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Belgian Superbike racing team Alstare have just unveiled a concept motorcycle to help celebrate their official return to competition. The concept was developed with the help of design studio Rusak Kreative Designworks, and their animation and 3D modeling partner Tryptik Studio.
The design of the Alstare Superbike Concept is intended to showcase and highlight the team’s 20 years of racing experience with their vision of the ultimate superbike.
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Recumbent motorcycles aren’t anything new. But they are still a pretty rare sight on the world’s roads. The Suprine Exodus from the American manufacturer Suprine Machinery, Inc. probably isn’t going to change that fact. But it will offer riders another option if they’re looking for something a little different.
The Suprine Exodus is built around a 1,200 cc BMW transverse flat 4-cylinder engine. The frame is formed from steel, with aluminium, magnesium and titanium components. And while you may think it looks like it’s unfinished and in need of some bodywork, Suprine like it that way, leaving all the mechanical components and detailed engineering on display.
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The Bombardier TrailTrike Concept is the work of Charles Bombardier, the same Canadian engineering and vehicle design guru who oversaw the development of the BRP Can-Am Spyder. While working on the road-going Can-Am Spyder, he also imagined what an off-road version might look like. However it hasn’t been until now that those visions have been realised in the form of a number of design sketches.
The TrailTrike concept features the same reverse tricycle layout as the Can-Am Spyder, but that’s about where the similarities end. It’s much lighter than its road-going counterpart, and naturally features significantly greater suspension travel. The proposed drivetrain of the TrailTrike is a 2-stroke E-TEC engine equipped with two output shafts, one providing power to the front wheels, and the other transmitting power to the solitary rear wheel. The transmission is a CVT unit.
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Motorcycle vs Boat accidents don’t tend to happen all that often. Even less common is to capture the event on film. And to top off the trifecta of weirdness, the rider is a professional motorcycle journalist. The incident occurred in France when the magazine Moto Journal were testing a Yamaha FJR 1300 around the port of Saint Martin .
While trying to navigate along the edge of the port, the rider clips a metal pole with one of the bike’s luggage panniers, knocking the bike off course and over the wall. As the bike heads south the rider bails off and neatly lands in the back of a yacht moored below.
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Despite the fact there are dozens of niche cars on the market today, there are still only a handful of motorcycles which defy the traditional two-wheeler categories. However one of the bikes which was displayed at this year’s EICMA motorcycle show swells the ranks of the unusual motorcycle brigade by, well, one.
Designed by Alessandro Tartarini, son of the founder of Italian motorcycle-maker Italjet, the OVER Brutus is a kind of fugly, chunky off-roader which looks more like a movie prop than a functional vehicle. Hidden behind the numerous protective scuff plates is a 750cc, single-cylinder, 4-stroke engine which produces 45 horsepower. This is connected to a CVT transmission which can be optionally equipped with both reverse and low gears. Of course the wheels and tires of the Brutus are one of the most remarkable things about the bike. They are in fact 14-inch rims shod with Maxxis Bighorn tires. Tires normally reserved for ATVs.
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At the EICMA International Motorcycle Show, arguably the largest annual event dedicated to two-wheelers, Bimota showcased no less than 19 different models. However their new DB11 VLX model stands out as a beacon of insanity amongst all that gorgeous Italian machinery.
The Bimota DB11 VLX adheres to the company’s tried and tested method of developing a bespoke chassis and fairings, but leaving the manufacturing of the engine to somebody else. In this case Ducati. However Bimota haven’t just slotted in a bog-standard engine. Oh no. You see, not content with the standard 160 horsepower they managed to cajole out of the 1198cc Ducati lump and place in their standard DB11, the engineers at Bimota bolted on a Sprintex dual-screw supercharger and cranked the output to 188 horsepower and 105 lb-ft of torque.
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The Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta is world renown for making gorgeous looking bikes. But they do have a fairly limited lineup, consisting of a just five models, and three of those are within the same family. This month however, at the 2012 EICMA bike show in Milan, the company will be displaying an all-new model called the Rivale.
The MV Agusta Rivale is supposed to herald in an entirely new kind of motorcycle, according to Giovanni Castiglioni, MV Agusta’s CEO. The bike looks to be a blend of supermoto and naked bike. Its got a high-riding position common to supermotos, but a larger size which connects it to mid-size naked bikes.
Mounted within the trellis frame is a three-cylinder engine, most likely an 800cc unit, as used in the upcoming MV Agusta Brutale 800. The distinctive triple exhaust of the Rivale is a feature common to all three-cylinder MV Agustas.
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Bajzath Bikes is a Hungarian custom motorcycle company who have been in the business for the last ten years. They’ve recently been hard at work developing a range of car-inspired motorcycles – more on that later – but their headline act for the moment is this Pagani-branded motorcycle which is owned by Horacio Pagani himself. The one-off Pagani motorcycle was inspired by the design of the Pagani Zonda F. And that’s most obvious out back where it has a quad-outlet exhaust (although sadly it’s not functional). In addition the bike’s rims mimic those found on the Italian supercar.
The level of craftsmanship for the Bajzath Pagani bike is extremely high. The handmade bodywork is formed from carbon fiber, and there’s a luxurious quilted leather seat which is similar to the upholstery found inside the Zonda. Even the switch gear and instruments have the same feel and design as the car’s.
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To accompany the Peugeot Onyx Concept supercar, or perhaps to offset a bit of its carbon footprint, Peugeot have also developed a trendy little three-wheel scooter concept. The aptly named Peugeot Onyx Concept Scooter features styling which closely matches that of the car. That means there’s plenty of crisp, sharp lines, lots of matt black paintwork, and some copper colored highlights around the front.
The Peugeot Onyx Concept Scooter features a removable center section meaning it can be used either as a scooter, allowing the rider to sit in a chair-like, foot-forward position. Or the central storage section can added and the rider straddles the seat like a normal motorbike. This center section has enough storage space to hold a couple of helmets or other cargo.
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With the HP4 BMW Motorrad are introducing the lightest 4-cylinder superbike in the 1000cc class. The BMW HP4 is based on the BMW S 1000 RR, and that means it gets the same 193 horsepower in-line 4-cylinder engine. Where the BMW HP4 differs is in the details. While the engine remains almost identical it has been tweaked to provide slightly more mid-range torque. In addition it’s also designed to offer the full 193 hp regardless of whether the bike is in ”Rain”, “Sport”, “Race” or “Slick” modes. The HP4 is also lighter overall thanks to new wheels, a titanium exhaust, lighter sprocket carrier and lighter battery. An optional “Competition Package” for the HP4 adds some extra carbon fiber parts including a long, closed engine spoiler and tank cover, an adjustable rider footrest system, folding brake and clutch levers, as well as wheels finished in blue metallic and a sponsor sticker kit.
The BMW HP4 isn’t just lighter though. It’s also smarter. It comes standard with an active, electrically-actuated Dynamic Damping Control system and a torque-adjusting Launch Control system. Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) is a system which allows dynamic damping adaptation of the upside-down fork and spring strut to suit the road condition. The damping is rate is regulated thanks to an array of sensors and electrically controlled regulation valves.
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