The BMW Rockster was an interesting variant on their naked bike of the time, the R1150R. The Rockster was BMW’s take on a streetfighter of sorts, made by pulling together the headlight from a R1150GS, gauges from the R1100S, and throwing them onto the R1150R with a distinctive paint job. In 2004, BMW introduced the dual-spark version of the oilhead …
1995 Suzuki RF900R
With an engine derived from the GSX-R1100, the Suzuki RF900R was designed as a entry-level bike in the sport-touring market, undercutting the competition by about $1,500. Despite the pricing, you still got a solid sport-tourer with odd styling that Suzuki claimed was “inspired a stingray.” Sales weren’t great.
JDM Import – 1991 Honda CB-1 Type II
3-29 Update: Four years later, this CB-1 is now up for sale over on Iconic. The “Battely” sticker is gone and it has a couple hundred more miles, otherwise it appears to have stayed in good shape. Find it in Chandler, Arizona with bidding up to $1,900 and the reserve not yet met here on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. Honda’s CB-1 …
Rare Project – 1972 Cotton Cavalier
After Villiers went out of business, the motorcycle manufacturers that depended on their engines were forced to look elsewhere. The British firm of Cotton (out of Gloucester, England) decided to go with a Minarelli-built 170cc to power their trails bike for 1968.
AHRMA Racer – 1982 Yamaha Seca 550
It would be easy to assume that the engine in the XJ550 was just a destroked 650, but that ain’t fair. It was almost an all-new design, with a 6-speed transmission, chain final drive, and a new cylinder head with Yamaha’s YICS system that enabled 50+ mpg fuel consumption. It was a solid mid-sized motorcycle with a love it or …
Rare Project – 1972 Gilera Gina Macho
Gina is a combination of GIlera and ArgentiNA, as this bike was a partnership between “Italy’s finest design engineers and the genius of Argentina’s master craftsmen.” The company offered trail and road models in both 175cc and 250cc displacements – here’s a rare example of the 175cc road bike that will need some work before it can hit the road …
1982 Kawasaki KZ750
The Kawasaki KZ750 didn’t get much attention from the world – it was basically a bigger KZ650 that didn’t have many other revisions. Check out this link for a retrospective on the KZ from Clement Salvadori at Rider.
Aviator Nation – 2018 Honda Rebel 500 Custom
For 2017, Honda completely revamped the Rebel to create a new generation with 300cc and 500cc powerplants. As part of their marketing efforts when launching the bike, Honda partnered with Aviator Nation, a “1970’s inspired California lifestyle brand” which focuses on hoodies and sweatpants. Aviator Nation customized one Rebel 300 and one Rebel 500, both of which were eventually given …
Impressive Extras – 1964 BSA Starlite
3/4/21 Update: Six months later, it appears that this bike did not sell as the same photos are being used and the seller now notes that he’ll let it go with a slight discount but the extras won’t be included at that price. Find it for $1,500 just east of Colorado Springs, Colorado here on Facebook Marketplace. Post Sale Update: …
Nice Price – 2008 Ducati 848 Race Bike
Here’s a race 848 with a clean Florida title and a tremendous amount of upgrades for $5,000 or best offer. Better hurry up!
1973 Yamaha TX750
Made only for two years, the TX750 was Yamaha’s attempt of creating a parallel twin with the smoothness of an inline four engine. Using a pair of balancers (called Omni-Phase), it eliminated vibration to a level never seen before in a twin.
2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250
Suzuki killed off the Bandit 1200 in 2005, but two years later they revealed the Bandit 1250. Thanks to a healthy portion of the Holeshot catalog, this Bandit can easily handle sport or touring duties.
1980 Chrysler Snorunner
Continuing the recent theme of oddball snow machines, today we’ve got a Chrysler Snorunner. This has an interesting history – though some people disagree on the actual story. My favorite version is that Chrysler built them for the Army, which was looking for light weight snow transport that could carry a soldier for 30 miles. It wasn’t capable of handling …
1.5 Miles – 2001 Kawasaki KLR250
In 1984, Kawasaki debuted a pair of new dual-sport models that quickly proved to be major hits with the motorcycling world. The larger of the models was the KLR600, which was bumped up to 650ccs, where it remains to this day as one of Kawa’s best-selling models, and (as of 2015) the best-selling dual-sport period. The smaller of the two …
Rare In The US – 197x Kawasaki W3 650
While variants of the W1 and W2 were sold in North America, the final W model (the W3) never officially made it across the Pacific. It was also known as the RS650, and it featured upgraded suspension, minor cosmetic tweaks, and standard dual disc front brakes during its ’73-’74 production run. In fact, it was the first Kawasaki to feature …