Cobra turns Honda Shadow RS into proper lemonade

While the 2011 Honda Shadow RS is finally acceptable enough to ride without wearing a brown paper bag, the 45hp Japanese V-twin still verges dangerously close to uncoolness. Working directly with Honda, aftermarket accessories maker Cobra Engineering has released 5 concepts to show the Shadow’s potential, 2 of which are knockouts. :continue:

Grant Ray. September 8th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (0)

The proper location for a KTM license plate

Simple, immediate and a clever brand message. Of course this isn’t an American KTM ad. Created by the same Turkish agency that had KTM peeing on roads like Calvin on a [insert domestic pickup brand here], “License Plate” suggests you’ll be spending so much time in the air on a KTM that, in order to remain effective, your license plate should be mounted on the sump. They even made it an Austrian plate.

via Bikes in the Fastlane

Wes Siler. September 8th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (2)

In Detroit, guerilla board tracking is the new murder

Taking a break from discovering homelessicles, electing corrupt politicians and producing chronically uncompetitive automobiles, a group of Motor City natives took it upon themselves to clear an abandoned velodrome of decades worth of trash and “old tires” (we’re guessing this is a local euphemism for dead bodies) and reverse the post-apocalyptical reclamation by nature. Only days later, local bikers were hooning the banked concrete oval and are already planning a race series. God we love Detroit. :continue:

Wes Siler. September 8th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (6)

Buell 1190RS gets official, marketing gets officially weird

This whole guerrilla slow-release-marketing-teaser-video thing that bike makers have finally caught on to might be going a bit too far. As usual, there’s not a lot to go on, but what we know so far is the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS will be seen in a teaser video of some sort on Tuesday, September 14th. Plus the dude from Queensryche is involved, and is debuting his new band’s hot upcoming single. No, seriously.

Update: We’ve just received a response from Rat Pak Records stating, “The bike won’t be avail [sic] until next year, but we are selling the merch for it ahead of time. It is the official merch for the bike, we just sell it for Erik as he has no time ship orders all day! Next week there will be some more info posted about the bike!.”

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Grant Ray. September 8th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (14)

Book Review: Deus- The House of Simple Pleasures

Published in-house and limited to 2000, even the haters will begrudgingly admit that Deus’ rather large 300 page coffee table book is beautiful if nothing else, before going on to dis it as an empty self-promotional marketing tool. That’s okay because deep down, the haters, all of us, are just really really pissed off at the amount of great work those whacky Aussies, especially Mr. Tuckwell, are pushing out while having boatloads of the kind of fun most of us only dream about, like epic motorcycle/surfing road trips and dreamy girls, all perfectly photographed and illustrated. :continue:

Grant Ray. September 7th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (7)

1967 Diamond Jubilee Senior TT, FTW

The Isle of Man, Hailwood, Agostini, Pasolini, Williams, Blanchard, Uphill, Honda, MV Agusta, Benelli, Matchless, Seeley, Norton, even Vincent. Pre-race interviews with impeccable legends Geoff Duke and Stanley Woods and a post-race interview with Hailwood. The footage is a little murky, the commentary by perfectly cheeky Murray Walker is fantastically paced and suspenseful, and the sounds of the machines are glorious. If Youtube has a Holy Grail of historic racing videos, I just found it. Yes, your work day is officially worthless, in 2 parts. :continue:

Grant Ray. September 7th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (2)

Keira Knightley and a Ducati 750SS: two-wheeled perfection

Shot on the set of her latest Chanel commercial, these photos of Keira Knightley, a Ducati 750SS and a matching suede jumpsuit represent a motorcycle ideal that we didn’t think possible. It helps that we’re suckers for tall, thin brunettes. :continue:

Wes Siler. September 7th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (8)

Video: Hammarhead Jack Pine

When we rode the Hammarhead Jack Pine a few months go, we expected just another modified Bonneville but found something worth considering on its own terms. Something that said “motorcycle” more simply and powerfully than anything currently available in a showroom. Now, a film student, Craig Scheihing, has put together a riding video with it, capturing the easy, simple appeal. Worth it for the sound alone.

Photo: Grant Ray

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Wes Siler. September 7th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (5)

Nicky Hayden gets his own font

What you’re looking at is a custom font created specifically for Nicky Hayden by House Industries. Loud and just a little funkadelic, the Kentucky Kid had his name emblazoned in it for the Indianapolis GP. The project came about as part of Alpinestars’ Apex Initiative, a collaboration project intended to make the brand a little more relevant to pop culture. Other collaborators include Fatlace and Parc Ferme.

House Industries

Wes Siler. September 3rd, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (16)

Optical illusion makes 2011 Yamaha R1 Roberts replica good-looking

Double-dip recession got you down? Growing tired of new color schemes in place of new models? The 2011 Yamaha R1 Roberts Replica is here to fix that. Sure, it’s just a pretty face, but it’s a pretty face on a previously ungainly superbike. These colors even make those bug-eyed headlights/intakes look good, a feat of graphic redirection previously thought impossible.

Update: Another high-res pic from Yamaha and part numbers.

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