Introduced in 2008, the Bimota DB7 is yet another collaboration with Ducati and has been one of their most successful bikes in terms, not only of sales numbers, but in terms of function. While they’ve always offered on-paper advantages over the bikes from which they borrow their engines, many Bimotas, right out of the box,…
Bimota’s BB3 is only the third collaboration between the Bimota and BMW. This is likely because, for most of BMW’s history, Ze Germans produced engine and drivetrain combos not really suited to the sort of lightweight sportbikes Bimota generally builds. The BB1 was powered by BMW’s Rotax single from their and, like most Bimotas was…
Update 5.13.2015: First listing was a no sale at $20,800 reserve not met. Relisted now with a buy-it-now of $21,500. Good luck to buyers and seller! -dc Kawasaki’s Z1R-TC is the kind of bike they just don’t make anymore, mainly because repeat customers are so important and dead customers generally can’t buy anything. It was…
Like Ferrari, MV Agusta was a company that lived for racing. Road Ferraris, traditionally, were sold simply to subsidize their on-track efforts. But MV Agusta took things a step further: when they finally deigned to produce a roadgoing model, it was hobbled by hideous looks and power-sapping shaft drive. The later 750 looked good, but…
One of the things I love about old bikes is the detailing. Even simple oil lines and brackets are often beautifully crafted, even if they leak or quickly corrode… But with modern bikes, so much is molded from cheap plastic, or hidden behind overstyled panels. Sure, it all works, but where’s the art? Well, apparently,…
Only rarely seen outside Japan, the market for which it was exclusively designed, the Bimota YB7 is like a 3/4 scale YB4. The bike is based around the FZR400 powerplant, so it’s obviously no real powerhouse, with a claimed 65hp from the 399cc liquid-cooled four. But that just means you get a sweet-handling, four-cylinder exotic…
The Paso has long been the low-cost entry into Ducati ownership, an often overlooked bike maligned for its slab-sided styling. Shockingly different when introduced and unfairly shunned by the oddly conservative Ducatisti, sales were disappointing. But in spite of its red-headed-stepchild reputation, the bike has the usual Ducati pedigree: it was designed by Massimo Tamburini,…
Introduced in 1981, the GSX1100S “Katana” was styled by Hans Muth, formerly of BMW and appeared to have been sculpted by someone wielding its namesake. So much for “conservative German design”! The new bike was powered by Suzuki’s 1074cc, air/oil-cooled four-cylinder hung in a relatively conventional twin-shock frame. While the technology under the skin was…