The rarest, most unusual bike you've ever OWNED

[preppypyro]

Originally Posted by ChadHahn

30 years ago I went to a garage sale. As I was walking up the driveway a guy was wheeling out what looked to be a pristine Whizzer. As he was going by I asked what he paid for it. $20 he said. When I'm not kicking myself for not being just a bit earlier to the sale I tell myself he was just BSing me on the price.

Chad

Wow could you imagine, 20 bucks? IF the guy wasnt BS'n you, that was a steal.

Originally Posted by ray h

I've ridden a Whizzer amny times.
It was my dad's, he bought it new when he was 14 and I rode it when I was around 12. Restoring it became a project that he and I worked at together in our spare time until my parents got divorced and he left with it. I was talking to him a few years ago and asking him whatever happened to the Whizzer and a few other things I remember fondly growing up (including a numbers matching 9mm German Luger that I was in love with). He told me that he got mad after the divorce and just liquidated everything. What a shame, I hope whoever got the Whizzer finished the resto and is enjoying it.

Very cool story! Ive never ridden this one yet as it needs to be completly gone through before I try and start it. The tank on mine was mint (besides the paint) but my uncle that owned it (rip) didnt take very good care of it, left it in a shed that was so rotten it fell down. He liked collecting stuff more then taking care of the stuff he collected.

Were they fun to ride?

[ttpete]

Originally Posted by preppypyro

Wow could you imagine, 20 bucks? IF the guy wasnt BS'n you, that was a steal.



Very cool story! Ive never ridden this one yet as it needs to be completly gone through before I try and start it. The tank on mine was mint (besides the paint) but my uncle that owned it (rip) didnt take very good care of it, left it in a shed that was so rotten it fell down. He liked collecting stuff more then taking care of the stuff he collected.

Were they fun to ride?

They're splash lubricated, so make sure everything is OK inside. The weak point is the rod bearing unless you have one of the last ones made that used a roller bearing rod. Overhaul the rear coaster brake, and have spare friction disks for it because you'll need them. They used to use belts with a wire core to prevent stretching, but I don't know what's available today.

[BronkoRob]

i will play.

have had 3 ATKs. at first i thought they were rare and unusual, but after having 3....maybe not as rare as i thought. but still unusual and always draws a lot of questions.

1994 ATK 605 DSES


1989 ATK 604 ES. the bike is fairly rare. i later got an MX tank and seat. way better for the track and looked really cool. i wish i could find a pic with the strange looking MX tank and super long seat that went all the way up to the triples. this had all the cool tricky features of the original ATKs. Rotax motor, countershaft mounted rear disk brake, and crazy chain torque eliminator contraption.



Current bike. 1997 ATK 605 Dual sport. this falls more into the unusual category. single sided frame, or what you would think is the frame. the down tube and back bone are actually a separate structures from the bottom frame with pegs and subframe.



As rarity goes. I think my 1974 YZ125A takes that one. was handed down from my dad to me. only seen a handful online, never another one in person. this is my vintage racer.



and the other rare bike i dont have any good pics of was a 1989 KTM 500 DXC. this bike was insane. i call this rare just because where else can you find a factory stock 65HP 2 stroke?

[Sidecar Jockey]

This is my all original 1978 Harley XLH, 75th Anniversary Edition. They made 1,200 of them back in 1978. I wonder how many are left...? The Harley culture seems to promote chopping their bikes up...

Note the 1970's style gold rims. Yep, gold rims straight from the factory.

[concours]

Originally Posted by Sidecar Jockey

This is my all original 1978 Harley XLH, 75th Anniversary Edition. They made 1,200 of them back in 1978. I wonder how many are left...? The Harley culture seems to promote chopping their bikes up...

Note the 1970's style gold rims. Yep, gold rims straight from the factory.

LOL, gold rims, just like a Yamaha Midnight Special or Kwacker LTD Spectre Chrome backer plate come that way too? VERY nice example! The pipe is clean inside.. first day you brought it home?

[rocker59]

Originally Posted by concours

LOL, gold rims, just like a Yamaha Midnight Special or Kwacker LTD Chrome backer plate come that way too? VERY nice example! The pipe is clean inside.. first day you brought it home?

Everyone had black and gold bikes in the '70s. Norton, Triumph, Ducati, Moto Guzzi.

Our Asian friends were simply following a trend... As usual...

[Donkey Hotey]

Originally Posted by Sidecar Jockey

This is my all original 1978 Harley XLH, 75th Anniversary Edition.

