Gilera
Does this AJS Porcupine deserve to become the world's most expensive motorcycle?
It seems the world auction record for a motorcycle is expected to fall later this year when a 1954 AJS E95 Porcupine grand prix racer will go under the hammer. The only thing I can’t work out is “why all the fuss?” The 1949 E90 AJS Porcupine narrowly won the inaugural World 500cc championship, but by 1954 the design was obsolete and the subsequent unreliable E95 never won a race at world championship level in three seasons of trying. That’s not stopping Bonhams from talking it up (its claim that the bike is “arguably the most beautiful, graceful and innovative racing motorcycle ever built” is just plain ridiculous) and it is expecting a sale price in excess of US$750,000 which would put it on top of the list of the most expensive motorcycles sold at auction. Read More
Since Nicholas Negroponte first came up with his landmark teething ring visualization of the coming together of communication, computing and content, the term convergence has become the uber buzzword. Now there’s convergence going on in the personal transport industry, with the car and the motorcycle morphing as car makers attempt to downsize their vehicles to make them better suited to the world’s increasingly crowded roads. This article begins with Nissan’s tandem two-seat, half width tilting car, the Landglider, and examines all the other work being done around the world as narrow track vehicles seriously begin to make their case. Read More
Gilera shoe-horns an 840cc engine into its latest scooter
September 11, 2007 An 840cc, 90-degree fuel injected V-twin, performance chassis, 200kmh top speed and braided brake lines… on a CVT, step-thru scooter? After sending heads spinning with its Nexus 500, a scooter that handles like a sportsbike in the twisties, Gilera have completely dumbfounded us with their GP 800 hyperscooter. Striking some sort of bizarre balance between a super-grunty commuter and a genuine sports-tourer, this bespectacled bad-boy is the new and undisputed king of the scooter segment. Read More
