Archive for January, 2009

Video: Aussie Cam Sinclair becomes the third man to land a double backflip

January 28th, 2009

Back at the turn of the century, the idea of pulling a backflip on a motorcycle seemed impossible - nine years later, it’s now so commonplace that Crusty Demons announcers have to remind the crowd to cheer. Even if the kids have never seen it live before, they’ve seen it all over the web. Travis Pastrana became the first rider ever to land a terrifying double backflip back at the X-Games in 2006, raising the bar to yet another impossible height, and since he showed it was possible, other riders have been scrambling to add the latest holy grail of freestyle tricks to their repertoire.

Last weekend, Aussie freestyler Cam Sinclair became the third person in the world ever to land the double backflip at a freestyle event in New Zealand. Piloting a Yamaha YZ250F, Sinclair was airborne for a huge 55 feet and landed it with no fuss. Click through on our amazing lead photo for a huge desktop-sized download version. Video after the jump. (more…)

All-American cruiser showcases hubless rims at BOTH ends

January 15th, 2009

We’re a bit behind the times with this one (Mike Brown from Amen Motorcycles, Tennessee, built it back in 2004) but a motorcycle with completely hubless rims front and rear looks so deadly cool that we’ll run it anyway. The Hubless Monster is a remarkable engineering achievement, particularly given that the gargantuan 360-section rear tyre it used didn’t even exist during the build phase - Mike had to use plywood and steel mockups.

Mike proudly lists half a dozen world-firsts for this build: (more…)

Honda electric motorcycle to debut in 2010

January 7th, 2009

Honda’s CEO Takeo Fukui has announced that the company will market a fully electric motorcycle in 2010, marking the first of the major manufacturers to commit to a battery-electric production bike.

Don’t expect anything too flash - the bike, about which no details have yet been released, will likely be some sort of commuter machine focusing on pracitcal, cheap short range daily A to B travel. Fukui’s language hints that it may be a super-economy machine appropriate for developing countries: (more…)

AutoMoto’s 85mpg, roofed tilting 3-wheeler goes on sale soon - and it’s cheap!

January 6th, 2009

While Sidam’s Xnovo tilting scoot with twin rear wheels doesn’t seem to have hit the market yet, this similar jigger is apparently already in production, with several units built and a warehouse you can visit in California if you want to see them in the flesh. The AutoMoto adds a roof and windshield to a regular scooter body, adds a 4-speaker MP3 sound system and a nice big trunk, and then sticks an extra wheel on the back for stability. (more…)