A bit different

In a world so tepid a mouse’s fart can seem offensive, a good solid blast on an audacious, barking stroker often proves just the tonic. It’s mad to think this iconic engine type is now all but extinct, unless you scratch deep enough down a dealer’s used stock aisle and take your pick of the RGVs, NSRs and RS250s that seem to make up the modern mainstay of this sector. But the chances of coming across a Bimota V-Due are up there with Boothy buying you a pint at the bar – it’s not going to happen. Considering there were only ever 500 units planned and just over 300 built, they’re a pretty rare specimen by any model’s standards. I remember seeing one years ago, listening to its burbling on tick-over and wondering how the hell a GP-esque bike like that would cut it on the roads? It was one of those rhetorical thoughts because I never imagined I’d find the answer… but then this month I did. Just like Kenny Roberts Junior’s RGV500R and the Suter MMX500 I rode before that, this bike was uniquely special, as you’ll grasp if you read my take on it. The same goes for the MV F3 and 954 ‘Blade that Carl and Boothy have been blitzing around on this month, with the core difference being that both of those bikes started off mainstream and now, thanks to the enthusiasm of their owners, are anything but. I like seeing people make their bikes that bit different, and knowing there’s some tangible gain to an investment sits well with me. It’s great when you guys write in and tell us about your bike, much like reader Krystian who joined us this month to show off his carbonclad ZX-10R.

While we’re on the topic of showing off, Boothy did a good job of just that on Zero’s new lean(ish), green(ish) SR/F launch. He loved the thing and even got it to do a burnout…before snapping its belt (no, that’s not a euphemism). Technology is a funny old thing; a dirty old two-stroke couldn’t be farther from the new wave of battery-powered bullets that are presumably just around the corner. Not even Mystic Meg could tell us categorically what’s coming our way next, but the main thing to remember is that without innovations we’d still be riding push bikes and making our own soundtracks. To prove that point, we set young Mr Dowds the challenge of tracking the top bits of tech that have moved the motorcycling game along in the recent past, which I’m sure will provoke a few memories when you read his wise words.With 2020’s new release announcements just a few months away, these really are interesting times.