New Modification Yahama Vixion

2010 Oddball Sport-Touring Shootout: Ducati Multistrada vs Honda VFR1200F vs Kawasaki Z1000

You say tom-a-to, someone says tom-o-to.
Your riding buddies say they can tour on any bike. You say most touring-oriented bikes have a sporty side and therefore make the best sport-tourer.
Oops! Did we just allude to one of the more controversial, even incendiary, topics in modern motorcycling?
Today, when someone utters the word sportbike, the likely response is a GSX-R, an R6, a Honda CBR, or some such thing. But ask a rider to describe his or her ideal of a sport-touring machine, and the answers are wide ranging.
Sure, lots of folks would naturally point to the likes of Honda’s venerable ST1300, Yamaha’s FJR1300 or BMW’s K1200GT or R1200RT, as prime examples of sport-tourers. Each bike offers good to great wind protection, hard saddlebags as standard, robust engines and some darn good handling qualities.

2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Unveiled

We’ve seen it, sat on it, and heard it run! Kawasaki has unleashed a potent new literbike weapon in the form of the 2011 ZX-10R.
This is not a warmed-over version of the existing 10R – it’s a ground-up redesign with virtually zero carry-over parts. More power and less weight (22 lbs is the target) are naturally part of the package, but less expected is a new traction-control system that is claimed to be the most sophisticated on the market and comes as standard equipment.
The result is a bike said to be a huge 2 seconds quicker around Autopolis than the 2010 edition in back-to-back testing on identical tires on the same day. This indicates it has the potential to turn better lap times than its literbike competitors.

2011 Hyosung ST E3 Electric Scooter

Hyosung will offer an electric scooter as part of its 2011 North American product lineup. The Hyosung ST E3 runs on a proprietary lithium-polymer battery that can be charged in a household electrical outlet in three hours.
According to Hyosung, the ST E3 has a range of approximately 120 km (74.6 miles) on a single charge while traveling at a constant speed of 35 km/h (21.7 mph). Maximum speed is estimated at 60 km/h (37.3 mph).
Hyosung plans to produce more electric models in the future.

Style Points Honda understands vehicle dynamics like no other

Honda understands vehicle dynamics like no other, and hard numbers reveal objective data. But for cruisers/choppers, style is king, and this is judged purely by subjective criteria. “It had to be number one,” says Honda designer Bruno Conte about the importance of styling in this market. The following are some highlights of where we think Honda best hit the mark.

2010 BMW S1000RR Review

BMW's motorcycle division hasn't enjoyed the worldwide performance reputation of its automotive sector, but that all changes with the incredible S1000RR, introduced to journalists last week at the equally impressive Portimao race circuit.
BMW Motorrad hits the literbike market hard with its race replica, as the S1000 employs class-leading power, a stout chassis beyond reproach, and a techie electronics package second to none. This bike is the real deal.
We've been teased with details of the bike for well over a year. Our first glimpse came in April of 2008 when I wrote the S1000RR Preview, and then we brought new insight last December in our Closer Look article. Then we finally got to see the bike in the flesh at its U.S. introduction where Pete elaborated on the RR's features and specs.
After all of that, we were already quite up to speed on what the bike consists of. Now all we needed to know is how it performs.

Cool Saddle for the iron horse

The old West renewed.

Posing, posturing and cat walking through the warm evening air, the endless flow of elegant people glide through pools of brightly colored neon light. Moved by the sultry beat of Reggae, Latin and Caribbean music spilling from the nightclubs they pass, we rumble by as participants in this non-stop show. Impossibly tight clothing clings to chiseled bodies, as each exaggerated step is consciously made and faces turn to check out our rides. A myriad of colors from the decorative lights explode on the smooth chrome surfaces, and the throb of the massive, 111 cubic-inch V-Twins mix with the deep bass rhythm floating out to meet us. In a town that exists for people to see or be seen, we are turning heads as we enjoy the whole exotic, sensuous field of human experience being played out in the steamy Florida night. 

Corey Miller motorcycle

Corey Miller is a famous tattoo artist.

He is the owner of Six Feet Under tattoo shop, and currently on LA Ink as an ex-employee of Kat Von D's High Voltage Tattoo, and is working for Craig Jackman at American Electric.

Corey Miller's talent is friggin mind blowing. I love Tats, and I really love his artwork.

BTW. Corey rides a Custom. How fitting.

WTF I have NFC what this means.

Anybody have a clue?

Christian Bohnstedt-Petersen

Got a cool picture from Mr. Frank Bohnstedt Petersen living in Copenhagen Denmark. This picture shows his grandfather Christian Bohnstedt Pedersen 1894–1956 on his 1915 Harley having just won the 1915 Skagen rally.

