The Ducati 916 needs no introduction, but for a teenage boy who didn’t know much about motorcycles, it was a revelation. The dual projector headlights, the SSSA, and the underseat exhausts all caught my imagination and even to this day, have never let go. Designed by Massimo Tamburini, the 916 has become an icon in the sportbike world. I’ll leave …
1993 Yamaha TDM 850
The Yamaha TDM 850 is definitely an oddball…a well-rounded bike in a US market that seems to prefer hyper-specialization. Sold in the US for only two years (1992-1993), there aren’t very many of these bikes still around, but the TDM definitely has a cult following. Well suited for tall riders, Yamaha designed this bike to enjoy mountain roads and also …
1973 Hodaka Combat Wombat
I’m not going to lie – part of the reason I’m featuring this bike because it has one of the greatest vehicle names ever. With that said, this Japanese-American joint venture produced a series of very popular bikes during the 60s and 70s, with fantastic names like the Combat Wombat shown here, as well as the Dirt Squirt and Road …
1975 Suzuki GT750 – Water Buffalo
This 1975 Suzuki GT750, also known as the Water Buffalo, was a unique 738cc liquid cooled 2-stroke triple. This is the bike that put Suzuki on the map in the United States. Maintain the breaker points periodically and you’ve got yourself a bike reliable enough to be a daily rider, if you so choose. When it was first announced, riders …
1982 Honda CBX
The Honda CBX featured the first 6-cylinder engine Honda put in a motorcycle. This engine made the CBX one of the fastest production bike at the time, and truly put Honda on the map when it came to American motorcycle owners. “The CBX is a mountain road flyer beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.” Cycle Magazine, February 1978 For the last two …
1989 Suzuki LT500R – Quadzilla
It’s not every day that the currently fastest vehicle in an industry was made back in the 80s, but that what seems to have happened with ATVs. In the 80s, Suzuki took the lead in performance All-Terrain-Vehicles, and competed with Yamaha’s Banshee with their LT500R QuadRacer. Because of its incredible size and speed, the Suzuki LT500R became known as “Quadzilla”. …
1983 Honda Gyro S
Here’s something you don’t see everyday…a Honda Gyro Scooter. Like the new Piaggio MP3, this is a tilting three wheel scooter, except in this case, the two wheels are in the back. Check out this video from an owner unrelated to the seller: GYRO, an acronym for “Great Your Recreation Original”, was sold in America for only 3 years. It …
2003 BMW F650CS
The BMW F650CS, also known as the Scarver (a blend of Street and Carver), was one of the weirdest bikes BMW ever made – and that’s saying a lot. Superficially, it made perfect sense – medium displacement, high mpg street bike aimed at commuters with a low maintenance belt drive. Weird looks combined with the fact that a F650GS could …
1983 Honda CX650 Turbo
In the 80s, Japanese manufacturers started to throw turbos onto a lot of their bikes as they saw it as the future of motorcycling. Kawi, Yamaha, and Honda all had turbo options, though the Honda CX650 Turbo was arguably the best. For varying reasons, the market never panned out, and so only 1,200 were ever imported into the US and …
2001 Honda NSR 150 – Repsol
9-27 Update: 5 months later, this Honda NSR 150 has now turned up on eBay, with just a few more miles and, most importantly, a New York Title! Not bad. Find it here with bidding at $3,150 and the reserve not yet met in Newport News, Virginia. Let’s see how much the price has shot up now that this bike …
Ghost Rider Buell
Hard to describe this one, so you’ll just have to see it for yourself! What we have here is a heavily modified Buell created for the Nicolas Cage movie ‘Ghost Rider’. Originally released to the public as part of a Sony/Sobe giveaway, the bike has now found a home in SLC. Modifications are numerous, as is evident from the photo. …
1975 Kawasaki H1 500
Known as the ‘Widowmaker’, the Kawasaki H1 series were a range of triples famous for being incredibly quick and terrible to handle. The Kawasaki H1 500 was the mid-size model, and was easily the fastest 500cc bike around. By keeping everything cheap, Kawi was able to market this bike to young gentlemen who wanted the fastest bike possible for less …
2002 Ural Bavarian Classic
Post-Sale Update: This bike has sold at the asking price of $7,000. After World War II, the Russians basically looted a BMW assembly line and installed it in their home country. They’ve been making unsanctioned replicas under the Ural name ever since. The Ural Bavarian Classic (or BC) at least pays homage to that fact in name. Those of you …
2005 Honda Rune
The Honda Rune made a huge splash back in 2004, as Honda brought to market a bike that no one believed would ever make it past concept. Just look at it! The motorcycle community was stunned to see something like this coming from Honda, of all manufacturers, due to stereotypes of conservative design, but you’d be hard-pressed to have found …
CHP – 1980 Kawasaki KZ1000 Police
You might not look like Erik Estrada, but this bike might make you feel like him. You’ll probably remember this bike from the TV show CHiP’s, but this bike was already well known as the one of the two most common police bikes in the country at the time. Officers often differed on their preference between the Kawasaki KZ1000 Police …