The city which famous for its spice trade has another reason to get more famous now; America’s ultimate power brand Harley Davidson have set up shop there now.

We feel that now the city’s narrow roads will never be the same again. The city tracks will become fashion show runways literally, heads will turn to the legendary thumping sound of these mean machines.

The soft launch of the first-ever Harley-Davidson store in the state, Spice Coast Harley-Davidson, was held recently, and even before its stated official launch, all the machines that arrived in the first lot at the dealership have been sold out as per official sources. As many of you are aware, the on-road price range usually start from a whopping Rs 6.24 lakhs to a mind-boggling Rs 41 lakhs for the top dog of HD, a customised CVO. The stated official launch of the Spice coast HD is set to take place in some time soon.

Actor Salman Khan is well known for his passion for motorcycles and also his association with Suzuki Motors India Pvt Ltd as their brand ambassador.

The actor was recently gifted a limited edition blue Suzuki Intruder M1800 RZ by Mr. Atul Gupta, VP Sales & Marketing, SMIPL and Ms. Anu Anamika, National head – Marketing, SMPL. The actor added this cool blue cruiser to his already enviable collection of superbikes, which includes the legendary Hayabusa. The actor’s passion for wheels was evident at the handing over as he took a great interest in every feature of the bike and went through each performance parameter with the Suzuki officials who were present.

The mammoth Intruder, is a four stroke, 2-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 54° V-twin engine, and is capable of bullying any road into submission with its monstrous 1783cc engine. And yes it also puts certain cars into shame with its brutal engine and power. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Atul Gupta, VP, Sales and Marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. says, “Suzuki two-wheelers has received a tremendous response to Salman as our brand ambassador. We are proud of our association with him. It is an honour that he has chosen to ride the Intruder.”

All you motorcycle enthusiasts gear up!

Italian superbike giants Ducati are going to leave you spellbound. The Multistrada has always been a crown jewel in the Bologna manufacturers crown, come the end of 2012 a new lineup of Multistrada models is all set to be unveiled by Ducati. The lineup will include the standard 1200 model along with S Touring and a new introduced S Granturismo model. Each of these models will be equipped with the Testastrella engine with ABS, while the Granturismo will also come equipped with semi-active suspension system termed ‘Ducati Skyhook Suspension’.

 

The Multistrada 1200 will come equipped with traction control, ABS, heated grips, wind protection and sturdy long running tyres and will be on show at the INTERMOT motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany from October 3rd to 7th 2012. Details regarding when the bikes are market ready will be officially unveiled by end of this year. For more updates on Ducati, stay tuned to our website.

All you motorcycle enthusiasts gear up!

Italian superbike giants Ducati are going to leave you spellbound. The Multistrada has always been a crown jewel in the Bologna manufacturers crown, come the end of 2012 a new lineup of Multistrada models is all set to be unveiled by Ducati. The lineup will include the standard 1200 model along with S Touring and a new introduced S Granturismo model. Each of these models will be equipped with the Testastrella engine with ABS, while the Granturismo will also come equipped with semi-active suspension system termed ‘Ducati Skyhook Suspension’.

The Multistrada 1200 will come equipped with traction control, ABS, heated grips, wind protection and sturdy long running tyres and will be on show at the INTERMOT motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany from October 3rd to 7th 2012. Details regarding when the bikes are market ready will be officially unveiled by end of this year. For more updates on Ducati, stay tuned to our website.

The curved drop handlebars which one would find normally on racing bicycles has for a long time been widely used

However the Continuously Ergonomic Race Vehicle (CERV) concept bike takes things to a new level with a design that dynamically adjusts the position of the handlebars based on the terrain being covered and all this without changing the seat.

Currently only a working prototype though, Ohio-based Priority Designs have designed the handlebars to move up and down without altering the distance from the seat to the crank. The solution which led to this new bicycle’s creation was a triangular frame with 100 mm (3.9 in) of travel up and down that moves in relation to the front end’s 85 mm (3.3 in) of travel forward and back. While climbing a hill the CERV’s front end moves up and back for a more upright rider position, when descending a hill, the CERV’s front end moves forward and down to give the rider a low profile and on flat ground, the handlebar position is somewhere in between. Due to the movement of the front end, use of a traditional fork wasn’t possible, so the CERV uses a single-sided swing arm, which removed the traditional front fork altogether. They’ve also built a mechanism that translates the steering movements from the handlebars to the front wheel through the bike’s frame. Similarly, the chainless bike translates the movement of the crank to the rear wheel via a transmission running through the shaft of the rear support arm. The CERV concept bike was unveiled at the Eurobike exhibition in Germany last month but will this bicycle ever become a reality? Your guess is as good as mine.

Marlon Brando posing next to his bike in The Wild One is an iconic photo, and soon a copy of that photo is going to go up for auction at Christie’s New York auction block.

