Before returning to the MotoGP top class in 2012, Aprilia tested in the World Endurance Championship with their RSV Mille and 1000 models. This commemorative is of their efforts at the legendary Bol D’or 24 Hours, held each September in France. The limited edition color scheme is matched to a quick handling, 143-horse V-twin. 2007…
Ducati SportClassics were made from 2006-2010, and with their cafe-racer looks, were very popular with customizers. The dual-spark 992cc engine was fuel injected, and its reliability lent itself more to breathing upgrades than internal work. This example has had intake and exhaust work and some well-executed cosmetic upgrades. 2007 Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto for sale…
Erik Buell created a few career’s worth of rider’s motorcycles, but they were also for the thinking rider. The XB12R grabbed a few engineering concepts and hung on. Centralized mass, low unsprung weight, and and frame rigidity were the factory’s goals, and by all accounts they succeeded. Harder to quantify issues like handling and fun…
Shoehorning the 992 cc dual-spark into the popular Monster frame, Ducati lined up the elements of a great naked sportbike. With air-cooled desmodue, single-sided swingarm, and dual mufflers, the model held down the middle of the showroom between the basic M695 and the radical S4RS Testastretta. This example has been stored since new, and could…
Honda had tested the market with the NS250F/R in 1984, and sampled in the MotoGP waters. On the heels of Freddie Spencer’s 1985 championship in the 500 and 250cc classes ( ! ), the factory introduced the NSR-250R in late 1986 as a 1987 model. This early example of the winning two-stroke twin is almost…
Backing away from the brink, Ducati needed a successor to the F1 and a second fiddle to the 907 i.e., and found it in the 750 Sport. The fully-faired desmodue was lightweight and used the Paso engine in the F1 frame. Not an earth-shattering development, but gave the SuperSport department a chance to show their…
Founded in 1950 and a relatively minor manufacturer, the Castiglioni family leveraged the Ducati brand in 1985, and though they had thoughts of folding it into Cagiva, only a few larger displacement bikes were produced before they acknowledged Ducati’s greater name recognition. The Alazzurra was a sporty mid-size with a Ducati-branded desmodue aboard, and had…
Not winding down during its last year of production, the 999R for 2006 was an update, if somewhat cosmetic, from the the previous years. And the design that brought Ducati three World SuperBike Championships would have to serve for the 2007 season while rulesmakers fiddled. In the livery ridden by Troy Bayliss on the way…