You read that right. This is not an H2, it’s an H2R, modified to be street legal. If you’ve, up until now, been confusing the two, let’s be clear: we’re talking about two different animals here. The Kawasaki H2 is the relatively mass-produced version of the bike, with headlight, taillight, turn-signals, a mere 200hp, and…
1990s Bimotas currently represent an amazing value, and this 1998 YB11 Superleggera has superbike performance, Yamaha reliability, and is very rare, all for under $10,000. “Superleggera” or “super light” is a style of construction that stresses lightweight materials and construction: Ducati’s Superleggera is so super and leggera that it actually weighs less than the British Superbike…
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s weird how some bikes seem to show up in waves, and this is the third Honda RS125R I’ve seen this week. The previous example I posted was in very good condition and came with a nice stash of spares, but was more functional than this particular bike, which also has…
Aprilia took an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it mentality” when motivating their RS250 two-stroke race replica, and packed Suzuki’s proven RGV250Γ “Gamma” engine and six-speed gearbox into their machine, albeit with extra tuning for a claimed 70hp. While that number may be theoretically possible, it seems pretty optimistic and might make for a short-lived…
Racing machines are a bit like living living things and, by they time they reach old age, there might be very little left of the original creature except the bones: high performance parts are consumed and replaced regularly, worn out by at-the-limit use, and other parts are upgraded as time goes on to keep pace…
“It’s only new once” is pretty axiomatic in the collector car and bike worlds. Meaning that a slightly imperfect, but time-capsule machine with a bit of wear and tear is generally more desirable than a perfectly restored, better-than-new example to many collectors. Original machines have flaws: they’re often mass-produced, or have little cosmetic flaws from…
Considering just how rare Bimotas actually are, they’ve had a pretty strong influence on modern sportbikes. Take this Bimota HB3 for example: just 100 were ever made. And yet you can see that fully-faired, race-inspired styling that led to more mass-produced bikes like the GSX-R. In fact, Yamaha was very directly “inspired” by the Bimota’s…
Update 2.20.2017: Price is now $17k and links are updated. -dc Regardless of how you feel about the Ducati 999, it was a significant failure in terms of sales for the company, something they could ill-afford for their flagship product. Although it was an improvement in virtually every way when compared to the outgoing 998, Ducati’s conservative…