Latest Bike News

Since parting ways with Honda a couple of years back, there has been few major launches from the Hero MotoCorp stable.

With increase in competition in all the segments of the market, India’s no.1 two-wheel manufacturer is certainly finding it difficult to hold on to its position. Now, as we are aware of the fact that Hero are already in a technical partnership with Eric Buell Racing (EBR), it seems that they are in plans to introduce a 250cc offering for the Indian market.

If rumor mills are to be believed this 250cc motorcycle is expected to debut in February 2014. What’s even more interesting is the fact that Hero engineers are directly working in collaboration with ERB in the US of A. This project is also personally being overseen by Hero CEO Mr. Pawan Munjal, with this 250cc offering being termed as an ‘ambitious international business plan for global penetration’ for Hero Moto Corp.

The fact still remains with the increase in competition of bigger capacity bikes in the sub-continent, only time will tell if this 250cc offering turns out to be the next big thing. Furthermore this being a Hero-ERB motorcycle it will be quite interesting to see how this motorcycle also fares in the land of uncle Sam.

Over the years, Vyrus have carved a niche for themselves in the rarefied world of exotic two-wheels.

Famous for their futuristic hub-center steering set-ups, that are reminiscent of the Bimota Tesi 3D, these alien-looking creatures are powered by a state-of-the-art 992cc Ducati DesmoDue motor. Now, the 984 Ultimate Edition ups the desirability factor even higher and drops the dry weight of the already-light 984 to a mere 144kg.

The 984 Ultimate Edition has been carved from carbon fiber, and sports an even sharper look to the original. As in the Ducati 1199 Panigale, the front portion of the engine is built directly off the engine cylinder heads and serves double-duty as the motorcycle’s airbox, saving a lot of weight.

The Vyrus 984 also sports carbon disc brakes, magnesium case covers, Öhlins TTX suspension and an upside down aluminum box frame swingarm as standard. And since the bike has been designed from the ground up with the track in mind, it also gets a hi-tech traction control and data-logging system. The price of all this exclusivity? We don’t know yet, but trust us, it ain’t gonna be anywhere near cheap.

Motorcycle shows are a platform to showcase technological prowess and design flair

However, it took a killer combination of the two – in the form of the new Vespa 946 – to be ranked as ‘Best-In-Class’ at the 2012 EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan, Italy.

The 946 is based on the iconic MP6 from the WWII era. Design accolades apart, the 946 is a showcase of technological strengths – a true steel monocoque chassis with aluminum accents, a 125cc four-stroke three-valve single-cylinder producing 11.1PS, and no compromise on the fuel-efficiency front with a claimed mileage of nearly 130mpg, and a full-LED headlight. Class-first features include ABS braking and ASR traction control.

The scooter’s combination of maxi-scooter features in the traditional scooter segment plus a universally-appealing design aesthetic is expected to make it yet another successful model for Vespa. Pricing will be key though, as Vespa offerings often command a premium over competing models from Japanese manufacturers.

After years of speculation Honda have finally spilled the beans on a new unnamed motorcycle sporting a V4.

Honda have finally confirmed that they are in plans to manufacture a MotoGP inspired motorcycle, aptly named as the Honda RC123. The motorcycle will sport a 1,000cc V4 mill and it will based completely on the RC123V race bike, a bit similar to the VFR750R. This street legal version is a full-fledged RC123V, albeit without the pneumatic valves, seamless gearbox and other techno trick bits. Dave Hancock, Honda Motor Europe’s Head of Product Planning & Business Development, has stated that this MotoGP “inspired” street bike will burn a hole in your wallet by £80,000 (INR 70 Lakh approx).

Hmm, thats quite a whooping price tag, but ask a true blue Honda fan, and he’ll say, “Hell! That’s going in my collection”. Blame it on the Japanese we say, who will offer the RC123V like a nuke’ which is surely going to change the MotoGP-Street bike landscape for ever. Still in its blueprint stage, this motorcycle is already causing quite a storm! And well if that’s not all Honda have also revealed their next variant of the iconic Goldwing. The new Goldwing F6B is an all new stripped down version which makes the Honda big boy sharp, sleek and light! Aimed at the US market, the new Goldwing is been stripped down by almost 28kg than a standard one. The future of dreams seems very bright for Honda.

