CW 25 Years Ago: March, 1990

These were the days for 600cc supersports: "Hot Damn!" the cover declared on the arrival of Kawasaki's all-new ZX-6. The little Ninja used its 36mm Keihin carbs to make 100 horses, spin to a then-astronomical 14,000-rpm redline, and run a super-solid 11.36-second quarter-mile, all while being a great streetbike. "The result is, without doubt, the most powerful, best performing production 600 ever made," we declared. MSRP was $5,499 and no-fuel weight on the CW scale was a beefy 461 pounds.

Bimota was the unlikely builder of an unlikely bike: the Bellaria YB-9 sport-tourer fitted with a Yamaha FZR600 engine. It was the first Bimota to be assigned a name and was generally touted as Bimota's best all-around bike.

“Big Sid’s Passion” was a profile of the late Sid Biberman, a man who was large in stature and spirit, having devoted his life to the great Vincent marque. There was also “Vincentology 101: The complete idiot’s guide to Vincent identification.” It did have some good information, but the real complete idiots were those of us who didn’t buy the relatively cheap Vincents available in those days. Black Shadows now fetch an easy $100,000.

For a limited time, check out the March 1990 issue on Cycle World - COVER TO COVER - The Complete Cycle World Magazine Archive.

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