Update 8.30.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc For as plentiful as bikes like this 1987 Yamaha FZR1000 were in their day, it’s becoming increasingly rare to see them pop up on the local Craigslist, as time and the squiddly behavior they enable take their toll. But nice ones are still…
There are so many iterations of the Suzuki RGV 250 Gamma running around that you either need to be a savant to keep them all straight, or refresh yourself every time one comes up. There are VJ21s, VJ22s, VJ23s and a bunch of SP variants in between. Some are corked, some are uncorked, which means,…
Known as the ZX-7 in the United States and the ZXR750R in other markets, Kawasaki’s answer to the 1990s class of 750cc superbikes came in a wide variety of specs over its 14-year production cycle, but the early race special bikes are the ones that truly capture imaginations. In 1993, Kawasaki churned out a few…
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,…
The Honda RC51 had a short lifespan as a factory-supported superbike contender, but it made its years count, taking home World Superbike titles in 2000 and 2002. The latter was a special year for the big twin Honda, as Nicky Hayden also captured the AMA Superbike championship aboard one. Honda celebrated the feat in 2004…
Sold in 1987 and 1988, the NC24 version of Honda’s VFR400R could easily be overlooked for the gem that it is. Styling is subdued, although the single-sided Pro Arm swingarm hints at something special underneath. This was a V4 sportbike for the masses, instead of an expensive, difficult-to-obtain homologation bike, like the RC30. As you’d…
Many Japanese bikes aren’t intentionally sexy, in the way that a Bimota or MV Agusta often is, and they often fall flat stylistically when they do try to put style ahead of function. Italian machines are almost gratuitously beautiful, full of details that don’t enhance the bike’s performance, they just make the parts more interesting…
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…