Regardless of power source, regardless of series, regardless of country, regardless of speed, the Team Icon Brammo Empulse RR sports the finest sponsor livery we’ve seen on a motorcycle in decades. To learn more, we spoke to Icon Design Director Kurt Walter, who penned it. :continue:
These are the CAD drawings that helped transform 848 Evo into Ducati Streetfighter 848. Changes include that Testastretta 11° motor, a 35mm longer swingarm, lengthened trail, the suspension off the Monster 1100 Evo, non-Monobloc radial Brembo calipers and wider footpegs and 20mm higher bars than the bigger ‘Fighter. The Streetfighter was penned by Ducati designer and Art Center College of Design grad Damien Basset.
Every few weeks I get a request for information about the classic Frog FZ750 concept designed by our founder Hartmut Esslinger in 1985. The Frog FZ was a bit of a superstar, appearing on the cover of various magazines including Cycle World in the US and Motorrad in Germany. In 1990 it appeared on the cover of Businessweek with Esslinger. Hartmut was the only living designer thus honored since Raymond Loewy in 1934. I always felt the Frog FZ, sometimes called “The Rana,” was special for a few reasons. Being designed in 1985, just three years after frog entered into its contract with Apple and opened the California studio, it was the personification of the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of Frog at that time. It also influenced the generation of motorbikes that followed. The Honda Hurricane was so influenced by the Frog FZ that Honda offered one to Hartmut as a gift! :continue:
After 19 years, the last decade as Vice President of Design for Motorrad, David Robb is leaving BMW. He is being replaced by Edgar Heinrich, another long time BMW designer. No reason has been given for Robb’s departure, but the Boston native certainly has earned his keep, and with personal hobbies that include high performance aerobatic flying, he is certainly not likely to end up wasting away at some golf course.
Pictured here is David Robb (left) working on the C650 GT with Ola Stenegard (right). :continue:
You’re familiar with Miguel Galluzzi’s work, even if you don’t recognize his name. He created the original Ducati Monster and, more recently as Piaggio’s vice president of design, penned both the Aprilia Dorsoduro and RSV4. Now, he’s been tasked with re-imagining Moto Guzzi for the 21st century. We sat down with him at the 90-year old factory in Mandello del Lario and talked about where Guzzi is going. :continue:
The Honda CBR600RR is, without a doubt, the most versatile, broadly capable 600 on the market today. It’s equally at home on track or on a city commute. It’s even all-day comfortable and easy to ride, which makes it our pick of the entire Honda range for sport touring. There’s just one problem: it’s woefully ugly. For 2012, the CBR600 hasn’t received a single mechanical update, but it does get this new paint job. It’s not just red and white colors that help, but the way the graphics have been laid out serves to visual lighten the bike, emphasizing the points and creases over the blocky proportions. :continue:
Normally, helmet graphics are limited to loud racer replicas (at best) or generic, yet still offensive tribal graphics (at worst). Recently, reborn American helmet maker Bell has been trying to reverse that trend, working with noted designers to bring actually credible paint jobs to market. These new colors for the flagship Star and second-tier RS1 continue that. Especially this Roland Sands-created Flash design for the RS1. :continue:
How do you translate dirt bike styling and heritage to street bikes? That’s a challenge Husqvarna is facing as it ramps up for its first street bike. Here, head of design Raffaele Zaccagnini talks about penning the Husqvarna 900.
Over 150 people entered the contest to design Amarok-Agni racing a new triple clamp. So many good entries, in fact, that Michael Uhlarik and the Amarok crew had a hard time picking a winner. As such, they’ve prepared a list of favorite also-rans, which you’ll find in this gallery. :continue:
This video profiles Lukas Ketner, Icon’s comic book artist. Lukas draws the stories you see in the company’s promotional materials and also pens designs for helmets like the new Freaky Tiki. Here, he talks brain disorders and getting shoved into lockers. :continue:
