Update 9.16.2019: We first saw this Ghost Strike back in May of last year. It failed to sell then but is back on eBay and reserve is already met with a first bid of $2,750. Links updated to current auction. Thanks Donn, -dc Though Laverda’s fortunes were largely in the 90’s rear-view mirror, the company…
While an Italian cafe racer from the mid-1970s is somewhat outside of the usual focus of RSBFS, one look at this surviving hot rod told us that it belongs here. And after diving in a bit deeper, we are sure our readers will too. This is an awesome timepiece of a rare model that is…
Here is a beloved model smoker that was actually available to riders in all 50 States – for a brief period of time. The last of the true factory two strokes, the Yamaha RZ was 350 cubic centimeters of power-valved, parallel-twin goodness. Competing against the contemporary likes of the GPz550, GS550E and FJ600, the little…
Known here mostly for bigger GT’s, Laverda tried to tap the European mid-size market in the 1970’s with a 350 and 500cc twin. A single marque race series was developed to drum up interest, pre-dating the IROC and BMW Boxer Cup. Surprisingly, the four year series generated only 200 or so racers, making it a…
Update: eBay shows sold at $7000. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Yamaha saw an opportunity in the late 1980’s to use their TZR250 two-stroke drivetrain and possibly show up on – ABC’s Wide World of Sports’ The Superbikers – ( well, maybe just during a commercial break ). A longtime friend of RSBFS, Moto2…
As rare as the 250cc two-stroke sportbikes are on these shores, the Kawasaki KR1-S is the rarest of them all, limited edition models of bikes like the NSR250R SP aside. Considering Kawasaki made some of the hairiest two-stroke sportbikes of the 1970s, it’s surprising that Kawasaki seemed largely uncommitted to the class, making just enough…
In the way cool archives of rare bikes there are undoubtedly some weird and wonderful ones. There are always surprises and bikes not many people have heard of, and there are always some real gems hiding behind the uber popular homologation crowd. Today’s find, a 1976 MV Agusta 350 is the perfect of example of…
Largely forgotten now, especially by modern sportbike enthusiasts, Laverda was once a serious player in the Italian sportbike scene of the 1970s. In terms of reputation, anyway, if not in actual production numbers. Their big-bore parallel-twin was supposedly heavily “inspired” by Honda’s parallel twin design of the period, and Laverda’s grown-up engine was heavily overbuilt…