The Honda CB550 remains one of the sweetest midsize machines ever produced, a 50-bhp inline four that handled well, ran sewing-machine smooth, and had the gorgeous looks of the heavier CB750. “Like it’s larger sibling, […]
Tag: Roadsters
Slash 2 Tribute: BMW R nineT Heritage
Tribute to an Icon… In the early 60s, BMW introduced the /2 (“Slash 2”) series, available as the 500cc R50/2, 600cc R50/2, or the high-compression R69. These bikes were the pinnacle of design, engineering, and […]
Barn Find to Bologna Beauty: 1969 Ducati 450 Mk3 Desmo
Anthony Pagani spends two decades resurrected a 450 Desmo… In 1969, Ducati launched the 450 MkIII Desmo, the largest, most powerful of their OHC single series. The 436cc machine benefited from the legendary desmodromic system […]
Maximum Multistrada: Ducati 1000DS Custom
Outsiders Motorcycles streamlines a Multistrada 1000DS… Introduced in 2003, the Ducati Multistrada (Italian for “Many Roads”) was a strange beast, a “street trailie” that evolved from the Cagiva Gran Canyon. Designed by the famed Pierre […]
Fast Orange: Buell XB12 “Delila”
FabMan Creations creates a streamlined “Buelligan”… In the early 2000s, the Buell XB12S Lightning was a welcome, if atypical, addition to the motorcycle market, combining elements from the cruiser, sport, and streetfighter worlds: “An antique, […]
Go-Zilla: Yamaha XSR900 “Gojira” by Unik Edition
A triple-cylinder hooligan inspired by the Skyline GT-R… In 1989, Nissan released the R32 Skyline GT-R, an all-wheel-drive street car with a 2.6-liter twin turbo straight-six engine that made 320 horsepower in factory trim…but could […]
Never Underestimate an RD: Yamaha RD350 Restomod
“Don’t let anyone work on your bike who wasn’t born before it was made.” That’s the motto of Charlie Medeiros of ForPlay Racing — a garage-based repair and restoration shop in Los Gatos, California, specializing […]
The Thumper: Sandi Piper’s Yamaha SR400
A Maltese Thumper from Sandi Piper / Choppershack… The Yamaha SR400 is one of those bikes that riders seem to bond strongly with. Perhaps it’s the heartbeat-like thump of the short-stroke single-cylinder engine, the classic […]
From Romania With Love: Yamaha XS650 “Violet”
Parts donor to reborn roadster, with Romania’s Bandisca… The Yamaha XS650 is one of our favorite vintage Japanese motorcycles. Sometimes known, tongue in cheek, as the “greatest British bike never built,” the straight-twin machine combined […]
The Z: Kawasaki Z650 Scrambler
SW-MOTECH Cofounder Jürgen Swora’s Z650! The Kawasaki Z650 was designed by none other than the grandmaster himself, Gyoichi “Ben” Inamura, designer of the legendary Z1. Introduced in 1976, it quickly earned as reputation as the […]
