After the introduction of their RSV Mille, Aprilia knew they needed something a little less extreme, at least in terms of riding position. But while Ducati’s original approach to the naked bike was to put a lower-spec engine into a frame from an older sportbike, Aprilia was forced by necessity to go a different route:…
Update 9.14.2018: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Representing maybe the only way to smoke, be cool and rep Lucky Strike, this 1997 Suzuki RGV250V is one of just 120 export-model RGVs in Kevin Schwantz-aping Lucky Strike graphics. The export models got smaller rear sprockets, different airbox lids and exhaust cans…
For a while, World Superbike rules favored v-twins, thanks to the… um, influence of Ducati. Soon everybody wanted to get in on the act: Honda switched from a V4 to a twin for their RC51 and Aprilia’s first big bike fit a Rotax v-twin into a revised version of their gorgeous aluminum twin-spar beam frame.…
These days, Moto Guzzi “sportbikes” really need the quotation marks I’ve included here. Ducati managed to develop their signature 90° v-twin format and stay competitive among the current crop of tech-heavy rockets, but it’s unlikely that, even given a pretty large budget to attempt something like that, Guzzi could have stayed true to their longitudinal…
Moto Guzzi cross-pollinated their 1990’s unfaired sport model with the newly developed 992cc four-valve V-twin, the result being the V10 Centauro. Calendar-girl bodywork surrounds the air and oil-cooled beast within, tuned down from the Daytona 1000’s peak but still happy to rev to the 8,400 rpm limit and crank out 95 hp. This one has…
Bimota was fighting its way back from the V-Due debacle and brought forward the SB8R, based on Suzuki’s 996cc V-twin. This example appears to have components from an SB8R Special, sporting all carbon bodywork and so even lighter. It hails from an area more known for NASCAR but should be at home on any back…
The Buell M2 Cyclone was their more vanilla model, a little heavier than the Lightning and without Thunderbolt touring gear. This insider hotrod was featured in Cycle World and has an even torquier engine, Euro gearing and later bodywork. 1998 Buell M2 Cyclone for sale on eBay The big Sporty engine aboard the M2 was…
After languishing in infamy for a few years, Ducati’s 999 is finally getting a bit of respect for being the impressive machine it has always been. If the 999 had been built by anyone other than Ducati, and it had been the follow up to pretty much any bike but the 916, its praises would…