A little something to brighten your day, this very yellow Ducati 900SS is pretty hard to miss: sell it to your significant other as a “safety feature” when trying to justify a purchase. Very few bikes look good in this color but I think the early to mid-1990s 900SS is one of them. In fact,…
The Aprilia RS250 was the first two-stroke I actively lusted after. Keep in mind that I grew up in an era when two-strokes, at least here in the US, were basically found in off-road bikes and really annoying yard-care equipment. Not really the sexiest of associations. I still think that the sound of a two-stroke…
Moto Guzzi went back to the drawing board to meet emissions ( noise mostly ) constraints, and heavily revised the 850 Le Mans, keeping the air-cooled V-twin, but quieting some of the noise and critics. 1984 Moto Guzzi Le Mans Mk III for sale on eBay Revisions to the engine and bodywork led the way…
Fully faired and with re-designed chassis, Suzuki’s TL1000R provided a short-term home for their wonderful 996cc V-twin. Originally built to compete with Ducati for Superbike wins and sales, the factory returned to the four-cylinder formula for racing in 2004. The distinctive sound of the TL-R’s chain and gear cam drive, also used in the Bimota SB8K, lives on…
The Honda RVT1000 SP-2 might lack the drop-dead sex appeal of a Ducati, but Honda’s legendary reputation for build-quality and reliability offer up a charm all their own. Back in the mid-1990s, Ducati was seeing unprecedented success on and off track with Massimo Tamburini’s brainchild, the 916 and its derivatives. On-track, it could be argued…
KTM’s first superbike was introduced on the 2005 show circuit using the 999cc Duke engine. When production began in late 2007 the 1148cc LC8 was ready and though it was updated the next year, the bike was a success and the factory has campaigned it in AMA and World Superbikes. 2008 KTM RC8 Limited Edition…
The Bimota VDue was an ambitious project from the start. Of course it incorporated Bimota’s usual jaw-dropping bodwork draped over a stiff, lightweight frame and top-spec suspension components. A 300lb, carbon-fiber dream-machine in patriotic red, white, and green paint. But the real centerpiece was a direct-injected, 500cc two-stroke v-twin of Bimota’s own design, a clean-burning…
In the late 1990s, manufacturers of sportbikes had basically given up on the v-twin like the one that powers this Suzuki TL1000R. Twins could still be found in smaller bikes, but serious sport machines had mostly moved onto the inline-four configuration. Except, of course, for Ducati and they probably stuck with it because they couldn’t…