In the early days of motorcycle design, there were a variety of alternatives to the telescopic forks that have become the standard in an industry evolving towards efficiency but, unfortunately also towards homogeny. Even the S1000RR that followed today’s HP2 Sport as BMW’s flagship sportbike is evidence of this: that striking asymmetrical bodywork is wrapped…
This is it. The end of the line. The last hurrah. The final countdown. The Ducati 900SS FE or “Final Edition.” Well, not really: 1999 saw the introduction of a brand new-ish, fuel-injected, Pierre Terblanche-styled SuperSport that carried over most of this bike’s strengths. But this is the very last of the old-school, carbureted SuperSports…
For connoisseurs, the Ducati 851 is the Bolognese superbike to have: it’s not as obvious or uncomfortable as a 916, and it was the first of the four-valve breed, the speartip of Ducati’s new push to be relevant to the modern sportbike world. The air-cooled, two-valve Pantah may be a classic, charismatic engine, but it…
Update 3.28.2017: Previously seen in October 2016, this GSX-R Limited is back on eBay with a starting bid of $13,500. Links updated. Good luck to buyers and seller, -dc. It’s interesting how some bikes seem to come up for sale in waves, like owners who’ve had their bikes for years see similar bikes up for…
Most factory racing efforts are intended to raise the company profile and sell more bikes, or are used to develop and test new technology that filters down to and improves road-bike performance. But the early road-legal efforts of Ferrari and MV Agusta were basically afterthoughts, and sales of these vehicles were simply intended to help…
No one is arguing that we don’t live in an era where “learner bikes” aren’t very sophisticated machines, but no matter how impressive the electronics found on modern small-displacement bikes may be, and no matter stone-axe reliable the mechanicals are, there’s something distinctly uninspiring about the weedy exhaust note of a single-cylinder KTM RC390. It’s…
Suzuki’s original GSX-R750 is arguably one of the most influential sportbikes of all time. Other bikes may have incorporated some of its design and performance elements, but none were able to combine them all into such an affordable package, or were able to capture the public’s imagination in the same way. Every iteration of the…
Update 3.20.2017: Back on eBay after first being on RSBFS in August 2014 for $11k. Current bid is just under $7k reserve not met. Links updated. -dc I’ve always loved the look of the Aprilia RS 250, but I’m only a recent convert to the stink and rattle of two-strokes. Well, technically, I’m a hypothetical…