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…
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…
Time was when retailers would put their sheets and towels on sale mid-winter to find a way out of the January doldrums. A naked 998cc Testastretta would be a more RSBFS path to a winter thaw, and while the buy-it-now isn’t really a bargain, the whopping white twin would be a special second or around town bike. 2007 Ducati Monster…
“Wait,” you’re thinking. “Aryton Senna raced cars, didn’t he?” Well, unlike most race-replicas, the MV Agusta F4 Senna was built to help support the charity named after the famous driver, instead of being built to commemorate his race successes. Largely unchanged from the “regular” F4 of the time, the Senna came with a 174hp 998cc…
Aprilia’s “Thunder” bike, the Tuono is based on the RSV Mille Superbike, with a bikini fairing and adapted for tubular handlebars. Introduced in 2002, the model was made in modest quantities until it was succeeded by the V4 1100 in 2011. The “Racing” special edition offered here has several mechanical upgrades from the base model…
While they weren’t huge sellers when new, the Aprilia RSV Mille represents one of the best bargains in the sportbike world right now, sort of a “thinking-man’s Italian V-twin.” Which is a much more flattering thing to say about a bike than, “Wow, that thing is pretty odd-looking.” Although, as I’ve said before, these things…
The water-cooled Monster S4RS was a great engine in search of a bike. It was spawned from the original Monster that was itself the proverbial Franken-bike: frame from an 888, suspension and wheels from the 900SS-CR, and a dash that looks like someone ripped the idiot light cluster straight out of a Fiat. They’ve got…