This triggered me to find out some more on Christian Bohnstedt Petersen. By reading a biography written shortly after his death there is a chapter; “From bicycles to assembly lines”. This was truly interesting reading, and I soon learned that Christian was a true hard working business man from young years. Starting his own bicycle hire and repair shop in Copenhagen in 1911 at the young age of 18, this shop soon extended its business to incorporate motorcycles as they had become more popular by the masses.
At the start he would offer some European brands such as Wanderers and Styria and even one Phanomobil, this odd looking two seat side-by-side motorcycle with its two cylinder engine hanging on the front fork.

Business expanding, he soon started a mechanical workshop in addition to the shop where he made his own brand sidecars as well as other nifty items such as a sprung cushioned rear seat, the “Ilford”.

WWI arriving to Europe forced Christian to travel to the US to try to get a motorcycle brand name for himself to import to Denmark. His selected brand became none less than the Militoire ( Militaire) in its time a luxury four cylindered masterpiece which today is the holy grail when talking of US made vintage motorbikes.
Christian arrived back in Denmark with his first Militoire in the early spring of 1917. If he ever sold any Militoirs is unknown, tough the fact that there have ever been such a machine in Scandinavia gives chills in itself.












Shortly after the end of WWI Christian went to the Olympia Hall motorcycle exhibition in London UK where he got the brand name for Dot and The Sun. The first batch of bikes bought at this exhibition where driven back home to Denmark going trough Belgium, Holland and Germany by Christian himself and some of his staff. Shortly after he attended the annual Motorcycle exhibition in Copenhagen with the same bikes as had arrived safely from his recent journey. Good timing and very god advertising on their quality.

In a year Christian had got two more US brands in addition to the Militoire, the Cleveland two stroke and the Reading Standard big twin from Pennsylvania.

Christian was not just a sales man, he did also love the sport of motorcycling and did compete in many reliability runs such as the Skagen rally which he won in 1915 on a Harley.









Note, the sign on the front mudguard advertising for Christians “Ilford” sprung cushioned rear seat.

Here is a cut from Motor Weekly issue 13 in 1915 having a several pages long article on the Skagen rally where Christian participated;































After getting the Reading Standard brand in 1919 he also started competing in speed trials such as the Fanø races held at the beach on the Danish Island Fanø.
These races where incredibly spectacular in its time, being held from 1919 to 1924. Race stars from all over Europe came to these events and at the final event Malcolm Cambell set an unofficial speed record with his car at the beach. This attempt ended tragically when he lost a wheel hitting a young lad in the public who was instantly killed. This in its turn was the end of the Fanø races until recent years when this event have been held as anniversary runs (tough at less speeds).












For the 1921 Fanø race Christian in cooperation with his best mechanic Mr. H.F. Carlsen made their own Reading Standard special racer, where their main goal was beating the Danish baldhead dear devil Walter Scmidt operating a Harley factory 8 valve open port racer.

In attempt to bow Walters neck they shortened the Radings frame, altered the gearbox to a fixed gear (single intermediate shaft run in two bearings) as well as the sidevalve engine was ported and tuned to its outermost.
As they run with open ports Christian got himself some steel legshields for protection at race.
The Fanø races where electrically timed and at the end of the day Christians reading Standard racer was beaten by Walters Harley by 1/5 of a second.














If the above Fanø spectacular was the reason or not is hard to say but Christian got more into the sport of flying who was a new sport at this time, soon getting Denmarks 59`th flight license ever handed out.

In the year to follow Christians business went from motorcycles to cars and making factories for assembling some of the cars that he imported to Denmark. As the car part of his career is what is known it was indeed interesting to learn more about his start with motorcycles.

Source;
Frank Bohnstedt-Petersen
Biography Bohnstedt-Petersen AS 1934-1959
www.bohnstedtpetersen.dk


More to come on the Fanø races, stay tuned.

American Motorcycles

This guy beeing on of many traveling out from Scandinavia to work as a missionary in Africa needed transport to get around. His choise fell on a Harley magneto model wich seems to be a 1917 model due to the nickel plated handlebars.

American Motorcycles

X-776, 1918/19 Harley Davidson 61" (1000cc) magneto model with sidecar. This is one great cap. Strange tough, there are no ligts on the bike. Normally a magneto model would have been equipped with acetylene lights. OK, maybe this guy only rode on sunny days.

