February 27th, 2008
Several FZ1 owners I’ve spoken to have complained about a nasty fuel injection snatch on the transition from a closed throttle to a slightly open one. Coming into a corner, for example, they might be leaned right over and go to get back on the gas, but they’re finding it impossible to get the throttle open without a big jerky power spike to the rear wheel. Annoying and dangerous - but fixable. (more…)
February 27th, 2008
We’ve been going on a bit lately about three-wheelers, I know, and I promise I’ll give them a rest for a bit after this one, which is the first I’ve seen with any decent horsepower. Looking like a V-Max with an old-school lawnmower bolted to the front of it, it’s the latest bike from Tilting Motor Works.
The tilting three-wheeler concept has well and truly broken onto the market in the last 6 months - before that, few of us had seen anything like it. But as early as 2005, Bob Mighell from Stanford, WA, USA, was searching for a way to combine the lean-in cornering of a bike with the front-end stability and grip of a 4-wheeler. He quickly decided on the idea of a three-wheeler with tilting twin front wheels, and made a prototype out of his son’s Lego.
Two prototypes using small-capacity Hondas were built and tested, and finally, in September last year, he put together the V-Max we see today.
Mighell’s home-made front end bolts straight into the engine mounts down low. A new set of rigid fork tubes connects the steering arms to the bike’s stock steering head, and the two theels are independantly suspended from the new front end. Braking forces are fed back low into the bike’s frame, instead of at the headstock like on a normal bike, so stability under the Buell-style rim-mounted disc brakes is very good.
There’s no MP3-style tilt lock yet, although Bob’s working on the idea, and he’s planning conversion kits for Harley and Goldwing donor bikes. A very nifty bit of home craftwork from a guy who makes a living refurbishing surgical operating room equipment.
There’s a slightly tedious 4-minute video of the Tilting Motorworks V-MAX available that doesn’t do much for Mighell’s cred as a rider, but shows he knows how to pick a pumpin’ workout soundtrack. Photos are from TheKneeslider.
February 26th, 2008
Everybody’s favourite BMW owner, Christian Pfeiffer, has demonstrated he’s still at the top of the stunt world by successfully defending his Streetbike Freestyle World Championship in Zurich on the weekend. The gravity-defying German pulled out a few new moves to beat a determined field. Here’s a few juicy photos (click through, and then again on the gallery shot for proper size photos you can stick on your desktop if you worship this man as much as I do.
I’ll keep an eye out for video to add to this post - let me know if you come across something. The full press release, including quotes from Pfieffer and more photos, is reproduced after the jump. (more…)
February 25th, 2008
French importers Sidam have signalled their intentions to build yet another type of three-wheel scooter to surf the popularity wave started by the Piaggio MP3, Gilera Fuoco and Vectrix three-wheelers. This time, though, instead of putting the two wheels at the front where they’re actually useful in a traction and stability context, they’ll be at the rear of the vehicle.
The (presumably Chinese-built) Sidam Xnovo will feature two rear wheels, each on a separate independantly suspended swingarm. The design sketches seem to suggest that both rear wheels will be belt driven in the 500cc Piaggio-engined petrol version - although hybrid and fully electric versions are also on the cards, the latter featuring twin electric motors, one in each wheel hub. (more…)
February 24th, 2008
The dream engine we’ve been drooling about over at Gizmag has finally come of age: Aprilia yesterday pulled the covers off the 1000cc, 65 degree V-4 engined superbike it plans to race in the 2009 WSBK series. And yes, because of WSBK’s homologation rules, we’ll definitely see the new RSV4 on the road.
Recognizing that the key to a successful V engine is to keep it as compact as possible, Aprilia have found an innovative way to drive the dual overhead cams; the inner (inlet) cams are driven by a conventional chain, and the outer ones are actually driven by the inner ones, through a series of gears. (more…)
February 21st, 2008
The guys at Hilbilly Motors (remember their sweet 150hp, 150kg 25th anniversary Buell?) sent us this clip they’ve made of Craig Jones stunting a Buell on ice with spiked tyres. There’s also a “making of” section to look at if the jumpy editing’s too much for you.
It reminded me of a couple of other clips that show that when you’re good enough, you don’t need an industrial zone or carpark to get your wheelie on.
Like this one of Simon MTZ pulling circle wheelies and stoppies in a paddock full of grass: (more…)
February 21st, 2008
For a country with such a small population, it’s fair to say that Australia has been disproportionately successful in motorcycle racing. Despite there being very little money in the sport, from a national level all the way down to club racing, a large number of Aussies have risen to the top levels of the sport, including (to name just a few) Rob Phillis, Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser, Mat Mladin, Gregg Hansford, Ant West, Chris Vermeulen, Garry McCoy, Anthony Gobert, Wayne Gardner, Chad Reed, Mick Doohan and current MotoGP champion Casey Stoner.
But while the racing scene in Australia doesn’t have the glamour or money of the European and American competitions, it’s got no shortage of young talent ready to take on the world. Down under, road racing starts at the age of 8 with a single-make series that’s proving successful around the country as well as in other parts of the world: the Metrakit Junior series. (more…)
February 19th, 2008
MV has beefed up its top-of-the-range sports and naked bikes for 2008 with a new Brutale 1078 that features a detuned version of the F4 312 engine, and an RR version of the 312 that leaves us wondering exactly where the 312 was deemed lacking.
February 18th, 2008
The Dakar committee’s reaction to the cancellation of this year’s Dakar rally under the alleged threat of terrorist attack has been incredibly quick. This year’s event has been nominally rolled in with a pre-existing KTM event in Central Europe, which will be run under the “Dakar Series” logo, and the organisers have announced that the official 2009 Dakar rally will be held in Chile and Argentina, starting and finishing in Buenos Aires.
In about six weeks, the committee has managed to put together a new route and timetable for the massive 2009 event, which takes the Dakar completely out of Africa for the first time - although the name won’t be changing.
Dakar Rally director Etienne Lavigne, interviewed by BBC Sport, said: “The Atacama desert, Patagonia and the Andes will provide daunting obstacles. There will also be sand as that’s something typical of the Dakar Rally. In Argentina and Chile we are certain to find all the ingredients that make up the Dakar.”
There’s no doubt that South America has some incredible geography to race through, and the 2009 event will certainly be a visual feast for TV spectators - but whether the spirit and reputation of the ultimate enduro rally will be preserved through the move… Only time will tell.
February 14th, 2008
The stock MV Agusta Brutale 910 is a very pretty thing indeed, every detail has been designed with love and care to be as attractive as it is functional. But there’s something a little prissy about it; it demands to be polished and adored more than ridden, which is possibly why French designer Yacouba Galle decided to reinvent the 910 as a balls-out streetfighter with serious head-kicking attitude to match the bike’s ferocious performance.
His creation, the Bestiale, is dripping with aggressive styling cues from the streetfighter scene; a wickedly angled R6-inspired tailpiece, super-stubby exhaust and a snub-nosed diode headlight unit. The tank bodywork jags down, matching the angle of the cylinders and the tailpiece, and the sides meet underneath in a bellypan/radiator shroud.
If it looks a bit like a Superduke, that’s not surprising. Jacouba spent a lot of time with KTM’s groundbreaking brawler while he was shooting the promo video I’ve been going on about lately. (more…)
