Tag: Japanese

Honda RS125 Onboard Video

As stated in the previous post, I’m totally jealous of the recent acquisition Alex made with his Honda RS125 track bike. Here’s an excellent illustration of why the lightweight 2 stroke can make bikes with 3-4x the displacement look like amateur hour:

The super fast change in direction and razor sharp lines in this video make me an absolute believer in the bike Alex got, even if it’s not quite the same model. But I’m eager to learn more about these and will report back when I know more.

dc

Photoshop Fun with a Honda RS125

My buddy Alex who is a contributing author on Rare Sport Bikes For Sale is about to pick a Honda RS125 for track days. What a great early Christmas present to yourself! He sent over this picture of the bike to show off his latest acquisition. I started staring at in Photoshop and ended up with these two versions of the image. The first one is more photo-realistic and the other has a filter applied for a more stylized look. I’m leaning towards the latter. Probably end up wallpapering one of my garage walls with a huge print out.

Honda RS125

alex_rs125_black_and_white_2Honda RS125

Congrats on the new bike Alex! Can’t wait to see it in action!

dc

It’s Been Quiet Around Here, But It’s Been Going Off Over at RareSportBikesForSale.com

I know my personal blog has really been neglected this summer, but I’ve been very busy consulting. And when I’m not helping out moto-clients with web services consulting, I’m working with a great team to really dial up the Rare Sportbikes For Sale site. Check out some of the sweet rides this week alone: MC28 NSR250 SE, CBR250R Hurricane, Huge Teaser for some OW01’s, VF1000R, Bimota YB9, and well you get the idea.

VFR1-300x225NSR7c-150x150ducati-01DSC05544-13n03k23m35O15Qe5R999e6d8ba8dc07ff16e9-150x150!B,i8Cqg!Wk~$(KGrHqUH-CsEqtbPDy2fBKr8+hwOHw~~_12YB94

If you’re in a shopping mood, I’d subscribe as the best deals are always had in the fall and early winter.

dc

Catching up with RareSportBikesForSale.com and GermanCarsForSaleBlog.com

Forgive me: I’m guilty of cheating on this blog with a number of other blogs. But before we get too far ahead, let’s get caught up on some great looking German Cars and Rare Sport Bikes that have been listed for sale over the past several weeks.

1983 BMW e21 320i Black Beautiful 1983 BMW e21 320i For Sale in Oregon – Paul went so far as to say he was almost considering buying this car himself, but was instead inspired to continue the work on his own classic BMW after seeing Richard’s car! Considering he’s only asking $3200, someone should snap this up cheap!
1983 Alpina B9 1983 Alpina B9 #312 For Sale in Florida – The $14.5k buy-it-now option seems like a pretty good deal. There are very few real Alpina’s in this country anyway, and this one still has almost all of it’s original details. While I’m not an experienced collector, I have to imagine that 5-10 years from now, this car will have appreciated considerably. Then again, with over 100k miles and an approachable entry price, maybe it would be better to enjoy immediately. Can you imagine the response at your next BMW club day when you roll up in this?!
1985 Honda VFR400 NC24 Rothmans 1985 Honda VFR400 NC24 – First things first, this is not an 85. According to this Wikipedia article, the NC24 wasn’t introduced until 1987, and this bike definitely sports all the important features of the later NC24 model. But when I first saw the listing as an 85, it made me wonder if the 25 year rule works the same way it does for classic cars in the U.S. – no import or registration issues with models not previously imported. Anyone know for sure? Also, was there a Rothmans edition of the NC24? It’s a cool bike for $3500 either way though!
1967 Porsche 912 in Irish Green Irish Green Porsches for St. Patrick’s Day – As you can probably gather by now, I think the 912 is definitely the better value; especially at $15k! Of course a 912 is not a substitute for a 911. But it’s also not to be dismissed as anything less than a fantastic sports car. Add the fact that this one has an expensive rebuilt motor assembled with such focus and dedication, you can tell that this car is at least 85% of the experience of a 911 of the same era.
1995 BMW e36 M3 Lightweight Two Very Low Mileage M3’s, $60,000 Each! – Not to play that overused ‘economy’ angle yet again, but these seem like high prices to me in today’s market. On the other hand the owners clearly know the rarity of their cars and are counting on educated and wealthy buyers. Who knows when we’ll see examples like these for sale again.
1986 GSX-R 750R Limited (GSXR750 RG) 1986 GSX-R 750R Limited (GSXR750 RG) – Don’t you just love homologation specials?! The very best of everything and no expense spared. And when they’re nearly 25 years old and never raced, AND hardly even ridden, they’re truly a rare find. This one is currently at $12k (appears reserve has been met) with about 4 days to go.
1988 BMW e30 M3 in Diamondschwartz 1988 BMW e30 M3 in Diamondschwartz – The owner even has a picture of him doing a compression test on the motor. Assuming the car needs a few things here and there and you had to drop two or three grand into it right away; could be a a really nice car in a pretty desirable color.
1991 BMW e30 M3 Alpineweiss Lovely and Original Alpine White 1991 BMW e30 M3 For Sale with 64k miles – You know me, I’m a sucker for low miles. Make sure the maintenance has been tended to with a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a qualified BMW technician. This car is already over $17k, reserve not met. With 3 days to go, make your predictions!
1993 Honda CBR400RR 1993 Honda CBR400RR For Sale in San Fran Area – It has the all important title, but with that kind of mileage is $5k too high? Leave a comment with your experience.
1999 Porsche Carrera 911 Black BBS Porsche 996 Prices are Dropping – It’s no secret the 996 is not one of my favorite Porsche 911’s. That said, I’m a big fan of the Boxster of the same generation; and when the the 996 and Boxster suddenly share the same price point, well let’s be serious, which would you really rather have? My thoughts exactly.
1985 Yamaha RZ500 1985 Yamaha RZ500 with Clean U.S. Title – Wouldn’t hurt to have a description on this listing, especially with the high opening bid of $12,500. This one is a bit higher than other RZ500’s listed on this blog, but the pictures sure do look good! 4 days left, bid now!
Wes Cooley Replica GS1000S Not 1, Not 2, But 3 Wes Cooley Replica GS1000S Suzuki’s For Sale! – $4900 doesn’t really seem that bad for such a cool and historic bike. I got up close and personal with a GS1000S at the Barber Motorsports Park Museum earlier this year, and it was a standout for sure!