S-KTRC (Sport-Kawasaki Traction Control)

With S-KTRC, Kawasaki becomes the first Japanese manufacturer to deliver a race-bred traction-control system to the masses. As an evolution from what was learned on the MotoGP stage, Kawasaki points out that this traction-control system has been developed “to help riders push harder on the track by maximizing acceleration.”

Whereas the KTRC on the Concours 14 is designed primarily for safety, the S-KTRC helps reduce lap times by allowing a certain amount of slip before intervening. As long as “effective traction” is maintained, the TC will still allow power slides and wheelies.

Wheel-speed sensors are a key component of OEM TC systems, but S-KTRC does without an accelerometer (Ducati) or a gyro bank-angle input (BMW). The Kawi system (in development for five years) uses a Mitsubishi ECU to monitor engine speed, throttle position, acceleration rate and comparative wheel speeds to judge the bike’s slip angle, retarding ignition timing if the tires need to be reined back in. Data points are examined an incredible 200 times per second! By doing without accelerometer or bank-angle sensors, S-KTRC has no fixed maps, so the TC is able to adapt to modifications like exhaust systems or engine tweaks.

Kawasaki claims its TC system is so sophisticated that it can predict when traction conditions “are about to become unfavorable,” so it can engage mildly before slippage exceeds the range for optimal traction, minimizing harsh intervention.

Three levels of TC can be dialed in from handlebar switchgear, even while moving, and it can be switched off (while stopped) if you’re especially brave. Your chosen TC setting is stored in memory – like the Ronco Rotisserie, just set it and forget it!

The bottom of the new gauge pack has a 7-section bar-graph display showing the amount of TC intervention. Jeff Herzog, Kawasaki’s senior media relations coordinator and a former racer, said he saw only one bar light up during a full-throttle corner exit over a racetrack’s curb. “You’ll be amazed how often you’ll be able to use full throttle,” he says.

S-KTRC (Sport-Kawasaki Traction Control)

With S-KTRC, Kawasaki becomes the first Japanese manufacturer to deliver a race-bred traction-control system to the masses. As an evolution from what was learned on the MotoGP stage, Kawasaki points out that this traction-control system has been developed “to help riders push harder on the track by maximizing acceleration.”

Whereas the KTRC on the Concours 14 is designed primarily for safety, the S-KTRC helps reduce lap times by allowing a certain amount of slip before intervening. As long as “effective traction” is maintained, the TC will still allow power slides and wheelies.

Wheel-speed sensors are a key component of OEM TC systems, but S-KTRC does without an accelerometer (Ducati) or a gyro bank-angle input (BMW). The Kawi system (in development for five years) uses a Mitsubishi ECU to monitor engine speed, throttle position, acceleration rate and comparative wheel speeds to judge the bike’s slip angle, retarding ignition timing if the tires need to be reined back in. Data points are examined an incredible 200 times per second! By doing without accelerometer or bank-angle sensors, S-KTRC has no fixed maps, so the TC is able to adapt to modifications like exhaust systems or engine tweaks.

Kawasaki claims its TC system is so sophisticated that it can predict when traction conditions “are about to become unfavorable,” so it can engage mildly before slippage exceeds the range for optimal traction, minimizing harsh intervention.

Three levels of TC can be dialed in from handlebar switchgear, even while moving, and it can be switched off (while stopped) if you’re especially brave. Your chosen TC setting is stored in memory – like the Ronco Rotisserie, just set it and forget it!

The bottom of the new gauge pack has a 7-section bar-graph display showing the amount of TC intervention. Jeff Herzog, Kawasaki’s senior media relations coordinator and a former racer, said he saw only one bar light up during a full-throttle corner exit over a racetrack’s curb. “You’ll be amazed how often you’ll be able to use full throttle,” he says.

We’ve seen it, sat on it, and heard it run! Kawasaki has unleashed a potent new literbike weapon in the form of the 2011 ZX-10R.

This is not a warmed-over version of the existing 10R – it’s a ground-up redesign with virtually zero carry-over parts. More power and less weight (22 lbs is the target) are naturally part of the package, but less expected is a new traction-control system that is claimed to be the most sophisticated on the market and comes as standard equipment.

The result is a bike said to be a huge 2 seconds quicker around Autopolis than the 2010 edition in back-to-back testing on identical tires on the same day. This indicates it has the potential to turn better lap times than its literbike competitors.

We’ve seen it, sat on it, and heard it run! Kawasaki has unleashed a potent new literbike weapon in the form of the 2011 ZX-10R.

This is not a warmed-over version of the existing 10R – it’s a ground-up redesign with virtually zero carry-over parts. More power and less weight (22 lbs is the target) are naturally part of the package, but less expected is a new traction-control system that is claimed to be the most sophisticated on the market and comes as standard equipment.

