There may have been monoshock sportbikes prior to the GSX-R750, but the bike’s ubiquity and accessibility helped it define the modern sportbike in ways that earlier bikes could not. And while it’s true that, if you look up “sportbike” in the dictonary, you’ll probably find a picture of a GSX-R, nice examples are getting very…
Introduced in 1986, the Yamaha TZR250 was the follow up to their RD family of sportbikes. Yamaha’s first go at a quarter-liter TZR had middling success: it wasn’t especially competitive next to more focused rivals from Kawasaki and Suzuki on track, but it was a far better roadbike. The TZR followed the standard two-fiddy two-stroke formula of…
Looking very much like a little brother to the RG500, this Suzuki RG250Γ offers up sophistication to match its larger stablemate: anti-dive forks, Full Floater suspension, Suzuki’s Automatic Exhaust Control that increased the weedy two-stroke midrange, and a six-speed gearbox. The package was very light, weighing in at 286lb dry and the water-cooled 247cc parallel…
Update 6.1.2016: Sold in just one week! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc If Honda’s history of brilliant technical innovation has a downside, it’s that it sometimes posits answers to questions no one actually asked. Some recent missteps like their sophisticated but overweight and expensive VFR sport-tourer suggest that they’ve just recently lost their way.…
Although small-displacement two-stroke sportbikes like this Honda NSR250R have been finding their way over to the US in shipping containers and across the border from Canada for a while now, they’re still relatively rare here and can be difficult to register for road use. This one is titled in Washington State, so that should help…
A mix of big-bike power and light weight, Suzuki’s GSX-R set the tone for the modern superbike. At the time it was introduced, more and more bikes were being cooled by a strange new substance known as “water,” but the GSX-R remained uncluttered by hoses and unburdened by awkward heat-radiating devices: in an effort to…
The DB1 was the quintessential Bimota, packaging a reliable Italian powerplant into a lightweight package with excellent handling… Wait, what? Actually, in spite of what you might expect, the belt-driven, SOHC Pantah engine is very reliable when properly maintained, and can be tuned to make good power. Sure, the 75 claimed horses don’t sound like…
Fans of bikes like today’s RG500 Γ “Gamma” may fantasize that they are every bit as fast as a modern sportbike. But they’re probably viewing things through rose-tinted glasses: 95hp and 350lbs dry aren’t exceptional numbers today. Matched with the flexible frame and shockingly skinny tires, you’re looking at something would probably have a hard…