Competition between the Japanese manufacturers in the 250cc sportbike class was fierce, with each trying for some small advantage in terms of performance, given the limited displacement and government-mandated power cap. On paper, they all seem to follow a pretty standard template: a compact two-stroke twin cylinder engine, power-valves of one sort or another, and…
Just a quick Sunday post for you folks who can’t get out riding this weekend. Or for those of you on the East Coast, reading this early in the morning before heading out for the day… So here we’ve got a pair of rare homologation specials from the Age of the Seven-Fifty, where this now-forgotten…
1989 Yamaha FZR-750RR/OW-01 for sale on ebay Most collectors of homologation bikes place the Yamaha FZR750RR/OW-01 near the top of their lists, along with the Honda RC30 and Kawasaki ZX7RR and…whats that you say, you don’t understand all the fuss about homologation bikes? Well I don’t see any big blue police boxes or dogs…
Today we find a fun rare model that is – for once on RSBFS – totally affordable. The Yamaha SRX series included multiple displacements, although in the US we only received the XT-derived 250cc model and the XT-based 250cc machine. Home markets also included a 400cc variant. Based around a nimble, single cylinder air-cooled engine,…
Developed to capitalize on a 500cc GP championship, the RZ500 promised the world and then delivered. For all its street equipment, it was a close to a Grand Prix machine as a generation would get. Thanks to careful updates and maintenance, a new generation might now experience this 500cc machine with liter-bike power. 1985 RZ500…
Yamaha’s FZR1000 was their flagship from 1987-1995 and named “the bike of the decade” by Cycle World in 1989. This European import is a second generation machine with the EXUP electronically controlled exhaust collector, but is also in a classy color scheme rarely seen stateside. The mileage indicates a well-loved FZR, and a couple of…
April 1st has often been a day maligned by trickery. Even the hallowed pages of RSBFS have been besmirched by the occasional April Fools Day joke in past years. Not so this year. This year there are FAR too many excellent bikes available to waste time and web space on foolery. For example, 2017 seems…
The Yamaha R1’s likeable cousin, the FZ-1 was known as the Fazer offshore. With its smaller carbs stretching the torque curve, more compliant suspension, and accomodating riding position, the FZ-1 was a bit of a sleeper with 143 hp. Some of that friendliness has been dyno-tuned out of this example from Michigan, with airbox delete,…