Stay tune for some more sweet news about where I’ve been hanging out other than on dancrouchblog.com…

dc

My 2001 Honda S2000, Let Me Show You It

2001 Honda S2000 at the car wash 3.26.2009

After years of lusting after an S2000, I finally have one. I rule! In all seriousness, it was a tough call between this car and a Boxster. Regulars know that I’ve been on the lookout and waiting for the right time since I sold my M3. I was pretty certain I wanted Boxster as I had convinced myself it was more special. But all the examples that have come up for sale near me, that were in my price range, were all 97-99 models for the most part, and most had higher miles than I was comfortable with. There was also that little voice that kept telling me that I’d have to have a 2000+ in the ‘S’ variety — which in almost all cases was out of my range or would require a dedicated trip to source.

2001 Honda S2000 at the car wash 3.26.2009So I hit crazedlist.org for S2000’s on a whim and I was shocked to see how much the values had fallen for these cars. 18 months ago, most clean and cared for examples were nearly $20k. Now the market is plentiful with lots of variety in the 13-15k range. Which is when I spotted my 01 in Medford. Only a 4 hour drive away, I just needed to find time to get down there! This proved difficult as I spotted the car before leaving on a trip to Georgia to see our man Ed for his birthday. Then I returned to catch up on work and my brother made a surprise trip out for two weeks. During that trip we made several trips to Portland and a long weekend in Seattle. Nearly 4 weeks later, the car was shockingly still available for sale! So we made another long weekend of it and drove the car. The previous owner is realtor and grandmother who only put 4k miles on the car in a little over a two years of ownership. And the owner before that must have hardly driven the car either as the car sits today with less than 35k miles on the clock! Combine that with the factory fitted hardtop and zero modifications, I knew we were going to buy.

And then we test drove the car. If you’ve been skeptical about this car from what you’ve heard or read, forget about it and find one to drive. This is a real sports car and Honda did an amazing job with this package. I keep describing it as focused and the best value out there right now. The motor is flat out amazing and perfectly matched in this balanced package. Plus we got 27mpg on the way home, with several spirited runs up the rev range!

As you can tell I’m smitten with the purchase and ready to drop the top this spring! I’ll have the occasional update related to the S2000 on this blog, but I have also started a new S2000 blog that will detail the experience of ownership, the best of the aftermarket, and buying tips for those now in the market.

Click the pics for full size links.

dc

German Cars and Rare Sport Bikes Round Up: Better Late Than Never Edition!

