Even if you know very little about Kawasaki’s history, you probably know about the KZ1000R Eddie Lawson Replica. Released in 1982, it was a limited edition motorcycle based on the one that Lawson won the championship with. Essentially a production bike with new paint and some upgraded parts, it was special, but not overly so. If you wanted something truly special (and with a bit more pep), Kawasaki had the KZ1000R S1—an almost exact copy of Lawson’s actual GP bike. They built about 30 S1s, and if you knew the right people, you could buy one for around $11,000. Understandably, they are astonis ..read more

Italy boasts some of the most storied marques in motorcycling, many of which are still prolific today. But the annals of Italian motorcycle history are also littered with companies that didn’t quite stand the test of time—like Aermacchi. If you don’t know the story yet, Aermacchi was an aircraft manufacturer that started producing motorcycles after World War II. US readers will know the name, because Harley-Davidson bought half of the company in 1960, and started selling rebadged Aermacchis stateside. You’re looking at a 1961 Aermacchi Harley-Davidson 250 Sprint, masterfully reworked by Chris ..read more

If you live outside Italy, you may not have heard of FB Mondial. But the marque is familiar to Europeans of a certain age, because it dominated the Grand Prix scene in the 1950s—and collected multiple world championships in the 125 and 250 classes. It’s over ten years since we last featured a Mondial, so this exquisite restomod from Bill Becker of BeckerBuilt is a welcome arrival. Bill is a retired architect based in Philadelphia, and his builds are characterized by thoughtful, methodical craftsmanship. Bill’s latest project builds upon the stock features of the well-designed little Mondial ..read more

After the Japanese got serious about making motorcycles in the late 1960s, bikes from every country became more sophisticated, more refined, more practical, and more reliable. Back then, no American or European motorcycle company would ever admit it; fortunately, those culture wars are now behind us. When we look back at the Japanese motorcycles that debuted between 1960 and 2000, we see several standout bikes. Not all of them were successful—or even good—but each shows us the things we like about all motorcycles, not just those from Japan. These are motorcycles that have a little something i ..read more

There’s not much that still surprises us these days, but you can’t beat a crazy suspension setup. And they don’t come much stranger than the bizarre cantilever arrangement used on Fabrique Nationale motorcycles. Variously known as a ‘wheelbarrow’ or (more respectfully) a ‘trailing link girder fork,’ there’s never been anything else quite like it, before or since. And thanks to this amazing restoration by Retrospeed of Wisconsin, we can get a closer look. FN deserves a higher profile outside of the Low Countries of Europe. It’s one of the most storied names in motorcycling and like BSA and Ro ..read more

Is there any motorcycle genre more evocative than the ‘desert sled’? The very name conjures up images of blasting across the sandy shrublands of Baja. ‘Dual sport’ or ‘enduro’ just doesn’t cut it. For Brit bike fans, the heyday of the desert sled was from the mid 50s to the early 70s. Triumph twins ruled the proverbial roost, taking over from stripped down Harleys and Indians—before Huskies and Yamahas became the weapons of choice for the high plains and dunes of the western United States. This Triumph TR6 captures the vibes of those good times just perfectly. It’s mostly period correct, but ..read more

In today’s digitally saturated world, communication is seamless, relentless and overwhelming. But Vic Matthews is part of a generation that didn’t grow up on the internet—his digital footprint is no larger than a seldom-updated Facebook profile. So I only found out about his painstakingly restored Norton 16H via a succinct text message from my father; “Vic has just rebuilt this Norton!” And the instant that message popped up, I knew that Vic had brewed up something killer. I arrange to meet Vic in Gordon’s Bay, a harbor town about 35 miles from Cape Town, where he and his wife, Kathy, have l ..read more

Motorcycles have come a long way in the last half century, but for some folks, the allure of old machines is too hard to resist. The owner of this early 70s BMW R60/5, Wolfgang, has a much newer R1200GS parked in his garage. But when it was time to take a road trip, he picked the classic boxer over the globetrotting GS. To make sure his aging Beemer was up to the task, Wolfgang reached out to Ralf Eggl at Woidwerk for a makeover. Based in the small river town of Viechtach in Bavaria, Ralf’s a master mechanic with multiple BMW builds under his belt—so this one was right up his alley. “Wolfgan ..read more

If you’d asked me yesterday when Ducati got its first Isle of Man TT win, I’d have scratched my head and then suggested Mike Hailwood in 1978, on the 900SS. I’d have been wrong. The first machine from Bologna to win a trophy at the TT was a 250 Mach 1, when Alistair Mike Rogers clinched the 250 Production class in 1969. I discovered this when digging into the background of Mach 1 after Ducati specialist Harné Heuvelman sent in details of his latest amazing restoration. In the mid 1960s, the Mach 1 was probably the fastest 250 you could buy. And despite the model’s fine provenance, if you fin ..read more

If you lived in the 1900s or earlier, your career was probably dictated by the line of work that your father happened to be in. Entire lifetimes were spent honing skills that were passed down from generation to generation. The formula bred quality and craftsmanship. But the modern world has increasingly turned its back on the concept of the multi-generational family business. They’re seldom seen, but if you look hard enough, you can still find a genuine father and son business. And in our industry, we’re lucky to have Soiatti Moto Classiche, run by Daniele Soiatti and his son Alberto. It ..read more