Thank you for preserving some of the history. As mentioned, SOOOO many of those bikes have been destroyed. That is just too freakin' cool. If I were at a bike meet, Harleys like yours are the only ones I pay attention to...because they're the most unique (stock).

[sleazy rider]

I've only ever had one I'd consider somewhat rare/unusual and that was a 1984 Honda VF1000F Interceptor.



It was my intro to sporty bikes back about 10 years ago. It was purchased from another member/friend here and I absolutely loved it. My oldest son had just gotten his motorcycle endorsement the year prior and had some miles in on a CX500 when he asked permission to ride it. My only requirement for him was full gear and keep it under 5000 rpm where the power band kicked in. He toddled off down the sidestreet and was gone for about an hour. When he came back, his eyes were like saucers and I fell over laughing, knowing full well he opened it up a bit. That thing had a wicked switchover when it hit.

[buls4evr]

A 2000 Aprillia Pegaso Cube 650. Every time you came out of a store people were standing around it looking at it. The conversation would invariably be "what is that bike"? (It said Aprillia right on it in 3 in letters). Then they would think that was like Mustang to a Ford. "Yes, but who MAKES IT?"

Unfortunately the shop that SOLD IT felt the same way about it. They had no clue but thought it was a pretty DS bike.

[riderjohn]

Originally Posted by sleazy rider

I've only ever had one I'd consider somewhat rare/unusual and that was a 1984 Honda VF1000F Interceptor.



It was my intro to sporty bikes back about 10 years ago. It was purchased from another member/friend here and I absolutely loved it. My oldest son had just gotten his motorcycle endorsement the year prior and had some miles in on a CX500 when he asked permission to ride it. My only requirement for him was full gear and keep it under 5000 rpm where the power band kicked in. He toddled off down the sidestreet and was gone for about an hour. When he came back, his eyes were like saucers and I fell over laughing, knowing full well he opened it up a bit. That thing had a wicked switchover when it hit.

I had one of these as well.LOVED it! The only bike that I TRULY regret selling.

[1911fan]

Originally Posted by BronkoRob

1994 ATK 605 DSES... and crazy chain torque eliminator contraption.

Back when I was club racing, I built a KZ1000 into a 1205cc firebreather. Big cams, Mikuni 33mm smoothbores, upgraded ignition, exhaust, suspension, welded gussets onto the frame, blahblahblah. Thing was scary fast, this was in the Eddie Lawson era, and when one of the bike rags did a two-article series on his bike and a build they did to copy his factory specs, we were pretty much tied.
Anyway, even with frame and suspension upgrades, it was a handful especially in tight turns when you accelerated hard out of the corner. I bought the CalFab/ATK swingarm, a big beefy welded aluminum piece with the ATK device on it.
Made quite a difference. Dunno why it never caught on.


1911fan

[ph0rk]

ok, probably not as rare as some bikes out there, but apparently everyone either hates it or has never heard of it before:

[mikesova]

1982 Sachs G3 Moped







This thing was pretty awesome, but I traded it towards my first dirt bike.

[old fart bob]

Back in the early 1960's I had a DMW. That's DMW, like in Dawson Motors, Wolverhampton, England. Large tool tray under the saddle, leading link front suspension like BMW. It also had an eccentric chain adjuster mounted on the swing arm just behind the swing arm pivot. The whole swing arm moved to adjust the chain. I also had a 250 DOT trials, a James 175 road bike, an Allstate 250 Enduro, wonderful bike. A Matchless 750 scrambler. It looked like, what is it, a P11 Norton 750 scrambler with different tank labeling? The one thing I remember most about that Matchless is it had killer torque for enduros but got miserable gas milage. If anyone finds a 750 Matchless Scrambler with and oil tank in the normal place plus oil running through the frame, I built the bike. Put your hand on the frame while it was running and it was warm, not hot. I forgot to mention, I still have a year unknown Tote Goat model 706 long wheelbase off road scooter. This bike has WIDE tires for use in sand. Think Piper Cub airplane tires. It was used by the Forestry Service before ATV's were even invented. Also a ton of literature for that bike. Sure would like to have the DMW or the Allstate back. Oh well, I do have six Triumphs, '05 Sportster, '64 BMW R60/2, '80 Honda XL250s, '65 BSA Spitfire Hornet, a Chinese 50cc scooter of some unknown make and a "few" others. Still love British bikes after 50+ years.

[sportrider]

2006 Husaberg FS 650E


1985 Honda VF1000R