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Honda Teases Last Sketch of Its V4 Adventure Bike

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Honda continues to tease its V4-based adventure bike ahead of its unveiling at EICMA next week. Finally showing off the actual lines of the machine, Honda has clearly made a cross between the CB1000R and VFR1200F in this design. Tall and purposeful, the concept clearly has the extra travel to soak-up an uncertain path, but Honda insists the bike is designed for on-road use. We dig the single-sided swingarm, but it will be interesting to see how Honda finishes off the exhaust pipe, and of course the final fit and finish of the design as a whole (the tail, like on the VFR1200F, seems to be an afterthought).

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Bikes

Honda Releases Another V4 Adventure Concept Teaser

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Honda continues to tease us with concept sketches of its VFR inspired middleweight adventure bike, this time with a drawing of the bike head-on. Expected to have a smaller displacement than the VFR1200F sport-tourer, the advenutre-esque concept will fit a V4 power plant in a more upright and exposed frame and bodywork.

Showing the stacked headlight design, Honda’s new V4 will have a slim profile for better high-speed stability and engine/rider cooling. Honda is also saying that a “floating” instrument cluster will come on the bike, which should help keep eyes pointed down the road’s path.

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Honda VFR Adventure Concept – A Naked VFR1200F?

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Released in Italy today, Honda has taken the wraps off a concept drawing that shows a new crossover motorcycle, based off the VFR1200F. Super-imposed over the shape of the new VFR, this new concept rendering shows a largely reduced fairing, in anticipation of its more “adventurous” segment orientation. If rumors are to believed on the internet, the bike may not share the same 1237cc displacement as its sport-touring cousin, and instead will sport a middleweight displacement (800cc’s seems to be a popular number).

This new VFR is one (or two?) of eight new models Honda has said it will debut in Milan. One of the other rumored models is a 1200cc concept bike, which will reportedly be a 2012 model year motorcycle with Honda’s dual-clutch transmission, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out the rest of what Honda has in store for us.

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News

MINI Scooter E Concept Unveiled – When OEM’s Come Out To Play

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After teasing us with some sketches of the MINI Scooter E Concept before the Paris Motor Show, MINI has finally taken the wraps off its two-wheeled excursion. Showing a variety of flavors, MINI has tried to synthesize the unique elements of its automobile brand into scooter form with the MINI Scooter E Concept. Styling and features come straight from the cars, although they don’t share a common parts bin, while the general ethos remains: an individualistic, yet practical, form of transportation that has the urban commuter in mind.

The important part about the MINI Scooter E Concept though isn’t its fun styling or urban-hipster appeal, but instead the fact that OEM’s are coming out of their holes after weathering the recession’s storm, and getting serious about electrics and electric motorcycles. The fact that a small automobile manufacturer is considering an electric two-wheeled vehicle should send a message to the traditional motorcycle OEM’s and electric startups alike.

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Racing

Yamaha VMAX Concept by Vacuita

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We came across this render while trolling the internet for Ukrainian wives, and thought to ourselves that it sure did look like the bastard child of the Yamaha FZ1 and the upcoming Ducati Diavel. Made back in 2009, this artist’s render pre-dates any of the leaked viewings we saw of the Diavel, but could be an interesting evolution of the VMAX design to answer the Ducati power cruiser.

We like to think of the render as a VMAX on steroids, although we can’t seem to wrap our heads around how the Öhlins shock above the motor mounting works out…but then again we had trouble finding Ukrainian wives on the internet (now that’s saying something).

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Bikes

MINI Electric Scooter Concept at Paris Motor Show

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BMW subsidiary MINI is set to debut an electric scooter concept at the Paris Motor Show later this year in October. Dubbed the MINI E Scooter Concept, the bike will likely be shown along with MINI’s rumored electric car, or MINI E Concept, which has been testing in New York and Los Angeles. The pairing of electric cars with electric scooters is becoming the go-to strategy for the German automakers, as Mercedes-Benz is expected to unveil an electric scooter along with an all electric car at the Paris Motor Show, both under the company’s Smart brand.

