Responding to pressure from the east with scores of refinements on the Le Mans theme, the archetypal Moto Guzzi is just now ( after 30+ years ) making the jump to “classic”. A stable, torquey heavyweight, this particular Le Mans has been beautifully maintained and upgraded. 1984 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans Mk. III…
Similar to Porsche’s flat-six engine, there will likely always be a horizontal twin BMW. Before and well, during the development of the S1000RR sportbike, the company continued to enhance the big twin’s sporty prospects, and the R1200S is the penultimate boxer ( bowing only to the HP2 ). This example has over 31,000 miles but…
A flawed motorcycle that nevertheless succeeded in its intended mission, BMW’s radical K1 was tasked with changing public perception of the slightly stodgy brand and, although it didn’t actually sell particularly well, it certainly managed to send the brand off in a new direction. A bit too futuristically-styled, and possibly a bit too ambitious in…
Using the innovative Daytona 1000 engine, and occupying a more boulevard bike place in the line-up next to the 1100 Sport, Guzzi’s V10 Centauro was fun as a styling exercise and a powerful grocery getter. Though the basis for the modern V-twin was designed in 1971 by Lino Tonti, a significant upgrade was made in…
After the R1100S and the BoxerCup marque series faded into the German sunset ( and just before the introduction of the game-changing S1000RR ), BMW breathed some new life into the big opposed twin models with an additional 50-ish cc’s, four valves per cylinder, and a lot of advanced design work. Leading off with the…
A dentist turned Moto Guzzi racer, Dr. John Wittner won several titles in the mid-1980’s, and lent his hard-earned expertise to the factory during the development of the 1000cc Daytona. Along with some consulting from Raceco ( an English racing tuner that had worked on the exciting Daytona racing prototype ), the collaboration produced the…
Like Ferrari, MV Agusta was a company that lived for racing. Road Ferraris, traditionally, were sold simply to subsidize their on-track efforts. But MV Agusta took things a step further: when they finally deigned to produce a roadgoing model, it was hobbled by hideous looks and power-sapping shaft drive. The later 750 looked good, but…
The BMW HP2 Sport sounds slightly insane in concept: take an air-cooled 180° twin with shaft-drive and an innovative suspension designed more for touring than sport, then throw as many high-spec parts at it as you can in a serious effort to make it as fast as possible. It’s sort of the Porsche 911 story,…