If you want a machine with charisma, humane ergonomics, and a dash of tradition, the early 90s Ducati 900SS is a modern classic that offers a less frantic experience than similar bikes from Japan. Straight-line performance for the two-valve v-twin is modest, but these were all about midrange power and torque. Powered by a 904cc…
A sportbike powered by a 1064cc two-valve pushrod twin seems positively antediluvian in context and was absolutely outclassed by the competition even when new. But Moto Guzzi managed to take their rugged and very entertaining powertrain and fit it into their 1100 Sport that, while not cutting-edge, offered up charisma, handling, durability, and exclusivity. I’ve…
Hoping to jump into the budget-conscious supersport market, Yamaha developed the TRX-850 twin and introduced it in Japan and Europe. Slow sales kept it from a long history and the U.S., but this private import is a nice example of an interesting bike. 1996 Yamaha TRX-850 for sale on eBay Adding the Genesis 5-valve heads…
Update 9.15.2016: This bike is sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Today’s Featured Listing is a personal favorite of mine, the Ducati 900SS/SP. While the Superlight is more collectable, the SP offers almost as much performance and character, but at a much lower price point. The SP was well loved during in it’s day,…
The 900CR is a bit of a forgotten Ducati. Offered as part of the late 1990’s Ducati range, the 900CR and its sister 900SS weren’t objects of lust like the Ducati 916/996/998 but also weren’t the companies sales leader like the “standard” Monster series. The 900 series was targeted towards non-hard core sport rider, a…
Ducati’s Monster was a wonder of parts-bin engineering and basically saved the company from financial ruin, becoming the company’s best-selling model of all time by a healthy margin and bringing Ducati’s mystique to the masses. The four-valve superbikes may have won the glory but they were highly impractical for daily use, expensive to maintain, and…
Bimota’s successful line of Ducati-powered bikes seems a bit unconventional for the brand, considering they’d always been about creating machines that fused powerful, well-engineered Japanese engines with lightweight, race-bred frames to create bikes that were more than the sum of their parts. But machines like this DB4 seemed to be more about just distilling a…
A feature of the marque since 1974, the Ducati SuperSport provides a great deal of sporting performance at a nice price point. While many if not most Ducati SuperSports have been updated from their budget-conscious factory specs, the 1997 model presented here has been well cared for and garaged to boot. 1997 Ducati 900 SS…