Until I came across this bike, I had never heard of Derbi – the Spanish (or Catalonian, depending on your geo-political perspective) brand that started producing small-capacity bikes in the early 1940s. The story of the company started, however, in 1922 when Simeón Rabasa i Singla opened a bicycle shop in Mollet del Vallès, near Barcelona. That business would go …
1987 Honda NSR80 With 62 Kilometers
US minibike enthusiasts will be familiar with the Honda NSR50. Japan got a 80cc variant that was never sold in the US, but here’s an example that’s somehow made it across the ocean.
1 Kilometer – 2017 Honda Z50 Monkey 50th Anniversary
Post Sale Update: This Monkey sold for $7,865 after 28 bids on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. In Honda’s legendary lineup of motorcycles, one of the most iconic is the Z50 – affectionately known as the “monkey” bike because of how riders looked while on the tiny things. The first model was the Z50M, adorned in Shasta White bodywork with a Magna …
1971 HPE Muskin El Tigre MX
Post Listing Update: This El Tigre did not get any action at the opening bid of $2,500. I had never heard of HPE Muskin until I saw this ad, but it turns out I’ve ridden one of their bikes. HPE Muskin was a California-based company that specialized in making swimming pools. But ─ because why not? ─ they also manufactured …
1985 Garelli Monza GT
Garelli is not a well-known marque in the world of motorcycling, but this moped was released while they were in the middle of an impressive run of 6 consecutive 125cc 2-stroke World Championships from 1982 to 1987.
1966 Simplex Sportsman Senior
Fellow Americans, you don’t know how lucky you are. I live in England at the moment, and I’m aware that there’s a perception that motorcycling is more dynamic in the UK and Europe. That may be somewhat true in the variety of motorcycle types that get ridden here but I can assure you: American classified ads are way more fun.
1971 Indian Boy Racer
Post Listing Update: this Indian was pulled off of eBay, final sale price unknown. Back in the days when Floyd Clymer owned the Indian name, he dabbled with a few small motorcycles like the Papoose, Indian Boy Racer, MM-5 minibike or the MT series of dirtbikes. One option was the Super Scrambler, which was offered in red/white, blue/white, or yellow/black.
1967 Yamaha YDS-5
Yamaha is an interesting company, isn’t it? It makes all kinds of things and tends to be pretty good at making those things, but doesn’t seem to be very good about keeping track of those things or effectively telling their stories. Here’s an example. Sitting next to me as I write this is a probably-1969 YSL-352S trombone. If you know …
1 of 8 – 2005 Vyrus 50 C32T
View Post1952 Harley-Davidson S-125
Dear bike sellers: please make sure you take good photos of your bike. The cluttered, portrait-framed images of this Harley-Davidson S-125, don’t do the bike justice. But the ad’s worth noting because this is one of the best-condition S-125s I’ve ever seen. Also known as the Model 125, or ─ more colloquially, but inaccurately, a Hummer ─ the S-125 was …
Custom Mini Bike
Today we’ve got an interesting pair of customs – one uses a custom aluminum frame with a Rotax motor….and this one has a custom stainless steel tube frame with a Honda GX390 motor (13 horsepower)!
1960s Sears Allstate Compact
When I was a boy, one of my favorite things to do in the weeks leading up to Christmas was get a hold of the Sears Wish Book, go through it with a marker, and circle all the toys I wanted. You need to be of a certain age to know what the Sears Wish Book was, I suppose. It …
1998 Honda NSR50
The NSR50 was in Honda’s lineup for decades before they blessed the USA with a chance to officially try it for ourselves in 2004. Before that year, Americans had to either order one directly from HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) or try to import one through the gray market. It was well worth the effort, because Honda used components that made …
In Spain – 1970 Mini Marcelino
Mini Marcelinos were built in both Italy and Spain – originally created by Dinamica Meccanica Tassinari in Italy, a Spanish version was built by a former Ducati employee. As you may guess, MotoTrans was involved and they built 48cc Ducati engines under license.
1971 Honda Trail CT70
Sometimes you can’t resist a bad idea. Spending thousands of dollars on a 53-year-old vehicle that fits in your closet is, probably, a bad idea. But when the vehicle in question is a Honda Trail CT70, is it really that bad of an idea? After all, some bad ideas can be a whole lot of fun. The Trail CT70 was …