No less a rider than Giacomo Agostini abdicated his dynasty at MV Agusta when Yamaha introduced the 4-cylinder 2-stroke 700cc racebike. He won the 1974 Daytona 200 with it, and its 750cc progeny went on to a 12-year run on the beach. This newly restored example has matching numbers and a nicely documented race history.…
Look, I need to get this out of the way up front: this Aprilia Tuono 1000R Factory is a very ugly bike. The proportions are strange, the details are overwrought, there are creases and angles everywhere… Honestly, the only really positive thing you can say about the bodywork on the Aprilia Tuono 1000R is that…
The Ducati 888 filled the gap between the brand-redefining 851 and the legendary 916, bumping the 851’s fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, four-valve L-twin to 888cc. The inbetweener status didn’t phase the bike much, though, as it was enough for Doug Polen to net back-to-back World Superbike championships in ’91 and ’92. Production ended in ’94 as the…
Yamaha’s R7 was among the last in a long line of machines from the Age of Homologation Specials, where the manufacturers competing in AMA and World Superbike racing created limited runs of insanely expensive bikes that looked like production models, but were chock full of trick bits like adjustable steering heads and exotic engine internals.…
In 2008 BMW launched the ultimate boxer sport bike, the HP2 Sport. An offshoot of the stillborn GP racer project (which management wisely decided could not be competitive in a straight up fight), BMW instead released a no-compromise sporting twin of uber-exclusive status. Limited in numbers and impossibly expensive, the HP2 Sport was a brief,…
The 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1 represents the absolute pinnacle of two-stroke technology and the final gasp of the format’s street-legal heyday. Quite simply, these are the most advanced mass-produced street two strokes that ever roamed the Earth. Since they were never sold in this country officially, finding a decent one is a feat. 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1…
After lagging slightly behind throughout the ’90s with a host of beautiful-but-dated or comfortable and fast-but-heavy steeds, Yamaha came out of its corner swinging in ’98 with the all-new R1. It was covered in decals advertising age-old Yamaha marketing terms like Genesis and Ex-Up, but the new machine was a beast the way the CBR900RR…
Long ago when V-twin Superbikes made do with a mere liter, Ducati made a smashing revision to the 916 series. Like some other revolutions, it was voted down – but the monoposto 999R is the apex of the short-lived Tamburini design. 2005 Ducati 999R for sale on eBay Ducati produced just 200 of the…