Much like the Ducati 900SS FE we featured last week, today’s reborn Moto Guzzi V11 Le Mans is a bike for riders who value a bit of history and real-world performance over high horsepower numbers, racetrack manners, and the newest technological acronyms. And when I say “legacy,” I mean legacy: the longitudinally-mounted 90° v-twin found…
The 90s iteration of Ducati’s famous SuperSport wasn’t exactly a fast bike, even by standards of the day. And by the time the Ducati 900SS “Final Edition” rolled around, it likely appealed mostly to die-hard Ducati fans and collectors. Which is a shame because, although the 900SS didn’t offer cutting-edge performance, it did offer plenty…
Looking to start your own vintage race team? Well today’s brace of 1991 Yamaha TZ250s and a whole raft of included spare parts is ready to help you do just that, just add trailer. And talent. Sports two-strokes from the 80s ands 90s are very rare and desirable these days, with fresh imports from Japan…
The DB1 was the quintessential Bimota, packaging a reliable Italian powerplant into a lightweight package with excellent handling… Wait, what? Actually, in spite of what you might expect, the belt-driven, SOHC Pantah engine is very reliable when properly maintained, and can be tuned to make good power. Sure, the 75 claimed horses don’t sound like…
Cagiva’s Raptor was a followup to the Ducati Monster by the original bike’s designer, Miguel Angel Galluzzi. Powered by Suzuki’s powerful, reliable and, most importantly, low-maintenance v-twin in both 650 and 1000cc flavors, the Raptor attempted to recreate the magical Monster formula for Cagiva. Unfortunately, while it was better in pretty much every quantifiable way…
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…
With only 1500 ever made, the 1994 Honda NSR250R SP is one of the most desirable and exotic two-stroke sportbikes of the 80s and 90s. It checks all the boxes: snarling two-stroke v-twin with a manic powerband? Carburetors matched to an exotic ignition system that used plastic cards to load different maps? Single-sided PROARM swingarm? Cassette-style six-speed gearbox?…
Built between 2002 and 2004, the Ducati 998 was the last hurrah for Tamburini’s masterpiece. It might look like Ducati simply bumped the displacement and changed the graphics, compared to the 916 and 996, but there was a subtle evolution that took place throughout production, with Ducati developing race specials with revised engines and frames that…