Archive for December, 2007
December 20th, 2007
Just last weekend, I had my first ride of a friend’s stock Kawasaki ER-6n, and it confirmed my high expectations from this cheap naked hooligan bike. The new-generation 650cc parallel twin engine is everything you’d want around town and more - and it’s very handy around a racetrack as well, I’m reliably informed. Handling-wise it was fantastic (at least around town), and the rear shock is so accessible that we replaced it and the exhaust with aftermarket jobbies in the space of about 75 minutes - so it’s an exceptionally easy bike to work on.
You’d have to say, though, that it’s one of the uglier bikes out there - Kawasaki have tried so hard to be different with the ER-6n’s blobby samurai look that I reckon they’ve overstepped the mark. Which was why I was so excited to find LSL’s ER6 showbike, with all the bulbous plastic yanked off the front and sides and a much more minimal look that to me says “essence of motorcycle.”
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Posted in Custom Bikes, Naked Bikes | 4 Comments »
December 14th, 2007
Britain’s strong bike lobby seems to be winning the fight to get bikers the right to ride in bus lanes, with the announcement of an 18-month trial throughout Plymouth to begin soon.
With bikes representing efficient, clean and quick personal transport, while causing a congestion factor approaching zero on the road, the British Motorcyclists Federation has been arguing for some years that allowing riders to use bus lanes is not only a matter of common sense, but an opportunity to get bikes out of the flow of car traffic where they’re at greatest risk of not-at-fault crashes.
Britain seems to be coming around… How are bikers looked after in *your* part of the world?
Photo and story thanks to MCN.
Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »
December 13th, 2007
The Moto Guzzi Griso 1100 was welcomed by the biking fraternity upon its release as a bike that actually went, stopped and turned while still inexplicably being a Moto Guzzi. Its odd cruiser-meets-naked looks and gargantuan exhaust gave it a bad-boy presence all of its own and from all reports it’s a sporty and composed ride as much as a looker.
But a claimed 87 horsepower (dyno measured at a disappointing 71 by motorcycle.com) was never going to excite a nakedbike market that was used to getting over 100 horses at the wheel of the “pedestrian” Hornet 919 (of which I’m a huge fan) worth around US$6 grand less. Naturally enough, the aftermarket has stepped in to develop a big-bore kit that gives the big Guzzi engine the poke to match its aggressive looks.
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Posted in Naked Bikes | No Comments »
December 10th, 2007
If you’re the kinda guy that drives a Reventon, won’t tap on a laptop unless it’s a Luvaglio, and only sails Mangusta, then… Can I borrow some money? Er, also, have I got the motorcycle for you! It’s called the Ecosse Titanium Series - so called because it sports the world’s first all-titanium frame.
The brainchild of American (who would have guessed?) Donald Atchison, every single detail of this muscular roadster screams “you can’t afford me!” - from the 2150cc polished billet aluminium v-twin donk, to the MotoGP-spec Ohlins bouncy bits at either end, to the radially-mounted 6-pot billet ISR front brake calipers - with an individual brake pad for each of the 12 pistons. The mind boggles, then boggles again.
After the jump is a photograph of a frame tube, steering stem, triple clamps and forks. It nearly makes me burst into tears, like the first time I heard Stevie Wonder singing “Lately.” Is it wise to admit that here? I don’t know - but I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this way about a frame tube before.
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Posted in Custom Bikes, Naked Bikes | 13 Comments »
December 9th, 2007
For the most part, storage on motorcycles is absolute rubbish. You’re lucky if you can fit a wallet and a phone under the seat of anything that’s got an R in its model designation. Sports tourers are little better - and even scooters, lauded for their practicality, can’t fit much more than a helmet and a bag or two of shopping in them.
Yes, there’s top-boxes, but they hang out past the rear of the bike on struts that can’t support more than 10-20kg - and even the largest only store about 50 litres worth of gear. They also load the rear end of the bike - just like panniers and throw-overs do, which makes for easy wheelies but upsets your handling at the end of the day.
Which is why we were fascinated to discover Cargobike. It’s designed with one goal in mind: proper carrying capacity on two wheels. And that it delivers - 150 whole litres of waterproof, lockable storage capacity, and a maximum load of a whopping 80 kilos in the cargo compartment which is nicely balanced where the tank and engine would be on a normal motorcycle. (more…)
Posted in Scooters | 3 Comments »
December 6th, 2007
It might have inspired a whole generation of naked bikes, and it might be one of the most famous and recognisable designs in all motorcycling, but in recent times there’s no question, Ducati’s iconic Monster body shape has been starting to look a bit old. Progressive takes on the naked design like the FZ-1N, the Benelli TNT and the Moto Morini Corsaro have left the Monster looking decidedly pedestrian.Thankfully, Ducati have started to update the shape with a slightly sharper look for next year’s Monster 696. A bit more angular, a bit sleeker. Naturally it’s lighter and more powerful than last year’s 695, but the press release leaves such dreary mechanical stuff until after the style section, where it tells you the removable side panels and seat cowl make the 696 “even easier to completely colour coordinate.” Colour co-ordination? Ducati owners have nobody but themselves to blame for this sort of thing. Ban the branded jacket!