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Students Explore News Ducati Designs

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Students at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) of Turin had the opportunity to finish their studies by undertaking a thesis in transportation design that was done in collaboration with Ducati Motor Holdings. 10 students submitted 10 designs to Ducati, for a motorcycle that would enter new market segments and reach a younger demographic.

Five concept were then chosen, and made into 1:4 concepts, with the top concept then being picked and made into a full-size concept. Anchored in production reality, students had to keep an eye on the Ducati parts bin, and stay within the realms of practicability for the company (done with varying degrees of success).

With some very strong concepts coming from the collaboration, it seems almost a shame that Ducati could only pick one winner, but TWINS by Simone Buonpensiere and Daniele Mazzon (shown as the title graphic) was ultimately chosen. Mouthwatering delicious, we sincerely hope Ducati puts this dream into reality.

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Bikes

2011 KTM 125 Duke Officially Named

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After holding an online contest to name its 125cc four-stroke based learner street bike, KTM has shockingly come to the conclusion that it should stick to its Duke nomenclature. Schedule to be the 2011 KTM 125 Duke, KTM debuted the concepts at the 2009 EICMA show in Milan. KTM’s plan is to engage young riders with the “Ready to Race” mantra, making them lifetime Team Orange riders with this stepping-stone model.

With a sporty street bike and a stunter variant, KTM hopes the pair of bikes will resonate well with actual mischievous teenagers, just as its done successfully with adults who have a healthy go-fast inner-child residing inside them.

Look for the 2011 KTM 125 Duke to hit shops in Europe sometime in March, and hit shops in the United States in…well…never. Let KTM USA know how much fun a KTM 350/450 Duke would be in the comments section, and check out the photos and video of the KTM 125 Duke after the jump.

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Bikes

Norton MotoGP Racer Imagined by Oberdan Bezzi

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Oberdan Bezzi has seized on the news that Norton intends to field a MotoGP bike in 2012, and came up with a drawing of what that British-born race bike could look like. The Italian designer sees Norton using a carbon-framed chassis to house its four-cylinder motor with pneumatic valves, and of course with a British rider at the helm. Obiboi sees Norton rocking the white paint-job, but we’re hoping that Norton will choose a color that stands out from the pack a bit more…British Racing Green perhaps?

Source: Oberdan Bezzi

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Bikes

Would You Buy This for $9,000?

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We should preface right off the bat that this is a photoshop’d render of the much anticipated MV Agusta F3 (that Castiglioni hopes will save MV Agusta), and not an actual image of what the final product will look like. Odd logos and checkered flags aside though (let’s do the time warp again), this photoshop by Russian website Motogonki.ru is a good start to imagining what the F3 will look like when MV Agusta drops the F4 camouflage later this year at Milan.

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Concept: Chaparral A1 e-Racer by Oberdan Bezzi

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Italian designer Oberdan Bezzi (view our coverage here) is at it again with his pen and paper, and this time he’s set his mind to imagining a battery-powered electric motorcycle. Based off the now defunked Chaparral brand, Bezzi sees the Texan company reinventing itself and entering the electric motorcycle racing scene. The bike has a full carbon chassis, a liquid cooled motor, and great attention to aerodynamics, according to Obiboi. We can also see five removable battery packs on each side of the motorcycle, and single shock suspension used not only on the rear, but also on the front fork assembly.

Wait…we feel like we’ve seen this before…Yes, it seems Bezzi has ripped-off every detail found on the MotoCzysz E1pc, right down to the motor and controller mounting points. Of course the A1 e-Racer looks like the E1pc 1.0, with its square battery packs. Oberdan must have missed our article on the eDD where we explained that the E1pc’s chevron shaped batteries allowed for more front wheel clearance. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right Michael?

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