The result is a bike said to be a huge 2 seconds quicker around Autopolis than the 2010 edition in back-to-back testing on identical tires on the same day. This indicates it has the potential to turn better lap times than its literbike competitors.

American Motorcycles Norway

V-457 is a Harley previously presented on this blog. The owner working as a teacher did carry his pupils in the previous pic.
In this pic with a friend in the sidecar, both guys seems to be dressed for some special occasion?
There is one strange detail with this bike, there is the original HD acetylene headlamp with an electrical lamp added to the side.
One can just wonder where the generator might be added if this is a magneto model.

American Motorcycles

This is a cool pic from approx 1920 showing a bunch of local motorists ready for a spin, some by car other by cicles.
Bike with reg plate 305 is one great one from Pennsylvania, the Reading Standard. Another seen at the far right. In addition there is what seems to be two Excelsiors and the bike behind 305 is of some unknown European brand.

Reading Standard where the first ones to offer sidevalves on their machines whilst still the IOE (inlet over exshaust)valve configuration was the common.
Periodic Reading Standard advertising;

Chinese Motorcycle Invasion

You might not be able to see the stampede of imported bikes heading for the shores of North America yet, but you can certainly hear the rumble as they get closer.

China is now producing 40 per cent of the worlds supply of motorcycles at a gargantuan rate of close to 15 million motorcycles a year.

And their sights are firmly set on the North American market. So far their invasion of the Americas has been limited to ATV's, pocket bikes, mini choppers and smallish dirt bikes but they have been gearing up with cruising and touring models.

Their main focus of manufacture has been up to the 250cc level but have plans to expand into the higher levels with a 1000cc model.

The early models have some concerns about reliability and acquisition of parts but the main selling feature of them is their low price in comparison to domestic or Japanese models some selling for $2,000 less than a comparable established model.

The Chinese have no qualms about cloning or borrowing existing technology and making copies of established bikes such as Harley Davidson and Honda.

The Chinese invasion of motorcycles should glut the market even further thereby lowering the market value for the used motorcycle market where used bikes are commanding almost new price.

Classic Motor Harley Davidson

Classic Motor Harley Davidson...............

Harley Davidson Girl Contest

Harley Davidson Girl Contest.............

Harley Davidson Girl Contest

Harley Davidson Girl Contest.............

Classic Motor Harley Davidson

Classic Motor Harley Davidson...............

Sexy Models Harley Davidson Motorcycles

Sexy Models Harley Davidson Motorcycles...............

Sexy Models Harley Davidson Motorcycles

Sexy Models Harley Davidson Motorcycles...............

Motivation

OK, I rather post historical images from the Scandinavian motorcycle scene, but there need to be room for exceptions when one stumble across a huge lot of cool pics such as the above.
There is no doubt when reading the look at the faces of the bystanders that this guy is a hero.
Noone should ever wonder what sport created the bobber when looking at this racer.

Follow this link if you want to check out some more cool photos from the fourties;

http://www.fortlangley.ca/pepin/DaddyRacing.html
(copy and paste into your web browser)

American Motorcycles Norway

Came across this real cool image while surfing the www some days ago. Unfortunately as you will see this is an image that is "owned" by a picture company who placed their logo across. OK, there is no way to get this pic for free without the logo (actually there might be eventually) but I share this still as this is to cool to stay hidden in an archive.

Whats cool with this picture? Its because our previous King Olav (then Prince) is passenger in the first sidecar outfit. These smiling young chaps are on their way home after having spent the weekend hunting at the Kings cottage Sikkilsdalen. There are hunting dogs in all three sidecars behind the bike where Olav is passenger.
Picture is taken in 1924. All bikes in the picture are Harley Davidsons from late teens / early twenties.

American Motorcycles

This is an interesting photo with many details. First of, would you have crossed a lake by a wooden barge with your beloved motorcycle resting on two planks across the gunwale? I would have attached some ropes as a start.

The bike D-105 is a very interesting one, a 1916 or 1917 Harley model C single where the rear cylinder is replaced by a Dixie magneto? This fact is easily seen by the angle of the timing gear cover (pointing upwards).
According to the brilliant site; http://www.techsweb.us/hdvin.html there where only 862 of these tiny 35"`s (500cc) made in 1916 and even less, 605 bikes in 1917.
One can only wonder why the owner decided to order this model rather than a mighty big twin with loads of punch.

American Motorcycles

Rearwheel issue?
This is one baby Indian lightweight, an odd machine today.
I love those wooden fences along the road, an impressive piece of work rarely seen today.