I must have missed the model switch when the mini Monster moved from a clattery dry clutch to a wet one - either way the 696 has a wet slipper clutch for worry-free downshifts. The L-twin engine’s now making a fine 80hp, which will push along the bike’s claimed 163kg dry weight with aplomb. The single cubic centimetre of extra engine capacity comes not from a bore or stroke adjustment, but from new pistons.The Monster 696 now has the lowest seat-height of any Ducati - and they’ve also put special effort into making it quite a narrow seat, so it should be an excellent choice for the vertically challenged.
But on a Monster it’s the look that counts - and the 2008 revision of the classic naked roadster is certainly a big step in the right direction. Lots more photos and full press release after the jump. (more…)
Posted in Naked Bikes | 4 Comments »
December 4th, 2007
Having spent a considerable amount of time laughing myself silly on the Piaggio MP3 and snapping the necks of astonished onlookers who’ve never seen anything like it, I’m very excited to hear that this sensational three-wheeler’s evil 500cc big brother has now gone on sale. The Fuoco is built on the same platform as the MP3, but is being released under the sportier Gilera brand.
If you haven’t yet ridden the MP3 or the Fuoco, it’s probably hard to understand why this sort of bike would be of any interest. It looks big, bulky and every bit as dorky as a Burgmann - and your biker mates will tell you to “get a REAL bike.” But those same mates will disappear from your mirrors in tight urban corners, over bumpy and damaged tarmac, and in the rain as the two chunky front wheels simply dole out twice the traction and stability you get on an ordinary bike. You quickly learn exactly how quickly you can go into a right-angle corner to scrape the centrestand all the way around and come out on full throttle. Then, you do so on every single corner you see. Rinse and repeat.
It’s a demon on the brakes too, there’s almost no dive thanks to the twin-parallelogram front end, and the two contact patches let it stop like nothing on two wheels ever could. It’s an absolute gas!
The MP3 is hilarious fun, but it’s just begging for more power and a suspension package that can elevate it out of the learner-bike leagues and raise its limits to the sort of level the steering package makes you want to ride it at. And here’s that power and suspension package right now, in the Gilera Fuoco. A 500cc single making a grunty 40hp will fire the beastie out of those lovely tight corners with much of the urge the MP3 was missing - and hopefuly the stiffer suspension will give you just that few degrees more of a lean angle and iron out the MP3’s tendency to lounge around a bit in the faster corners.
For all its lavish helpings of hoonish fun, the Fuoco will be every bit as practical as the MP3, with huge storage capacity, hydraulic tilt-lock for feet-up stops and parking on any angle, and the sort of fuel economy that has you giggling at the petrol station counter.
When I last spoke to a dealer that was selling the MP3, he told me that it was proving a bit intimidating as a learner package, just because of its size and weight. But every seasoned biker that came in and took it for a belt around the block came back whooping and hollering and demanding to be notified when the Fuoco hit the sales floor. Well, they’re here, lads. Your hooligan commuting tool of the decade has arrived!
The Fuoco is hitting showrooms floors across the world right now with a price in the vicinity of UKP5500 or AU$13000, which means that it will probably be around US$11,000 when it hits American shores under the Piaggio brandname (Piaggio doesn’t use the Gilera brand name in the USA). Full press release after the jump. I can’t wait to get my hands on one!
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Posted in Scooters, Three-wheelers | 2 Comments »
December 2nd, 2007
45 years ago, my great-uncle Athol jumped his ailing BSA over a barrel-and plank ramp and through a flaming hoop out the back of the Cobden pub for a carton of beer. Stunt riding has evolved somewhat since those heady days, and while Athol’s long suffering Beezer was bone stock, today’s stunter generally makes some fairly significant mods before they’re happy with a motorcycle.
Modern stuntbikes with their specialist tackle tend to raise a few eyebrows parked outside coffeeshops, so when Nam Tran from Melbourne stunt crew Front Up Freestyle told me he’d just bought a pristine secondhand F4i and was about to tear it to bits in homage to the wheelie gods, I thought it was a process worth documenting.
So here it is - 5 hours’ work on a Sunday afternoon, $2 grand’s worth of sexy bits off the internet and one of Japan’s finest sportsbikes to be sacrificed.
12:00pm: Get naked
“Fairings are expensive,” says Nam as he pulls the plastics off the sides, tail section and front of the F4i, “This poor bike’s gonna spend a lot of time on its side.” Lights, dash, exhaust and ram air snorkels are all removed.
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Posted in Custom Bikes | 5 Comments »