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 seems the japanese motorcycle companies could borrow the dual clutch transmission (DTC) technology from the automobile world for their next generation R1 and CBR1000 RR. Honda VFR1200 F already uses DTC, but the next step would be develop this technology on superbike models, where it would work slightly differently. But Honda is not the only japanese factory who is planning an electronically controlled gearbox for his sportbike, Yamaha is developing his own system, too. Read the full article »

Husqvarna is adding the all-new WR 150 two-stroke to its 2011 model line-up. The bike is based on the WR 125 enduro model which was updated for 2010. The swedish engineers expanded the engine capacity and redesigned the WR125’s chromoly trellis frame with stronger engine mounts and added reinforcement to support the larger engine. The riding geometry also gets a tweak, the company equipped the off-roader with 50mm Kayaba forks and a Sachs remote reservoir rear shock. 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 »

Since 1967, NCR has built very exclusive performance motorcycles. Their latest creation is the Millona 16 or simply the M16, one of the fastest production motorcycles ever built. To create this monster, NCR used only the lightest and strongest materials available. The unique frame and fuel tank, swingarm, faring and even the weels are all in carbon fiber. 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 »

When Harley introduced the XR1200 last year, they decided to exclude the U.S. market which seemed to stoke envy and desire U.S. enthusiast. Good news is, that the flat-track inspired bike is available stateside, starting from $10 799 in black. The 2011 XR1200X boasts an air-cooled, silver powdercoated 1200cc Evolution V-twin engine. The powerplant has 90 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque - more horsepower but less torquethan other versions of this engine. 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 »