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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