Update 8.20.2018: The seller has notified us that this bike is SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc The precursor to Yamaha’s extremely desirable OW01, this very clean FZR750R is actually even rarer, but a bit less exotic as well, both in terms of components and construction. Instead of rare materials and hand-welded parts, the…
Over in the comments sections of another post, we’ve been debating the relative merits and values of some of the priciest motorcycles, but it’s still possible to find something cool, collectible, and very competent if you’re on a limited budget. It’s not one of Yamaha’s fastest sportbikes, but this first-generation FZR1000 might be their most…
Look, I’ll get this out the way up front: the Bimota YB11 does not “look way cooler with the bodywork off.” Since the missing bits appear to be included, I’m going to assume, for the purposes of this post, that a lack of taste is the actual reason the bodywork isn’t currently in place. Don’t…
I’ve mentioned this before, but everything just sounds cooler in Italian. If you want to intimidate someone, just shout gibberish at them in German: anything you say sounds clipped and military and very, very serious. But yell at someone in Italian, and it just sounds like you’re trying to very emphatically seduce them. I mean,…
Bimota’s formula for success involved plentiful, reliable engines supplied by outside manufacturers, top-shelf braking and suspension components, frames designed with pure performance in mind, all wrapped in sleek, often wildly-styled bodywork. The use of well-developed and widely available engines meant they managed to survive much longer than most other boutique motorcycle manufacturers and their style…
MZ’s history is more significant than the average enthusiast realizes, especially if you’re a fan of this site and/or grey market two-stroke sportbikes. “Why is that?” You might ask. Or more likely, “Who is that?” MZ, formerly MuZ was an East German manufacturer of two stroke motorcycles. Engineer Walter Kaaden actually pioneered the use of…
Update 3.14.2018: Turns out this one sold faster than we could post it. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc A modern literbike is a relatively peaky beast: chasing horsepower without increasing displacement means ever-higher revs are required, and a six-speed box makes sense. It’s telling that bikes like today’s Featured Listing Yamaha’s FZR1000, one of…
It’s fitting that the last couple of Bimota YB4s we’ve featured have been race bikes, since the YB4 was a competition machine first, and a road bike second. In fact, only a racing version was built at first, until World Superbike homologation rules required 200 roadgoing examples be built. The YB4 competed head-to-head with the…