Honda had a lot of interesting bikes on offer in the late 80’s and early 90’s many of which have now gone on to become cult classics. The CB-1 was only sold in 1989 and 1990 but carried on for another year in Japan before Honda sidelined the bike in 1992 and replaced it with the CB400 Super Four which …
Zero Miles – 2009 Aprilia RS125
American fans of Aprilia rejoiced when the Italian firm announced that they would export the RS125 to the US, though it wasn’t all good news – due to EPA emissions standards, the baby RS was exclusively for closed-course riding even though it came with lights, mirrors, a horn, and everything else you’d expect to see on a street-legal machine. But …
CA Plated – 1990 Kawasaki ZXR400
Introduced in 1989, the ZXR400 was one of the first motorcycles that would compete in the hotly-contested 400cc market in Japan. The 1990 model was also known as the H2, and it came with minor revisions including a curved radiator and some updates to the swingarm. It was also the last year to feature the iconic dual headlights.
2008 Suzuki B-King
The Suzuki B-King is on my list of bikes that I want to own someday but just have not got around to searching one out and plunking down the cash. And search you will as they are quite rare nowadays. Sold only in 2008, right smack in the middle of the great recession. Suzuki did not manage to get a …
877 Miles – 2006 Honda CBR600RR
Nowadays, special JDM examples of the 250 and 400cc pared down versions of the CBR, GSXR, FZR and ZXR models from the Big 4 Japanese makers are going through a bit of a renaissance. Despite being nearly 30 years old now these bikes still have a rabid following when compared to the budget 250-700cc learner bikes being produced and sold …
2004 BMW R1100S
Thanks to the S1000RR, the idea of BMW making a true sportbike is no longer a laughing matter. Back in 1999, however, BMW took the most powerful boxer engine it had at the time and made their most aggressive looking bike so far, the BMW R1100S. Despite the looks, this is more of a sport-tourer than an outright sports bike. …
1 Mile – 1983 Honda CX650 Turbo
In 1982, Honda introduced its first production turbocharged motorcycle, the CX500T. The next year, they bumped up displacement to form the Honda CX650 Turbo. While Kawasaki, and Suzuki also offered turbo’d competition, Yamaha and Honda were the most successful from a commercial standpoint. With that said, turbocharged production bikes never caught on, and only approximately 1,200 of these bikes ever …
CA Plated with No Reserve – 2002 Aprilia RS50
Introduced in the early 90s, the Aprilia RS50 became a breakout hit in 1999 thanks to an aluminum frame (making it the first mass-produced 50cc with a die-cast aluminum frame) as well as a styling update reminiscent of Aprilia’s GP race bikes. European youths were all over it as licensing rules were relaxed for <50cc motorcycles and scooters.
1983 Ducati 900 MHR
Built to celebrate Mike the Bike’s comeback triumph at the ’78 Isle of Man TT, the Ducati 900 MHR (Mike Hailwood Replica) was initially produced solely for homologation purposes. As such, just 200 were built in 1979. But demand was so high that Ducati decided to keep production going, and by the end of the run in 1986 the Italian …
2000 Triumph Speed Triple T595 Custom
In partnership with Accossato Racing, MetalBike Garage created the MBG_001 concept out of a Triumph T595 Speed Triple. Metalbike was founded by Simone Lecca, former member of storied Italian design firm Bertone.
Not Broken In – 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R SP
Every once in a while you come across that just out of the crate current year bike you were looking to buy new and you can get yourself a deal on the used market. This appears to be one of those times with the all new and very limited production CBR1000RR-R. With just under 100 miles and still covered by …
First Ride Review – 2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 & V4 Factory
View Post500cc Swap – 1985 Honda ATC250R
Silodrome called the Honda ATC250R the “fastest three-wheeled death machines in the West.” So I’m highly curious about what they’d call this example, which instead features a 500cc two-stroke engine!
1 of 10(?) – 1990 Ducati 900SS
Americans received the “new” SuperSport in 1991 as a 900, however Ducati had actually introduced the model in 1987 in other markets with a 750cc engine. It did not go well, and the next year they tried again with a Pantah-based 904cc engine – this 900SS was produced between 1988-1990 and it sis a rare predecessor to the much more …
Brand New – 2020 Bimota Tesi 3D Final Edition
Tesi is Italian for “thesis”, and the name reflects that this bike started as a thesis project by Pierluigi Marconi exploring hub-center steering for his mechanical engineering degree. The first generation was the 1D, which utilized the 93 horsepower twin from the Ducati 851. By the third generation (3D), the Ducati-built heart was the 1,078cc dual spark engine found in …