Introduced in Europe in 1981, the Suzuki GSX1100S “Katana” and its littler siblings like this rare, apparently very late-production GSX400S stunned the motorcycle buying public. A quick glance at bikes available from other manufacturers at the time shows us deep in the era of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle, and the Big Four were clearly following,…
Grey Market Week continues with another weird and wonderful small-displacement sportbike from Honda, the CBR250RR. At a glance, it might be easy to dismiss this little 250 as a primitive commuter like the current CBR300, since these days, that’s exactly what you’ll get. The CBR, Ninja 300, R3 are all clearly built as budget-friendly…
A mix of big-bike power and light weight, Suzuki’s GSX-R set the tone for the modern superbike. At the time it was introduced, more and more bikes were being cooled by a strange new substance known as “water,” but the GSX-R remained uncluttered by hoses and unburdened by awkward heat-radiating devices: in an effort to…
With so many “paint and tape” special editions, it sometimes seems like there were very few standard MV Agusta F4s actually built… But the 1078 RR312 is more than just some flat-black paint with a famous name slapped on it. The RR312 throws any pretense at race-eligibility out the window with a big-bore motor and…
Update 3.18.2016: VIN confirms this is a MC22. -dc Update 3.26.2016: Sold for full asking price. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Today’s CBR250RR is another one of those grey market oddities, a bike that’s extremely rare here in the USA, but not considered particularly exotic elsewhere. Built from 1990 through 1996 and nicknamed the…
Although it’s nearly twenty years old now, it’s likely very few people would realize that this Bimota SB6R is anything other than a modern motorcycle: while many 90s designs have quickly become very awkward or dated at the very least, it’s clear Bimota knew what they were doing when they styled this thing. With Italian…
Update 6.12.2016: SOLD! Price is $7,500 Introduced in 1986, the GSX-R1100 followed the age-old tradition of stuffing a big motor into a small package. It was more complicated than that, of course, and the 1100 isn’t just a 750 with a bigger engine. But the idea is there, and it can easily be argued that…
The Bimota SB6 was one of the Rimini-based company’s best sellers, with 1,700 built, including 600 of the more exclusive SB6R models like this one. Powered by Suzuki’s GSX-R1100 engine and five-speed transmission, it was a whopping 90lbs lighter than the donor bike and, with top-of-the-line Paioli forks up front and a shiny Öhlins shock…