Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

concept

Browsing
Bikes

Watch the Kawasaki J Concept Transform Itself

By 15 Comments

The Kawasaki J Concept isn’t the first example of a leaning mutli-wheel vehicles that you ride upon, as I’m sure you have all seen the similarly themed Yamaha Tesseract by now. Neither a motorcycle, nor a quad…we would even be reluctant to call the Kawasaki J Concept a trike, as the riding experience is complete different from other three-wheelers (technically it has four wheels, though the two rear tires act as one).

As such the J Concept and Tesseract exist in a class all to themselves, and that is probably the point of these concept machines: to explore new forms of vehicle recreation and transportation.

The design as it looks now, doesn’t seem too practical, but the idea of a completely adjustable riding position sounds like a concept with some merit — a sport machine for when you want to go fast, an upright sitting position for when you want to cruise. Hmm…

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati 1199 Panigale Streetfighter by Hertrampf

By 18 Comments

As soon as Bologna debuted the Ducati 1199 Panigale, the speculation was rife on if/when the Italian brand would bring streetfighter and supersport-class machines to market. We have already seen the Ducati 899 Panigale, which isn’t quite race-legal, though packs the superbike’s design philosophies into a more affordable package with a smaller engine displacement.

As for the Streetfighter, the debut of the Ducati Monster 1200 seems to confirm suspicions that Ducati has no plans to continue with a performance-based street naked. With the demise of the Streetfighter 1098, one can only wonder how much longer the Streetfighter 848 will remain in Ducati’s lineup. Surely when the smaller displacements of the Monster line move to water-cooled engine, the we will see the removal of the 848, much to our chagrin.

This still leaves us with some “what if’s” though, as some believe the monocoque “frameless” chassis design of the Panigale makes a streetfighter variant all but impossible. We would have to say that when the fairingless photos of the Ducati 1199 Superleggera that came out this year, our eyes searched for ways to tailor the Panigale’s naked body into some sort of Streetfighter, though it looks like some Germans have gone a step further.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati 1199 Superleggera Tricolore Nero by Tessoart

By 13 Comments

As we look back in hindsight, the Ducati 1199 Superleggera has to be one of the more compelling bikes to come out of 2013. A motorcycle built with the unilateral approach of making the lightest sport bike possible, the Superleggera doesn’t disappoint from a technical point of view.

However, judging from some of the reactions of its debut, some readers would have liked to see Ducati stray away from the Corse inspired livery, which had already been featured on the Ducati Desmosedici RR — Ducati’s previous halo bike.

We understand that sentiment, after all not everyone is into the more-orange-than-red “Flouro Rosso” paint job that Ducati’s racing machines now wear in the premier class. That is where the Ducati 1199 Superleggera Tricolore Nero by Tessoart comes into play.

A continuation of the Tricolore Nero paint job for the Panigale, which we showed earlier this year, Tessoart shows us that maybe Ducati made a mistake in its color choices for the “super light” Panigale. After all black is supposed to be slimming, right?

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

And More Photos of the Suzuki Extrigger Electric Concept

By 8 Comments

A brand better known for trotting out the same “timeless” designs each year, Suzuki seems to be finally waking up from its recession-induced slumber, and debuted two intriguing motorcycle concepts at the Tokyo Motor Show.

We already showed you today more photos of the turbocharged Suzuki Recursion street bike concept (please Suzuki, build this bike), and the Japanese OEM has shown a shining for the budding electric segment as well.

The Suzuki Extrigger electric concept is an interesting machine, as its form factor is very similar to the Honda Grom. Using the same electric motor as the company’s Suzuki E-Let’s scooter, we can assume that the Extrigger is packing the same unimpressive figures of 2hp and 11 lbs•ft of torque as the E-Let, though Suzuki does say that the Extrigger weighs a paltry 137 lbs, which is alluring.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

More Photos of the Turbo-Powered Suzuki Recursion

By 41 Comments

Forced-induction was the trend du jour at the Tokyo Motor Show, with Kawasaki showing off a supercharged four-cylinder engine and with Suzuki debuting its turbocharged Recursion concept.

While Team Green is being tightlipped with what exactly its up to (all we know is that the supercharged motorcycle engine has been developed completely in-house), Suzuki is more keen with teasing its machine.

Releasing some more photos of the Suzuki Recursion, this bike is looking like a winner to us, with its water-cooled 588cc twin-cylinder engine that features an intercooled turbocharger.

