Just so we’re clear: this 1998 Yamaha TZ250 is not to be confused with the road-going but also very cool TZR250. The TZ250 was Yamaha’s over-the-counter GP machine, a pure race bike. As such, “originality” is a relative thing, and these things have typically evolved over their racing careers with the goal of winning at…
It’s a good time to be a two-stroke enthusiast here in the USA. Bikes like today’s Honda NSR250R that were long considered nearly unobtainable are being shipped over by enterprising individuals and companies, now that some of them are old enough to make that a viable option. The NSR250R featured a 90° liquid-cooled 249cc v-twin…
Following Ducati’s street success with the WSBK look-alike 916, the 996 was a welcome displacement and torque increase, and the -S variant had 123 hp courtesy of higher compression cylinders, and some nice carbon components. The 996 cc V-twin was bumped up to 11.5:1 compression for the S, and brought 73 ft.-lbs. of torque to…
Update 10.31.2016: Please note the correct VIN for this bike is ZDM3SB3S1YB001839 and has been verified on the frame and title. While the bodywork doesn’t appear to be original, we believe this to be an authentic 748R. Please contact the seller for additional information. -dc At a glance, it’s easy to dismiss the 748R as…
Aprilia took an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it mentality” when motivating their RS250 two-stroke race replica, and packed Suzuki’s proven RGV250Γ “Gamma” engine and six-speed gearbox into their machine, albeit with extra tuning for a claimed 70hp. While that number may be theoretically possible, it seems pretty optimistic and might make for a short-lived…
Update 2.20.2017: Price is now $17k and links are updated. -dc Regardless of how you feel about the Ducati 999, it was a significant failure in terms of sales for the company, something they could ill-afford for their flagship product. Although it was an improvement in virtually every way when compared to the outgoing 998, Ducati’s conservative…
Guzzi is one of the oldest and most storied motorcycle manufacturers in existence, but they’ve drifted pretty far from their sporting roots in recent years, owing to their purchase by Piaggio, a move that has kept them afloat, but forever relegated to building vintage-styled and cruisers to prevent them competing with more sports-oriented bikes from…
I once saw Penn & Teller perform and, after their last illusion was complete, the pair appeared onstage, illuminated by a single, overhead spot. They were both casually smoking cigarettes and Penn [obviously] talked a bit about how they both like to indulge in a cigarette after a show. However, he acknowledged that smoking is really…