Back in the early oughts — long before Harley had even begun development of the Pan America — Buell dove headfirst into the ADV market with the Ulysses XB12X. Between the sportbike-like handling, the in-frame fuel reservoir, and the large, floating front rotor, it was undeniably forward-thinking for its time. Admittedly, however, its reception was pretty mixed; the styling was …
212 Miles – 1977 Bultaco Alpina 350
After the success of the Sherpa T, Bultaco released the Alpina 250, a bike specifically built for enduro riders. After 3 years, Bultaco offered a more powerful 350 variant, which you see in front of you. But this example is impressively oriignal (down to the tires) and it has covered just 212 miles.
Touareg Blue – 1986 BMW R80GS
We’ve featured many examples of the BMW R80GS here – a bike that arguably jump started the adventure bike craze – but this is a rare example in color code 628: Touareg Blue/Alpine White (this colorway was not offered in the US).
Japanese Metisse – An XS650-Powered Rickman Mk3
Back in the 1950s, two English brothers named Don and Derek Rickman decided to jump into the motorcycle market by building frames of their own design. Both experienced dirt riders, they took experience racing motocross around Europe and materialized it in the form of the “Metisse.” Beyond its premium craftsmanship — it was machined from a lightweight chromoly, and there …
2003 Aprilia RSV Mille R Haga Edition
During the 2002 World Superbike season, Noriyuki Haga — also known as the the “Samurai of Slide” or “Nitro Nori” — placed fourth overall on his RSV Mille. Aprilia commemorated Haga’s efforts with a limited production run of the RSV Mille R. Just 300 Haga Replicas were built for the 2003 model year, 60 of which were sold in the …
1974 Gus Kuhn Seeley Norton Commando 850
After a successful career in trials, scrambles, and TT racing, Gus Kuhn founded a dealership with his namesake in 1932. His wife fell ill in the 40s, and he took a back seat and let Vincent Davey start taking over the reins. When Norton released the Commando in ’68, Vincent thought it’d be a great model to start a race …
1978 Kawasaki KX250
In 1978, Kawasaki debuted a “works replica” called the KX250 A-4. PulpMX called it “a works bike for the chosen few,” and it was a limited production (~1,500, ~600 of which came to the US) notice to the rest of the industry that Team Green was getting serious about MX after a few years of dismal sales.
379 Miles – 1989 Yamaha DT50
Introduced in 1981, the Yamaha DT50 (also known as the DT50MX) was barely updated throughout its 15-year production run.
Italian Police – 1970 Moto Guzzi V7
By 1970, Moto Guzzi was offering four different variants of the V7 – the Sport, Special, Ambassador, and a Police bike. The Police platform had a bit of success in the US, but it was much more popular in Europe. This is claimed to be an Italian “Polizia Stradale” V7 that’s been restored to concourse level.
Abhi Buys a Bimota Tesi 3D FE, Part 3 – 3,000 Miles
Normally with these “I bought a bike” posts, I check in after the first 1,000 miles. But I’ve been traveling more than usual and the first 1,000 miles with my Tesi were just boring commuting – so here’s a 3k mile check-in instead!
1961 Harley-Davidson Servicar Custom
Produced for nearly 40 years, the Servicar was a three-wheeler HD produced in an attempt to further expand their target customer base during the Great Depression. One of their selected targets was automotive mechanics, so this bike was designed to allow mechanics put their tools in the rear storage box to make house calls. It also had a tow hitch, …
No Reserve – 2000 Honda RC51
Sold between in 2000 and 2006 in two different versions, the RC51 has gone down as one of the most legendary motorcycles to ever come out of Honda, well-deserving of the “RC” designation that’s graced other famous Hondas like the RC30, RC40, and RC45. It was Honda’s take on the V-Twin replica racer, beating Ducati at it’s own game with …
1975 Suzuki RE5
Along with some options from Norton and the Hercules W2000, the Suzuki RE5 was one of the rare rotary-engine bikes that actually made it to market. The Suzuki was the most ‘popular’ of the rotary bikes, with slightly over 6,000 examples built. Nowadays, mention of a rotary engine usually makes gearheads think of the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8, but in …
1973 Ducati 750 Sport
A highlight of Ducati’s historical lineup, the 70s 750 Sport was a primary inspiration for the ahead-of-its-time 2006-2010 Sport Classic 1000 line up. Here’s one that’s been on display for years and has been recently serviced so it’s ready to ride.
1989 Suzuki RGV250 SP VJ21
Last week I shared a fun VJ22 SP that we had over on the auction site, and I think this predecessor from the same seller is visually even better. I guess I like soda over cigarettes?