The Ducati 851 as a general model launched the Italian manufacturer into WSBK super stardom. Instantly competitive on the racetrack, the 851 began a run of championship titles and spawned a new line of track-worthy superbikes for Bologna (a trend that continues in both WSBK and MotoGP to this day). The 851 started it all…
You’ve got to love a state that just throws it right out there. Missouri, the Show Me state, is also home to this pretty little 1988 Yamaha FZR400. Legally available in the US when new, the Fizzer 400 is one of the more coveted small bikes seen on these pages. Far more rare than the…
Straight out of Tron came an interesting offramp in the history of motorcycle performance development. The early 1980s were highlighted by many advances and technological achievements, but few were as glorious as the turbo. All four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers jumped on the boosted bandwagon, certain that this was the Next Big Thing. Marketing and graphics…
The collector world is on a tear. After years of pandemic caution, the floodgates are open and trading has resumed with gusto. With that activity comes excitement, renewed interest in classic models, and the commensurate rise in pricing. Yes, values are going up; and that is not just conjecture. As Blair, Tootie, Jo and Natalie…
With an appreciative nod to fellow RSBFS contributors William and Doug for the find and the post title, today brings us a bit of two stroke holy grail action: the Kawasaki KR250. Blessed with the same name as the GP race bike, the street-going KR250 shares no parts with the competition platform, yet the roots…
Since the world appears to be going crazy with collector prices on RZ350s these days, let’s take a look at another candidate to see what is available in the market right now. The emphasis being what is in the market right now, as in what the current market will bear. And that is the maddening…
In a long line of homologation race machines, the Honda RC51 stands out as a unique accomplishment. Ever the engineering powerhouse, Honda played with the rule book and utilized a Me Too philosophy to break the Ducati juggernaut in WSBK by developing a Japanese take on the Italian machine. Since twin-cylinder machines had a distinct…
Really a bike that needs no introduction, the Yamaha RZ350 had a brief couple of year fling in the States until the EPA shut them down for good. Today’s clean looking 1985 model has been mistakenly listed as a 1984 – however unless you lived in California, the differences between the years were minor and…