The Yamaha XT500 is one of those motorcycles that came before its time – it was an ‘adventure bike’ before there really was such a thing and it quickly found a home in races like the Paris–Abidjan-Nice, the Paris-Dakar and races across the Mojave in the US.
At its heart the XT500 has a twin valve 498cc single cylinder, SOHC engine and 5-speed transmission – this same engine was used in the legendary SR500 and the TT500. The relatively light weight of 140kgs made the Yamaha XT500 a bike that could almost float over rough terrain when driven at speed – it was listed as having a top speed of 90mph and some early desert racers are said to have hit 90 whilst on dirt. Not a feat for the faint of heart.
If you’ve been looking for an early model year Yamaha XT500 you might want to take a closer look at this restored example due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams on the 7th of September 2013 at the National Motor Museum Collectors’ Motorcycles Auction.
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The 1988 Honda Africa Twin XRV650 was the marque’s first major foray into the market for adventure motorcycles. The bike was officially launched on 20th May that year – painted in red, blue, and white it was intentionally made to look like the Paris-Dakar Rally winning bikes.
The Ural Air LE is the company’s newest sidecar motorcycle developed for 21st century adventurers who want a third eye in the sky to see the road ahead, scout for campsites, fresh water sources, or to figure out where you are when you inevitably get lost in the wilderness. Ural Motorcycles Ural Motorcycles started out…
This is the real-life Mach 5 from the 2008 Wachowski film Speed Racer, based on the manga and anime series that was created by Tatsuo Yoshida back in the mid-1960s. The Mach 5 needs no introduction to anyone who grew up in the ’60s, ’70s, or ’80s. Speed Racer was dubbed into English and countless…
Datsun is a Japanese automobile manufacturer with a fascinating history, they officially dropped the Datsun name in 1986 in favor of Nissan, but the Datsun badge was brought back in 2013 to sell inexpensive cars in developing countries without the risk of diluting the perceived brand value of the parent company. A Brief History of…
The Datsun 240Z, otherwise known as the Nissan S30 or the Nissan Fairlady Z, was developed by the Japanese to compete directly with the sports cars coming out of Europe. America was by far the world’s largest consumer of European sports cars and many British and Italian automakers depended on American sales to keep their…
The Yamaha XJR1300 is probably the motorcycle Godzilla would ride, if he had longer arms and a slightly better center of gravity. The first thing that strikes you when you see an XJR1300 in the flesh is the physical size and implied menace of it – particularly the hefty dimensions of that mighty inline-4. The…
