The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment in Christopher Nolan’s superlative trilogy of the caped crusader, hits theaters today.

And going by the hype and the anticipation of fans who have waited for the movie with bated breath, it promises to be surefire blockbuster. Like its predecessor, the movie also has plenty to offer for us bikers, as the famous Batpod will again make an appearance, albeit with Anne Hathaway (as Catwoman/Selina Kyle) piloting it instead of Batman himself.

The origins of the Batpod has all been accredited to Christopher Nolan, and rightly so, but it actually came to life in the hands of production designer, Nathan Crowley, who was also the designer for the Tumbler. Well since we are clearly interested in two wheels, let’s get on to some technical specifications of the Batpod. The bike has 20 inch front and rear tyres (which is also the Tumbler’s left tyres) and is powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine, which has been geared low for faster acceleration. And oh, it has no exhaust pipes whatsoever. Weirder even, the Batpod is steered by the shoulders instead of hands, and the rider’s arms are protected by shields. The two foot pegs are set 3½ feet apart on either side of the tank, which the rider lies upon, belly down. And as befitting its crime-busting task, the bike is also armed with grappling hooks, cannons, and machine guns galore.

In anticipation of some inevitable crashes during filming, six models of the Batpod were constructed in all. It would have been easier if they had just retooled some existing bad-ass bike like the Yamaha V-Max or the Ducati Diavel, but hey, would those be as exciting to watch as this sinister machine designed from the ground-up to strike fear into the minds of criminals? Besides, we know Mr. Nolan is a perfectionist who abhors newfangled VFX for old-school, and, ultimately, more realistic, film-making, so more power to his ilk. Now, if only we could take it out for a ‘road test.’

Formula 1 and McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button splashed out a whooping amount of £23,750 for the Panigale S Tricolore and £17,250 for the Multistrada earlier this month.

Both Ducatis are currently being shipped from the UK to his residence in Monaco. The British racing champ has always been known as an avid collector of both two and four wheels, including a custom Harley Davidson, a blood red Ferrari Enzo supercar and a Nissan GT-R. Which is hardly surprising considering that the former world champion is on a mind boggling five year £60 million contract with his team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

Guess we can now say where Mr. Button is investing all that moolah. Jessica Michibata you are one lucky girl.

James Bond, the fictional British superspy with a ‘license to kill’, has always been noted for his fascination for gorgeous women, hi-tech gadgets and exotic cars.

Now, the grapevine has it that the next installment of James Bond movies, named Skyfall and staring Daniel Craig, will also be featuring a bike prominently in many scenes. The 44 year old British actor’s two wheel companion is a Honda CRF250R motorcycle which has been specially modified for the action sequences in the movie.

Speaking to reporters, Fiona Cole, Corporate communications manager at Honda states, “We like to try and do things differently at Honda, including finding innovative, yet relevant ways to showcase our diverse products, whilst also really engaging with our customers and It’s great to not only have Honda machines chosen as the choice of James Bond, but also to be working with such a longstanding film franchise.”

Skyfall is stated to hit theaters on the 2nd of November in India.

The cat is out of the bag.

A source close to the company has confirmed that Bajaj Auto is opening bookings of the new 2012 Ninja 650R on July 15^th and deliveries will commence on July 20^th pan India. The delay in the launch was due to the fluctuating US dollar to Rupee exchange rate. Seems like Bajaj now has that covered as the new edition is priced at Rs 5.80 lakh, a hike of Rs 80,000 over the previous 650R.

The major difference between the outgoing model and the 2012 Ninja 650R is mainly superficial. This model comes with wider front fairing, new fuel tank and tail end, and a redesigned seat. It also gets more rigid twin-spar perimeter frame which will improve handling. The liquid-cooled 650cc twin cylinder engine is carried over from the older model, with power output of 72 PS @8500 rpm and maximum torque of 66 Nm @7000 rpm. We are certain that the bike will be tuned to offer better low-end and mid range power.

Bajaj will be accepting bookings in a phased manner with roughly five bikes per Probiking showroom. So, if you have been saving up for the Ninja, then you better rush.

 

Our friends in Europe have seen a new bike being tested by BMW, clad, of course, in camouflage.

From its looks, it is evident that this one is the naked version of the S1000RR with the typical asymmetrical headlights at the front. Instead of the full fairing seen on the sportsbike, this one will come with a quarter fairing. Not many details of the bike are available as of now, but we expect this one to have the same engine as the S1000RR in a toned down state. Thus instead of the 197 PS of peak power, we can expect something in the range of 160 PS of peak power from this bike with its top speed crossing well beyond 200 km/h.

 

Considering that BMW have only launched two scooters since the launch of the S1000RR, this one can be the next big thing from the German bike-makers. Expect the S1000 to go against the likes of the Aprilia Tuono and Ducati Streetfighter.

