Motor Bike Imports of Pennsauken, New Jersey was founded in 1964, and they created the Safari name to distribute a range of mopeds built by companies in Italy including Rovet and MZV. For the 1978 model year, Safari debuted two new models with top tanks – they were called the 300MT and 400MT, where MT stood for “Motorcycle Tank.” It …
Zero Miles – 2000 MV Agusta F4 750 Serie Oro
Over on the auction site, we’ve got an unused example of one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever built. The Serie Oro (Italian for gold) was the first F4 released to the public, and just 300 examples were sold worldwide.
1986 Moto Morini Camel
The Moto Morini Camel was an incredibly rare dual sport built to capitalize on the dual sport craze that flared up as the Paris-Dakar rally got popular. The Camel featured a 500cc V-Twin – its little brother, the Kanguro, got a 350cc engine.
1995 Ducati Monster M900
The Monster debuted in 1993 and it was an instant classic, even though the initial idea was basically a parts-bin special. It was designed by Miguel Galluzzi, who said “in the mind of a motorcyclist, you need a gas tank, a seat and a motor.” And that’s pretty much all he included.
In The Crate In Germany – 2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 X
In 2020, Aprilia created the ultimate version of their RSV4 sportbike. They called it the “X” and made just 10 examples, which sold out immediately and for hefty prices. Soon after, they recreated the magic with their naked bike, the Tuono. This time they made 30, and they sold them for $41,667.
2020 Pierobon X80R
Over on the auction site, we’ve got one of the most incredible sport bikes I’ve ever seen. This is a Pierobon X80R kit that was built by Michael “Woolie” Woolaway (formerly of Deus Ex Machina fame and now at Saddlemen).
1966 MV Agusta Germano
Germano is Italian for “Mallard” – not the most eloquent name, but it definitely had a more distinctive style than the average moped of the time. MV was busy trying to make fast motorcycles at the time, so they work with several other companies to supply parts for this built-to-a-price moped. Said price was cheap enough to move 4,508 units …
165 Miles – 2002 Ghezzi-Brian Furia
Ghezzi-Brian is an interesting shop that produces Guzzi-powered specials. Their debut model was the SuperTwin, a production version of the racer they won the 1996 Italian SuperTwin championship with. Their second model was what you see in front of you, a naked variant called the Furia. It had the same drivetrain and proprietary frame, plus Paioli forks, Ohlins shock, OZ …
First Ride Review – 2022 Aprilia Tuareg 660
Last week I was in Sardinia to cover the launch of the new 2022 Aprilia Tuareg 660 for RevZilla. If you’ve been interested in this model, my review is now up!
2001 Ghezzi-Brian 1100 Supertwin
Ghezzi-Brian was founded in 1995 by Giuseppe Ghezzi and Bruno Saturno. Within a year they won the Italian SuperTwin championship, thanks to first place finishes in 9 of the 32 races. They took their SuperTwin and built a small run of road-legal replicas with the drivetrain from a Moto Guzzi Sport 1100i. Most of the production run stayed in Italy, …
2002 Ducati 748RS
Ducati built between 1994 and 2002, the 748 was Ducati’s mid-sized superbike which traded a bit of top end power for lighter weight and quicker revs. It also obviously kept the 916’s defining style, as well. The ultimate offering of the 748 was the non-street-legal RS, a homologation special built in very limited numbers that featured carbon fiber bodywork, 54mm …
1977 Laverda Jarama 1000 3CL
In America, Laverda offered the 3CL (and the up-spec Jota), but they renamed the former the Jarama in 1978 after the racetrack in Spain. It didn’t sell particularly well in the United States, so some dealers converted the base Jaramas to Jotas (and some people call these “Jarotas”).
1979 Cosmo Colt
Cosmopolitan Motors of Hatboro, Pennsylvania closed down several years ago, but for a while they had claim to the title of America’s oldest motorcycle distributor. Back in their heyday you could stop by and find bikes from a wide range of smaller Italian manufacturers – many Parillas, Benellis, Capriolos, Garellis, Betas, (and more) featured here on Bike-urious were originally sold …
#001/100 With Zero Miles – 2007 Ducati SportClassic 1000 Special Edition
In 2007, Ducati released a limited edition of just 100 SportClassics exclusively for the North American market. Called the Special Edition, it combined modern tech with traditionally-inspired design that was designed to remind Ducati fans of the 1978 900SS Darmah with its classic black and gold paint scheme. 90 were sold in the US, and 10 were sold in Canada. …
2004 MV Agusta 750 Brutale America
Introduced in 2001, the wonderfully-named MV Agusta Brutale debuted with a 750cc inline four engine. As they offered with some other models, MV made some upgrade kits available for the Brutale – one of which was the America. Just 300 were made worldwide – here’s #30.