Big Green Monster: 1983 Kawasaki KZ1000R ELR

Used to be factories could build race replicas by throwing on a garland sticker, some reservoir shocks, a rorty pipe and a loud paintjob. Just basic mods and some raucous pigments got you looking a lot like Eddie Lawson back in 1983, though getting near his lap times still required a pile of special parts,…

Featured Listing: 1997 Yamaha FZR600R

Update 6.30.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc The Yamaha FZR600 is the classic middle kid — unsure of itself after being wedged between overachieving older and younger siblings. The FZR1000 and YZF750 above it made impressive street and racing mounts, while the slick, aluminum-framed FZR400 below it gained a cult…

10/10: 1991 Bimota YB10 Dieci

This 1991 Bimota YB10 Dieci is back on eBay after it didn’t sell a couple of months ago. We wrote about it then, but figured we’d take another crack at it now that it’s back. When the Dieci bowed, it represented the culmination of a 10-bike collaborative effort between the Rimini firm and Yamaha, a…

Rumble and Whine: 1990 Honda RC30

Trying to come up with something new and interesting to type about Honda’s [insert superlative] RC30 is like trying to tell a budding car nut something they don’t know about a Ferrari F40. The specs are available with a single Google query. The original and retrospective road tests drip with corn syrup-sweet praise for the…

Featured Listing: 1988 Yamaha RZ 350 in Canada

Update 7.17.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc This 1988 Yamaha RZ350 is a gorgeous example of one of North America’s last-ever road-going two-stroke sport bikes. As the 1980s waned, environmental regulations had all but ruled the simple-but-effective machines off the roads on this continent, leaving the smoky mounts for European…

Time capsule superbike: 2003 Honda RC-51

The Honda RC-51 was Big Red’s answer to Ducati’s twin-powered attack on turn-of-the-century World Superbike, with a big v-twin stuffed between the generous alloy framerails. The big-bore twin immediately paid off for Honda, with Colin Edwards cracking off to the 2000 World Superbike Championship on the bike’s first try. It won the WSBK crown again…