Yamaha launched an all-new R1 in 2009, and it captured the hearts of many a rider thanks to the crossplane crankshaft that gave the R1 a defining sound and more predictable traction at the limit. The following year, they released a Limited Edition of which featured a replica of the livery on Valentino Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha Team MotoGP race bike. …
Video Intermission – Iconic Sold RSD’s Honda CR500 Cafe Racer!
In exciting news, my buddy Roland Sands has asked us Iconic to auction off some his collection – and we’ve started with a couple of interesting pre-sales! One of the bike is Roland’s CR500-powered “cafe racer”, and his team created a fun video explaining what the bike is about before it goes to its new home in Canada.
Picture Intermission – Alpinestars Motor Morning
This weekend, Alpinestars hosted a “Motor Morning” at their US headquarters in Torrance, California. It’s something that they used to do fairly regularly, though this is just the second time it’s happened since COVID. This is the first time they’ve featured motorcycles in addition to cars, and they asked Iconic Motorbikes if we could bring a few to display. They’ve …
Picture Intermission – 4/2 Sunday Ride
Here’s some highlights from a quick ride to the Rock Store today!
391 Miles – 1992 Suzuki DR350
Introduced in 1990, the DR350 was a basic dual-sport (kick start only for the first four years) that served recreational trail duties well. It wasn’t a game changer and I normally wouldn’t feature something like this but here’s one with just 391 miles.
1997 Ducati 916
I’ve got to be frank – we all know the 916 and we all love the 916 (though I’d get a 998 for easier maintenance). We have a nice one with less than 4,000 miles over at Iconic, and I’m really just sharing this because I’m sort of shocked what a base 916 is going for right now…
Zero Miles With No Reserve – 2006 Yamaha R1 LE
Post Sale Update: This R1 sold for $18,303 (including the 7% buyer’s fee) on Iconic Motorbike Auctions. The Yamaha R1 LE was Yamaha’s celebration of its 50th anniversary. Taking their incredibly popular 1000cc sportbike as a platform, Yamaha produced a very limited run of only 500 bikes that were full of incredible extras and turning them into near-production racers. Over …
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 …
28 Miles – 1979 Yamaha RD400F Daytona Special
The last in the long line of Yamaha’s RD series, the RD400F (also known as the Daytona Special) is considered by many to be the best of the model line.
1954 Royal Enfield Meteor
Nowadays, Royal Enfield offers up a parallel twin engine in their Continental GT and INT650 models, but back in the company’s heyday the p-twin of record was the Meteor (and its successor, the Super Meteor). It was introduced in the early 50s because the US market wanted bigger engines – RE responded with a 692cc OHV twin that was basically …
1938 Brough Superior SS80 Deluxe With Petrol Tube Sidecar
The SS80 was named because Brough Superior guaranteed that each model would be able to top 80 miles per hour. Motor Cycle magazine had a different name for it – they called it the “Rolls-Royce of Motor Cycles.” Some people just consider it to be the predecessor to the SS100 – but no matter what you call it, it’s an …
Original Owner – 2006 BMW HP2 Enduro
The HP2 Enduro was the perfect bike for riders who thought the R1200GS was capable but too heavy. Thanks to a trellis frame and conventional telescopic forks, the HP2 saved 53 pounds of weight from the standard GS. They’re nearly 2 decades old, and here’s a rare one that’s only had one owner (though that’s about to change).
Custom Paint – 2010 Honda VFR1200 DCT
Honda didn’t sell nearly as many VFR1200s as they were hoping for, but here’s one that stands out thanks to a paint job inspired by the legendary VF1000R of the 80s.
BMW Airhead Custom – “The RK1”
This custom was built by Omar Sayied (the man behind MotoGhost) as his “dream BMW”, combining the classic aircooled boxer motor with a modern chassis. It uses parts from BMWs between 1970 and 2002, and the only non-BMW components are the handlebars and the Yoshimura exhaust. What do you think?