The two-stroke race-replicas like this Yamaha RZ500 represent a brief, very exciting time in motorcycling. The 1980s were a difficult time for bikes as well as cars: technology was leaping forward while emissions legislation stifled performance at the same time it attempted to save the planet. Eventually, manufacturers would find ways to work within or…
There’s a proud tradition of independent motorcycle builders “sportifying” some very unlikely machines: CBXs converted into monoshock cafe-racers, heavily modified Swallower Moto Guzzis with chain drive and Hossack front ends, even venerable RZ500 engines stuffed into R6 frames. In the case of the HP2, BMW built their very own factory eclectic performance motorcycle by taking…
A mix of sleek styling and proven Japanese power, the Aprilia RS250 was the Italian company’s entry into the hotly-contested quarter-liter sportbike class battles and intended to take the fight to Honda’s NSR250, Yamaha’s TZR250, and Suzuki’s RGV250. The monochromatic style was a far cry from the vivid speedblock and tiger-stripe designs of the Japanese…
Much ink has been spilled waxing poetic about Massimo Tamburini’s masterpiece, the Ducati 916. The bike was such a common sight throughout the 90s as the two-wheeled incarnation of lust, it’s become a bit… familiar, and it’s easy to forget just how shockingly sexy this bike was when it was introduced: the incredibly slim waist,…
Looking very much like their very desirable VFR750R, the Honda VFR400R shares similar engine configuration, style, and that distinctive “PRO ARM” single-sided swingarm. The sophisticated V4 featured straight-cut gears in place of a chain or belt and drove twin overhead cams. Early VFR400s used a 180° crank, but the NC30 shared it’s 360° “big bang”…
MV Agusta’s Brutale represents the sane and reasonable option compared to their take-no-prisoners F4. Limited development budget meant the bike shared plenty of the fully faired machine’s DNA and it used a similar, if not identical frame, single-sided swingarm and wheels, along with a slightly detuned version of the radial-valved inline four. But the Brutale…
Looking a bit like Aprilia’s Falco, the MZ 1000S was a high-end sport-touring motorcycle from a largely forgotten East German manufacturer that was powered by a big-bore parallel-twin engine. What could possibly go wrong? Well, not much really: as the seller mentions, parts to maintain the 1000S are available online, they’ve got a good reputation…
MV Agusta certainly got the basic components right when they introduced their exotic and achingly-beautiful F4 750, but it was down on power and a member of the suddenly superfluous 750 class. Luckily, they were easily able to bump their displacement to play in the liter-bike class, although the new MV Agusta F4 1000 was…
