Pushrod motorcycle engine, or semi-V8 powered motorcycle, if you will!? Is this going to be the next big thing in the world of touring bikes? Finally a V4 engine that doesn’t rely on a belt or a chain, just pushrods, transforming the maintenance into the regular oil changes – and that’s all?! (yes we know about Harley Davidson and others, but that’s excitement) And finally an engine that produces all the right noises…yes, we hear you complaining the there is a lot of bikes producing all the right noises, but allow us to be excited for a while 
The boys form Motus did a stunning job, and brought their MST and MST-R bikes to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, for some close circuit testing. If you pay attention you will notice that MST-R is now wearing some nice carbon fiber fairings. Continue reading →
Touring
26
Apr 11
Motus MST on Barber Motorsports Park / Video
16
Apr 11
2011 TT / MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden will be there
Ducati MotoGP star Nicky Hayden will attend the 2011 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy as part of the Mountain Course Centenary celebrations. The 2006 World Champion’s visit, on Wednesday June 8, will see Hayden ride in the Arai Parade lap with Ian Hutchinson, who won all five solo races at the 2010 TT, and five-times 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan. He will also start and present the trophy for the Monster Energy Supersport Race 2.
The charismatic American, whose Ducati teammate Valentino Rossi has already ridden the Mountain course, finished on the podium in the second race of the MotoGP season at Jerez following his 9th place at the opening round at Qatar. He will ne racing at the British Grand Prix just days after his TT visit. Continue reading →
14
Mar 11
Motus MST-R / Birthplace of Speed
Motus released a new video of their (now) two bike lineup. What appeared as a sneaky video insert couple days back, is in fact the MST-R, a naked version of American built MST Sport Tourer. There is nothing bad in mentioning again that this bike is running a half-V8, KMV4 pushrod engine (much like the ones you find in Corvette cars). There is a sweet amount of power and torque right from the lowest RPM’s (just like the big V8′s in American Hot Rods) coming from this 1700cc engine. Continue reading →
4
Feb 11
2011 Kawasaki ZRX1200 / Golden Brown
Mind you, Kawasaki ZRX1200, was missing from the European listing for the last year. The fact is that MY 2010 was deeply revised, but that didn’t seem to matter in the old continent. Bike like this is belonging to a very narrow niche market consisting of Superbike enthusiasts and fans of Jap bikes made in 70s and 80s. Meanwhile, this incredible piece of engineering continued to evolve, and 2011 brought two new colors: Dark green with light green stripe and brown with caramel brown stripe. Continue reading →
18
Nov 10
New spy shots of Triumph Trophy
Missing from 2003, and now seen on this spy-photo is the new Triumph Trophy. The photo doesn’t reveal too much, other than a single swingarm, center stand and standard mounted brakes. Touring motorcycles market is currently hot, and it’s clear that companies need to have a product that appeals to the clientele who don’t want Harley-Davidson lifestyle, but still enjoy touring. Recently we have seen a trend that most of the “big” players are introducing new adventure and touring models in their lineup. Continue reading →
8
Nov 10
2011 Ducati Diavel / Italian Mega Cruiser
This is the latest mega cruiser coming from Ducati factory. It had it’s debut on EICMA this year (2010) and it seems that it would target niche market of street rod motorcycles. Now, let’s look at the figures, which are impressive: 162HP, 128nm torque (8000rpm) and weighing just 210kg dry – Diavel is here to redefine what a modern cruiser should be. Among other features, there are three-mode ride-by-wire throttle, slipper clutch and 240cm / 45 section rear Pirelli Diablo tyre. Not to forget the engine, 1198cc V-Twin Testastretta 11º. Continue reading →
5
Nov 10
2011 Honda Crossruner / VFR 800 based adventure bike
This is one of the Honda’s latest models for 2011, named Crossruner, and as the name suggest, its a cross between adventure bike and street machine. In boasts 100hp from 782cc, VTEC-equipped, quad-cam V4, it has taller seat hight, long travel suspension and dual purpose tyres. For this “strange” looks, we have to thank to Honda’s R&D department who explained it like this: “Extensive customer research indicated that whilst buyers liked the appearance and the image of adventure bikes, for some the compromised stability caused by long travel suspension, taller seat heights and dual purpose tyres was a concern.” Continue reading →
10
Oct 10
This should have been the Yamaha Super Tenere
This is the Yamaha World Crosser concept, a sort of tarted up 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere that’s supposed to make you run out and buy $10,000 worth of upgrades for your overweight, underwhelming adventure tourer. Instead, it makes us wish Yamaha had just made this instead of the relatively tame tall road bike they ended up putting into production. Check out the gallery when Continue reading →
