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BMW S1000 “Lightburner” Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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Oberdan Bezzi has been on a roll lately, making some intriguing concept sketches for two-wheeled fans. And his latest render, the BMW S1000 “Lightburner” concept doesn’t disappoint, either.

Based off the BMW S1000R streetfighter, Bezzi sees another naked model in the BMW stable – one that would roll on 16″ rear wheel, and have a 230 sized tire mounted to it.

We are not sure what purpose a 16″ rear wheel would serve on a street bike, or if you could even find good street rubber in a 230 size, but the visual affect of the Lightburner is what draws us to this design.

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More Modern Streamliners by Mehmet Doruk Erdem

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Continuing our thoughts from last week about streamliner designs, there are a few more concepts from Mehmet Doruk Erdem that are worth sharing.

While the Turksih designer’s BMW “Apollo” streamliner is a more stylized version of the designs we are accustomed to, his Eternity, Alpha, and Spirito concepts tread more into the futuristic realm, and are our subjects for today.

Before we get to the renders themselves though, it is of note that Erdem’s concepts relate to car manufacturers, thus leading us to the idea that at some point the quest by automakers to make small and efficient vehicles will lead them eventually down a two-wheeled road.

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BMW Apollo Streamliner Concept by Mehmet Doruk Erdem

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I have had dustbin fairings on the brain lately, and yesterday’s story about golf ball dimples on motorcycle helmets isn’t helping things.

From a pure design perspective, there is something I enjoy immensely about streamlining — I think its the sleek lines and low-slung bodywork that hugs the asphalt, looking for any edge over the wind. Despite being something of motorcycling’s past, there is something futuristic about a well-designed dustbin.

That’s an interesting thought, because from a practical point-of-view, I’m rather indifferent to the whole idea.

The two-wheeled examples I’ve seen of extreme aerodynamic efficiency are not machines I would want to ride, let alone own…sans maybe the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc — that bike was downright fun to ride, but I don’t think that was because of Michael Czysz’s aerodynamic work. I digress.

The streamlining designs that have been catching my fancy lately though are modern takes on an old-school aesthetic and method for cutting through the wind.

It doesn’t take much to find modern builders who are recreating old dustbin designs into their modern-day builds, but I’m more interested in how the aerodynamic principle of streamlining can evolve as alternate to today’s aerodynamic compromises, in the same way steampunk explores a worldly evolution that never happened.

The first concept to catch my fancy, as such, is the BMW Apollo Streamliner by Turkish designer Mehmet Doruk Erdem.

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Ducati Scrambler Hero 01 by Holographic Hammer

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We’ve been big fans of the work done by Holographic Hammer for a long, though we have only curious featured their work once before — and that’s a shame, since the French outfit is making some interesting concepts, both digitally and physically.

We’re therefore happy to share with you their latest work, the Ducati Scrambler “Hero 01”.

Holographic Hammer tells us that they wanted to keep the purpose of the Scrambler at the Hero 01’s core, namely a bike that you actually used on a day-to-day basis. It would get dirty, it would get scratched, it would tip over…therefore a bunch of intricate and expensive kit wouldn’t do.

The changes therefore are practical and affordable, sans maybe the $3,000 carbon fiber Rotobox wheels…after all though, one has to live. Right?

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Ducati Scrambler Baja Racer Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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After a bit of delay, the Ducati Scrambler is finally hitting US dealerships in meaningful numbers, so it is timely that we see a concept piece by Oberdan Bezzi on the affordable Italian twin.

With a name like “Scrambler” a certain off-roading heritage is implied by the new Ducati model, despite its low-to-the-ground stance and clearance-challenged exhaust pipes.

Ducati’s whole marketing campaign envisions some sort of beach-ready romp machine, which taps into the California Coast lifestyle. We doubt too many owners will be scrambling on their Ducati Scramblers, but then again, we could pass the same generalization about the venerable BMW R1200GS. Anyways, we digress.

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BMW Motorrad Concept 101 – Six Cylinders of Bagger

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Released today at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy, the BMW Motorrad Concept 101 is a six-cylinder bagger aimed at the American market. Using the K1600 platform as a base, BMW once again enlisted the help of Roland Sands to build a concept, this time one that was suitable for touring on America’s highways.

The name “Concept 101” comes from the 1,649cc displacement, which clocks in at roughly 101 cubic inches. BMW says that the name is also an homage to Highway 101, which isn’t far from BMW’s design studio in Southern California, where this bike was conceived.

“The Concept 101 opens up a new chapter in the history of our concept bikes. It is the BMW Motorrad interpretation of endless highways and the dream of freedom and independence – the perfect embodiment of ‘American touring’. Designing this big touring bike study was amazingly exciting for us because we haven’t been involved with a motorcycle concept like this before. To me, the Concept 101 is the epitome of elegance, power and luxury on two wheels,” says Edgar Heinrich, Head of BMW Motorrad Design.

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BMW R nineT Concepts by Iban Domigo & Xavier Vairai

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We have already talked about how important, from a customizer’s perspective, the BMW R nineT is with its modular design. The tragically named, yet intelligently built motorcycle can be the foundation for a multitude of different ideas, styles, and trends.

Nothing illustrates that more than the concepts put together by Iban Domigo (of Ruleshaker) and Xavier Vairai (of Dream Machines), as they take the German café racer and apply streamline moderne and art deco lines to them.

The result is beautifully smooth machines that give the impression that motorcycle design evolved purely from a baseline rooted in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s. There is something distinctly modern about the bikes, but the air-cooled heads and aerodynamic fairings tell another older story.

There’s something very visually pleasing here, and so we thought we would share it. More examples await you, after the jump.

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First Shots of the Yamaha MT-25

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If you like your small displacement machines sans fairings, then this might be the bike for you, as the first clear photos of the Yamaha MT-25 are hitting the internet, courtesy of Indonesian blog TMCblog.

Based around the same 249cc parallel-twin engine as the Yamaha R25, the MT-25 will go up against the other quarter-liter naked bikes on the market, like the Honda CB300 and KTM 200 Duke.

As we can see from the photos, the MT-25 shares many of the same parts with the R25 — most notably the chassis, suspension, exhaust, seat, and engine. Added is a new headlight, fairing chin, and air intake tubes.

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Yamaha 03GEN-x Concept Is Ready to Get Dirty

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If the Yamaha 03GEN-f concept is supposed to be a sport-oriented three-wheeled leaning scooter, then consider the Yamaha 03GEN-x concept its dirty cousin. Based on Yamaha’s leaning multi-wheel (LVM) technology, the Yamaha 03GEN-x take the same idea, but applies it to off-road duty.

Laced with a spoke-wheel wheelset, a headlight guard, and tall handlebars, the Yamaha 03GEN-x concept is an interesting take on the dual-sport space.

The idea of course is to bring the stability of the LVM concept, as seen on the Yamaha Tricity, to the off-road segment. We’re not sure how the feet-forward scooter sitting position is going to play on rougher trails, but for gravel and fire roads, the 03GEN-x could be a unique style of fun. What do you think?

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Yamaha 03GEN-f Concept

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Yamaha Motor released two concept trikes today, based on the company’s “refined dynamism design” philosophy. Both concepts build off the leaning multi-wheel (LMW) Yamaha Tricity, which is a trike that uses two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back.

Built like a scooter, with a feet-forward sitting position, Yamaha’s 03GEN-f concept expands on the Tricity’s on-road focus, but with sportier motion in mind.

Yamaha says that it will continue to explore concepts under the “GEN” name, meaning we could see some more LWM models from the tuning fork brand in the future.

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