Update 4.08.2017: The seller has notified us that this bike has sold to one of our readers. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc When Honda and Suzuki responded to the “world’s fastest” ZX-11 with the Blackbird and Hayabusa, Kawasaki doubled down with the ZX-12R, pushing 178 hp and 188 mph. This first year ZX-12R still…
From the 30-something files comes the epitome of the quintessential 1980s sport bike: the Kawasaki GPz. Conceived during what was to become the eve of the classic sporting motorcyle, the GPz led the way right up to the next real era of technology and died out with the introduction of the hyper bike. Making the…
I know that for many of our readers, RSBFS is all about the import smokers. And while we do love our grey-market popcorn poppers, variety is – as they say – the spice of life. Two-strokes did not always dominate the sport bike scene, as evidenced by today’s example of what ruled the streets in…
Extending the run of the ZRX1100 ( itself a harkening to the 1982 Eddie Lawson Replica KZ1000R ) the ZRX1200 wound the series down as only a carburetted 1200 cc naked superbike could. This 30K-mile ZRX is the subject of a tasteful customization with a lot of heavy work done. If a naked super /…
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Big Four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers appeared to know little about frame design and its effect on handling. Enter the small shop known as Bimota, formed as a hobby by Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini. Using existing motorcycles as a jumping off point, the Rimini firm created stout…
Looking like its bigger brothers of the ZX7 family, you would be forgiven to mistake the ZXR250 for a larger displacement motorcycle. But as we all know, small bikes rule in Japan, and when it comes to small sport bikes, Japan really does rule. Built to work around restrictive licensing rules in the home market…
While we see the occasional CBR400RR here on the site, and FZR400s aren’t too hard to find if you go looking, it’s been quite a while since we’ve been able to feature one of Kawasaki’s bantamweight superbikes, the ZXR400. With a liquid-cooled 398cc inline four and a six-speed gearbox to make the most of the…
Update 2.2.2017: Seller has confirmed the eBay sale of $17,665. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Eddie Lawson rode the factory’s Z1000R to the AMA Superbike Championships in 1981 and 1982. And though he got a better offer from Yamaha in 1983, Kawasaki continued for another year with the replica KZ1000R. With total production under…