The late 1980s’ prevailing ideas about greed, money, partying, and the blessed individual weren’t always reflected in the vehicles people drove — the Chrysler LeBaron wasn’t exactly haute couture — but when they were, stand back. The early iterations of the Yamaha FZR1000 reflected the big-hair-and-cocaine era like few others, with a high-contrast red-and-white speedblock…
Update 8.30.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc For as plentiful as bikes like this 1987 Yamaha FZR1000 were in their day, it’s becoming increasingly rare to see them pop up on the local Craigslist, as time and the squiddly behavior they enable take their toll. But nice ones are still…
Update 6.30.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc The Yamaha FZR600 is the classic middle kid — unsure of itself after being wedged between overachieving older and younger siblings. The FZR1000 and YZF750 above it made impressive street and racing mounts, while the slick, aluminum-framed FZR400 below it gained a cult…
This 1991 Bimota YB10 Dieci is back on eBay after it didn’t sell a couple of months ago. We wrote about it then, but figured we’d take another crack at it now that it’s back. When the Dieci bowed, it represented the culmination of a 10-bike collaborative effort between the Rimini firm and Yamaha, a…
Here is a beloved model smoker that was actually available to riders in all 50 States – for a brief period of time. The last of the true factory two strokes, the Yamaha RZ was 350 cubic centimeters of power-valved, parallel-twin goodness. Competing against the contemporary likes of the GPz550, GS550E and FJ600, the little…
Update 7.17.2019: This bike has SOLD! Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc This 1988 Yamaha RZ350 is a gorgeous example of one of North America’s last-ever road-going two-stroke sport bikes. As the 1980s waned, environmental regulations had all but ruled the simple-but-effective machines off the roads on this continent, leaving the smoky mounts for European…
Update 5.22.2019: This minty FZR1000 is back on eBay with a starting bid of $5k and NO RESERVE! Parts are now available separately for purachse. Good luck to buyers and seller! -dc This 1987 Yamaha FZR1000 is what we’re all about. It is, at this point, rare, it set the industry on its ear when…
As we speak, four-time World Superbike champ Jonathan Rea is throwing an unholy hissy fit over the spec of the 2019 Ducati Panigale V4R that Alvaro Bautista is using to convincingly pinch the crown that has become all but a foregone conclusion for him. The reason for the mud slinging is the big Ducati’s world-beating…
