The Honda Cub EZ90 was a quirky flashback to the days of “you meet the nicest people on a Honda.” Designed to make motorcycles more friendly, the Honda EZ90 hid all of its mechanicals inside the futuristic plastic bodywork, and it even offered an electric start in addition to the kicker. Sold between ’91 and ’96 for off-road use only, …
Street Tracker – 1967 Bridgestone 350 GTR
“Bridgestone’s 350 GTR was undoubtedly the finest of the 1960s mid-sized two-stroke motorcycles in both quality and innovation and as a testament it created one of motor-cycling’s greatest myths – that the big four Japanese motorcycle companies forced Bridgestone to stop manufacturing motorcycles.” That’s how Old Bike Australasia opens up their description of the 350 GTR, a bike that all …
GSX-R1100 Paint Job – 2000 Suzuki Hayabusa
Also known as the GSX1300R, the Hayabusa was an instant legend when it was introduced in 1999 thanks to a top speed between 188-194 miles per hour. That made it the fastest production motorcycle in the world, and thanks to a gentleman’s agreement among manufacturers to keep top speeds under 186mph in 2000, it held that title until 2007 when …
1983 Honda XLV750R Limited Edition
Before the Transalp and the Africa Twin, there was the XLV750R – Honda’s first attempt at a touring bike that could get a little dirty. Honda originally planned to sell this bike only in Europe (not including England), though they eventually offered it to Australia and New Zealand. 500 of the first bikes were also put away for the Japanese …
Unexpected Quad – 1987 Honda Hurricane 600
’87 was the first year of the first generation of the CBR600 – it was quick enough to compete in 600cc racing, but user friendly to still enjoy on the street during the week. When it first came out, it was quite an improvement on the competition – Kawasasaki’s GPZ600 (arguably the class leader at the time) was 28 pounds …
No Reserve Project – 1966 Fuji Rabbit Superflow S601
I don’t feature scooters much, but the Fuji Rabbit Superflow is definitely worth a look. An impressive 75,000 units left the Fuji Heavy Industries factory, but it’s very hard to find any now. Why is this scoot so interesting? Well, at the time, it was as luxurious as you could get with a scooter.
1983 Kawasaki GPz1100
In 1983, Kawasaki gave the GPZ1100 a serious redesign with new bodywork, anti-dive forks, and the Uni-Trak rear suspension. Power output was also bumped to 120 horsepower (104 at the rear wheel), though this was gained at the expense of low-end torque.
1980 Kawasaki Z1R
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 this! The first year of production was 1978, and all the bikes were …
400 Engine – 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250
Over at Iconic we’ve featured all kinds of top-tier and expensive machinery, but to me this little sleeper is one of the most interesting motorcycles we’ve ever featured. This is a Kawasaki Ninja 250 which had a blown motor and was replaced with the drivetrain from a new-ish Ninja 400!
Street Legal – 1993 Honda CRE500
The CR500 is a truly legendary motorcycle with a long history, but did you know that Honda Australia created a street-leagl version called the CRE500? It’s been difficult to find the official story, though there’s plenty of rumors – one of which is that Honda Australia ordered too many CR500s and so they got certification and converted 250 of them …
Buy My Bike With No Reserve – 1965 Honda CB160
Post Sale Update: My CB160 sold for $3,005 plus a $250 buyer’s fee after 25 bids on Iconic. The bike was bought for $3,250 so that was basically a wash and I lost a few hundred on the parts I ordered. Life moves on! As you may have seen over the last couple of weeks here on Bike-urious, I’m planning …
1 of 250 – 1978 Kawasaki Z1R-TC
TCC stood for the Turbo Cycle Corporation, and it was created to sell bolt on turbos for motorcycles built by American Turbo-Pak. The founder of TCC was a former Kawasaki USA employee named Alan Masek, and he used his contacts to help develop the first ‘production’ turbocharged bike. Kawasaki’s Z1R was their top of the line bike but Alan figured …
1989 Honda XRV650 Africa Twin RD03
The first generation of the Africa Twin was introduced in 1988 in response to Honda’s success with the NXR750 racebike – it would end up winning Paris-Dakar four years in a row, starting in 1986. Honda already had the single-cylinder NX650 and the V-Twin Transalp, but the Japanese company decided another big trailie was needed. History has shown that they …
2023 Honda Motocompacto
Well, I think I just found my next pit bike! Honda’s just announced a spiritual successor to the Motocompo – meet the all-electric Motocompacto. It doesn’t roll off the tongue the same way, but it’ll be a lot easier to find in the US!
2020 Bimota Tesi H2
Post Sale Update: This Tesi H2 sold for $51,574 (including the 7% buyer’s fee) on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. Over on Iconic, we’re selling one of the craziest motorcycles we’ve ever seen – the supercharged, hub-center-steering, way-too-loud Bimota Tesi H2.