulton, known as the “Father of the Japanese Cruiser.” His belief was that a solid motorcycle could be moderately tweaked to form four versions, one of which is a sport-tourer. So he took the KZ1000 and turned it into …
Beautifully Restored – 1976 Yamaha RD400C
One of the true giant-killers in motorcycling history, the Yamaha RD400C was given plenty of praise by reviewers when it first came out. It had plenty of power, it didn’t weigh much, you could handle it with relative confidence, and even the brakes were decent. All that, and the price wasn’t bad either. Nearly 40 years later, expectations have changed …
Unassuming – 2007 Kawasaki Ninja with Yamaha RZ350 Engine
File this under ‘things I never thought I’d see’, but reader Zack B. has found someone selling their Kawasaki Ninja 250 that’s had the two-stroke engine from a RZ350 swapped in! The work looks great – with the exception of the modified DG pipes, I don’t think anyone would notice (at least at first glance) that this isn’t a stock …
Baby RC45 – 1996 Honda NC35
Post Sale Update: This NC35 sold for the BIN of $9,500. The RC45 is a bike of legend, but it’s also out of the financial reach of most motorcycle enthusiasts. That’s why I’m excited to feature the RC45’s baby brother, the Honda NC35. Only officially sold in Japan, grey market imports occasionally made it out the UK and rarely made …
Great Deal – 2013 Suzuki V-Strom 650 with Sidecar
I sometimes wonder if I’m best serving you by showing you incredible bikes with giant pricetags, or more mundane bikes that are great buys. I still don’t know what the correct answer is, so for now you’re stuck getting a little bit of both. Here’s one of the latter – a Suzuki V-Strom 650 with matching DMC M72D Sidecar. The …
1975 Rickman Honda CR750
The Rickman brothers made a name for themselves by building incredible frames to put (usually) Triumph motors in, but in the 70s they also expanded to building frames for Japanese bikes like the Kawasaki Z1 and the Honda CB750. This is one of the latter, which can be summarized from a quote from the Rickman brothers themselves:
1992 Yamaha YSR50
The Yamaha YSR50 was the most common of the rare 50cc sportbikes that came from Japan in the late 80s and early 90s. An instant classic, the YSR50 was always street legal, but is now primarily used in spec racing.
1998 Honda CBR600 F3 Smokin’ Joe’s Replica
One of my favorite liveries of all time is the Marlboro McLaren F1s of the early 90s – probably in part due to my obsession with Ayrton Senna. Nowadays, a livery featuring a tobacco company is pretty much out of the question. I don’t even smoke, but I have a soft spot for the cigarette liveries that we will never …
RC51 – 2001 Honda RVT1000R
The Honda RVT1000R, also known as the RC51, was Honda’s take on the V-Twin replica racer, beating Ducati at it’s own game with multiple World Superbike Championships and a AMA Championship. It all started back in 1988, when rule changes allowed for V-Twin engines up to 999cc in a time when 750cc 4-cylinders were dominating races. Ducati took over with …
Fire Bike – 1960 Honda C71 Dream
Post-Listing Update: This fire-fighting bike did not meet reserve at $976 after 7 bids on eBay. I try to avoid featuring projects on this site, but when someone gives you the chance to feature a motorcycle that was used in fire response, you take what you can get! This Honda C71 Dream was an ex-fire bike in Japan and is …
Wes Cooley Replica – 1979 Suzuki GS1000S
Post-Listing Update: This Suzuki GS1000S sold for a best offer under $3,699. Suzuki shocked a lot of people with the GS series, particularly with their 997cc-engined entrance into the liter bike market. It was fast, it had great handling and brakes, and over time it’s proven itself to be one of the most reliable engines in history. In 1978, Yoshimura …
48 Cylinder Kawasaki
Alright, with a price of $840,000, this bike is arguably not actually for sale, so it might be borderline that I’m featuring it. With that said, there is a for sale listing, so enjoy this 4,200 cubic centimeter, 48 CYLINDER Kawasaki. Mind-boggling. Built by Simon Whitlock, this bike features 16 different engines from Kawasaki KH250s that have been reorganized into …
Peacock Gray – 1970 Kawasaki Mach III
Known as the ‘Widowmaker’, the Kawasaki H1 series were a range of triples famous for being incredibly fast, without the handling to match. This bike ended up setting a standard for how dangerous a motorcycle could be – motorcycle reviewers of future years would often remark about how a certain bike handled like “an early Kawasaki triple” when they wanted …
Reader Ride – 1973 Honda RC166 Replica
One of the greatest Honda 2-wheelers of all time, the RC166 won every race in the ’66 World Championship, won the Isle of Man TT, and was an absolute legend that was piloted by Mike Hailwood. It had a inline-6 250cc engine with a 7 speed transmission, and as you might expect, it’s nearly impossible to get your hands on …