For a very brief period in the mid-1980s the Grand Prix racing fans were able to sample two machines of singular purpose: Yamaha’s V4 RD500LC/RZ500 and Suzuki’s wild, square-four powered RG500Γ “Gamma.” Each was intended to showcase the style, performance, and feel of a two-stroke GP motorcycle in a road-legal package, although they went about…
Update 9.15.2017: Bike has been sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! Contact information removed. -dc Unlike some retro-styled motorcycles that sacrifice performance for style, Ducati’s SportClassics really allow you to have your cake and eat it too: they look great, with a nice blend of classic and modern styling cues, excellent handling, and enough power…
The history of the quarter-liter sportbike seems to be one of convergent evolution: twins obviously make sense given the size and capacity, or even triples, if we go back to the 1970s and consider a Kawasaki S1 a “sportbike.” But early bikes could be powered by parallel or vee configurations, and by the time the…
Nice first-generation Ducati M900 Monsters are getting very hard to find: they’ve been very affordable machines for the past few years and get used accordingly, ridden hard instead of being squirreled away in garages as collector items. Certainly, that’s what I’ve done with mine… But if you’re looking for a pristine machine to ride or…
The quarter-liter sportbikes of the 1980s and 1990s might look virtually identical on paper and offer very similar performance, but they all managed to have their own individual character, although that may have been down more to marketing and brand loyalty than any distinct differences. In any event, the Suzuki RGV250Γ had a reputation as…
Performance motorcycles have gotten so powerful and fast that they’re only even rideable by normal humans because of sophisticated electronics. If 99% of riders need traction-control just to keep their 190hp superbike on the road, couldn’t it be argued that they’re too powerful? ABS and all the other safety systems are amazing, but should be…
Today’s Hesketh V1000 is a bit older than we usually feature here on RSBFS, but it’s certainly rare, valuable, and exotic. By the time 1980 rolled around, the British biking industry was in bad trouble. Previously, they were known for their powerful engines and excellent roadholding, but the Union Jack been eclipsed by a Rising…
In the mid-1990s when Ducati was dominating World Superbike racing and the all-important bedroom-wall-fantasy-poster competition, it seemed like everybody wanted to get into the v-twin market and “beat Ducati at its own game.” It shouldn’t have been that hard, right? I mean, Ducati made fast bikes, but part of why they were so successful in…