In 1954, BMW offered a limited run of production racers to the public under the “Rennsport” (RS) name. Just 24 examples of the RS54 were built, and nowadays you’ll be spending well north of $100k to get a quality one. Here’s your chance to get a fun tribute for much less money.
2021 Honda CRF450R with CR500 Engine
There’s a cottage industry out there for people who like shoving the legendary two-stroke Honda CR500 motor into other frames – usually I see it done with CR250s or similar but M-Worx Conversions in Illinois has recently done one with a modern CRF450R frame and now it’s for sale.
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 …
Art Deco Custom – 2007 Vectrix VX-1 Electric Scooter
I normally wouldn’t have much interest in a 16-year-old electric scooter but someone clever has used this Vectrix VX-1 as the base for a wood-bodied Art Deco-inspired custom.
In Japan – 1983 Laverda RGS 1000 Custom
The Laverda RGS 1000 is one of the last versions of the big triple, which tamed the “peaky” Jota engine, isolated the rider from vibrations with rubber mounts from the engine, and added the half-fairing. It was a true sport tourer, best on fast roads with long sweepers, taking you from city to city in style and with ease. This …
“NorStar” – 2004 Norton Manx Frame with BSA Goldstar Engine
We’ve shared all kinds of hybrids with fun names here on Bike-urious beyond the usual “Triton” – Norvin (Norton frame, Vincent motor), Esquire (Norton frame, Ariel Square Four motor), a Narley (Norton/Harley) and even a Burton (Norton/Buell). But here’s a first on these pages – a combination of a Norton frame and BSA Gold Star engine called the NorStar.
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!
2002 Ducati 998 Custom
Built by Johnny Nguyen of Upcycle Garage in Huntington Beach, California, this Ducati 998 has obviously been highly customized – what do you think about it?
Salt Flat Racer – 1971 Suzuki 250
This Suzuki 250 was turned into a land speed racer to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats – unfortunately this year the Bonneville speed trials were cancelled due to rain and the owner of this bike is leaving the country before the next running. So now you can try to make his dreams happen!
1966 Triton
Two days ago I shared a Norton frame with an unexpected engine inside of it – today we’ve got something a bit more traditional: a Norton slimline featherbed frame that’s been stuffed with the 650cc engine from a Triumph T120R Bonneville.
1954 Norton Manx Kit with KLR650 Engine
Now that’s a headline I never thought I’d type before! The seller of this bike built it after falling in love with the Norton Manx while watching an AHRMA race, but he wanted to ride on the streets. He had just bought a KLR650, and…well, you can guess the rest.
Evel Knievel’s Stratocycle – Harley-Davidson XLCH
8-28-23 Update: Two years later and it’s still up for sale, but now it’s back up to $200k. We’ll see how that goes…find the Stratocycle in Los Angeles here on eBay. 7-21-21 Update:Another 3 years later, Tim Huber notes that this famous Harley is now for sale by Heritage Auctions. They’re accepting offers for another couple of weeks, and the …
BSA Framed – 1964 Velocette MSS 500 Custom
First released in 1935, the Velocette MSS was a semi-stalwart that was built until 1968. The long production run is a little misleading, as the MSS was interrupted by World War II. The model was relaunched in 1954 with the same name but a complete redesign – it featured a MAC frame, optional bags, and sidecar mounting lugs on the …
Banshee Powered – 1989 Yamaha Street Tracker
This week I shared a modern Yamaha in the yellow/black speedblock livery – now it’s time for an older one! This fascinating Kenny Roberts-inspired Street Tracker was built by Englishman Joe Banks as “a fusion of vintage inspiration and modern engineering”.
Signed by Kenny Roberts – 2016 Yamaha XSR900 60th Anniversary
Over on the auction site, we’ve got a show bike used by our friends over at Motodemic. They used this to demonstrate the parts they make for Yamahas, and they’ve only put 92 miles on it since new.