Price update: $35,000 OBO In the late 1980s, Italian engineer Roberto Gallina teamed up with Japanese investor Yoshiyuki Hayashi to build a limited run of high-performance motorcycles. The result was the Gallina 750 Sport, also known as the Hayashi Gallina Quattro 750 L.E. Only ten bikes were ever made. The Team Behind It Roberto Gallina…
The history of rotary motorcycles is relatively short and includes a few technologically interesting, but largely unsuccessful motorcycles by Hercules, Suzuki, and Nortons. I’ll admit that I’m stretching the definition of “sport bike” much more than I usually do with this Norton Commando P52 police bike, but it’s such an oddball I had to post…
All right, all right. I know it’s probably not technically a sportbike. But all Confederates are extremely rare by their nature, and the very definition of exotic. The X132 Hellcat is more musclebike in terms of looks and riding position, the components list looks like an exotic owner’s Christmas wish list: BST carbon-fiber wheels, Berringer…
Although displacement was technically a bit more than a liter, the first generation Suzuki GSX-R1100 really established the modern literbike formula: take a big inline four engine, and squeeze it into a 600 or 750 sized package. The philosophy that created the iconic Gixxer was initially tried out with Suzuki’s GSXR400, and the result was…
Ducati built just 1,000 of the stunning MH900e in 2001 and 2,000 the following year, making this one obviously a bit interesting right out of the gate. It’s apparently a pre-production prototype, with some clear differences between it and the regular production version, although the original flat-black pre-production bodywork has been replaced with a set…
1987 saw the introduction of a new four-valve, water-cooled L-twin engine in Ducati’s new 851. While the air/oil cooled two-valve motor was and continues to be a motor with impressive tuning potential and durability, it had hit its performance limit in racing, and something new was needed to compete against the four-cylinder bikes from Japan.…