Motorcycles
The Hellbender - 145 horsepower Buell XB
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November 14, 2004 The Buell is one of the sweetest-handling motorcycles available, but with its motive force provided by a decidedly outdated Harley Davidson pushrod motor it's easy to yearn for a few more horses. Enter the Hellbender, arguably the ultimate answer in Buell XB customising.
And now ... the naked scooter
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The Naked Motorcycle craze seems to be reaching epidemic proportions with the announcement by Honda America that its 2005 range will include a "naked" scooter. The Big Ruckus "blends the open feel of a motorcycle with the comfort and convenience of a scooter", according to Honda, though we have to wonder whether the new rugged good looks of the Big Ruckus will overcome the loss of the scooter's most appealing feature - weather protection.
Landmark BMW helmet system
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BMW has shown a landmark new helmet system designed to reduce noise via noise cancelling technology inside the helmet and enable crystal clear voice communications and music. The helmet uses state-of-the-art materials (kevlar, carbon fibre) to create an ultralight, aerodynamic and very quiet helmet wind-tunnel tested to be the quietest helmet on the market. The helmet will enable communication with the pillion, or anyone via your bluetooth phone, or to listen to music clearly and wirelessly ON ANY MOTORCYCLE. The entire system is inside the helmet so it can be used on any motorcycle.
Bluetooth Enabled Motorcycle Helmet
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Motorola and MOMODESIGN have announced their first Bluetooth enabled motorcycle helmet that will make it possible for motorcycle riders to scoot around town and stay connected. Built on the award-winning design of Motorola's popular HS810, the wireless helmet headset is the latest addition to Motorola's portfolio of Bluetooth products. The helmet is unfortunately only available in an open-face helmet at this stage, with the design drawing inspiration from air force pilots helmets, with carbon fibre detailing a prominent design element.
According to the information available at this point, taking and making calls will be easy as all functions (answer, end, redial, voice dial and volume) can be made from the cover on the helmet.
KTM shows a new all-wheel-drive motorcycle under development
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The all-wheel drive motorcycle seems certain to become more widespread over coming years as yet another major motorcycle manufacturer has disclosed its activities in the area. Austrian motorcycle powerhouse KTM is working in conjunction with Swedish Company Ohlins in the development of a mechanical/hydraulic system for driving the front wheel. A 2WD equipped KTM 525 EXC has been race tested in Europe recently by KTM Sport Director and former Factory Rider Kurt Nicoll.
Austrian motorcycle powerhouse KTM has been around longer than Honda, Yamaha and Ducati, but only really became a recognised international marque in the last 25 years, thanks to its fast and reliable off-road motorcycles.
Harley MP3 gives new meaning to Solid State
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The Harley Davidson brand packs a whallop - currently rated in the Top 50 most valuable brands in the world, it's most potent attribute is loyalty. How many other brands does one find tattooed on a customer's chest? So if you wanted a solid state, industrial strength, no-sissies, reliable, dependable, chromed MP3 player for your motorcycle, where would you go?
The genuine Harley Davidson Road Tech MP3/WMA Digital Music Player is designed so it can be operated while wearing thick leather gloves while riding a motorcycle.
The four large soft-touch buttons are back-lit and the unit has an illuminated LCD display so that if you really do need to take your eyes off the road to scroll through the playlist or turn it up for "Born to be Wild," you can do it at night too.
Benelli's new motorcycle: TNT
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Benelli's new TNT motorcycle is named after the Trinitrotoluene explosive. The bike is Benelli's take on the streetfighter class of unfaired, minimalist and mean, high performance machines and it is one of the most visually aggressive motorcycles yet created. It has its origins in the Benelli Tornado three cylinder superbike but is its own entity, despite the similar engine. The stroke has been increased from 49.2 mm to 62 mm giving the new engine a displacement is 1131 cc.
Go for Gold: The new customised Buell
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The most distinctive motorcycle brand on the planet hardly needs much customisation, but Buell recently unveiled a one-off gold-plated version of the Lightning XB9S. Nine carat gold paintwork and a myriad of clever parts have transformed the American motorcycle into a street machine that oozes attitude and is stunningly beautiful at the same time. Meticulously built for Buell in Australia by Sydney enthusiast Paul Bailey, the aim was to create a street machine that had no equal and that would turn heads because of its originality and stunning finish.