Our friends in Europe have seen a new bike being tested by BMW, clad, of course, in camouflage. From its looks, it is evident that this one is the naked version of the S1000RR with the typical asymmetrical headlights at the front. Instead of the full fairing seen on the sportsbike, this one will come with a quarter fairing. Not many details of the bike are available as of now, but we expect this one to have the same engine as the S1000RR in a toned down state. Thus instead of the 197 PS of peak power, we can expect something in the range of 160 PS of peak power from this bike with its top speed crossing well beyond 200 km/h.

Considering that BMW have only launched two scooters since the launch of the S1000RR, this one can be the next big thing from the German bike-makers. Expect the S1000 to go against the likes of the Aprilia Tuono and Ducati Streetfighter.

The newly formed team of DSK Motorwheels and Hyosung have big plans for India.

Apart from announcing the proposed setting up of a massive manufacturing plant, the company went on record to confirm that they would be launching several new models this year. These will include the GV cruisers, also badged as Aquila in some countries. The first to come will be the good-looking GV650 cruiser, powered by a V-twin, 647-cc, fuel-injected, liquid-cooled engine. This 650-cc cruiser produces about 74 PS of peak power and will be equipped with a five-speed gearbox. Like the other Hyosung sports bikes, the GV650 will feature upside-down type telescopic fork at the front and twin shock-absorbers at the rear. There will be two 300-mm discs at the front and a 270-mm disc at the rear. The bike is due for launch in September this year and we expect it to be priced below Rs 5 lakh.

 

The other big promise is the GV250, which will be powered by a smaller capacity engine – a 249-cc V-twin, fuel-injected, air-oil-cooled motor, with an output of about 29 PS – and will be mated to a five-speed transmission. There will be telescopic suspension at the front and twin rear shock-absorbers, but with just a single disc brake in front and drums in rear. This smaller cruiser will be launched in December this year with an expected price-tag of Rs 2.5 lakh.

 

 

The newly formed team of DSK Motorwheels and Hyosung have big plans for India.

Apart from announcing the proposed setting up of a massive manufacturing plant, the company went on record to confirm that they would be launching several new models this year. These will include the GV cruisers, also badged as Aquila in some countries. The first to come will be the good-looking GV650 cruiser, powered by a V-twin, 647-cc, fuel-injected, liquid-cooled engine. This 650-cc cruiser produces about 74 PS of peak power and will be equipped with a five-speed gearbox. Like the other Hyosung sports bikes, the GV650 will feature upside-down type telescopic fork at the front and twin shock-absorbers at the rear. There will be two 300-mm discs at the front and a 270-mm disc at the rear. The bike is due for launch in September this year and we expect it to be priced below Rs 5 lakh.

The other big promise is the GV250, which will be powered by a smaller capacity engine – a 249-cc V-twin, fuel-injected, air-oil-cooled motor, with an output of about 29 PS – and will be mated to a five-speed transmission. There will be telescopic suspension at the front and twin rear shock-absorbers, but with just a single disc brake in front and drums in rear. This smaller cruiser will be launched in December this year with an expected price-tag of Rs 2.5 lakh.

Bikers in the capital now have a reason to celebrate.

Bajaj have officially launched the new Pulsar 200 NS in the NCR region and the motorcycle is now available at Probiking outlets across the region. The motorcycle has been priced at Rs 85,000 (ex-showroom) Delhi, with an on on-road price of Rs 94,300 (approx).

You might remember that the Pulsar 200 NS was first launched in Maharashtra a couple of weeks ago in Pune. The launch represents Bajaj Auto’s strategy of launching the Pulsar 200 NS in a phased manner across the country, with the capital city being the first in northern India. The Pulsar 200 NS will be launched in other parts of the country in the next couple of months.

Read Bike India’s first ride report of the Pulsar 200NS here.

No we are not talking about Star Wars neither are we playing a cheek-in-bone joke with the Jetsons.

The phenomenon of building a flying bike/vehicle has been making the rounds ever since we took to the sky. Many have attempted in creating wacky and insane personal flying machines, pods, vehicles but none of them has actually been able to take it to the sky successfully.

The FBike as it has been termed, is a collaborative effort between a bunch of Czech companies and enthusiasts and is still very much in its early stages of development. The project began in the autumn of 2011 with a proposal to create an e-bike, but enthusiasts from Czech firms like Technodat, Evektor and Duratec set their sights on loftier designs instead. Inspired by the stories of Jules Verne and Czech author Jaroslav Foglar (who penned a trilogy of works featuring a flying bike invented by a young apprentice locksmith).

The proposal for the FBike was to fit a number of electrically-driven propellers to the custom frame of a two-wheeler that would allow the pilot to rise above the traffic for as long as the batteries would hold out. Gyroscopes & accelerometers would be housed in an on-board control unit for keeping stability in check and automatically adjusting the speed of each propeller for a smooth and steady flight. It’s also expected that the FBike would be capable of a flight time of approx 3 to 5 minutes.

The FBike team states that the vehicle is not expected to ever go into production, it’s just being created for marketing purposes. The first flight tests are expected to take place in mid-August, as of now we just have to keep our fingers crossed.

For more details about the FBike … click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yiLZh3lluBg#!