 

Update: Japanese magazine Young Machine has published an artist’s impressions of what the Honda sportsbike might look like. Since the entire text there is in Japanese – and we really don’t know any Japanese except for ‘arigato’ and ‘sayonara’ – we haven’t been able to gather much from the article but, apparently, the new bike will be named the RCV1.

The world of motorcycles never cease to amaze us. With the passing of time, more radical & more wicked concepts keeps on coming.

At the on-going EICMA show, the most bad-ass creation on two wheels is some what of a half-ATV, half-mototrcycle. Bikers, we give you the brain child of acclaimed Lambretta designer, Alessandro Tatarini’s monster, the ‘Brutus Motorcycle Concept’. This monster on two-wheels has gone to where no other motorcycle dare dream to. Housing a massive 750cc water cooled single cylinder engine it produces around 50PS of power. This humongous engine has been paired up with a CTV transmission which is mated with 14” Maxxis Big Horn wheels!

Certainly the ‘Big Foot’ of the biking world, the most surprising element on this big boy has to be its one-wheel drive unit. And yes, that’s not all, expect this mammoth ride to be a production model later this year, with public availability in Spring 2013. The Brutus will come with a whole arsenal of crazy options, which include sidecar, ski, and fire-fighting configurations! Wow this monster-truck on two wheels is certainly one for ‘Chuck Norris’ wannabes.

This year on the 11th Annual Honda Tour in the USA, Linkin Park was chosen to design a Honda CBR250R motorcycle.

The band decided to use the artwork from their new album, ‘Living Things’ as the inspiration for the motorcycles design. This customized new Linkin Park edition Honda CBR250R, worth almost $11,000(Rs. 6.3 lakh), is the 1st place prize for winning a sweepstakes competition held by Honda.

Representatives from Honda said, “Linkin Park’s signature style is all over this motorcycle. The professionals at Santini Paint & Body showed off their mad airbrushing skills and made this bike look like nothing else anyone’s ever seen on the road.” Airbrush masters Santini Paint & Body depicted the idea of shedding skin and revealing the innate glow inside. Besides the new paint job, there are no mechanical changes to the motorcycle. Unfortunately this contest is valid only for US residents, but hopefully Honda can have a similar type of contest and get an iconic Indian band to customise the bike – the Indian way.

Italian motorcycle marquee Bimota who have some of the most exquisite motorcycles in the world today, have unveiled their latest works of art at the ongoing EICMA show.

The Italian master craftsmen have revealed their 2013 lineup in the form of 7 new offerings. Yes, that is correct, seven new offerings. Leading the lineup is the BB2 sports bike which has an retro looks infused with modern technology – like a BMW S1000R has mated with a Ducati from the early 1990s. Next in line is the DBx motocross bike which is specially catered for those who want to have fun in the dirt, mud & muck, a complete enduro racer. The Tesi 3D Naked offering from Bimota is simply something out of this world, sporting a single front swing arm & a hub center steering, in a nut shell, pure Alien!

Also adding to the already jaw dropping lineup are the DB8 & DB9 motorcycles which are draped in Italian colours, something for the patriots we guess. The DB10R is the hooligan of the group, this Ducati Hypermotard based racer is all about pure adrenaline & madness and sports a 1078cc beast of an engine. The last piece of the puzzle is the DB11 sporting a Ducati 1198cc mill and is super sports personified. Sleek, sharp & sexy, Bimota have struck the motorcycle world by storm big time, with such an arsenal of amazing bikes I think I am in love again with Italy.

Amid bated breath from show-goers, KTM have unveiled the new 390 Duke at the ongoing EICMA show, and details from the press briefing provide more information on what to expect ffrom this pocket rocket from Austria.

The bike will have a 373.2cc single-cylinder engine with the same chassis as the 125 Duke and the 200 Duke. The short-stroke cylinder (89mm x 60mm) has a max power output of 43.5PS at 9,500RPM and max torque of 35Nm at 7,250RPM. The bike also features a six-speed manual transmission, WP suspension, Brembo brakes, and optional Bosch ABS.

The bike falls into the A2 licensing system of Europe and will compete with the Honda CBR500R and the Kawasaki Ninja 300. It will be built in India by KTM’s minority shareholder Bajaj Auto and is expected to be launched in India in early 2013, with parts and technology likely to be seen in future Pulsars from Bajaj.