Bikescraze

The world of aftermarket bolt-ons is vast and potentially confusing. From chromed windscreen spikes to titanium axle adjusters there's something for everyone, but a common plague for many do-it-yourselfers is to end up with a Frankenbike of mismatched performance and bling bits-none of which make much sense aesthetically or performance wise.

When we set out initially with the goal of transforming our 2007 GSX-R1000 into a better performing street (and trackday) tool we were careful in our planning. Naturally we had offers for loads of shiny bits, and the thought did briefly cross our minds whether to chrome a few items just for extra visual performance. Ultimately we decided that the project should be a bolt-on affair to the utmost and let the performance parts pull double-duty as eye-pleasing accessories too.

With the exception of the exhaust and some dyno tuning from Bazzaz Performance, each aftermarket part was installed in our own shop with our own hands-the motivation is that most readers can perform similar mods without necessarily getting roped into shop labor hours (and those add up quickly).

You can bet we'll be hitting the track with our Canyon Killer in the future, but its very name suggests we test it in a more applicable environment. Most of us don't have the ways and means to hit a trackday every weekend, but street riding is free and much more attainable. The parts we've installed aren't racetrack specific and they make a lot of sense for the street-so that's where we went.

The Yamaha YZF750 was produced from 1993 to 1998 in two forms, the standard R and the single seat SP. The 750R was the only available version offered to consumers in the US.

Mechanically the SP differed from the R in the following areas: adjustable swingarm pivot position, 39mm Keihin FCR flatslide carburetors, a lower screen and a single seat.

The Honda Fireblade and Suzuki's GSX-R750 tended to overshadow it on the road and the R1 has taken over on the track but the YZF remains an excellent bi...
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We've seen plenty of spy photos circulating the web of Triumph's long-expected parallel twin cruiser, so the introduction of the new 2010 Thunderbird is anything but shocking. We are a bit surprised, though, by how plain-looking the bike is, appearing very much like a modern Bonneville injected with steroids performance enhancing drugs. With its blacked-out liquid cooled parallel engine, the bike bares a passing resemblance to Kawasaki's rather ancient Vulcan 500 model... not good. In any cas...
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When the sportbike discussion inevitably turns to outright performance, the Aprilia RSV 1000R is usually left out of the equation. It is true that the Italian bike is down on horsepower when compared with its racier relatives from Ducati and especially against the inline four machines from the Japanese manufacturers. While the Big Four from Japan continuously improve their unique (but very similar) breed of liter-class sportbikes with completely new designs every few years, Aprilia has sat ba...
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Sure, the vast majority of vehicles cruising down Woodward Ave. this weekend are of the four-wheeled variety, but motorcycles were well represented as well. In between all the exotics, classics and modern muscle, we dodged (and occasionally stopped) traffic to grab a pretty good representation of what was out there, whether they be scooters, choppers or trikes... plus some things that defy classification altogether.

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Yamaha's race-ready 600cc efforts have sent the powerband further and further into the stratosphere, optimizing it for the racetrack. Don't expect that to change much for '09. In fact, don't expect much at all in the way of changes to the range-topping R6, as Yamaha cites only a revised ECU that has remapped YCC-T settings. Plus, Honda's not the only Japanese manufacturer with some crazy colors for '09, as the new Yamaha is available in a Halloween-esque orange and black scheme.

Considering th...
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Yamaha is now the first manufacturer to move its modified firing order technology from the Moto GP tracks to your driveway. Featuring a staggered crossplane crankshaft that locates each connecting rod 90° from the one before it. According to Yamaha, this arrangement allows for the high RPM power of an inline-four with the steady powerband of a twin-cylinder bike. We look forward to finding out for ourselves how effective this is. Other useful technology is the adjustable power button which c...
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2009 R1, the tuning fork crew didn't leave out the smaller-bore machines either. For the last few years, Yamaha's race-ready 600cc efforts have sent the powerband further and further into the stratosphere, optimizing it for the racetrack. Don't expect that to change much for '09. In fact, don't expect much at all in the way of changes to the range-topping R6, as Yamaha cites only a revised ECU that has remapped YCC-T settings. Plus, Honda's not the only Japanese manufacturer with some crazy c...
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Realizing a good thing when it jumps up and bites them, Ducati North America has somehow managed to locate a few more RRs (that would be "Racing Replica", by the way) for U.S. consumption. Up until this announcement, the stunning Desmosedici was made from unobtanium for prospective buyers that missed out on the initial run of 1,200 bikes, which was later increased to 1,500 units.

Packing a 200-horsepower 989cc "double L-Twin" engine neatly inside its trademark Ducati steel trellis frame, the R...
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Unfortunately for racing enthusiasts, championship-winning steeds seldom pop up for grabs. The factories and riders themselves tend to hang onto them. But here's one notable exception: the Suzuki 500 XR40 with which legendary rider Franco Uncini won the 1982 MotoGP World Championship.

Uncini's racing career was characterized by a checkered past filled with checkered flags. The Italian rider competed for Ducati, Harley-Davidson and Yamaha before finally filling the saddle at Suzuki,with which h...
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