A couple of weeks ago we showed you the Ducati car concept by Anthony Colard. Here's another interesting concept of the french transportation designer, which comes under the name C12-R. The Superbike is based off the Ducati 1198 chassis, but Colard has taken his own perception of the italian motorcycle's style, and improved upon some of its deficiencies. Read the full article »

Italian motorcycle safety equipment manufacturer Dainese finally announced the development of road-ready airbag system. The company have been working on this for a long time, the racing system is ready for market launching and now it's the road system turn. Marco Simoncelli, Michi Ranseder and Jorge Lorenzo helped the italians testing the product, which accelerated product development. Read the full article »

This old school yet modern Harley-Davidson was built by Richard Dunn, who started from a 1975 Sportster. When he bought the bike, it had only original parts on, so it was just a matter of restoring and upgrading. Dunn has kept the original 7-spoke Harley cast wheels — made by Morris — and fitted them with Avon rubber. But he has rebuilt the forks and lowered them 3 inches, stripped all the excess trim from the bike, and mounted a custom oil tank and later model Sportster fuel tank. Read the full article »

It's 35 years since Evel Knievel attempted to jump 13 buses at Wembley Stadium. He was riding a slow and heavy Harley-Davidson XR750, and the take-off ramp was too short, therefore Knievel couldn't gather enough speed. The american daredevil disappointed the 80 000-strong crowd and broke numerous bones, including his pelvis. Knievel said after the crash: "I knew I wasn't going to make it, but what was I supposed to do - give 'em their money back?" Despite his injuries, he left Wembley on foot, saying "I walked in, I want to walk out." Six month later he succesfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at King's Island in Ohio. Read the full article »

Old Zchool - that's how the guys at spanish custom builder La Perra Bikes call their newest beauty. Turning a classic inline-four japanese into a modern custom doesn't sound like an easy job, but the latest creation of the little company between Malaga and Sevilla is truly satisfying. The 1976 Kawasaki Z900 got a bandaged exhaust, low bars and black wheels, Öhlins forks, Brembo radial brake callipers and the latest wavy Galfer brake rotors. All in all, La Perra Bikes showed that turning a classic into a modern custom is far from impossible. Read the full article »

Brock's Performance tuned up the bavarians supersport machine, the S1000 RR. The BMW sends 203hp and 80 lb/ft of torque to the rear wheel, although the only change was a new ECU and exhaust system. Besides, the bike got BST carbon wheels, MacIntosh extended swingarm and lowered suspension. After the treatment, the S1000 RR ran the 1/4 mile in 8.49 seconds, while it's top speed was 158.46 mph. No doubt, the german superbike has incredible tuning potencial. The bike will compete in the AMA Dragbike Supersport class, but only after receiving nitrous injection. Read the full article »

A rare 1952 Vincent Rapide has been discovered in California. The bike has only 8500 miles in his clock, so it's practically new. The classic british machine, painted in Chinese Red, has been untouched for nearly half a century. The motorcycle was found in Fresno, California, where it had been sold new by the local Indian motorcycle dealer, it has California black license plate. The Rapide is go under the hammer on Thursday January 6th, 2011 at Bonhams Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction, USA. Read the full article »

The italians presented their amazing history in a stunning movie on DVD. The movie will be premiered at the 2010 World Ducati Week at Misano 10-13 June, but it's already available at the Misano World Circuit, the Ducati Museum bookshop and Factory Store. People in the US don't have to wait, too, because the movie can also be ordered online in Ducati Stores soon. In the meantime, here's the trailer of the DVD. Read the full article »

There are custom bikes and then there are amazing custom bikes. The Hexagon Harley fits in the second category from obvious reasons. The bike was built by Horst Dzhangmen during three long years. Everything but the engine and the frame has been cut and built into perfectly shaped hexagons and this exceptional work took its creator three years of hard work to achieve this perfection. Read the full article »

Honda was the very first motorcycle factory which offered dual clutch transmission. The fast transmission, which adds nearly 10% to the price of the standard $16 000 dollar bike, was introduced in the VFR1200 F. But designing a revolutionary new transmission isn't cheap, so Honda wants to spread the system across its range. To do that, they need to revise it so it can fit is smaller models, like the Fireblade. Another key element is the simplifying the electronics and sensors, reaching the same effect as the VFR's, but with reduced costs. Honda Japan has filed patents that shows this simplified system. The new design eliminates one expensive potentiometer used on the VFR. If they succeed, the dual-clutch Fireblade could appear in two years. Read the full article »