By the time Ducati’s 916 was retired, they’d wrung just about everything out of the bike there was to wring, and the sportbike world had moved on. From a stylistic perspective, the 998 was far too familiar after ten years and, while the design was still considered a classic, it was decidedly… classic. Of course…
Of all of sport bike manufacturers, Ducati seems to have been the only one that focused on a single concept: a luscious, 90 degree twin with desmo valve actuation. From that point onward, anything goes – and Ducati went truly radical in evolving the concept. From the original two-valve, air-cooled twins to the legendary 851,…
This is the sort of bike that sets the offices of RSBFS buzzing. Feast your eyes on an actual *factory* race bike. Not an RS version of a street bike. An actual “we are the Ducati factory and we are going racing…” sort of race bike. And not just any factory bike, but one piloted…
Occupying a short window before the 999 was prepared, the 998 was the last machine of Massimo Tamburini’s 916-996 generation. Routinely described as way too much for the street, it was a sweet handling machine at speed, with 123 hp. Subtly updated, the suspension and body have been substantially worked, and it looks better the…
Built between 2002 and 2004, the Ducati 998 was the last hurrah for Tamburini’s masterpiece. It might look like Ducati simply bumped the displacement and changed the graphics, compared to the 916 and 996, but there was a subtle evolution that took place throughout production, with Ducati developing race specials with revised engines and frames that…
It always starts the same way. Sitting at my desk doing research in the ultra-plush offices of www.RareSportBikesForSale.com I find a cool bike that I just know that our readers would love. Then I get the nagging suspicion that I have seen the bike before. Quickly jump into the archives and… there it is. So…
While the Ducati 916 was a styling bombshell, the standard/Strada versions only really come on the power around 7000 RPM which meant they need to be flogged a bit to get going. Ducati first attempted to resolve this issue by installing lighter internals and high lift cams to create the SP/Sport Production edition. Unfortunately even…
The first-generation Aprilia RSV Mille is a pug-ugly bike. There, I said it. The styling is bulbous and overwrought, with weird, gimmicky details and bits that don’t really hang together. Look, owners and fans can spare me the outraged comments: I really like these, and I’d take one over almost any Japanese sportbike you could…