1974 Norton John Player Special

I will admit to you that I am no expert at knowing if this is a replica Norton JPS, but it is one cool looking motorcycle! If nothing else, the twin bug-eye headlights are easily the most disturbing front end in existence (pics of your vote for this honor appreciated). If this is real, it would seem to be a truly collectible piece of British race bike history. It will be interesting to see where the auction closes…

Cheap Motorcycle Project/Model

Usually, the bikes I post have an ending price in the four digit range. I know, I know. $1K is chump change to the readers of this blog. I insult you by even implying that something cheap(er) would be good. But maybe I am just thinking of myself, trying to get by in this recessionary world, but still wanting to have fun with motorcycles.

Be that as it may, I found this really nice project bike on eBay. It’s a Yamaha RD250LC in 1/15th scale, and it should take you a lot less time to complete than a 1/1 scale motorcycle project. The seller has good feedback, so it looks like it should be a safe transaction…

1976 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Up on eBay right now is this beautiful 1976 Yamaha XS650 done up as a fully-faired cafe racer. If the stickers are removable, you would have the option of cleaning it up a bit so you could enjoy the Kenny Roberts replica paint job with the distraction of pretending you are a sponsored racer. There are a ton of pictures in the eBay listing, but I didn’t bother copying them all over the posting. I also listed the key features of the bike as shown by the seller. As always, ask the seller any questions you might have before bidding…

Full fiberglass fairing
Fiberglass solo seat
Fiberglass fuel tank
New Gustufsson wind screen
Tomasselli clip-on bars
Bates rear-set controls
GP-style shift pattern
New brake pads and sprockets
New Pirelli Sport Demon V-rated sport/race compound front and rear tires
(Seller is) assuming that it has high-comp pistons and he/she believes a Weber “Web” cam
High performance 2 into 1 pipe
Twin Mikuni VM round-slide carbs with screened velocity stacks
Oil cooler
Period mag wheels