It’s time again for another of my favorite installments: Track Day Tuesday! And today’s gem is more than just a UJM with lights removed/taped over. Today’s track day bike actually belongs on a track. Built by Ducati to chase after supersport titles, the TT2 was a fantastic race bike utilizing the new Pantah engine. This…
Update 9.16.2019: We first saw this Ghost Strike back in May of last year. It failed to sell then but is back on eBay and reserve is already met with a first bid of $2,750. Links updated to current auction. Thanks Donn, -dc Though Laverda’s fortunes were largely in the 90’s rear-view mirror, the company…
BMW’s R65 was introduced as a junior model to the R90 and an update to the R60. Hans Muth was enlisted to style the LS, with his signature triangular fairing and orangey-red bodywork with enigmatic white alloys. This one has been hidden away and revived a couple of times, with an extraordinary 4,629 miles and…
Cagiva re-badged the Pantah for 1985 and tried on their own badging and design features. The Alazzurra had toned down its testosterone content a bit, but was improved in some good ways. This 1987 example has been a labor of love for its present owner, who has made some long term investments in the bike’s…
Founded in 1950 and a relatively minor manufacturer, the Castiglioni family leveraged the Ducati brand in 1985, and though they had thoughts of folding it into Cagiva, only a few larger displacement bikes were produced before they acknowledged Ducati’s greater name recognition. The Alazzurra was a sporty mid-size with a Ducati-branded desmodue aboard, and had…
Designed by Toshiaki Kishi as Honda was casting about for a way to bring sporty motorcycling to the masses, the NT650 used a neat v-twin and single-sided swingarm, but stayed affordable. Though its pricing vs. pizazz didn’t lead to a long run here, it was more popular in Europe and Japan, where it had a 400…
For Sale: 1984 BMW R65 LS The BMW R65LS was another attempt by BMW to enter into the “sporty” market without building an acutal sport bike (the likes of which would not appear until the revolutionary S1000RR). By restyling an otherwise stock R65 with unique fairing, handlebar, tail section, engine colored valve covers, snowflake wheels…
For Sale: Cagiva Alazzurra 650 The Cagiva Alazzurra fits into the category of relatively rare, but does not always fit into the category of well loved. In the day they were as close as you could get to a legally imported, street Ducati. But adoption was low and Cagiva eventually removed the brand from the…