For a very brief period in the mid-1980s the Grand Prix racing fans were able to sample two machines of singular purpose: Yamaha’s V4 RD500LC/RZ500 and Suzuki’s wild, square-four powered RG500Γ “Gamma.” Each was intended to showcase the style, performance, and feel of a two-stroke GP motorcycle in a road-legal package, although they went about…
The history of the quarter-liter sportbike seems to be one of convergent evolution: twins obviously make sense given the size and capacity, or even triples, if we go back to the 1970s and consider a Kawasaki S1 a “sportbike.” But early bikes could be powered by parallel or vee configurations, and by the time the…
Update 7.30.2017: Seller has notified us that this bike is now sold. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc In the glorious 1990s, big tobacco made motorsports run. Cigarette sponsorship was everywhere, and every major series and team was titled by a cancer stick hawker; The Winston Cup, The Camel GT series (as well as the…
The quarter-liter sportbikes of the 1980s and 1990s might look virtually identical on paper and offer very similar performance, but they all managed to have their own individual character, although that may have been down more to marketing and brand loyalty than any distinct differences. In any event, the Suzuki RGV250Γ had a reputation as…
Born in Austria, Walter Wolf made his fortunes in oil drilling equipment in Canada, and proceeded to spend much of it on motorsports. He poured millions into Formula 1 teams (including Williams and his own eponymous Walter Wolf Racing), sponsored numerous classes of racing and even sponsored individual drivers and riders. It is through his…
Wes Cooley was a Los Angeles phenom on the club scene, and was cultivated by Pops Yoshimura to ride in the newly formed AMA Superbike Championship. Yoshimura initially fielded Kawasakis, but moved to Suzuki for the 1978 season. Wes Cooley used that dialed-in GS1000S to win the 1979 Championship, and he backed it up by…
The SB6R could have been Bimota’s biggest seller of all time. Certainly the earlier SB6 sold in quantities that nearly qualify as mass production, with nearly 1,200 built. Unfortunately, the utter failure of the overreaching two-stroke V-Due low-sided the company into a crash barrier and the GSX-R1100-powered SB6R was not part of the brand’s renewal, killing…
Today’s Featured Listing Suzuki RGV250 is part of the rare and weird collection that the seller has been liquidating over the past few weeks. It may not be museum-quality, but it has obviously been well cared-for and would make a great weekend rider, assuming you live somewhere it can be titled. Rare and desirable here in…