#Flashback

From rags to riches and back to rags again, the formation of Erik Buell Racing, or EBR, is testament to Erik Buell’s unwavering belief in himself and his quest back toward the path of riches. Although he has experienced the full range of emotions during his career, if there’s one thing Buell is not, it’s a quitter, and the closure of Buell Motorcycle Company wasn’t going to stop him. In the spirit of the American dream, Buell uses setbacks as fuel for the immense fire burning inside him – one with a very clear and singular focus: to create the ultimate sportbike, and to create it in the U.S. of A.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know Moto Morini was still in business. However, after a quick Google search, the company has a website that appears to be up-to-date, with five models. Unfortunately, none of them are coming to the U.S. Hence why I forgot about the marque. In 2008, though, contributor Yossef Schvetz hopped aboard the Moto Morini Corsari, in a review for the then-revived company. With a 1200cc V-Twin stuffed into a naked bike chassis, it appears that maybe MM should reconsider its decision not to bring bikes to America. This category seems to be all the rage these days (and the topic of a MO six bike shootout to come in a few days…). Read on to find out more about the Corsaro and Moto Morini. -TS

For this week’s Church feature, we’re going to party like it’s 1999 with the help of the 1999 Yamaha Customs. You might recognize them now as Star Motorcycles, but even today we go back and forth with calling the Tuning Fork cruisers Yamaha or Stars. YamaStars, maybe? Anyway, here we look back at some new for ’99 YamaStars and take a ride aboard the Royal Star Venture, a bike still available – and largely unchanged – today. Check it out below, and if you’re a Royal Star Venture owner, tell us what you think of it in the comments section.

Our man Yossef is at it again. This time, he’s testing the not-sent-to-America Honda CBF1000 of 2007 vintage. In Europe, anyway, middleweight naked bikes were experiencing success. Bikes like the Yamaha FZ-6, Suzuki GSR600, and even Honda’s own Hornet were popular items. So, it seemed like a liter-class version of the same models were a natural progression in popularity. Especially since, in the case of the CBF1000, its CBR1000RR-based engine was plentiful. As competent as the CBF1000 was, as Yossef explains, it doesn’t quite strike a chord the same way Yamaha’s FZ1 – or even Kawasaki’s Z1000 – was able to do. Maybe that’s why the bike never came to this side of the pond. Read on to see Yossef’s full breakdown of  the 2007 Honda CBF1000.