Many of the coveted bikes in the quarter-liter two-stroke race-replica class were never officially sold outside Japan. They were certainly seen in countries where “parallel-imports” or “grey-market” bikes were commonly sold, but 250cc sportbikes were intended primarily to meet the needs and requirements of that market. And that means buzzy little animals like this Honda…
Although it’s often the slinky bodywork that people remember about Bimotas, the frames are what really define them. The Bimota YB4 was designed around Bimota’s signature and unmistakable beam frame they used throughout the late 80s and 90s. No soft, moulded contours here: the spars look like girders that were extruded by some giant, industrial device, then cut and welded…
Update 9.4.2016: I’ve received word that this bike is now sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc This Featured Listing is part of a set from the sellers for a VFR400, TZR250, and an NSR250. They are available for purchase as a group or individually. The sellers are available this labor day weekend for personal…
Update 9.4.2016: I’ve received word that this bike is now sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc This Featured Listing is part of a set from the sellers for a VFR400, TZR250, and an NSR250. They are available for purchase as a group or individually. The sellers are available this labor day weekend for personal…
Unlike modern, small-displacement machines like the Ninja 300, the Suzuki RGV250Γ “Gamma” is a high-performance machine in miniature, not a sporty-looking commuter based on a very basic platform. Emissions legislation meant we never officially got any of these little rippers here in the US, but the 250cc class really took off in the mid-to-late 1980s and saw absolutely fierce…
Designed as a natural evolution of Yamaha’s RD two-stroke sportbikes, the TZR250 helped set the tone for the entire class, and the bike featured a lightweight aluminum beam frame, full bodywork, and liquid-cooling for the twin-cylinder powerplant that produced a claimed 50hp with the help of Yamahas YPVS power-valve. Until the introduction of the 3XV…
There may have been monoshock sportbikes prior to the GSX-R750, but the bike’s ubiquity and accessibility helped it define the modern sportbike in ways that earlier bikes could not. And while it’s true that, if you look up “sportbike” in the dictonary, you’ll probably find a picture of a GSX-R, nice examples are getting very…
The sagas of some of the most well-known European manufacturers can read like film scripts, full of action and intrigue. But if Ducati’s story is a bit like an Indiana Jones movie, with death-defying thrills and narrow escapes from doom, Triumph’s history is a bit like a zombie movie, since they were basically dead and…