Suzuki says the engine package is just shy of 100hp at 8,000 rpm, with peak torque coming in at 74 lbs•ft at 4,500 rpm. The Suzuki Recursion is also quoted as being 384 lbs dry.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Fluid Ducati Superleggera Concept by Gannet Design

By 37 Comments

You would be hard-pressed to improve upon the design of the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, as the “superlight” superbike has equal helpings of design and technical beauty.

That hasn’t stopped Ulfert Janssen of Gannet Design though, as the German designer has inked an interesting take on Ducait’s 1199 platform, which he calls the Fluid Ducati Superleggera.

Janssen’s renders have some interesting elements to them, though we suspect that the Ducatisti are already sharpening their pitchforks. What do you think?

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Looks Like the Yamaha PES1 Electric Street Bike Is a Runner

By 31 Comments

Last week when Yamaha debuted its electric street bike concept, the Yamaha PES1, we thought it looked like a well-though out concept machine that gave the tuning fork brand some street cred for thinking about a future with electric motorcycles. After all, the Japanese company was light on details, and certain parts of the bike seemed a bit more Star Trek than reality. Turns out we were wrong.

Releasing a video of the Yamaha PES1 testing on the track, it’s clear that the concept is fully-functional (just like Data), which means Yamaha has set its phasers to stun with this 100kg machine. From the cuts of this quick YouTube flick, Yamaha seems as serious as a Borg cube with its electric project, which only adds to the intrigue on when they could debut a proper production model.

Maybe with the rumors about Honda being behind the Mugen Shinden project, Yamaha didn’t want Big Red to get too far ahead in the EV game. Whatever the case may be, we like it…even more than Klingon gagh.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Kawasaki J Concept – A Green Outlook on the Future

By 9 Comments

Sometimes we like our concept motorcycles to be funky, and the Kawasaki J Concept certainly delivers in that department. Debuting at the Tokyo Motor Show a vision on what the future of motorcycling could become, the Kawasaki J is an electric trike/quad with a variable riding position/chassis configuration.

Not too dissimilar from the Yamaha Tesseract, the J Concept is an interesting exercise in design and technology proposals, and could be the future of leaning-trikes and similar vehicles. What are your thoughts?

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yamaha R25 Concept — Your Christmas Has Been Ruined

By 36 Comments

Feeling the pressure to develop a 250cc sport bike for developing markets, Yamaha has finally released some details on the upcoming Yamaha R25, and we like what we see so far. A two-cylinder machine with racing in its blood, Yamaha’s concept is like a mini Yamaha YZR-M1 — devoid of lights and mirrors — and features racing livery with an Akrapovic exhaust to match.

The Yamaha R25 concept is an encouraging sign from Yamaha, even if what we are looking is a concept bike rather than a production-ready model.

But still, Yamaha’s approach in styling the Yamaha R25 to visually look like a miniature M1 is going to payoff huge dividends in Southeast Asia, where the bulk of the models are going to be sold, and where Rossi and Lorenzo have massive droves of fans. For us in the western world, well this bike just looks hot. We want one already.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yamaha PED1 Concept — Electrics Are About to Get Dirty

By 3 Comments

The off-road counterpart to Yamaha’s electric Yamaha PES1 concept street bike, the Yamaha PED1 concept is the second electric motorcycle concept that Yamaha intends to debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Like its on-road sibling, the PED1 features a monocoque chassis, along with a DC brushless motor, automatic/manual transmission, and a swappable lithium-ion battery pack.

The core of the Yamaha PED1 appears to be exactly the same as the Yamaha PES1, which one could easily be chalked up to a Yamaha designer reusing renders for each bike. However, the repurposing of the core components showcases a strong element of electric vehicles: their ability to use truly modular designs.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yamaha PES1 Concept – Another OEM Considers Electrics

By 10 Comments

The Tokyo Motor Show is next week, and while we expect Honda to debut the Honda Gold Wing F6C at the show, it looks like Yamaha is set to make some waves as well. Teasing four concept motorcycles, two have caught our interest. First up is the Yamaha PES1 concept, which is an electric sport bike with a DC brushless motor and lithium-ion battery.

Yamaha is light on details, and we can imagine that the concepts are meant more to illustrate that the tuning fork brand is “thinking about” electrics, as is the vogue with OEMs at the moment. However, the design is interesting, especially with Yamaha suggesting that the battery pack, called the Yamaha Smart Power Module, is swappable on the sub-100kg machine.

Keep Reading
By