There were a lot of things that led to the Bimota V-Due’s inauspicious fall from grace, mostly related to costs and hype that would ultimately spell disappointment when the bike finally broke cover. But by far the bike’s worst flaw was its positively heinous fuel injection system, which was designed to keep the bike in…
Hailing from a time when Bimota had its pick of mass-produced engines to stick into lovely bespoke frames, this 1983 Bimota SB4S is a one-of-34 machine from a factory that wasn’t exactly known for its production capacity. What makes this SB4 so rare is that it is fully faired, setting it apart from the other…
As the fall riding season winds down on the East Coast, the sportbike market has tightened up, with the year’s choicest machines long since spoken for or mothballed for another shot at a big sale come spring. There still are some gems to be had, though, and this 1996 Kawasaki ZX-7R is one. 1996 Kawasaki…
As special editions to begin with, Ducati Paul Smart 1000LEs generally see duty as garage queens, left largely stock and original. This one certainly has led a pampered existence thus far, but clearly was owned by someone who did not know the phrase “leave well enough alone.” 2006 Ducati Paul Smart 1000LE The list of…
We have seen our fair share of VFR400Rs and lightweight, two-stroke screamers on home soil this year, but Honda’s pint-sized inline-four sportbikes have stayed fairly scarce, except for a few examples here and there. The other side of the pond is another story, where the rev-happy “training” bikes can be had for a song. 1988…
The early ’80s were a great time to be an enormous Japanese superbike, as Wes Cooley, Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer and Eddie Lawson were busy catapulting your fortunes into the stratosphere. The Kawasaki KZ series in particular was enjoying the fruits of Lawson’s labor, as the flat tracker from Upland, California won the AMA Superbike…
By 2002, the evolution Ducati began with the 916 was nearing the end of its rope, as age and the need to advance took their toll on the range. That didn’t stop Duc from taking one more stab at making the bikes faster and more competitive, though, and the year saw the release of the…
The late ’80s dawned with a series of ominous signs: The economy turned south, Full House debuted, I was born and the tariff on Japanese bikes over 750 cc shipped to the U.S. was in its full, dreadful swing. That meant that some of the decade’s meanest street/track machines were prohibitively expensive to buyers on…