1971 Honda SL175

Hmmmmmmm…….. Maybe it’s a board track racer?

1989 Harley Sportster Cafe Racer

I recently posted an interesting Yamaha XS650 by this same shop (Loaded Gun Customs), and now they have this cafe’d 1989 HD Sportster up for sale. It’s definitely got some nice mechanical bits on it (the rear-sets and clip-ons), and it has a nice simple look to it. My own Sportster hasn’t been converted quite this far yet, but its getting there.

This bike is probably a 1200, but the seller doesn’t actually say. However, they did put new 10:1 pistons in it, and the cylinders look awfully new, so I would guess they plopped a 883 to 1200 upgrade kit on it and called it a day. It is missing the headlight adjustment nut cover, which is kind of odd given that the rider would have to look at the exposed bolthead and any pooling water every time they rode the bike.

Anyways, there are 2 days left in the auction, and the price is just over $3K. Reserve hasn’t been met, and the Buy-It-Now price is $5,200, so your guess is as good as mine as to what the reserve price has been set at. This is a pretty nice example of a Sportster cafe compared to most that we see…

1973 Suzuki T500 (with Reed Titan bodywork?)

This is an interesting, and low priced, Suzuki T500 in need of a bit of work to get it ready for either the street or a track day. The seller claims it is fast and “runs/rides well”. The neatest thing about the bike is the bodywork. While the seller thinks it is original Reed Titan bodywork, I would tend to believe that at this price and condition that it is replica fiberglass. It needs some work and parts to be fully rideable (missing front master cylinder being the most obvious thing), but it is 95% complete. Check out the listing to get more details.

The auction still has almost 10 days left at this point, and the starting bid is $999. Interestingly, it has a Buy-It-Now of only $1,999. This seems like it might make this bike a really good deal, but it also speaks to the fairly beat-on bodywork and the need for some work before riding. It will be interesting to see what happens with this auction as it moves towards completion…

1961 Triumph Thunderbird

Loking at this bike, I can’t help but dream of jumping a fence whilst escaping from a POW camp or storming a small central California town sometime in the distant past before Sturgis was the Rubbie locale du jour. This Thunderbird (the bike not the wine) is hellaciously cool in an old-school sort of way. Plop the bike down in any black-and-white rebel/biker movie, and it would look right at home.

It is for sale on eBay, and the seller claims it was built into a cafe racer before he acquired it. I think he must be referring to the Napolean bar end that has been stuck on to the left side of the bars. Other than that, it’s really just a classic bike. There are 2 bidders who have taken the bike up to $1,625 with 2 days left, but reserve hasn’t been met as of yet.

1979 Yamaha RD400 Daytona Special 2-Fer

This is a kind of interesting auction. While neither bike is a specifically a built cafe racer, a guy in Ohio is auctioning off this pair of RD400 Daytona Specials. The one that’s a runner appears to be in good shape with a number of new parts, while the fixer/parts-bike has a bunch of included parts that need to be installed (or it needs to be parted out). It seems to me that a good end for this auction would be if the winner rode the bike that’s running, and converted the rough fixer into a cafe. And then they sent some pics to the blog.

There are 4 days left in the auction, but nobody has started bidding yet. The opening bid will need to be $3K, but it is a no-reserve auction…

1978 Suzuki GS750 Cafe Racer

I’ve been trying to be nice lately. Really. Haven’t you been able to tell? But I can hold back no longer…

There are three things wrong with this bike. I’ll take the flack if you disagree. First, the seller is unclear on whether or not the bike is a 1978 or a 1979. Maybe that doesn’t matter from a technical standpoint, but it does from a “seller knowing his sh!t” standpoint. Secondly, there is no paperwork to go along with the bike. That can make it difficult to register (especially here on the left coast). Thirdly, the seat. Do I need to spell it out? The TL1000R seat is just wrong. It was iffy on the actual TL1000R, and here it is just not right. The stock seat would be better. A pillow seat would be… well, not better, but not worse.

I get the fact that all of us trying to build cafe-styled bikes makes choices as we design the final look, but this feels more like someone who had an extra TL1000R seat sitting in the garage. That reminds me, I’ve got a TZ250 GP seat in my garage that I just might mount on the ‘05 Sportster. I’ll post a pic if I do it.

5 days left in the auction, with 4 bidders, and the price at $510. Good luck if you are interested!!!

1970 BSA Project Bike

I’m not even going to attempt to claim any knowledge about the combination of motor and frame in this eBay listing for a BSA project bike. It is supposedly a 1970 frame (B441 of some type) along with a motor from 1967. The VINs are in the last two photos, so check it out if you are interested in bidding. There are 4 hours left in the auction, and the price is just under $1K with 1 bid.

A Couple Of eBay Relists…

I noticed these two relists on eBay this morning, and I wonder if they will sell this time around. I am kind of surprised that the Honda has 20 bids thus far (but still not meeting reserve), whilst the XS650 has zero bids. I get that the Yamaha needs a small amount of completion work, but still…

1963 BSA B40 Project Bike

Here’s a nice little project bike that is already generating some interest in bids. It’s a 1963 BSA B40 that has been outfitted with a B44 motor. It is in need of finishing (hence Project Bike in the title of the post), but appears to be a relatively easy bike to complete. The seller claims the engine is running with all wiring in place, but I would ask questions before buying this bike.

Luckily, you have lots of time to ask questions as there are still over 6 days left in the auction. The price has already gone above $400 from a starting price $1, although reserve has not been met. And there are three people bidding so far. Perhaps this little beezer will generate a fair bit of interest…

1965 Norton Atlas 750 (Dunstall Dominator)

Wow! The auction closed at $11,601! How cool! See the comment below from a friend of the seller…

Mmmmmmmmmm…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…

Beautiful. Nothing much else to say. I might have missed some minor detail that’s out of place and someone will point it out. Don’t care. Here’s some specs and more pictures below. There’s more pics and the seller’s writeup if you are interested in learning more or trying to buy the bike. The auction’s at $8,200 with 2 days left and 17 bidders (reserve HAS been met)…

The engine features the work of noted tuner Leo Goff including a balanced lower end, 10.1 pistons, Norris SS cam, and gas flowed head resulting in a very fast and smooth 750 Norton motor.
Alloy Rims
Steering Damper (Manx type)
Multi Rate Valve Springs (S&W)
Special Camshaft (Norris SS hotter than 2S Combat cam)
Paired Monobloc 1 1/8″ Carbs
Competition Manual Advance Magneto
5 Gal Racing Tank
Domiracer Seat
The tach and speedo were restored by Nisongers.
The magneto was rebuilt by Doug Wood.
The only flaw is some acid stains on the left silencer from a vented battery (since replaced with a sealed unit).
The bike is very strong and smooth and is ready to ride.