Back from the dead, I’m wrapping up a little vacation to Georgia to see my buddy FastEddieGTi for his birthday. Having just ate an enormous steakhouse burger from the Vortex in Atlanta (kick ass burgers!), I have some downtime to catch up on some blogging chores while my food digests!

Without further ado, here are the catch up links to GermanCarsForSaleBlog and RareSportBikesForSale:

1993 Honda NSR250 MC21 SE For Sale 1993 Honda NSR250 MC21 SE For Sale – At only $5500, this would be a cool addition for the track or the weekend backroads!
Low Miles 1988 BMW M6 For Sale Low Miles 1988 BMW M6 For Sale in Montana – $22.5k sounds like a pretty good deal with this kind of mileage, and documented maintenance and upgrades. And the blue on gray with the M5 rims… Yum!
1985 Yamaha RZ500 For Sale 1985 Yamaha RZ500 For Sale in San Diego – At $7900, this falls right in line with other RZ500’s listed previously.
2001 Porsche Carrera Cabrio 2001 Porsche Carrera Cabrio – Too Cheap to be True? – So why the skeptism? 996’s of any variation start in the high teens, and those have at least twice the mileage of this car. But heaven forbid this is the real deal… well I just can’t believe it is, but it’s fun to imagine.
Ducati 900SS Superlight’s For Sale A Pair of Ducati 900SS Superlight’s For Sale – These are pretty rare bikes and I think it’s an interesting opportunity for a prospective buyer to consider a well worn example or the museum piece.
1993 Ducati 888 SPO 1993 Ducati 888 SPO: Yep Another One!! – With a $10888 asking (clever), this is one of the more expensive triple eights to be listed on this blog. While most Ducatisti will agree this where they should be, I think this seller may have a long wait before finding a buyer considering what other examples here in the states have been going for.
MC 21 NSR250 Honda’s For Sale Two More Titled MC 21 NSR250 Honda’s For Sale in California – Judging from the pictures alone, I like the Rothmans replica better from the point of aesthetics alone. For around five grand, neither one seems like that bad a deal considering they both have titles!
1984 BMW Alpina 2.8 B6 For Sale Is This The Cheapest Alpina For Sale in the U.S.? 1984 BMW Alpina 2.8 B6 For Sale – Now I’m sure “Big Ron” is a reputable guy and all, but I don’t expect this car to be a real B6 considering it’s condition and thorough listing on Craigslist. But if it is a Euro car, and it looks like it could be, and it has Alpina pieces, it’s probably worth that much in parts anyway. Could actually be a really cool basis for a project car. And heaven forbid it’s a real Alpina… It’s probably the cheapest Alpina for sale in the country.
1994 Honda CB400 Super Four 1994 Honda CB400 Super Four – Now granted that’s 47,845 miles and no title. But with all the 2 strokes that have been showing up with titles, surely it can’t be that hard to pull off. This would be such a cool in-town commuter bike!
1990 Ducati 851 1990 Ducati 851 Loaded With Expensive Upgrades – It’s sacrilege to even suggest it, but parting this bike could probably turn a tidy profit. Of course that would be a shame because this bike looks so well sorted, and for $5k it’d be a real pleasure to the ride balls off of it!
1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 For Sale 1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 For Sale in New Mexico – I’m having a tough time trying to decide between a Boxster and a 964. My thinking lately is that there are far more Boxsters than 964’s, and that 964 prices might be more stable over the next couple years as a result.
Ducati Race Replicas For Sale 4 Special Edition Ducati Race Replicas For Sale Right Now – I’m really not knowledgable about the values of these bikes. But they are obviously collector examples that will command some premium in the market. Which one would you pick as best value?
1991 Honda NSR250 MC21 For Sale 1991 Honda NSR250 MC21 For Sale in Vegas Baby – These are getting cheap enough that it’s getting harder and harder to make excuses about why there isn’t one in my garage. Obviously with the sheer numbers of 2 strokes listed on this site, you know I’m a fan. Talk me out of a gray market 2 stroke… or can you at these prices?
2001 M Coupe For Sale 2001 M Coupe For Sale in Virginia – 27k miles and an asking of $24k? What could possibly be wrong with this car? I like all the modifications, but they do tend to devalue a car in the eyes of enthusiast buyers. And it also has that terrible two tone interior, red and black leather. But at this price, I’d consider it a bargain purchase and have the leather dyed!
1991 Suzuki RGV 250 VJ22 For Sale 1991 Suzuki RGV 250 VJ22 For Sale in California – $6k doesn’t sound too bad, especially considering it’s plated. And are those Arrow pipes? Yum!
BMW 2002 with Dual Webers, 5 speed, LSD, and Genuine Alpina Wheels BMW 2002 with Dual Webers, 5 speed, LSD, and Genuine Alpina Wheels – For the asking price, and the pile of rare parts that come with it, this could be a great little driver, a potential fixer-upper, or maybe even a weekend racer project. In any case, it’ll be a load of fun!
1984 Volkswagen GTI For Sale 1984 Volkswagen GTI For Sale: Clean, Original, and Affordable – As a long time MK1 and MK2 VW fan, I’d have to say it’s been since high school since I saw a Rabbit GTi this clean and original. While $4500 may seem like a lot to some, good luck finding one this nice for less.

