The very definition of an “affordable exotic,” the Ducati Monster M900 was designed from the beginning to be cost-effective: their proven air and oil-cooled two-valve v-twin and six-speed gearbox combo, the frame from the 851 with suspension, wheels and brakes from the 900SS meant everything except the minimal bodywork was off-the-shelf. Originally available in 904cc…
Drawing on his experience re-invigorating Laverda, industrialist Francesco Tognon’s similar approach to Bimota involved development of a slightly less exotic and more saleable motorcycle. The resulting SB8R used Suzuki’s TL-1000 L-twin in a carbon-aluminum hybrid frame, and put Bimota on the comeback trail. 2000 Bimota SB8R for sale on eBay A showcase for early carbon-fiber…
Update 2.20.2017: Price is now $17k and links are updated. -dc Regardless of how you feel about the Ducati 999, it was a significant failure in terms of sales for the company, something they could ill-afford for their flagship product. Although it was an improvement in virtually every way when compared to the outgoing 998, Ducati’s conservative…
By the late 1970s, it was pretty obvious that Ducati needed to update their line: performance wasn’t really all that much of a problem, but their famous L-twin was very expensive to manufacture. So when the time came… They simply tossed the whole thing out the window and started over, with a parallel-twin that used…
This very classic black-and-gold Ducati 900SS represents the polar opposite of the little two-strokes that have been cropping up on our site lately. Both are motivated by v-twin engines, but that’s where the similarities end. One was a product of ruthless and very close competition between arch rivals and used cutting-edge technology to eke out…
Ducati’s Monster was a wonder of parts-bin engineering and basically saved the company from financial ruin, becoming the company’s best-selling model of all time by a healthy margin and bringing Ducati’s mystique to the masses. The four-valve superbikes may have won the glory but they were highly impractical for daily use, expensive to maintain, and…
For years, Bimota was a byword for high-performance motorcycles that provided ultimate speed and handling. But recent offerings like this DB6R have seemed strangely… practical. This shift even carries over to the exotic Tesi that is available with a set of handlebars, instead of the expected clip-ons. Recent Bimota offerings have showed a clear shift…
Honda’s entry into the sporty twin market was torquey and innovative, with Honda’s reputation for reliability. Though the model fell short in race breeding and wasn’t long-lived, it had moderate ergonomics, nicely tuned suspension, and masterful big twin carburetion. The VTR1000F lives on as a great used sportbike, this example is lightly customized and very…
