If we were to ask RSBFS readers what 750cc sportbike of the 1990’s they would most like to own now, I would bet most would choose a Suzuki GSX-750R Limited Edition or maybe a Yamaha OW01 or perhaps a Kawasaki ZX7R/ ZX7RR. A few intrepid souls might throw a Honda VFR750 or Ducati 748 into…
A pure homologation special never intended for mass-production, the Yamaha YZF-R7 OW02 was a spiritual successor to the storied OW01 that took the fight to the famous Honda RC30 and the Ducati 851 Corsa featured this past weekend. But where the Honda used a different engine configuration than their more common mass production sportbikes and…
The first generation VFR 750F was only offered with the uber-cool white bodywork in 1993 and it still looks quite good, especially in comparison to the other sportbike designs of the 1990’s (cough-cough-I’m-looking-at-you-1993 Suzuki GSX-750R). Fairly cheap just a few years ago, trying to find a 1993 VFR with the OEM white bodywork in good…
One of Ducati’s earliest racey replica’s the 1985-88 750 F1 was based on the engine from the Pantah. Rather than retire and restore, this owner has continued to ride, update and repair the bike. The result is a rider, not a museum piece, but one you could throw a leg over and enjoy today. 1986…
Back in the 1990’s a rule change made it so that racing bikes had to be based on bikes available to the public. This change was known as the “homologation rule” and it meant that suddenly regular riders were able to get their hands on street legal machines that really did have track oriented components.…
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…
Way back when, in ’97 – no actually 1996, Kawasaki transitioned from the ZXR750 to the ZX-7R, and incorporated the steady evolution and innovation from the factory and AMA Superbike race teams. Though the model continued until 2003, the 90’s were good years for the ZX-7R, Scott Russell winning the AMA Superbike in 1992 and…
Although the 750cc class is basically dead today, there was a time when middleweight sportbikes were the bikes to have, and competition between the Japanese Big Four was fierce in showrooms and on track. Kawasaki’s ZX-7, known elsewhere as the ZXR750 was perhaps The People’s Middleweight Sportbike of the era, a far more accessible and…
