radical
Reader Rides. Some sweet custom built “earth shakers”!
I know that folks can be very particular about their preferences and such but whatever your tastes you can’t deny the monster skills that went into building these wicked machines. That Triumph in particular is pretty freaking sweet.
Michael Yamen writes in: Here are a couple of my hand built Bikes. First one has a 540CI big block Merlin Engine. 2nd one is my home made Triumph Rocket sidecar rig
BSA Double Vision.
From the “things you don’t see every day” department. A Kawasaki 2-stroke reverse trike.
Not your average XS650…
Love it or hate it there’s a lot of effort in this one. I admire the nads it takes to build this. Oh and it’s for sale here locally. No I do NOT know the owner or the bike.
Reader Ride. Awe Inspiring BMW Boxer / Ducati hybrid.
Wow! Talk about craftsmenship! This stunner of a bike comes to us from Steffen Bühring of Germany.
He writes in:
Hi,
Some pics from Berlin Germany.
This bike cost 3 month hard work, the weight is 180 kilo, 105HP, its look like a BMW, but it is an Ducati (because the frame is from a Duc!)
Salut!
I speechless. What a great build!
The radial-engined Megola “…probably the most unorthodox motorcycle ever made on a commercial basis…” I agree. Update with video.
More info on the vintage world and a great high resolution photograph of one of the most unusual bikes ever built. I can’t even begin to imagine how all that mass would effect the handling on a motorcycle like this.
And yes I fully admit that I’m schilling a little but they keep sending me these really great photo’s so fair’s fair. And a special Thank you to Katherine Boyle at Bonhams for the photo and info.
And for fun here’s a video of one running and being ridden.
BONHAMS TO SELL RARE, RADIAL-ENGINED MEGOLA MOTORCYCLE IN PARIS AUCTION
“…probably the most unorthodox motorcycle ever made on a commercial basis…”
Headlining the motorcycles consigned to Bonhams first sale at the Grand Palais, Paris is a rare, radial-engined Megola. Powered by a 640cc five-cylinder engine built into the front wheel, the Megola was described by motorcycling historian Erwin Tragatsch as “probably the most unorthodox motorcycle ever made on a commercial basis”. Only some 2,000-or-so were produced in Germany between 1921 and 1925, and today the few survivors are highly prized by collectors. The example on offer was restored circa 1990, has been tested by La Vie de la Moto magazine and shown at the Salon Moto Légende. It is estimated to sell for €145,000-200,000.
Demand for the legendary Vincent marque continues unabated and this sale contains three fine examples from the same UK-based private collection: a 1949 Rapide Series B (€26,000 – 30,000), 1950 Comet Series C (€7,500 – 9,000) and 1954 Black Knight Series D with fully enclosed bodywork (€33,000 – 37,000).
Another iconic British make, Brough Superior is presented by the recently rebuilt 1936 SS80 on offer. First introduced in 1922, the SS80 – so-called because of its guaranteed 80mph (129km/h) top speed in road trim – achieved instant fame when a stripped-for-racing version ridden by George Brough became the first sidevalve machine to lap Brooklands at over 100mph (161km/h). Estimate €38,000 – 45,000.
Early BMWs are among the most collectible of pre-war European motorcycles and the two in this sale – a circa 1928 R62 sidecar outfit ‘barn find’ (€32,000 – 35,000) and a fully restored 1928 R42 solo (€20,000 – 30,000) – represent opposite ends of the condition spectrum.
Rendered increasingly rare by the passage of time, ‘barn finds’ have become more and more sought after in recent years and the circa 1923 Wanderer v-twin in the sale is a particularly charming example. Estimate €17,000 – 20,000.
Ben Walker, Head of Motorcycles at Bonhams comments, “It is wonderful to be offering such a fine selection of motorcycles at Paris’ premier venue. It will be particularly interesting to see what price the rare Megola fetches.”
http://www.bonhams.com/motorcycles
For sale enquiries please contact Ben Walker on 08700 273616 or ben.walker@bonhams.com
For further press information please contact Katherine Boyle on 0207 468 8363 or Katherine.boyle@bonhams.com / press@bonhams.com
Notes for Editors
Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong, Australia and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas.For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to http://www.bonhams.com (May 2010).
BONHAMS TO SELL RARE, RADIAL-ENGINED MEGOLA MOTORCYCLE IN PARIS AUCTION
“…probably the most unorthodox motorcycle ever made on a commercial basis…”
Headlining the motorcycles consigned to Bonhams first sale at the Grand Palais, Paris is a rare, radial-engined Megola. Powered by a 640cc five-cylinder engine built into the front wheel, the Megola was described by motorcycling historian Erwin Tragatsch as “probably the most unorthodox motorcycle ever made on a commercial basis”. Only some 2,000-or-so were produced in Germany between 1921 and 1925, and today the few survivors are highly prized by collectors. The example on offer was restored circa 1990, has been tested by La Vie de la Moto magazine and shown at the Salon Moto Légende. It is estimated to sell for £120,000-166,000.
Demand for the legendary Vincent marque continues unabated and this sale contains three fine examples from the same UK-based private collection: a 1949 Rapide Series B (£22,000 – 25,000), 1950 Comet Series C (£6,000 – 7,500) and 1954 Black Knight Series D with fully enclosed bodywork (£27,000 – 31,000).
