Practical sportbikes like the Yamaha FZR400 generally weren’t babied and pampered, or cherished in the way that seems so common with Italian superbikes: for an FZR400 fan, “to cherish” means to flog mercilessly on a canyon road or tight track, passing bigger bikes around the outside on that skinny 140-section 18″ rear tire… But nice,…
The 1996 Suzuki RGV250 VJ23 was basically the last gasp for road-legal two-stroke sport bikes, and one of the most technologically advanced. Sure, Aprilia made the RS250 for a few years beyond that, but it was actually powered by the previous generation of Suzuki’s RGV250 engine, and the final examples weren’t even road legal in…
Update 8.2.2019: This seller has upgraded to a Featured Listing. The bike is back on eBay and is now NO RESERVE! Good luck to buyers and seller! Links updated. -dc I’m a big fan of smaller, less powerful sportbikes. Sure, maybe that sounds like I’m not a real motorcycle enthusiast, since I’m not addicted to…
Update 10.26.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc If you’re a fan of four-stroke motorcycles, two-strokes like this Featured Listing Honda NSR250R MC28 can be a little… underwhelming, the first time you see, and especially hear one. I mean, even with aftermarket pipes, they make an oddly weedy sort of zing…
The 1991 Suzuki RGV250 SP2 was the baddest two stroke sportbike Hamamatsu was kicking out in the early ‘90s, with a dry clutch, wide-ratio box and fully adjustable suspension adding even more agility and precision to the little bike’s already lithe and precise nature. With 60-ish horsepower when uncorked and a shade over 300 pounds…
It’s not a new thing to scan a sportbike forum and find a subset of self-professed sportbike cognoscenti espousing the virtues of supersport 600s over literbikes for daily street use and getting the most out of yourself on a mountain road. The big bikes, they argue, are almost too much for most racetracks, let alone…
Sold in 1987 and 1988, the NC24 version of Honda’s VFR400R could easily be overlooked for the gem that it is. Styling is subdued, although the single-sided Pro Arm swingarm hints at something special underneath. This was a V4 sportbike for the masses, instead of an expensive, difficult-to-obtain homologation bike, like the RC30. As you’d…
Many Japanese bikes aren’t intentionally sexy, in the way that a Bimota or MV Agusta often is, and they often fall flat stylistically when they do try to put style ahead of function. Italian machines are almost gratuitously beautiful, full of details that don’t enhance the bike’s performance, they just make the parts more interesting…