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Retro/Vintage Motorcycle Reviews

Retrospective: 1977 Honda CT125 Trail

We Americans don't often think of motorcycles as being purely utilitarian, since we use them mostly for traveling to interesting places, sporting along back...

Retrospective: 1981-1982 Honda CBX 1000 Super Sport

This story was originally published in the June 2020 issue of Rider Magazine. This was a minor marvel of motorcycling when the original version...

Kawasaki To Reproduce Cylinder Heads for 1970s Z1 Motorcycles

Kawasaki Motor Corp., U.S.A has announced that they will be reproducing cylinder heads for classic Kawasaki Z1, KZ900 and KZ1000 models.

Retrospective: 1975-1978 Harley-Davidson/Aermacchi SXT-125

Here is an attractive little trail bike, built by Harley’s former Italian subsidiary, Aermacchi. Oddly, virtually nothing has been written about this model in...

2020 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition | First Look Review

In December 2019, Triumph announced a partnership with EON Productions, the company behind the forthcoming 25th James Bond Film, "No Time To Die." To celebrate...

Retrospective: 1999-2002 Buell X1 Lightning

In addition to the weather phenomenon, the word lightning means fast, as in the speed of light or 186,000 miles per second. This motorcycle is...

2019 Honda CB1000R vs 2020 Kawasaki Z900RS vs 2020 Suzuki Katana | Comparison Test Review

Remember UJMs? If you were a motorcyclist in the ’70s, or have a soft spot for bikes from that era, then you remember them...

Honda Releases Info on CB-F Concept

This darn coronavirus is just mucking everything up. Virtual unveilings and press releases just don't have quite the same impact as dramatically pulling a...

Retrospective: 1977-1981 Yamaha DT125 MX

The Japanese were selling a lot of “street-scramblers” in the late 1960s, but these were merely street bikes with upswept pipes. Yamaha, in particular,...

Retrospective: 1968 Suzuki TC305 Laredo

Nobody seems to remember the company hired by Suzuki to advertise the Laredo model, but it certainly pulled out all the stops. The town...

Retrospective: 1965-1968 Greeves 24TFS Trail 250

Few motorcyclists today are familiar with the Greeves name, but it was an interesting company, and had quite a bit of clout in this...

Retrospective: 1983-1986 Honda VF1100C V65 Magna

The motorcycling world looked upon this machine in absolute amazement -- a cruiser putting out more than 100 horsepower. Unheard of! Sure, sportbikes like...

2020 Triumph Bobber TFC | First Look Preview

When the original Bonneville Bobber launched back in 2017, we were smitten. True, it had some quirks -- not enough front brake and a...

2020 Triumph Bonneville T100 and T120 Bud Ekins Editions | First Look Preview

Bud Ekins was a motorcycling icon, a top motocross and desert racer and professional Hollywood stunt man. You might remember him best as the...

Retrospective: 1958-1966 Matchless G12/CS/CSR 650

The 1950s and ’60s were the era of the UBM -- Universal British Motorcycle -- a parallel OHV twin sitting upright in the frame,...

2020 Kawasaki W800 | First Look Review

When the sharp-looking W800 Cafe was announced for the U.S. market for 2019, reactions were predictably mixed. Yes, the cafe racer look was cool...but...

Retrospective: 1967-1969 Kawasaki C2TR 120 Road Runner

This was a little cutie, and inexpensive, too. Just $430 ($3,200 today) would get you this minimalist high-piped single in 1967. Not that the...

Retrospective: 1971-1977 Healey 1000/4

This has to be one of the least-known motorcycles built since the end of World War II, with an Ariel 4G Mark II Square...

Retrospective: 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo

It would be entertaining to find out how much this little turbo cost Suzuki, as in development and manufacturing expenses versus sales. Probably it was...

2020 Guide to New Street Motorcycles

This handy guide includes all new or significantly updated street-legal motorcycles for the 2020 model year (plus sneak peeks at a few 2021 models)....

Retrospective: 1960-1964 Tohatsu CA2 Runpet Sport 50cc

This little charmer was in the first wave of Japanese bikes to enter the U.S. market, thanks to Hap Jones, a motorcycle racer and...

2019 BMW R nineT /5 | First Look Review

Fifty years ago, in 1969, the first BMW motorcycle rolled off the assembly line at BMW's factory in Berlin Spandau. The new /5 series...

Re-Cycling: 1992-1998 Yamaha XJ600 Seca II

You probably wouldn’t think that new riders looking for a cheap and unintimidating starter bike would have much in common with budget-minded veterans who...

Retrospective: 1974-1979 Kawasaki KZ400 Twin

Nice little bike. Great for commuting, but entirely capable of a cross-country trip. This model was an answer to problems in the global economy....

Retrospective: 1968-1973 Honda CL350 Scrambler

Honda motorcycles opened for business in the American market in 1959, when the four-stroke 50cc Super Cub came on the market. And over the...

Retrospective: 1969-1971 Yamaha DS6-C 250cc Street Scrambler

For more than 10 years 250 two-stroke twins were the mainstay of the Yamaha range here in the United States, from the DS1 of...

Royal Enfield Updates 2019 Himalayan With ABS, New Color

Royal Enfield has announced that its Himalayan ADV model will come standard with ABS for 2019, and it will also be available in a...

Retrospective: 1956-1962 Norton Dominator 99 600cc

This was the bike that got a lot of Americans excited about the Norton marque. Brit bikes were relatively rare in the U.S. in...

Moto Guzzi Announces V7III Racer Limited Edition for North America Only

Moto Guzzi has announced the release of a limited edition V7III Racer, arriving this summer exclusively to the U.S. and Canada. This factory custom...

2019 Honda Super Cub C125 ABS | First Ride Review

"You meet the nicest people on a Honda." The year was 1963 and American Honda, which opened its doors in Los Angeles barely four...

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