Innovative – 1983 Bimota KB2 Laser S

One of the final Tamburini designs before he departed for Cagiva, the 2nd Kawasaki-powered Bimota delivers the company paradigm of chassis design and lighter weight using state-of-the-art powerplants.  Perhaps named for the laser the chassis fabricator wished he had when assembling the 44 frame members, which cradle the 543cc air-cooled Kawasaki inline four.  Because the…

Alloy-Framed Race-Rep: 1984 Yamaha RZV500R

From a styling standpoint, motorcycles of the 1980’s were going through a bit of an awkward, adolescent phase… But continuing with that analogy, major growth and changes were occurring under the skin, and Japanese race replicas like this Yamaha RZV500 featured all sorts of wild, innovative technology. Yamaha’s GP bike for the road pulled out…

Eurostar – 2003 BMW R1100S BoxerCup Replika

Introduced in 1999, the BMW R1100S re-introduced motorcyclists to the sportier side of BMW, and inspired a brand race series in Europe, which developed into a support race for MotoGP and the Daytona 200.  Signed by spokesman ( and AMA hall of fame member ) Randy Mamola, the BoxerCup Replika is the ultimate version of…

Unlikely Track-Day Hero: 2008 BMW HP2 Sport

Prior to the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” S1000RR, BMW’s sportbikes were decidedly offbeat. They were almost like the Saab of the motorcycle world, with remote-operated brake master cylinders, shaft-drive, unconventional suspensions, and that durable and charismatic, but very, very wide horizontally-opposed engine. And their last hurrah before the stunningly capable S1000RR was…