The Yamaha FZR1000 EXUP was named “Bike of the Decade” [the 1980s] by Cycleworld magazine, meaning it faced down some very tough competition, including the Ducati 851, Suzuki RG500, and the original GSX-R750. What made it so special? Well servo-actuated exhaust valves are pretty ubiquitous these days, but the big FZR was the first four-stroke…
You know, it gets harder and harder to come up with smoking-related titles for these two-stroke posts… We may no longer allow tobacco companies to advertise in racing, but it seems to be a natural fit, considering the dangers involved in both activities and especially in the case of smoky, environmentally-unfriendly two-stroke machines. It’s also…
RSBFS is all about the rare machine in exceptional condition. This is NOT that kind of post. This is, shall we say, an experiment. As many of our readers exhibit extensive mechanical knowledge, how about a rare and desirable bike that requires a little bit of work? Put on your rose-colored “I can see the…
This bike got me excited because Practical Sportbikes has been doing a project Yamaha TDR250 over the past few months, and up until I saw it, I had no idea the bike even existed. You say it’s not a sportbike? I say if it’s in Practical Sportbikes, it qualifies! So what exactly is a TDR250? Well…
Here’s a quickie for your weekend morning, and the price is not absurdly high. For only $2k (or best offer) this retro rocket from the 1990s could be yours. Long a staple of street riders, club racers and hooligans everywhere, the Yamaha YZF600R was a step forward from the FZR600. Today it has little collector…
I will freely admit – having been born and bred in SoCal – that I have absolutely no idea what a New York state of mind might be. However I imagine it a series of dichotomies; hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and the world’s most crowded (and motorized unfriendly) city. That pretty…
Before the haters and the interweb know-it-alls pipe up, we all know that the FZR600 – while a great bike in its day – is not rare. So what the heck is it doing here on RSBFS??! I can sum it up with one word: Condition. These bikes are not really collector material; Yamaha simply…
1996 Yamaha YZF-750R on ebay Back in the mid-1990’s the main way most sporbike fans learned about the latest and greatest developments was through a subscription to a motorcycling magazine. For me, the magazine was Cycle and I can clearly remember reading discussions about the different development philosophies of each major Japanese manufacturer. …