The photo is expected to fetch upto 20 million dollars (Rs 110 crore) which is simply unbelievable. Apparently, the photo that will be up for auction is an original Andy Warhol print titled ‘Marlon’. This photo was taken during the filming of the movie ‘The Wild one’ in 1953 and received the Andy Warhol treatment in 1966. It’s one expensive photo for a one lucky billionaire.

MV Agusta, the Varese based motorcycle manufacturer recently became the proud sponsor for the 59^th edition of European Rowing Championship which will be held at the Varese Lake.

In order to celebrate the prestigious rowing event, MV Agusta has released a special edition Brutale 675 dedicated to the event. The special edition Brutale has a unique paint scheme inspired by the colours of the Italian Rowing Federation. The bike also gets a blue seat cover that uses two different technical fabrics and yellow/gold stitching. The tiny fairing on the meter console also gets special treatment. On the side panels, the Brutale gets the writing “Varese 2012” to commemorate the special event. Now that is how you celebrate a sporting event.

 

Lightning Motors’ electric bike that currently holds the world record for being the fastest electric bike will soon be available on the market for purchase.

Lightning Motors’ has decided to built a production version of its record setting bike that is rendered here by British motorcycle designer and Bike India contributor Glynn Kerr. On paper the production version is identical to the TTXGP winning, land speed record holding and Le Mans winning bike however, the company has not announced any pricing yet. What they have announced is that this electric racer is capable of going 160 – 240 km on a single charge in varying modes. Pretty amazing for a bike that is capable of doing a whooping 351 km/h.

 

Triumph Motorcycles, the legendary British motorcycle manufacturer recently unveiled a new variant of its adventure bike the Explorer 1200 called the Explorer XC.

This new variant is powered by the same, 1215cc engine producing 137PS of power and 121 Nm of torque however, the XC variant gets ride by wire throttle, cruise control, traction control and switchable ABS. It also gets alloy-rimmed wire wheels, hand guards, fog lights, crash bars, a sturdy aluminium bash plate and a new khaki green colour. The XC will make its public début at the Intermot show in Germany in October and will go on sale in March 2013. Pricing and other details are not yet out however, we will keep you updated as soon as the specs are out. You can read more about the bike by clicking on the link – http://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/triumph-world/news/18353.

 

If you thought that 250s aren’t fun then take a look at the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 300 which was recently unveiled in Europe and will soon be launched in other world markets.

It was just a few weeks back when Kawasaki unveiled the updated 2013 Ninja 250R and now the company has gone a step further and announced a new entry-level sportsbike for folks looking for some extra horsepower at an affordable price tag. Customers will now have a choice of an entry-level Ninja 250R or a bit more powerful Ninja 300. Why just an upgrade of 50cc? Well, Kawasaki is not the one to takes its competition lightly and after Honda launched its highly capable CBR 250R worldwide, Kawasaki wanted to counter this move with a more powerful option and that’s one of the reasons why the company choose to launch the Ninja 300. Its a smart move as customers now have two options to choose from and Kawasaki won’t be selling the 300 Ninja at a very high premium. In fact it will be priced slightly higher than the 250R which will attract more consumers. After unveiling the bike in Europe Kawasaki will be launching it in the US on September 13^th at the famous Times Square in New York followed by California launch from September 17^th – 19^th.

 

About the new Ninja 300

It may sound like an all-new bike however, Kawasaki has actually transformed the Ninja 250R into the Ninja 300. They bumped up the displacement from 249cc to 296cc and they did so by increasing the stroke length by 7.8mm. But because they used lighter and shorter connecting rods the engine height remains the same. They have also widened the intake ports and increased the diameter of the intake valves. However, compression has been reduced from 11.6:1 to 10.6:1. Now the Ninja 300 produces 39.54PS of power, an increase of 7PS over the 250R. Along with these changes Kawasaki has also made the new Ninja 300 more rider friendly as this bike gets a new slipper clutch, race-style back-torque limiting function and optional Nissin ABS system. The 300 gets a new frame for better stability and a 140 mm rear tyre for extra grip. Styling has also been updated to give the 300 a more radical look that is seen on bigger capacity Ninja bikes. The floating windscreen is inspired from the ZX-10R and the twin head lamp cluster borrows cues from ZX-6R and the fairing and wheel design remind you of the ZZR1400. The 300 also gets aluminium foot-pegs and a more complex silencer shape that is also seen on bigger Ninjas.
The specs are out however, Kawasaki is yet to announce the pricing of this mean green entry-level Ninja. Will it come to India? Well, that still remains a big question however, even if it comes to India it will be priced much higher than the CBR250R which is its direct rival in the international market. And with the Ninja 250R already costing upwards of Rs 3 lakh in India, the 300R will be priced even higher making it an expensive enthusiasts bike.

Check out the teaser video of the new Ninja 300 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjDFyKvqwPM