1971 Norton 750 Commando – Gus Kuhn

With about 21 hours left in this eBay auction, here’s a chance to own a classic Gus Kuhn Norton that is fully kitted out. It’s definitely not a show bike, and as the seller claims it starts easily and runs great this would probably be a great bike for Sunday morning runs up to Alice’s Restaurant. That being said, I’m sure this bike would attract a lot of attention if it was parked at any classic bike show.

Here’s a list of parts fitted to the bike

Racing 850 Kit
Updated AMAL MK2
Tomaselli clip-on
Morris mag wheels
AP brake master cylinder
Frame and motor number matching

While reserve hasn’t been met yet, I’d bet that there will be a few more bids before the auction ends. The price currently stands at $3,750 with 8 bids.

1971 Norton Commando 850 Cafe Racer

First off, I would like to apologize for the poor quality of the previous bike and post. After taking a month plus off from blogging about the current crop of cafe racers, I was mostly discombobulated while writing that, given a comment or two that I received both online and in person. 😦 Be that as it may, it is time to move on to bigger and better things. Below you will see what I hope is my apology in action…

Here we have a really nice Commando 850 that has been entirely cafe’d. I am having trouble finding anything missing from this bike that would need upgrading immediately upon purchase. You could, of course, add higher-performance parts to it. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it is basically a turnkey bike that the buyer can hop on and ride. The seller has been honest with the few issues that it has (speedo cable, oil weep, and tank dings), and it has a recently rebuilt engine. If there is anything I have missed that should be there (me not being a true Norton expert or anything like that), please let me know…

Currently, there is less than a day left in the auction, and the price is in the mid $4K range with 21 bidders. Perhaps it will break $5K before the auction ends. It isn’t perfect, but the seller is being very upfront with the issues it does have. Good luck if you bid…

Norton Featherbed Cafe Racer (Not Quite Complete)

Up on eBay right now is this Norton Featherbed cafe racer. Or should I say partially completed cafe racer. Most of the major bits are there, but a few things are missing. First, the seller does not have carbs installed, but has a set of Amal 930 carbs that will be thrown in for an extra $200. And then you will need to find some kind mufflers to put on there. The motor is a 1969 Atlas 750 that has supposedly been modded, and the Featherbed frame is a 1962 600SS.

If you can live with the caveats listed here and in the seller’s listing, this might be a great bike that will really turn heads once it is completed. Just go into the purchase with eyes open expecting to have to do a bit of work. Bidding is currently at about $3K with just over 4 days left…

1966 Bultaco Racebike (Cafe Racer Potential)

Up for auction right now on eBay is this supposedly ex-AHRMA race bike that would make a nice street bike if you could get it titled/registered. Plus add a bunch of street stuff to get it through inspection at the DMV. Plus it looks like the footpegs need some work (it’s hard to tell if they’re even there in the photos). Also, please examine photo #4 for yourself. It is hard to tell what’s up with that. Somebody’s been playing with Photoshop too much me thinks. Some kind of weird filter ran over the photo to make it look all artsy. Anyways, nothing really left from the eBay listing other than what I’ve already posted here (word for word below plus all 4 photos). If you are interested it is at $1,500 with 5 bidders and 2 days left…

“”Hi, I’m selling this motorcycle for my brother who’s stationed in Iraq, he used to race it on weekends and tour on bike shows nation wide, this is the description he gives of the bike…

“This is a Bultaco 250cc road racer. The round barrel makes it legal for AHRMA 250 and 350 GP classes among others. The bike was originally a Bultaco Alpina. The motor runs well and the clutch and transmission work great. The motor is stock along with the original Amal 29mm. carb. The body work is a Metralla tank and the seat is of a MV Agusta race seat. The front hub is a Holly 305 Superhawk with an added air scoop for brake cooling. Rims are 18” alloy Akronts. Bike has Betor suspension. The clip-ons are Magura along with the throttle. The bike has been garage kept and is in overall good condition, with few scratches and normal wear and tear. With some new tires and a good “shakedown” it would once again be ready to be a great vintage racer. I do not have a title for it but one can be obtained from http://www.broadwaytitle.com/ if needed”
“”

Photoshop?

1972 Triumph Tiger 650

For your perusal, a Triumph Tiger that would make either a great frame-up restoration, or the beginnings of a great cafe racer project. It is relatively clean with (claimed) numbers matching.

Since this is mostly a stock bike (that exhaust looks very JCW), there isn’t a lot to say about what has been done to it. Cosmetically, it is a clean starting point for anything that might be done to it. I look at it as kind of a blank slate; what you do with it is up to you…

(Click on the photos to go to eBay and see more pictures and the full description)