Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

concept

Browsing
Banter

What Goes into a Motorcycle Concept Sketch?

By No Comments

We have already covered designer Nicolas Petit’s time-lapse video, which shows the 20-minute process of drawing out a motorcycle concept sketch. But what goes into envisioning a concept like the Wunderlich BMW R1200S in the first place? Well, Petit has a video for that as well.

Any interesting perspective on how the French designer takes a BMW R1200GS Adventure, turns it into a boxer-twin sport bike, and then a streetfighter, it is always facinating to see the process behind a person’s art. And if you’re thinking, “man, I wish they’d build that bike!” You’re not alone in that thought.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

KTM Super Duke 1290R Concept by Mirco Sapio

By 12 Comments

One of the most eye-catching machines at the 2012 EICMA show in Milan, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R shows the Austrian brand’s return to making beastly asphalt-churning street-nakeds. Edgy in design, and featuring a bored-out version of the KTM 1190 RC8 R’s v-twin engine at its core, we are counting down the days until the Maestros at Mattighofen release the new Super Duke upon us.

Helping tide us over until that day is this very interesting re-imagining, Micro Sapio’s KTM Super Duke 1290R concept. We have featured Sapio’s work here on A&R before, though we have to say we are more smitten with his more recent take on the Super Duke than his last.

Taking some cues from KTM’s concept design, the highlights of Sapio’s concept are its gorgeous tail section and exhaust, as well as the unique front-end fork and air-intake design. We wouldn’t mind seeing some of these ideas incorporated into KTM’s final work, though we think the LED headlight and some other details are going to put off some enthusiasts. More photos after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Banter

How Long Does it Take You to Draw a Motorcycle?

By 5 Comments

We spend a bit of our time here at Asphalt & Rubber featuring the work of Nicolas Petit, and other designers, sharing with you the unique visions that these artists create. Some of their work comes to fruition in three dimensions, and some of it remains in a two-dimensional form, but it is all still pretty damn impressive. But what goes into these sketches and renders?

Working on his BMW HP2 Megamoto LC Concept, Petit has condensed his 20-minute sketching routine, and put together a short three-minute time-lapse video of his work. Armed with only with a couple pens and markers, Petit makes short-work of the sketch, though we can only imagine how many hours of studying design had to come together before pen could be put to paper. Check it out after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Wunderlich BMW R1200S Concept by Nicolas Petit

By 7 Comments

If you don’t follow the work of Nicolas Petit, you should. The French designer has been inking some of the most striking motorcycle concepts in the industry, and the best part is many of them are coming to life thanks to BMW accessories provider Wunderlich.

Refusing to let go of the thesis provided BMW HP2 Sport, Petit envisions BMW’s new semi water-cooled boxer engine (first seen on the 2013 BMW R1200GS) as providing the basis for a new sport bike in the HP2’s vein, complete with a single-sided swingarm, dual undertail exhaust, and Öhlins suspension.

It might be a tough sell now that the BMW S1000RR and BMW HP4 have hit dealership floors, but there is something really quite elegant in Petit’s design, and we imagine there are more than few weekend riders who wouldn’t mind such a unique machine with a boxer’s punch.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

More Photos of the Suzuki V-Strom Concept

By 9 Comments

Suzuki is remaining fairly tight-lipped about its V-Strom Concept it is showing at EICMA in Italy, which first broke cover last month at the INTERMOT show in Germany. Simply saying that the model will eventually be built (in 2014?), it is not clear how close what we see here is to the production version.

A much needed revamp to its adventure bike offering, the real question for the Japanese company will be whether the new Suzuki V-Strom will be too little too late. Photos after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

KTM 1290 Super Duke R Prototype Concept Bike

By 39 Comments

As we said before in our EICMA coverage, the teased machine under the orange sheet was not a production model, but in fact a concept bike of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R Prototype. The first fully functional concept bike that KTM has ever shown, the KTM 1290 Superduke R Prototype makes an estimated 180hp and looks bat shit crazy, in a good way.

Based on the new KTM Super Duke, the KTM 1290 Superduke R Prototype  uses the same pavement kicking LC8 motor as the KTM 1190 RC8 R, though with an extra 100cc of skin in the game. Radical in just about every way, our favorite aspect has to be the custom Akrapovic exhaust, which is simply delicious. The boys and girls at Kiska really out did themselves on this one.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Husqvarna Baja Concept Gets Closer to Reality

By 11 Comments

When Husqvarna debuted the at the start of this year, it was tipped that the Husqvarna Baja Concept, which was modern take on the Husqvarna Cross 400, could make it into production. We rejoiced. Eleven months later, Husqvarna has returned with the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept at the EICMA show, and the design has gone a great deal forward from its avant garde angles, to something that is a bit more rounded.

Looking like a bike that is ready for production, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that the German-owned brand will bring the Baja to market in 2013. Based around the same 652cc BMW engine that is found in the Husqvarna Strada, the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept uses a steel tube frame for the chassis.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Concept – Coming in 2014?

By 22 Comments

While the KTM 1190 Adventure and BMW R1200GS were grabbing all the headlines from INTERMOT today, we think the real news from the adventure-touring section is the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 concept, a nearly production ready bike that will debut in 2014. While Suzuki V-Strom owners we preach from the mountain the off-road prowess of their bikes, the truth is that Suzuki did not have adventure-touring on its mind when it built the V-Strom 1000 (or 650 for that matter), with the emphasis more on the touring side of that designation, than the adventure.

A quick look at the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Concept for the 2014 model, and that has clearly changed. A bit late to the party, Suzuki has finally put together what looks like a serious ADV bike, which will likely rival other Japanese ADV bikes like the Yamaha Super Ténéré, and give BMW, Ducati, KTM, and Triumph buyers some serious pause before they plop down the extra cash on those premium market bikes.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yamaha Moto Cage-Six Concept

By 5 Comments

Built off the Yamaha XJ6, the Yamaha Moto Cage-Six is a bit different from its predecessor. Loud, audacious, loud, likely prone to wheelie, and loud…those are words we likely will never hear used when describing the XJ6, yet seemingly apply well here with the Cage-Six.

We are not sure how many XJ6 bikes will end up living their lives on StuntLife, but Yamaha’s Moto Cage-Six Concept certainly does illustrate how far a little imagination can go in taking something from “meh” to “totes m’goats” in this Gen-Y world. Hell, with a little less neon yellow, we might even consider rocking this around the block a few times.

Still, if we had to choose between the two, there would have to be an overwhelming preference to see Yamaha’s three-cylinder motor with a crossplane crankshaft get built over this marketing exercise. Different strokes for different folks though. More photos after the…oh dear god, that’s a car tire on the rear wheel, isn’t it?

Keep Reading
By
News

Your Next Yamaha Might Be a Crossplane Triple

By 35 Comments

Debuting a three-cylinder concept at the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Yamaha is teasing the hypothesis of a tuning-fork brand triple with a crossplane crankshaft.

A technology that was developed in MotoGP for Yamaha YZR-M1, and then handed down to the Yamaha YZF-R1 in 2009, the unique qualities of the crossplane inline-four cylinder motor has been a key component to Yamaha’s potent, yet ridable machines.

Taking that same idea, and then applying it to a three-cylinder engine, Yamaha hopes to create a new motor that will appeal to street riders.

Keep Reading
By