Honda’s VF1000R was from a fascinating transitional period in sportbike design, as companies moved away from racebikes based on big, heavy roadbikes like the Wes Cooley Suzuki and Kawasaki ELR to bikes like the lithe and lightweight GSX-R and ZX-7. This hulking brute has the monoshock rear and fully-faired look of those later bikes, but…
This is about as close as you’ll get to a time-capsule GSX-R750 in a daily-rider package. It’s been fully-restored after a life on the road, making it ideal for someone who wants the very best Gixxer they can find, but is looking for something to ride rather than a bike to simply park up and…
A wild race-replica from the era of two-stroke Moto GP machines, Yamaha’s RZ500/RD500LC was a direct competitor to Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma. Never officially imported to the US because of emissions laws, many have found their way south across the Canadian border. The bike was powered by a liquid-cooled 50° two-stroke V4 with twin cranks. Midrange…
This Honda NSR400R was up for sale recently, but did not find a buyer. Hopefully, it will sell this time around! After years of relatively conservative technology, where overhead cams were considered pretty cutting-edge, motorcycle design went into overdrive during the 1980’s and the Japanese, fueled by their 1970’s domination of the market, were at…
I seem to be headed backwards in time with my recent posts… This Yamaha TZ350 is a little bit older than I’d normally write about here, but was too cool to pass up. Yamaha’s water-cooled TZ bikes were pure production roadrace motorcycles with no direct street versions. Weighing in at about 250 pounds [dry] with…
Here in the good ol’ US of A, 250cc motorcycles are generally lumped in with scooters in terms of the respect they get. And while scooters may be fun to ride, no one wants to be seen doing it. And two-strokes? Emissions legislation killed those by the early 1980’s so most Americans’ experience with smokers…
Beloved of squids, teenagers too young to hold a motorcycle license, stunters, track-day junkies, racers, and well basically everybody, it’s hard to get excited about a Gixxer up for sale. Their sporty good-looks and sheer competence mean that they’re basically everywhere, in every sort of condition, and certain generations were aesthetically challenged to say the…
There’s an interesting ongoing discussion in the comments section on this site regarding exactly what qualifies as a “rare sport bike.” Bikes seem to fall into three general categories: exotics like Bimota or limited-edition Ducatis. Bikes that weren’t rare when new, but have become rare simply because good examples have become scarce through attrition, like…