Another iconic British make, Brough Superior is presented by the recently rebuilt 1936 SS80 on offer. First introduced in 1922, the SS80 – so-called because of its guaranteed 80mph (129km/h) top speed in road trim – achieved instant fame when a stripped-for-racing version ridden by George Brough became the first sidevalve machine to lap Brooklands at over 100mph (161km/h). Estimate £32,000 – 37,000.
Early BMWs are among the most collectible of pre-war European motorcycles and the two in this sale – a circa 1928 R62 sidecar outfit ‘barn find’ (£27,000 – 29,000) and a fully restored 1928 R42 solo (£17,000 – 25,000) – represent opposite ends of the condition spectrum.
Rendered increasingly rare by the passage of time, ‘barn finds’ have become more and more sought after in recent years and the circa 1923 Wanderer v-twin in the sale is a particularly charming example. Estimate £14,000 – 17,000.
Ben Walker, Head of Motorcycles at Bonhams comments, “It is wonderful to be offering such a fine selection of motorcycles at Paris’ premier venue. It will be particularly interesting to see what price the rare Megola fetches.”
http://www.bonhams.com/motorcycles
For sale enquiries please contact Ben Walker on 08700 273616 or ben.walker@bonhams.com
Reader Ride. One of the cleanest (and most radical) XS650 hybrids I’ve ever seen.
Jeff Snell, Alameda CA
I’ve put a few unusual bikes together in my day (and I’m in the middle of another one) but it’s never approached this. That’s a really at a great build. Oh and I wasn’t even close on my guesses except on the bodywork. Thanks Much!
Too good not to post!
Wow! Speaks for itself! I’m out of town and just checking in and this is too good to pass up.
Ola,again from Montreal
I thought you might get a kick out of an old winter project of mine;A buddy dropped off an XL250 (that I quickly took the motor out of & gave away the rest). I happened to have an extra frame from a Z50 hanging around. The motor has a performance cam (because you can’t go wrong with too much power, most of the time). I used triple trees from a Yamaha TT500 that were gathering dust in my,tiny, workshop ( the head pipe came from the TT too. Hey, it fit right on !).. The rear sprocket was a McGyver ‘special’. Footpegs are the old buddy pegs from my CBR900RR.Seat is the passenger saddle from the 900 too.Fuel cell is a modded propane cylinder ( don’t try this at home kids !).I think the Supertrapp is off of the XL250 if memory serves.
Performance is….terrifying. Owing to the lack of suspension ( the forks are a joke ), you cannot hold the throttle open. Though when you try, the front wheel comes up…in EVERY gear! Great fun because it looks like a regular Z50 from the front (except for the TT500 clamps & bars) so folks don’t appreciate what’s about to catch & pass them.
The TAFFYMOTO built "Black Pearl" CRF450R Supermoto.
I don’t post a lot of Supermoto’s on here. That’s not a prejudice on my par cause I absolutely love them and am in the process of converting my DR650 over. But this bike is so freaking nice that I can’t pass it by. It fairly legendary in the SM world. It’s know as the “Black Pearl”. If you’re interested in more about the bike there’s a good thread on it over on Supermotojunkie.com This is an insanely nice build.
Here’s the build thread if you’re interested:
The Black Pearl
mtr tuned head
j+s high comp piston
stage three hotcam
boysen waterpump kit
stm slipper clutch
hinson billet clutch casing
powdercoated rocker cover (gloss black)
samco hoses (urban cammo)
five 10 engine plugs (black)
compflow oil filter and billet cover (black)
hammerhead designs rear brake lever (black)
hammerhead designs gear lever (black)
hammerhead designs case saver (black)
k+n filter setup with samco hose (urban cammo)
powdercoated kickstart (satin black)
troy corser oversize race radiators (gold)
powdercoated mainframe (satin black)
powdercoated swingarm (satin black)
powdercoated engine mounts (satin black)
tag triple clamps incorporating honda steering damper (black)
tag oversize handlebars (gold)
protaper bar pad
joker tornado 2 billet throttle (black)
fly racing billet engine kill switch (black)
cycra crm probend handguards/black low profile sheilds
bar mounted hotstart removed and replaced with carb pull switch
ohlins ttx rear shock
ohlins replica forks/revalved re-sprung
beringer bro 10 master cylinder (black)
beringer aerotec six pot calliper (black)
beringer cast front disk (black)
beringer clutch lever (black)
marchesini 17″ forged aluminium supermoto wheels (black)
goldspeed ultra tyres
devil sprinter exhaust with dual carbon fibre cans and titanium header pipes
pro carbon lower fork guards
pro carbon fuel cap/gold vent cap
pro carbon fuel tank cover
pro carbon chain guide
pro carbon rear disk guard
lightspeed carbon fibre engine guards
lightspeed carbon fibre ignition cover
lightspeed carbon fibre frame guards
lightspeed carbon fibre sump guard
lightspeed carbon fibre front sprocket cover
sc racing carbon fibre rear shock guard
prairie city supermoto chain stay
t m designs slide+glide chain runner
gold front and rear axle sliders and crash bobbins
ufo footpeg sliders
talon sprockets
did chain
sdg step seat
one off custom graphics