The Honda NX125 was the smallest of the NX’s, which were only imported for a few years. The combination of XR-roots with a slightly more street friendly composition made it an excellent all-rounder. Offered in the states in 125, 250, and 650cc versions, the NX650 was by far the most popular in the US. Despite the knobbies and the general …
1984 Yamaha RZ350
The last two-stroke officially imported into the US, the RZ350 is very much a sought-after collectors bike in the US. Only sold in the states from 84-85, these bikes were incredibly fast for 350cc, and absolutely look the part. Estimated production of these bikes was around 20,000 – accidents and time have worn down that number significantly, though you can …
Honda Motocompo
Sold for only 3 years, the Honda Motocompo was a tiny 50cc folding scooter designed to fit into the trunks of the subcompact cars Honda was making at the time, like the City. In fact, the City’s trunk was designed specifically to house the Motocompo. As it was only made for a few years (and designed to stay in the …
1974 Yamaha TX750
Made only for two years, the TX750 was Yamaha’s attempt of creating a parallel twin with the smoothness of an inline four engine. Using a pair of balancers (called Omni-Phase), it eliminated vibration to a level never seen before in a twin. Cycle World reviewed it and heaped praised on the TX750. “The result is smoothness beyond belief,” . “Shut …
1 of 200 – 1988 Yamaha FZR750RU
Built specifically to meet AMA racing homologation rules, the FZR750RU was only made for one year and cost $6899 at the time – more expensive than even most liter bikes of the time. Though fully street legal, this bike was intended to be a fully fledged road racer. This specific example has covered 36k miles, and comes with spares as …
Mini Gixxer – 1987 Suzuki GSX-R50
In the late 80s, Japanese manufacturers made a series of mini-bikes. While the Yamaha YSR50 and Honda NSR50 are probably some of the most common, the Suzuki GSXR-50 was one of the best looking, due to the full fairings and 4 interesting graphics packages available. The little gixxer was only made for 2 years, which means it’s one of the …
1991 Honda Hawk
In the late 80s, Honda introduced one of the first modern production naked motorcycles. Though the Honda Hawk (also known as the N650GT) was not a commercial success, it went on to inspire more prevalent motorcycles like the Suzuki SV650N, and has become an absolute cult favorite. This specific Honda Hawk, a ’91 (the last year of American sales), has …
1989 Honda GB500 – The British Bike from Japan
In the late 80s, Honda took a risk and sleeved down the motor from the popular XR600 dual-sport, prettied it up, and surrounded it with cafe-style bodywork evoking images of 60s British cafe racers. Only imported into the States from 1989-1990, the Honda GB500 was too slow for American tastes at the time and thus sold poorly. It wasn’t cheap …
1979 Yamaha SR500
The Yamaha SR500 has been a popular bike for decades, due to clean styling and a reliable single-cylinder engine. These traits have also led this bike to be the base for thousands of custom works, including choppers, dirt-trackers, and cafe racers.
1993 Yamaha GTS1000
For only one year in the US, Yamaha sold a sport-touring bike that was far ahead of its time – the GTS1000. Full of technology that would not make its way to most bikes for years to come, the GTS featured fuel injection, ABS brakes, and most importantly, the RADD front suspension designed by James Parker. This suspension was able …