BMW enters the high-performance motorcycle market
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BMW's K1200S is the first model from BMW to directly address the ultra-high speed sports bike market dominated by the "big four" Japanese manufacturers. The new K1200S high performance sports bike began production on the June 1, 2004 with more performance credentials than any previous BMW two-wheeler - 167 horsepower and a top speed in excess of 300kmh.
Mobiledesk is an office desk designed for the car
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A new mobile office desk designed to occupy a car passenger seat promises a whole new world of organisation, productivity and safety for travelling professionals who do most of their work from behind the wheel of a car. Anyone who has ever seen their briefcase go sailing into the footwell, or hunted around the car for lost documents, will recognise the potential of the AutoExec mobile desk in enabling travelling professionals to be properly organised when carrying their office in their car.
Buell XB12S Lightning - something completely different
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The Buell XB12 Lighting is quite unlike any other roadgoing motorcycle, though it draws a logical comparison with the Cagiva Xtraraptor and Ducati Monster. All three involve massive fuel-injected v-twin motors with minimalistic styling, but the Buell does it differently … very differently. For starters, it has 20% more engine capacity, and produces more torque delivered lower in the rev range than its competitors. The real trickery behind the Buell is not the engine though – it is the radical forged aluminium chassis. The fruit of countless hours of computer simulation of the stresses which motorcycle chassis’ undergo, it is as rigid as it looks, and doubles duty as a petrol tank, while the massive swinging arm also multi-tasks as the oil tank.
Aprilia RS250 - the LAST fire-breathing two-stroke roadster
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UPDATED March 2006 It's the closest thing you'll find to a genuine Grand Prix racing machine on the road, be it two wheels or four. Its 250cc two-stroke motor produces in excess of 60 brake horses, giving it a specific output of 240 bhp per litre - more than the fastest MotoGP bikes and on a par with competitive Formula One engines. And it's the last one - the fire-breathing two-stroke racer-roadster is about to become extinct. The next batch of Aprilia RS250 road bikes will be the last - as the last bike of its type, it's the last chance to own one new. Ever!!!!
GRIFFON - a fusion of motorcycle and scooter.
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At the 2001 Tokyo Motor show, Honda showed a 750 scooter-styled motorcycle with a retractable roof which it dubbed the Elysium and went to great pains to point out that the bike was purely a concept machine. Significantly, it was powered by a 750 Liquid-cooled flat-4 with power delivered by a CVT - a constantly variable transmission.
Yamaha concepts set for production
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Monday December 15, 2003Two bikes seen for the first time as concept bikes at the Paris Motor Show are already rumoured to have been given the green light to go into production. Yamaha introduced its radical MT-01 concept bike to the amazement of all at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, shoveling the air-cooled, V-twin 1600 cc Road Star motor into what is essentially a TZ250 racing chassis, producing a motorcycle very reminiscent of the Harley-engined Buell: very compact, light, quick-steering and an engine-on-wheels.
Triumph Rocket III delivery dates and pricing set
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The first of a new breed of motorcycle, the 2.3 litre Triumph Rocket III will be available in Australia from May 2004 and will sell for around A$25,000. Forward orders are growing daily as buyers line up for what will surely be one of the most exhilarating roadgoing experiences available.
Ducati set to unveil MotoGP-based Roadster?
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Ducati is rumoured to be preparing to unveil a V4 roadster based on it MotoGP-winning V4 Desmosedici, promising the strongest line-up of 1000cc Supersport motorcycles on the showroom floor in years.
Yamaha two-wheel drive motorcycle
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Sunday November 16, 2003 In one of the most significant moves in motorcycle history, Yamaha has announced that it will release a two-wheel drive motorcycle early in 2004.Though it is not the first two-wheel drive motorcycle in history, the new machine will be a landmark model as it seems certain to be the first of many - testing over the last five years has indicated enormous benefits in terms of safety, traction and (probably the one that counts most) outright cornering speed in slippery, sandy or muddy conditions.
F4 AGO gets new MV Agusta 1000 engine
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Saturday November 15, 2003: The F4 AGO will house an improved and powerful engine in 2004 with the introduction of the 1000cc MV Agusta - an engine that can deliver power and torque record values that make the F4 AGO one of the fastest bikes in the world.