One Silver NSX, One Black NSX: Take Your Pick for $25k

Looks like the NSX market isn’t immune to the recession either. A scan of NSX Prime Marketplace (the place to surf NSX anything online) a year ago and you would’ve been hard pressed to find any NSX for less than $28-30k. There are at least 3 right now for less than that and with decent mileage. Both of these stood out to me because of the color combination’s, decent mileage, and the somehow reasonable looking $25k price tags.

First up is this Black on Ivory NSX For Sale in San Diego:

1991 Acura NSX For Sale Black on Ivory

quote from seller’s NSXPrime listing:

Black/Ivory

5 speed
72,044 miles

Only mod is Flowmaster Exhaust, but it still looks stock with the original tips.
A/C Head Unit was replaced a few months ago.
Clean Title. Runs strong. Selling because it doesn’t get driven enough.
Extra set of Stock 1991 Wheels+Tires Included.

Next is a Silver on Black NSX For Sale in Florida (I presume):

1991 Acura NSX For Sale Sebring Silver

quote from seller’s NSXPrime Listing:

1991 Acura NSX
5 Speed Manual transmission
Not in snap ring range
68,000 miles
Only 467 sebring silver cars ever produced!
Car has only ONE OWNER before me. It has never been in an accident.
I trailered the car to PA at the end of 2007.

All original with the exception of
-new koni adjustable struts (originals ones included)
-custom exhaust
-8000k philips HID (self installed)
-window film
-upgraded chrome wheels from 00 model (original ones included)

No issues except
-climate currently only blowing on high, needs hvac rebuilt
-super tiny ding on lowest part of front right fender
-front spoiler is scratched, I will include a new one, but you install.

Service Records
-When I was reviewing the records I left it outside overnight during a rain storm, all of them blew away and I had to go hunting for them. I believe I lost about 20 pages.
-engine serviced, timing belt and water pump around 55,000 miles
-clutch and transmission rebuilt around 45,000 miles
-lots of other work, 90% of work done at Acura of Pompano Beach / Rick Case Acura.

Buyer will have one choice of
1. chrome wheels currently on the car.
2. solaris silver wheels nearly perfect

I would soooo love to have an NSX in the garage. Even though a collision would bankrupt me, the rest of the package is so well balanced and reliable. As prices come down, it’s even easier to justify the thought. I’d go with the black one for the great color combo, but that’s getting a bit nit-picky as both are beautiful. I wouldn’t kick either one out of bed for that price!

dc

Week In Review from GermanCarsForSaleBlog and RareSportBikesForSale

A short week since I was on the road with sporadic internet. But the rest of the week was pretty good! Check out these beauties:

Thanks for reading, and if you have an outstanding German Car For Sale or a Rare Sportbike, I’d love to list your ad for free! Just drop me an email.

Thanks!

dc

Weekend Wrap-Up: Posts from GermanCarsForSaleBlog and RareSportBikesForSale

I must apologize for the delay, but I’m in Springfield, Missouri this week and the internet at the hotel isn’t stellar. In fact it sucks. And on top of that, I’ve been swamped at work, so there are fewer posts than there have been in previous weeks. I will work harder to make sure I’m better connected on the road in the future.

But without further ado, a summary of posts from other sites I blog on that I hope dancrouchblog.com readers will enjoy:

{update: Image thumbnails removed due to technical issues. I hate working from the road!!}

Thanks for reading at dancrouchblog.com and my other sites. Please let me know if there are vehicles or topics that you’d like to see addressed. Leave a comment!

dc