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.
Dustbin Fairing – 2009 Moto Guzzi V7
I’ve always loved the aesthetics of dustbin fairings, though they were banned in 1957 as FIM thought that they made bikes unstable at high speeds as soon as a little bit of yaw was introduced – plus the limited steering lock and stability when encountering crosswinds. I’m sure modern technology and aero could help with that, but I think we’re …
Trackmaster Framed – 1960 BSA Rocket Gold Star
This gorgeous street tracker combines a Trackmaster 4130 chromoly frame with a BSA Rocket engine: at one point the seller calls it a Rocket Gold Star motor and at another point he calls it a Super Rocket, are you able to confirm?
Forward Controls – 1981 Honda CB750 Custom
I’m really not sure how to describe this but I had to feature it anyway – it’s rare to see a motorcycle where the rider is in front of the engine.
In France – 1979 Yamaha 350 With Corki Frame
Based in France, Moto Corki was the brainchild of Lucienne Cordonnier. He built his own frames – as noted by Satanic Mechanic it was a backbone design ‘probably inspired by Egli but unlike the Egli and its successors, the backbone extended down to the swingarm pivot in a 110 degree angle.’ Another website suggests that the Corki name came from …
BikeEXIF Feature – 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750 Custom
Built by Victor Wilkens of Seattle, Washington, this custom GSX-R750 has a delightfully 80s vibe but it features a 90s Bandit 1200 motor (similar power, but 20 more lb-ft of torque).
1980 Suzuki GS750E Restomod
Whenever I see a listing with the term “restomod”, it’s typically a crapshoot about what work has been done and what the seller thinks a restomod is. But here’s one that nails the intent (at least in my mind) of keeping vintage aesthetics while giving the performance a significant (modernized) boost.
“Mega Monkey” – 2022 Honda Monkey Custom
Packing roughly $8,000 in cosmetic and performance modifications, this build is a “tribute to all the Japanese muscle bikes” of the seller’s past. Can you tell that he used to own a ZRX1200R?
1985 BMW K100RS
BMW’s K100RS is a tried-and-true sport-tourer, though even when it was new no one was overwhelmed by the power. A previous owner of this example has rectified that with one of the 200 turbo kits that were produced by RB Racing on behalf of Luftmeister!
1981 Egli-Ducati 900SS
Fritz Egli is a former Swiss motorcycle racer who made a tremendous name for himself by building custom frames out of his speed shop. One of his first creations was a Vincent Black Shadow that won a hill climbing championship, and he’s still cranking out frames for a variety of bikes. In the 60s, Egli had become so successful with …
Custom Streetfighter – 1986 Suzuki GS1150EF
In the early 80s, Suzuki knocked off the CBX as the superbike du jour. The Suzuki GS1100E came into the market and instantly became the bike of choice for the power hungry. American press mags constantly raved about not just the power, but also the surprising handling abilities for such a large bike. Here’s an interesting example which was turned …