The goal in filling my fantasy garage is to have as wide a range of engine configurations as possible: a thumpy Ducati v-twin, a shrieking four in a big-bore MV, an older KTM Duke single, a howling triple Laverda. But I’ll also need a two-stroke. Maybe an old Kawasaki H1 triple, or something like this…
Look, they made a lot of Ducati 916/996/998’s over the years, and while they’re truly iconic machines, they’re also kind of cliché, especially in stock form. Not that I don’t love them to pieces. I have every intention of owning one at some point. Part of the reason for their ubiquity is the fact that…
Introduced in 1989, the Cagiva Mito was restyled in 1994 by… Well you get three guesses. If, after a quick look at that front fairing and headlight arrangement, you guessed “Massimo Tamburini”, you win a cookie! Either that or you’re quick with a Google search… Looking for all the world like a miniature, aluminum beam-framed…
Even a storied manufacturer with a portfolio of glorious bikes can make a misstep. A trend of questionable taste taken just a bit too far, a design compromised by budget, a stylist given too free a hand. The Bimota Mantra may have been all of these things working against it: it’s a bit of an…
I’m not one to gush over a bike, and usually, this sort of thing doesn’t interest me: a limited-edition Italian superbike with tons of possibly pointless bling thrown at it, colorful anodized and blacker-than-black carbon everything, the slightly matte rainbow glow of titanium piping, all stuck to the bike to make it more “exclusive.” But…
The first-generation Aprilia RSV Mille is a pug-ugly bike. There, I said it. The styling is bulbous and overwrought, with weird, gimmicky details and bits that don’t really hang together. Look, owners and fans can spare me the outraged comments: I really like these, and I’d take one over almost any Japanese sportbike you could…
Until very recently, Bimota’s exotic, Ducati-powered offerings like this DB2 featured the air/oil-cooled two-valve engines, instead of the more powerful four-valve water-cooled engines from the 851/916 models. This meant that, although the bikes weren’t the fastest straight-line performers, they were light and lithe, enabling riders to make good use of every horse available. This was…
Motorcycle Designer Pierre Terblanche is a somewhat controversial figure in the world of motorcycle design. Notably held responsible for Ducati’s controversial 749/999 bikes and Sport Classics, you’ll find a great deal of internet hate directed at him. I happen to be a fan of the 749/999 bikes but I acknowledge that they’re not especially pretty…
