Sold only in Japan (and only in 1990), the Zook is a rare 50cc scoot from Honda. Per this press release, Honda planned on selling 40,000 Zooks to young people “as a trendy new model” for urban transportation. They called it “fun to ride” and “fun to look at”. It features a two-stroke, 49ccm motor that produces 3 horsepower.
Abhi Buys a Krämer HKR Evo2 S, Part 4 – Breaking It In
Now that the Kramer was in my life, it was finally time to use it! My first outing with it was a 2-day track event at Chuckwalla, a track that I’ve always found to be little-bike friendly. I had another trackday scheduled at Circuit of the Americas a month later so I had to make sure I broke in the …
Abhi Buys a Bimota Tesi 3D FE, Part 5 – 5,000 Miles
Now that we’ve discussed the quirks, let’s get back to the good stuff!
Street Legal – 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. With …
1990 Honda Transalp
In the late 80s, Honda offered both an AT and a TA – the Africa Twin and the Transalp. Both were ahead of the times, though the latter was more street-biased. Consider it a jack of all trades sort of bike with a cult following. The US only got the Transalp between ’89 and ’91.
1984 Moto Guzzi V65 SP
The V65SP was Guzzi’s mid-sized tourer, complete with full upper and lower fairings – it was the little brother to the 1000 Spada.
2,832 Miles – 1989 Honda GB500
Honda’s GB500 was an homage to classic British singles but there was a twist – it was reliable! The average American rider shopping for a Japanese bike at the time was more interested in the bigger supersport replicas, but the Tourist Trophy has become a cult classic.
NOS – Garelli Urka 50
Founded in 1919, Garelli is now solely electric but they have a long history with small displacement motorcycles – they even won the 125cc Grand Prix championship every year between 1982 and 1987. Here’s an oddball scooter that I’ve never heard of before, and it’s still “new”!
Street Legal – 2017 Christini 300 AWD
You’ve seen two wheel drive bikes before thanks to companies like Rokon. But thanks to a fancy mechanical system enclosed within the head tub and frame, Christini has been the most successful manufacturer of two wheel drive bikes that can go anywhere and do it quickly. Nowadays they offer bikes in 300 and 450 displacements – the smaller option utilizes …
Abhi Buys a Bimota Tesi 3D FE, Part 4 – The Quirks
I absolutely love my Tesi 3D, but I’m not going to pretend that the ownership experience has been perfect. Often times when I hear stories from people that spent a lot of money on a bike, it feels to me like they are trying to make the bike sound better than it is so that it doesn’t look like they …
1966 Triton
Two days ago I shared a Norton frame with an unexpected engine inside of it – today we’ve got something a bit more traditional: a Norton slimline featherbed frame that’s been stuffed with the 650cc engine from a Triumph T120R Bonneville.
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 …
516 Miles – 2022 Harley-Davidson/LiveWire ONE
I’ll be frank – I’m not particularly interested in the LiveWire myself. But sharing this gives me an excuse to ask/answer an interesting question: in Q2 of this year, how many bikes do you think LiveWire (which H-D spun off as its own entity) sold?
Abhi Races a Honda CB160, Part 3 – Service and…Sale?
My shakedown run was a success in that it found some weak spots that had to be fixed. The plan was to fix those problem spots and then do a little more testing/figure out how far I wanted to modify the bike, but the plan has changed and now it’s going up for sale. But don’t worry…I’ve already replaced it!
664 Miles – 2002 Kawasaki ZRX1200R
I’m a big fan of the ZRX and I think it’s a great example of a modern classic that you can enjoy every day. Here’s an example that’s barely been enjoyed (at least in terms of riding) as it has just 664 miles on the odometer. I’ll be curious to know if the next owner rides it or keeps the …