When I got into bikes, it was easy for me to indulge my existing bias towards European machinery, since Japanese bikes were garishly colored and festooned with neon graphics, with silly names [Ninja? Katana? Really?], owned by posturing riders who thought t-shirts, sweat shorts, and high-top sneakers were appropriate riding attire. Welcome to New Jersey,…
The mighty CBX is one of those bikes that don’t really make a lot of sense to some riders. While a liter bike in size, that size is really the problem. Rather than a twin or even a four-banger, the CBX is a bona fide six lanes wide when viewed from the front. A wild…
For the Suzuki RGV250’s last few model years, Suzuki gave the popular machines a thorough redesign, with updated fairings and a brand-new 70-degree v-twin replacing the long serving 90-degree mill that helped make the bikes famous. In most trims, they were choked down to around 40 horsepower. But a limited number of Lucky Strike liveried…
For those readers of a certain age, the 1980s were an amazing time to ride. Motorcycles were making quantum leaps in terms of performance, and technology was reshaping the design elements that we take for granted today. Take for example this wonderful 1986 Suzuki GSX-R1100. Only two years previous one of the top dogs of…
Ducati’s original “round-case” v-twin may be one of the most beautiful engines of all time but, while tower shafts and bevel gears may be a very precise way to operate valves, they sure aren’t an economical one. Think about the shimming that must be done during assembly; it’s a very labor-intensive way to construct an…
Shopping for a road machine ? Determined not to fall into the displacement arms race ? Take a look at this Ducati 749S, a lot of good stuff and a limited amount of attitude. 2004 Ducati 749S for sale on eBay The 749 looks and was built like the Pierre Terblanche designed 999, and the…
Sold before we went to press, still worth a look – Donn Like buyers of a Gulfstream business jet refer to their Pratt & Whitney engine maintenance agreement that just happened to come with an airplane, the Yamaha RZ500 was built around their smashing V-4 two-stroke. This one has some miles but looks to be…
The multiple motorcycle auctions in Las Vegas in January each year are somewhat of a bellwether for prices overall. Sure, pricing is a bit over-inflated due to peer-pressure, bidding competition and the general excitement of the auction atmosphere, but what sells high at these auctions will generally do well on the open market. If you’ve…
