As is always the case with exotic machinery, a simple truth-in-advertising name sounds so much better in Italian… Oooooh. A Maserati Quattroporte… That sounds so sexy. Wait, it just means “four doors”? You’re saying that the name of that four-door Maserati is “Maserati four-door”? The same thing is true for Ducati’s GP6-based Desmosedici D16RR road…
Aside from the disastrous VDue, Bimota’s stock-in-trade was wrapping lightweight frames and fantastically exotic bodywork around reliable powertrains from established manufacturers. The magical formula that led to bikes like the Bimota SB6 seems so simple, it’s a wonder it took so long for other manufacturers to catch on: wrap too much engine in too little…
I wouldn’t normally post something so relatively common on a bike about “rare” sportbikes, but this particular 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1 is strikingly clean and low mileage, the kind of bike speculators or collectors might soon be snapping up. Japanese sportbikes offer performance, reliability, and ubiquity in equal portions. That’s kind of the point: you can…
Starting with their DB1, obviously, and continuing through the present day, Bimota has a long history of using Ducati engines in their bikes. And while other Ducati-powered Bimotas have generally used the torquey but relatively low-power air-cooled versions of their classic v-twin, this Bimota DB7 is powered by the liquid-cooled, four-valve Testastretta version, which gives…
Ducati’s SportClassic line made a big splash when it was introduced in 2005 and included today’s Paul Smart 1000LE. Powered by Ducati’s torque-rich L-twin with modern suspension at both ends, they were mature sportbikes for riders with a sense of history, an eye for design, and an appreciation for accessible performance. Many will complain about…
If pure speed, cutting-edge technology, or drive chains are your thing, then today’s Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000 probably isn’t the bike for you. But if race heritage, character, and v-twin torque are things you enjoy, you can’t go wrong with this big Guzzi. The Daytona is certainly not light weight, but it does handle: with…
Although the mid-1980s 750 F1 may not have represented the very best from Ducati, the TT2 and later TT1 race bikes that inspired them certainly did. Lightweight, perfectly formed, and highly effective, they epitomize Ducati’s racing ethos of the period. The original TT2 displaced 587cc and used the belt-drive Pantah motor, with the later TT1…
Fresh off the boat from Japan, this Suzuki RGV250 Γ “Gamma” is the higher-spec SP model that featured fully-adjustable suspension, along with a close-ratio gearbox and a dry clutch. 1988 was the first year of the RGV that replaced the parallel-twin of the RG250 with a new, 90° 249cc v-twin engine that also found its way…