1976 Moto Guzzi 850 Lemans Project

Up for auction on eBay is this Moto Guzzi that is going to need a bit of work in the cosmetics department. Given the lack of description and the high starting price, it isn’t too surprising that there are zero bidders and the price is $3,995. Reasons for this probably include the cracked fins on the heads, and the bike’s origins as a supposed race bike. If it still had the straight-cut gears and the Dellorto carbs, that might be a little better. Actually, it may still have the race gearbox, but the seller doesn’t really know.

I guess the final analysis of this bike would say that it is a good example of an eBay bike that the buyer should investigate further before placing a bid. Given that there is only an hour left in the auction it is likely that we will see it pop up again for sale…

1976 Honda CB750 from Lossa Engineering

I’ve posted several Lossa Engineering bikes in the past, and this is probably my least favorite of the ones that have been auctioned off on eBay. Overall, it is a nicely done cafe racer of sorts, but I think the style just isn’t my cup of tea.

Likes: I love all the detail work on the mechanicals. The drilled sprocket cover and shifter are a great touch. The double front discs are well done. The exhaust is unique and cool looking. The street tracker tail section is always nice to see, and I like the dual taillight treatment. And all the powder coating and nickel plating looks really good.

Dislikes: The upside down superbike bars. The paint job (personal taste, ymmv). That funky sprocket cover on the rear wheel. And the Pirelli Scorpion A/T tires (I had them on my KTM ).

There are lots more pictures and more info on the build and parts on eBay if you’re interested. I doubt this bike is going to meet reserve, though, as there are only 20 hours left and the price is only about $2K at this time. I think if you look at some of the other Lossa bikes that I’ve posted or on their website, you’ll see that this CB750 is a bit different in direction from most of the other bikes to come out of the shop. I’m sure this one will find a home, but it might not be quite as easy as with a more classically-styled builds…

1976 Honda CB400F Super Sport

There have been bikes I have posted before where I have implored everyone who might possibly buy the bike not to modify the bike. This is another one of those motorcycles. I don’t know if the 298.7 miles that the odometer shows are the true miles, but it is either true or the restoration job is masterful. Check out the pictures as there isn’t much to say about this bike given its stock condition.

There are about 17 hours left in the auction, and the price is approaching $5K with 22 bidders. This is a nice bike that could very easily end up in someone’s never-ridden collection, but I hope I see it up at Alice’s Restaurant or the Rock Store some time…

1976 Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans

Sorry for the break from the blog, but I was busy. What can I say?

Up for auction right now on eBay is this really clean, pretty-but-not-truly-restored, Le Mans 850. It has almost 40K miles on it, but the odometer reads only 14K. The suspension is upgraded, and the engine has some upgraded electronics, so it should be a great ride once the carbs are gone through. Cosmetically, I like the bike overall, but I’m not a fan of Corbin seats (looks or sitting on them). The seller admits the bikes current issues and shortcomings in the listing, so if you are interested, click through and check them out.

There are 4 days left in the auction, with one bidder and the price currently at $5K. This seems like a decent bike that could use a good home, but the price seems like it might be a bit on the high side.

(From the seller’s listing)
– Body work repainted to original design pattern
– Stainless fasteners
– Stainless braided brake lines thru out
– Dyna III electronic ignition and dyna coils
– 38mm Marzocchi strada front end, make the bike very stable at high speed
– NOS Marzocchi rear shocks (wow!)
– Agostini rear sets
– Corbin seat is very comfortable on long rides
– BUB exhaust system
– ‘Square’ type front brake reservoir and lever makes it stop like a modern bike

1976 Yamaha RD400 Kenny Roberts Replica

Is this a cafe racer? Not really.

Is it ultra-cool? Absolutely!!!

This is a really well-done Kenny Roberts replica that has been made street legal to boot. The look is there, and the seller’s description claims that the bike is fully mechanically sound (“IT RUNS PERFECTLY WITH A ONE KICK START”). Overall, this is one great bike up on the eBay auction block.

Bidding is currently at $4K on the nose with the next bid supposedly breaking the reserve. There are almost 4 days left in the auction with 14 bidders. If you’ve got +$5K burning a hole in your pocket, this bike could be yours…

1976 BMW R75/6 Cafe Racer

While not a full conversion, enough has been done to this BMW R75/6 listed on eBay to qualify as a nice, comfortable to ride cafe racer. No rear-sets and drag bars make this a fairly mild build-up, but the overall look is quite nice. It’s got the seat, the black paint, the black twin megaphone exhaust, and the Black Rain fairing. Yes, they could have gone further, but this would actually be a comfortable bike to ride all day. And it looks the part!

There are almost two days left int he auction, and the seller has zero bids with a starting price of $1,800. I think that eBay’s new zero-up-front-fees pricing structure is bringing more bikes out of storage and on to the market. Maybe we will start to see even nicer bikes appearing soon…

1976 Royal Enfield Cafe Racer

In a brand debut on the blog is this Royal Enfield cafe racer. I think this is a really nicely done bike that epitomizes what a cafe racer is supposed to be — light and stylish. There are far too many mods to list them all here, but the seller of this bike has gone kinda crazy in doing cool stuff to this bike. It has the whole host of “normal” cafe mods (tank, clip-ons, rear-sets, seat, suspension, etc.), and a lot more not so common modifications. It has a big bore kit in it, lots of lightening of the hard parts, electronic ignition, etc.

There are a bunch more photos and all of the specs in the eBay listing. This is a cool bike that should make the new owner very happy. 6 days left, currently at $1,100, with a Buy-It-Now at $5,500.

1976 Honda CB400F Super Sport

Before getting into the details of this bike, I just want to say something for the record. I am in no way advocating the tear-down of this motorcycle into a cafe racer or other modified form be it race bike, bobber, chopper, etc., etc., etc…

What we have here is an unrestored, but amazingly clean and beautiful CB400F Super Sport from the year 1976. It only has 6K miles, and the seller is supposedly a factory trained Honda mechanic who has adjusted all necessary doohickies (that’s a technical term for those of you not mechanically inclined) so the bike can be ridden immediately upon purchase. There are a few more pictures on eBay, and the seller has done a good job of describing the tune-up he gave the bike. His feedback is good, with a decent amount of selling over the last year, so if you decide to get in on the bidding or pay the Buy-It-Now price ($6.5K), it should be a pretty safe transaction. Bidding is pretty heavy with 12 bidders taking the price up to $1,925 with 3 days left. Awesome bike for whomever wins the auction!!!

Oh yeah. If you win this bike and then tear it apart to make a cafe racer, you will hear the cries and screams of thousands of classic bike fans who wish you would have started with a beater, and not this nearly off the showroom floor example…

1976 Honda CB550 Cafe Project

From the extraordinary cafe builder Steve “Carpy” Carpenter comes this “I’m clearin’ out the garage” project bike up for sale on eBay right now. It’s a 1976 Honda CB550 with a bikini fairing, aftermarket seat, and a need for a good home with a patient mechanic. Lots of parts are missing, but the price is right ($152 with 22 hours left in the auction). Maybe you have an extra set of carbs, a pipe, some brakes calipers, and miscellaneous other parts sitting around? Good. Then this is the bike for you…

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