By 1983, Laverda was on a slow, downward slide as the company made incremental improvements to their charismatic, but outdated machines to keep them marginally relevant: by that point, the Japanese offered bikes with handling, power, and reliability, all at a significantly lower cost. They couldn’t match Italian bikes like the Laverda Jota for style,…
You might initially be confused by what you’re looking at here, but get past that riot of color and the swoopy bodywork, and the big aluminum brick of an engine could only be one thing: Honda’s 1047cc, 24-valve straight-six CBX motor. But what about the rest of it? What exactly is a Moto Martin CBX?…
The flood of grey-market imports shows no sign of abating and prices, although they haven’t been increasing at the same rate as they were, also show no signs of actually decreasing anytime soon. What’s the appeal of little two-stroke sportbikes like this Honda NSR250R? Well, power may not be all that impressive on paper: just…
We don’t normally like to post up bikes that stray too far from stock, but this very useable, purpose-built replica of Suzuki’s XR69 seemed too well put together to pass up. And certainly, this isn’t just some GS1000 with an aftermarket fairing slapped into place with some stickers holding it together. It’s gorgeous, painstakingly crafted,…
Although the term “sportbike” evokes images of sleek, fully-faired two-wheeled plastic darts, the term has been steadily evolving and originally would have been used to describe bikes like this, the Honda CB750F Super Sport. Strangely practical-looking for a sportbike, the CB750F was the logical evolution of Honda’s revolutionary, but long-in-the-tooth CB750. That bike set the…
Turbochargers are pretty ubiquitous these days, allowing for insane levels of reliable performance and fuel economy, especially when coupled with modern electronics permitting compression ratios that early adopters of boost could only dream of. Modern cars offer flat torque curves and seamless power, but older turbocharged set ups were notorious for lag that felt like…
Limited by budgets and economies of scale, many smaller car and motorcycle manufacturers are stuck rehashing the same product line, trying to keep pace with much larger companies capable of significant revamps and updates of their models to keep pace with the ruthless advance of technology and changing consumer tastes. Certainly, the Italian brands have…
Most times, even if their models share no significant components, motorcycle manufacturers go to great lengths to make sure their bikes all share a strong familial resemblance. In fact, the most recent GSX-R600 and 750 are virtually identical and appear to share their frames and body panels, with only their engine displacements, graphic treatments, and…