Mostly overlooked, even when new, Aprilia’s Falco is an ideal “mature” sportbike for someone who wants to stand out… subtly. Fast and comfortable, the bike featured a slightly detuned version of Aprilia’s 996cc v-twin that produced 118hp along with the usual “improved midrange and low-end power” that seems to feature on naked and sport-touring versions…
In countries where riders prefer their roads twisty and their exhausts smoky, bikes like this little Suzuki RGV250 aren’t all that rare and don’t command the prices they do here in the US, and titled examples of the little two-stroke sportbikes are even more difficult to find. Introduced in 1988, the RGV250 Γ “Gamma” replaced…
The Ducati 851 debuted in 1987 and featured brand-new four-valve heads and liquid-cooling, revolutionary design features for the already venerable 90° L-twin. The Pantah engine, while very durable even under racing conditions, was limited in terms of outright power by its two-valve heads and air/oil cooling. Ducati wanted to compete in World Superbike racing, and…
This weaponized Ducati Superleggera, resplendent in nuclear red paint that looks like it causes cancer to people standing near it is one of those bikes that lives up the hype. Many Ducati special editions have been a bit disappointing, unless you were looking for a living room decoration. All that carbon fiber added to the…
Looking very 90’s in Honda’s traditional red, white, and blue (hey, wait a minute..) paint scheme, this Honda NSR250R SP will hopefully mollify the two-stroke fans who didn’t like the older NSR we posted up earlier this week. The MC28 was introduced in 1993 and was up about 10lbs over the previous MC21. It was…
The Ducati 750 Sport was an interim model introduced in 1988 that followed on the heels of the F1. Ducati owners Cagiva hoped to capture the spirit and style of the vaunted 750SS, but buyers weren’t having it, and the bike was replaced by the long-running 900SS of the early 1990’s. The F1 was relatively…
While Honda does have a well-deserved reputation for technical innovation, they sometimes seem to intentionally eschew certain formats or technologies, only to swoop in and produce world-beating bikes late in the game, as if to say, “See? Weren’t kicking your ass using a v-twin because we didn’t want to…” The same is true of two-strokes…
While Ducati’s MHE and 900SS may be collectible and iconic now, they were seriously long in the tooth by the time they were discontinued, and even the Pantah-engined SS didn’t exactly offer cutting-edge performance when new. In order to keep their racing heritage alive in any meaningful sense, Ducati needed a top-shelf sportbike like the…
