Update 4.28.2018: SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Despite giving up 100cc to the competition, Honda’s mid-’80s GP replica made waves when it was new for its build and ride quality, which proved hard to match for the 500cc offerings from Suzuki and Yamaha. Though the bigger bikes easily outpaced the Honda, Big Red’s…
They’re relatively rare here in the US, even in states with lax registration requirements, but late 80s and early 90s quarter-liter two-strokes were pretty widely available elsewhere in the sportbiking world, considering their narrowly-focused role and limited audience. Kawasaki was largely absent from the intense class rivalry during that period, though. Their earlier KR250 was…
Suzuki’s RG500Γ “Gamma” is a modern classic, a bike from the tail end of the two-stroke sportbike era, at least here in the USA where lightweight, smoky strokers were gone by the mid-80s. At the time, it offered significant on-paper advantages over something like a GSX-R750: it was lighter and the 498cc engine made similar…
Update 4.24.2018: This bike is SOLD, and to an RSBFS reader as well! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc As far as two strokes go, the RZ350 (also known as the RD350LC in some geographies) needs no introduction. Available in various markets and configurations between 1983 and 1995, this peppy two stroke was legally imported…
This time of year, really interesting sportbikes can be a little thin on the ground, so our online searches naturally take us farther afield. In this case, all the way to Japan for a 1983 Suzuki RGB500 that was the Grand Prix racing inspiration for the two-stroke RG500Γ. This Mk8 version was highly-developed, although the…
As a road racing icon, the Yamaha TD series really needs no introduction. The internet is positively lousy with rhapsodic accounts of its achievements on a racetrack in the hands of big names and amateurs alike. Not just screamingly fast, the 250cc parallel twin TDs were reliable as the sunrise, which made them very hard…
The problem with owning classic sportbikes is that even in their best shape, they perform like they would have 30 years ago, which can be a terrifying affair if you’re used to modern suspension and tires. Couple that with a take-no-prisoners 500cc two-stroke powerband, and you’re really playing with fire. This 1986 Suzuki RG500 has…
Update 3.15.2018: SOLD IN ONE HOUR! Congratulations to buyer and seller. -dc Please note: Ted from AutoManiaGP has asked us to open the comments on this post in the hopes that the RSBFS community can assist in determining what has been done to construct this bike. There was no accompanying documentation and we would appreciate…