Prior to and even during the era of the 916, Ducati still needed to shift their relatively slow, old-tech 900SS. The 916 obviously grabbed headlines, handled like it was on the proverbial rails, and looked like sex. But it was also prohibitively expensive for the plebs to buy and especially to maintain, hideously uncomfortable for…
Look, here’s the thing. If you’re buying bikes [or cars, for that matter] that were hyped to be “instant classics” when they were introduced, thinking you can flip them for a profit… You may be waiting a while. Consider all the folks who bought the MV Agusta F4 750 Serie Oro when it was new,…
To some, it might seem like sacrilege to take a gorgeous, expensive, limited-edition Ducati superbike and turn it into a trackday toy. But if you’ve got the money to spend on something you can afford to wreck and want the very best, you can’t go wrong with today’s Ducati 1098R track bike. Honestly, homologation-special Ducatis…
Well-used Aprilia RSV Milles and RSV 1000Rs can be had for silly money these days, nearly as low as some of their Japanese rivals, but with more power and sweeter suspension. They tend to be a damn sight cheaper than contemporary Ducatis. This 2001 Aprilia RSV Mille R does not meet the definition of well-used…
On its face, this bike is neither rare nor a sport bike. Suzuki made somewhere north of one billion SVs between 1999 and 2008, and if you include the Gladius and the newly-minted SV, those numbers take another jump skyward. Still, their versatility, low price, buttery, non-threatening torque curve and not-too-shabby performance figures have meant…
Look, I need to get this out of the way up front: this Aprilia Tuono 1000R Factory is a very ugly bike. The proportions are strange, the details are overwrought, there are creases and angles everywhere… Honestly, the only really positive thing you can say about the bodywork on the Aprilia Tuono 1000R is that…
The Ducati 888 filled the gap between the brand-redefining 851 and the legendary 916, bumping the 851’s fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, four-valve L-twin to 888cc. The inbetweener status didn’t phase the bike much, though, as it was enough for Doug Polen to net back-to-back World Superbike championships in ’91 and ’92. Production ended in ’94 as the…
The 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1 represents the absolute pinnacle of two-stroke technology and the final gasp of the format’s street-legal heyday. Quite simply, these are the most advanced mass-produced street two strokes that ever roamed the Earth. Since they were never sold in this country officially, finding a decent one is a feat. 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1…