The later NC30 version of Honda’s VFR gets most of the attention, due to the fact that the style and specification so closely mimics the iconic RC30 at about half the cost, but this earlier VFR400R NC24 still makes for an appealing and attention-grabbing ride. The NC24 was sold in 1987 and 1988 and featured a…
Looking very much like someone washed an RG500 in hot water, Suzuki’s RG250Γ “Gamma” featured two fewer cylinders and half the displacement, but was still packed full of race-bred technology and performance. Built between 1983 and 1987, the quarter-liter Gamma was never officially imported to the USA, but some have found their way here over…
The mid-1980s were a transitional time for sportbikes, and some of these seminal machines are a bit less graceful than their descendants. Today’s Honda NS250R MC11 certainly fits that description: it’s nowhere near as sleek and purposeful as the later NSR250, but certainly much sportier than the earlier MVX250F that preceded it, with fully-faired style…
You know, it gets harder and harder to come up with smoking-related titles for these two-stroke posts… We may no longer allow tobacco companies to advertise in racing, but it seems to be a natural fit, considering the dangers involved in both activities and especially in the case of smoky, environmentally-unfriendly two-stroke machines. It’s also…
Although bikes in the 400cc class are virtually unknown in the USA, they were big business elsewhere, with bikes like the Honda CBR400 and VFR400, Yamaha FZR400, and today’s Featured Listing Kawasaki ZXR400R competing in showrooms and race series for the hearts and hard-earned money of sportbike enthusiasts. Here in the US, it is 600s…
This bike got me excited because Practical Sportbikes has been doing a project Yamaha TDR250 over the past few months, and up until I saw it, I had no idea the bike even existed. You say it’s not a sportbike? I say if it’s in Practical Sportbikes, it qualifies! So what exactly is a TDR250? Well…
Some motorcycle enthusiasts are looking for a perfect, time-capsule example of their favorite bikes. Me? I’m glad perfect examples are out there for collectors, but I want something I can ride and enjoy without being worried that a tip-over or low-side or just a few extra miles on the odometer will destroy the value of…
The history of the quarter-liter sportbike seems to be one of convergent evolution: twins obviously make sense given the size and capacity, or even triples, if we go back to the 1970s and consider a Kawasaki S1 a “sportbike.” But early bikes could be powered by parallel or vee configurations, and by the time the…