The 1976 Yamaha RD400 came out screaming in 1976, a mag-wheeled exclamation point on Yamaha’s range of popular, fast-paced two strokes. To make sure the message landed, Yamaha re-tooled its factory to build the RD400’s parallel twin, which was more than just a rebored version of the RD350’s mill. A longer stroke necessitated new crankcases,…
In 1994 Ducati unleashed the equivalent of a nuclear weapon in the face of a sport bike field full of conventional weaponry. That year Ducati introduced the legendary 916 – and commenced an enviable run of WSBK world titles (four within a five-year span). Simultaneously offering a quantum leap in twin-cylinder performance (horsepower, rev limits,…
Originally conceived as an aviation company, famed motorcycle marque MV Augusta turned to the two-wheeled world after World War II in a move to survive European post war economics. With transportation being a key element and need, the firm began at the small end of the spectrum and only grew from there. From transportation to…
Deep in the vaults of exotic hardware purposely kept from the shores of America include examples such as this magnificent 1988 Honda CBR250R. There were extremely rare in the US during the late 1980s and 1990s – which is amusing since the venerable 250 Ninja was imported during the same period of time. But the…
Moto Guzzi has a long and storied history in the annals of motorcycling. Among the oldest motorcycle manufacturer – and THE oldest if you consider the “…in contiguous operation…” caveat (simultaneously turning a blind eye to the few lean years where they were between owners and technically not in production) – the Guzzi trademark is…
Pictured in a lush garden, this barely used TZR250R-SP is actually old enough to import without EPA scrutiny. Up for sale at the end of summer in Cape Town means a close-up inspection might be a project, but this example is at least a great what if ? – conversation starter. 1992 Yamaha TZR250-SP for…
When the original “jellymould” CBR600F Hurricane was introduced in 1987 the enclosed, sleekly aerodynamic fairing hid a dark secret: a steel frame. While racier competitors had switched to lightweight aluminum construction, the simple, effective CBR600 F3 stuck with the less expensive material until the CBR600 F4 was introduced in 1999. Although the styling was hyper-modern,…
update 4.1.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc We’ve gone on enough about how important and cool the first Gixxers are, so I’ll spare you more of that here. This 1986 Suzuki GSXR-750 has been set up perfectly, and stands alone as a really cool old motorcycle that is made cooler…