Petronas FP1 Roadster
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Sunday November 9, 2003: One of the most exclusive road motorcycles in the world went on sale recently when Petronas' highly-publicised FP1 roadster was released at GALERI PETRONAS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Suzuki's radical G-Strider concept
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Saturday November 1, 2003: Suzuki has released details of the futuristic G-Strider concept motorcycle which gizmo.com.au showed the world's first pictures of last week. The G-Strider is as interesting and radical as it looks, and in many ways it builds on the direction taken by the Burgman 650cc scooter...
KTM Superbike Concept RC8
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Wednesday October 29, 2003: The RC8 Concept Bike is a statement of KTM's long term vision for the road that employs innovative design to achieve a radical concentration of its mass around the compact 75' V2 engine.
Radical new motorcycle designs to be unveiled in Tokyo
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Thursday October 23, 2003: Three radical new bike designs from Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki respectively, plus two fuel-cell bikes from Yamaha are among the gems in-store when the 37th Tokyo Motor Show kicks-off on Friday.
KTM 1000cc v-twin roadster
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Friday October 10, 2003: For the last thirty years, the Austrian KTM brand has been known for outstanding dirt bikes. Light weight, usable power and fantastic suspension were the hallmarks of the brand which has won numerous motocross and enduro titles across the world over the last 30 years.
Kawasaki's ultimate high-speed tourer
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Saturday October 11, 2003: Kawasaki has shown a concept machine at the Milan motorcycle show which may yet turn out to be a landmark machine because it can be changed into different modes. The ZZR-X concept machine is billed as the "ultimate high speed tourer", offering high speed comfort and brilliant handling performance.
Aprilia 2004 RSV 1000 R Factory arrives
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Thursday October 30, 2003: The latest Aprilia supersport bike is an enhanced RSV 1000 R that brings together a twin V60 Magnesium engine and new RSV 1000 R settings with special ultra-light materials and quality production components to bring the Factory model up to track-riding standards.
Dodge 500hp Tomahawk replica to go on sale
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Monday October 6, 2003: DaimlerChrysler has announced that a hand-built replica of the Dodge Tomahawk concept - the monstrous four-wheel motorcycle first revealed at the North American International Auto Show in January 2003 - is to go on sale at a price of US$555,000. "Unconventional" doesn't begin to describe the extreme engineering showcased in the Tomahawk...
Kawasaki releases the 160 bhp Ninja ZX-10R Supersport
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Saturday August 30, 2003: Kawasaki Heavy Industries dropped several bombshells on the motorcycle world this week with the announcement of the 160 bhp Ninja ZX-10R Supersport and a 2053cc version of its Vulcan V-twin cruiser.
Triumph announces a 140bhp 2.3 litre MOTORCYCLE
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Tuesday August 19, 2003: The revered British Triumph motorcycle marque has created a first, by breaking the two-litre barrier with a production motorcycle. The potency of this remarkable new motorcycle is captured perfectly by its name -' the Rocket III. Despite the three cylinder motor producing a whopping 140bhp it is tuned so that it produces prodigious amounts of torque at low revs...
Harley-Davidson 100th Year Celebrations
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Saturday August 9, 2003: A quarter of a million Harley-Davidson riders from around the globe are expected to converge on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin from August 28-31 for the motorcycling icon's final celebration of its centenary year.
MV Agusta F4 Brutale & F4SPR make Australian debut
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Friday July 18, 2003: MV Agusta 's exotic F4 Brutale S naked motorcycle and the high-performance F4 SPR model will be displayed to the Australian public for the first time in Brisbane on Sunday July 20.
Ducati Rocks Motorcycle Racing
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When Ducati announced its intention to contest the World MotoGP championship back in 2001, no-one seriously expected the small Italian factory to challenge the mega-buck budgets of Honda and Yamaha...
Buell XB9R
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Buell's XBR9 has the feel of a 125 - light, compact, short and very nimble. Hit the starter though, and instead of the razor sharp exhaust note of a 2-stroke, the grumble of a Harley Sportster motor greets the ears.
Legendary Vincent makes a comeback
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Vincent, one of the legendary motorcycle marques of history, is to make a comeback in the hands of American entrepreneur Bernard Li.
Honda's Insane Valkyrie Rune
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While there are many innovative and technically interesting respects to this motorcycle, it is the outrageous styling which will make the bike a milestone in motorcycle history - it is so different to anything previously seen, that it just could be the first of a new breed.
The limited edition Agusta F4 AGO
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There is no more revered and magical name in motorycle history than MV Agusta. The famous marque won 75 World Titles (38 riders championships and 37 constructors championships) and was ridden by many of the greatest names in motorcycling...
