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Harley-Davidson XG750R – The Bar & Shield’s Next-Gen Flat Tracker, For Racers Only

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What you see here is the first purpose-built Harley-Davidson race bike to come from the Milwaukee for quite some time, as its been several decades since the Bar & Shield brand formally offered flat track racing machines – 44 years, to be precise.

Called the Harley-Davidson XG750R, the flat track racing machine is based off the Harley-Davidson Street 750 platform, and it will make its racing debut this weekend at the AMA Pro Flat Track Springfield Mile in Illinois.

As the name suggests, the Harley-Davidson XG750R features the same 750cc v-twin engine that is found in the Harley-Davidson Street 750 street bike, though it has been tuned for racing duty.

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Bikes

Victory RR Electric Race Bike Debuts for the Isle of Man TT

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Victory Motorcycles will return to the Isle of Man TT this year, competing again with its electric superbike platform, the Victory RR.

Evolving from the ashes of the Brammo Empulse RR project, the Victory RR continues the work on electric drivetrains for Brammo, which now develops the electric drivetrains that power the Victory Empulse TT electric street bike.

With an all-new machine for the 2016 racing season, the Victory RR is the top-pick to upset the recent domination we have seen from Team Mugen, though that will be a tall order, with Mugen updating its Shinden race bike this year as well.

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi’s 2016 Mugello AGV Helmet

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Another year, and another Italian GP at Mugello. As usual, this means that we have another special AGV helmet from Valentino Rossi to show you.

This year’s helmet is called “Mugiallo” – a play on the Italian word for yellow (“giallo”) and of course the Mugello race track – and is the work of Aldo Drudi, the same man who made the Burasca 1200 that we showed you yesterday.

As you can see from the photos attached, the AGV Pista GP helmet features “Mugiallo” across the crown of the neon helmet, with Rossi’s “46” stenciled on the top of the rear spoiler.

On the nape of the helmet, Rossi’s two dogs (Cesare and Cecilia) and cat (Rossano) are featured, while the Italian flag is on either side of the chin. The top of the helmet as the layout of the Mugello circuit drawn on it.

As we saw during Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the bright neon yellow helmet really stands out on the time sheets.

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Bikes

Burasca 1200 – Aldo Drudi’s Custom Honda VFR1200F

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The Honda VFR1200F isn’t exactly the most popular motorcycle in Honda’s two-wheeled lineup. This might be because the large and heavy sport-tourer shows Honda’s commitment to pushing the VFR brand farther away from its sport-tourer roots, much to the chagrin of VFR owners.

The package isn’t all bad though, it just doesn’t work for a bike billed as a sport-touring machine. The Honda VFR1200X is basically the same bike with longer suspension and different bodywork, and as an adventure-sport machine, it fits the bill quite nicely.

The chassis handles its 590-pound mass well, and the 1,27cc V4 engine has plenty of grunt , and this is what must have been what attracted Aldo Drudi to the machine for his first motorcycle concept.

Better known as the maker of various racer helmet designs, most notably Valentino Rossi’s (expect another Drudi custom helmet, later this weekend), Drudi and his team have dreamed up a VFR that couldn’t possibly exist in Honda’s conservative offerings. They call it the Burasca 1200.

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Event

At the 8th Annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering

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This past weekend, nearly 3,000 motorcyclists descended on the Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel, California.

They didn’t go to the Quail to golf; rather, they went to see the 8th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering. With roughly 400 motorcycles of all genres and years on display, the Quail offered something for everyone.

Unlike last year, this year’s event offered a lot more sunshine and warmer temperatures, and featured the 40th Anniversary of the superbike and a tribute to pre-1916 motorcycles.

Additionally, there were display categories for motorcycles from all parts of the globe. The quantity and quality of the machines on display was impressive.

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Bikes

The SnoPed is An Evil Villain’s Snowbike

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Summer is right around the corner for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so the obviously appropriate time to talk about a snowbike is now, right?

What the SnoPed lacks in seasonal appropriateness, it absolutely makes up for in super-villain stature, as the modern-looking snowbike looks like it rolled (is that the right verb?) off the set of a Hollywood spy movie.

The brainchild of American designer Joey Ruiter, SnoPed features a 90cc engine (out of a Chrysler Sno-runner) underneath its sculpted body, which isn’t exactly going to blow your socks off when knee-deep in the powpow, but is enough to scurry down a groomed cross-country trail.

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