Honda today launched the CB400 Super Four & Bol d’Or Special Edition for the Japanese market. The first bike, called the CB400 Super Four Limited Edition is a naked, while the Bol d’Or comes with fairing. Highlights include red frame, gold rims and brake callipers, and white body colour. The new colours give the bikes an agressive and sporty look. Just 500 of the Special Edition bikes will be made in both naked and faired forms. Read the full article »

Earlier this month in Las Vegas, a packed auction room of international buyers bid on approximately 200 motorcycles from every era of history, for a total sum exceeding $2.5 million. Six bikes made in excess of $100,000, among them a very rare, factory prepared competition 1939 BMW R 51 RS, which made $130,200 after competitive bidding from US collectors. The 1939 BMW R 51 RS is one of only two known BMW factory racers in private hands and the only unrestored pre-War ‘Rennsport’ in existence. Read the full article »

Misano Circuit: Seventy-three days after an operation to his right shoulder, Valentino Rossi returned to the track at Misano Adriatico aboard a Ducati 1198 Superbike. On November 14 at Cattolica’s Cervesi hospital, the Italian had undergone surgery on the supraspinatus tendon and the long head of biceps tendon, as well as cartilage in the Glenoid Labrum. Rossi took some laps at the track to test his physical condition. Read the full article »

Following Bonhams' highly successful inaugural motorcycle sale in Las Vegas earlier this month, the world's leading auctioneers of motor vehicles is proud to announce its third annual auction at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering. Hosted on May 14th at Quail Lodge in Carmel, California, Bonhams' sale of "Exceptional Motorcycles & Related Memorabilia" will include what is understood to be the very motorcycle featured on the front cover of the August 1971 issue of Sports Illustrated being ridden by none other than "The King of Cool," Steve McQueen. Read the full article »

Honda Motor Co said Thursday that it sold 17,9 million motorcycles globally, up 19% from the previous year as demand grew 23% in Asia. Honda’s domestic sales grew 8% to 196 000 units, while sales in North America were down 8%. What’s really amazing, is the fast-growing gulf between motorcycle sales in Europe, Africa, Middle & Near East (258 000 units in 2010), North (192,000 units) and South (1,6 million units) America and Japan (196,000 units) when compared to Asia (14,4 million units). Read the full article »

Elizabeth Raab is a photographic artist specializing in automotive and creative portraiture imagery. „The Desmo photography collection presents sixteen unique photographs in which Elizabeth Raab has approached and juxtaposed the abstract qualities of the organic and mechanical forms, highlighting both the complexity in design and the emotion of iconic Ducati motorcycles.”- the company says on the special website. Read the full article »

With its W800, which hit the market in Japan and Europe last autumn, Kawasaki is targeting the vintage/retro market succesfully. Now, a new version was released. It’s called W800 Cafe Style, and it features aerodynamic fairing, solo seat, and black exhaust sytem, but there are changes on the chassis, too. The manufacturer didn’t touch the mechanics, so the bike is still powered by a 773cc parallel twin. The Cafe Style has been announced for the Japanese market only. Read the full article »

What you can see here, is the Vyrus 986 M2 Moto2 race bike, which will have a street version later this year. Italian motorcycle magazine Motoblog was able to take a few pictures of the Moto2 racer at the Verona Bike Show. The race bike will start at €55,000, this will be called “Factory”. While €55,000 is a lot of money, actually, the Vyrus is the cheapest Moto2 package for 2011. There will be a street version, called the SL Replica, which will carry a price tag of €25,000. Read the full article »

Harley-Davidson Inc. reporded $259.7 million in income in 2010, up from $70.6 million in 2009 thanks to improved results from the company’s financial services division. Operating income from motorcycles and related products was $378.8 million for the full year, including an operating loss of $6.8 million in the fourth quarter. Retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the fourth quarter were nearly level with the year-ago period, decreasing 1.0 percent worldwide and 0.2 percent in the U.S. Read the full article »

After introducing a new engine and gearbox in the last couple of years, Royal Enfield is charting a new growth curve with more new models, larger displacement engines and new factory. The Indian manufacturer decided to set up a new facility that would take care of the company’s requirements for the next 10 years. Besides this, Royal Enfield is also planning to ramp up its capacity at the Chennai plant. The company is looking for new export countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia but that’s not the biggest news. Read the full article »