What we have here is an ’85 Honda VF500 V30 Magna-based, 500 Interceptor-powered Street Scrambler build. This example – which was built as a 1973 Honda CR250 Elsinore tribute – very much looks the part of your typical scrambler while boasting performance closer to that of a mid-’80’s sport bike. The V4-powered sled has received a lot of work and …
Showroom Clean – 1975 Yamaha DT100
Yamaha first kicked-off its DT lineup in 1968 with the 250cc DT-1 – a model that would help to usher in a new market for dual-sport machines. The DT-1 (also known as the Trail 250 in other markets) would be included as one of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan’s 240 Landmarks of the Japanese Automotive Technology. Upon its …
No Reserve – 1981 BMW R80GS Paris-Dakar
Post Sale Update: The market has spoken – this GS sold for $14,211 after 51 bids on eBay. The seller of this R80 G/S couldn’t determine what a fair value was for his bike, so he put it on eBay with a starting bid of 1 cent and with no reserve. So now the market will inform you as to …
Alternate Laverda Project – 1971 American Eagle Renegade 150
Post Listing Update: The BIN was lowered to $999 but that still wasn’t enough to entice anyone to pick up this rare Laverda project. As you’ll note in the comments, however, afterwards one of John McCormack’s sons bought this American Eagle! I’ve featured a few American Eagle models in the past – the brand was John McCormack’s attempt at importing …
Restored – 1966 Honda CL77 Scrambler
The seller originally bought this bike to learn how to wrench on bikes and get some quality time in with his son. The project is over and the seller has too many other bikes to keep this around, so now it can be yours.
No Reserve – 1970 Yamaha RT1 360
Post Sale Update: This RT1 sold for $6,855 after 32 bids on eBay. Yamaha earned themselves a lot of fans with the release of the 360cc RT1 enduro in 1970. The motorcycling public had high expectations after the smaller DT1/AT1 models, so the big brother was going to be just as good, right? Indeed it was. That’s why they are …
Ending Soon – 1971 Kawasaki G4TR Trail Boss
Post Sale Update: This Trail Boss sold for $2,225 after 37 bids on eBay. Kawasaki’s challenger to Yamaha’s DT100, the G4TR was also known as the Trail Boss in certain markets. It was was a light-weight, go-anywhere enduro with a 5×2 speed transmission. You could climb a 40 degree angle in first gear or keep up with traffic doing 65 …
Fighting Red – 1990 Honda Transalp XL600V
In the late 80s, Honda offered both an AT and a TA – the Africa Twin and the Transalp. Both were ahead of the times, though the latter was more street-biased. Consider it a jack of all trades sort of bike with a cult following. The US only got the Transalp between ’89 and ’91, and it was much more …
Quail Gathering Winner – Restored 1976 Yamaha XT500
Restored by Owen Bishop of Moto41 Restorations, this is one of the nicest XT500s I’ve ever seen. I first saw it in person at this year’s Quail Motorcycle Gathering where it won 1st Place in the Japanese category (beating out an awesome Honda CB750 Police Bike that I thought was more interesting), and it’s also won 1st Place at the …
ISDT Tribute – 1965 BSA B40 Enduro Star
Post Listing Update: Despite 48 bids up to $3,049, this BSA did not meet reserve. In the 1965 ISDT, BSA’s factory efforts with 350s and 441s had ground to a halt by day four thanks to the Prince of Darkness, Joseph Lucas. That’s obviously a bit of a stretch, but every works bike was knocked out due to electrical problems. …
“V649HP” – 2009 Kawasaki Versys Custom
Starting with a Kawasaki Versys 650, this seller has created a hell of a gravel road runner. There isn’t much here that identifies this as a Kawi.
Bike Review – 2017 Kawasaki Versys-X 300
View Post2000 Moto Guzzi Quota 1100ES
Post Listing Update: This Quota was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Moto Guzzi took their well-known 1,064cc twin and threw it in an ADV package to compete against BMW’s GS bikes. The result was as you’d expect – too heavy and under-suspended for serious off-road work, but very capable as a sport-tourer that could also play on …
Rare in the US – 2017 Bultaco Brinco RE
Bultaco stopped producing bikes in 1983, though they had a brief revival in 1998 when Sherco (a combination of Sherpa and Bultaco) used the name for a couple of years. The firm was best known for their two-stroke off-roaders and even the occasional road bike like the Metralla. So when the company was revived in 2015, it was a bit …
Yamaha Way-Back Machines
Vintage dirt bikes and enduros have become very popular lately. People have been dragging them out of their garages and barns and cleaning them up and they show up in large numbers at events like Barber Vintage Festival. Cruising Craigslist as I do (it’s a problem, I know) it appears the trend may be peaking. When you see a lot …