MV Agusta Brutale 1090RR Cannonball Kit

MV Agusta announced today a new "track only" Cannonball Kit for the Brutale 1090RR. With the new package, MV Agusta wants increasing the performance, making the bike even lighter and fully exploiting its technology.

The new Cannonball Kit includes a modified Engine Control Unit, cylinder head, camshafts, valves and exhaust system, which is manufactured completely from titanium and is completed by a low and spirited exhaust pipe. The result is an increase of 21 HP to a total of 165 HP. At 9.000 revs/min the power is 140 hp, at 10.000 it is 160 hp, a little later the maximum is reached, an absolute record for Brutale.

The new technical components enables the Brutale Cannonball to excel on the track: the exciting performance are restrained by the pure chassis and by high quality suspension components which enable the rider to enjoy easy handling and the typical pleasure of riding an MV Agusta bike.

Confederate Motorcycles P120 Black Flag

Confederate Motorcycles revealed the first teaser images of the special edition P120 Black Flag. It will be limited to only 50 units. Prices will be announced at a later date.

The P120 Black Flag is powered by a 120-cubic-inch V-twin engine with 160 Hp and 135 lbs-ft of torque. The motorcycle will feature a similar frame of 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum monocoque backbone, the same fuel-carrying frame as the standard Fighter and a the standard double-wishbone front ford assembly.

Stay tuned, we’ll get back with more details soon!

MV Agusta F4

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MV Agusta has finally released the second generation of the F4 superbike more than a decade after the original release and we came to find that the all-new machine remains faithful to the original Tamburini design. But probably the best part about the 2010 MV Agusta F4 is the fact that it now benefits of 186 hp (12 hp more than the 2009 model year), while weight is down with no less than 10 kg. So with an overall 192.5kg/424lbs (dry) and the aforementioned performance number, the MV Agusta F4 should remain the ultimate production superbike. Please read the full press release and check out the generous picture gallery after the break.

Updated 06/23/2010: The new MV Agusta F4 superbike is now available as US dealers at a price of $18,500. Also the company announced they have signed a partnership with MB Financial to offer a retail financing program in order to encourage riders to purchase both new and used MV Agusta motorcycles.

Press release after the jump.

2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R teased

The Japanese motorcycle maker Kawasaki is teasing us with the 2011 Ninja ZX10R super bike. According to the first details the motorcycle will receive a complete makeover: a more aggressive look, a completely restyled fairing and exhaust, new chassis and new engine that is rumored to deliver more than 200 HP.

Of course the new ZX10R will keep the same green ninja paint scheme as with all the previous Ninja models.

During the next few weeks, people interested will be able to go to Kawasaki Challenge and discover more about the future motorcycle.

However when launched the new ZX-10R will have strong competition on the market (Yamaha YZF-R1, Honda CBR-1000RR, and also the Suzuki GSX-R 1000) so is no wonder that Kawasaki will do its best to improve their motorcycle as much as possible.

Teaser video after the jump.

Guy Martin crashes while doing 150mph at TT

Photo credit: Noel O’Reilly / Tony W. Elder

Guy Martin was racing last Friday on the Isle of Man TT course and was doing quite well with a registered average speed of 131.108mph during the first lap at Glen Vine. But the Senior TT race was to come to a sudden end for the highly experienced rider and his Honda CBR1000RR due to a 150mph crash that ended up generating this immense fireball. The incident happened during Guy’s third lap on a fast left/right section of the course and the race had to be red flagged.

As a result of the crash, Guy Martin is now in the hospital recovering from his broken ribs, bruised lungs, twisted ankles and fractured vertebrae. That’s nothing considering the speed at which the crash took place and also two key factors that kept Guy alive consist in him separating from the bike early in the crash and wearing the D-Air airbag-equipped leather suit. He’ll be back on its feet soon.

Loading a jet ski the bad way [w/video]

After a day riding the jet sky on the local lake, there’s nothing like a good buddy coming to help you load up the thing and get going home. But for everything to go well, make sure the guy in cause isn’t an absolute idiot that will have you drowned. Obviously, this is the case here. The driver of this Ford Econoline gets the rear end in the water and the wheels lose traction right when the jet sky rider is in the back struggling for a breath of air in the water-filled van. Thanks to God, he made it out alive.

Converting a KTM 530 EXC into a café racer

You might remember Roland Sands’ KTM 530 EXC café racer that we’ve shown you a month back. We’re getting deeper into the story with detailed pictures from during the build and three inside videos of the café racer conversion. The process consisted mostly in shortening the suspension and the adding of a custom made bodywork with incredible results.

Triumph Street Triple R gets the Rizoma treatment

Aftermarket parts supplier Rizoma recently worked their magic on Triumph’s Street Triple R and the result is at least remarkable. The Street Triple R was already the flagship of Hinckley’s middleweight naked lineup, but the extras are truly welcomed.

As known, Rizoma’s strategy starts from the fact that it’s the little things that make a bike special, so they offer just that, meaning their own mirrors, indicator lights, grips, handlebar caps, handlebars, fluid tanks, fluid tank caps, brake/clutch levers, handlebar adapter, license plate support, engine guard, front wheel guard, rear wheel guard, crankcase guard, rear set control kit, rider/passenger pegs, engine oil filter cap, wheel hole cap, bike stand support and lower chain guard.

Although it is less likely that owners of one of the best middleweight inline-triple bikes out there will initially think there’s something missing on their machine, after a while they’ll start feeling the need to spice things up a little bit and there will be Rizoma to help them out. We’re starting to think that these kinds of aftermarket kits for motorcycles are just as well suited as new rims are for cars.

Mulholland and GSX-Rs [w/video]

Mulholland a.k.a. The Snake seems to have a bad relation with motorcycles in general and GSX-Rs in particular as the highway’s often challenging curves happen to throw off the seats even the most experienced riders. We’re not sure if that’s the case with the next two examples that we came across, but they’re enough to make a point. The first rider lowsides and the second highsides, both while riding a Suzuki GSX-R on the same section of The Snake. Hit the jump to see the videos.

Harley-Davidson FLTRX Road Glide Custom

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Among Harley’s nine all new 2010 models, we find the Road Glide Custom a much more aggressive approach towards the shark-nose Harley-Davidson classic style. Not only the bike is now lowered, but it also features a big 18-inch front wheel, a 2-into-1 exhaust, and a smooth tail light assembly for a bike that is worthy of the word ‘custom’ in its name.

While the chassis is based on a single-spar, rigid backbone frame and a stout swingarm developed to withstand the demands of long-haul touring riders and today’s more-powerful engines, we’re happy to hear that the 96ci V-Twin behind this model is capable of 125.55 Nm at 3500 rpm, which makes the Road Glide Custom even more of a temptation.

Harley-Davidson FLSTSE CVO Softail Convertible

Like always before, this year’s World Ducati Week turned into a veritable party and the fun factor was increased by an organized sexy bike wash. The happy Ducatis were an 1198 and a Multistrada 1100, but you’ll see in the fairly short video after the jump that soon everybody was washing everybody. Troy Bayliss was also at Misano for a piece of the action, so you couldn’t get any better than this. Make sure you see the video as it is well worth it.

Sexy bike wash at the World Ducati Week 2010 [w/video]

Like always before, this year’s World Ducati Week turned into a veritable party and the fun factor was increased by an organized sexy bike wash. The happy Ducatis were an 1198 and a Multistrada 1100, but you’ll see in the fairly short video after the jump that soon everybody was washing everybody. Troy Bayliss was also at Misano for a piece of the action, so you couldn’t get any better than this. Make sure you see the video as it is well worth it.

Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight goes against the women of roller derby [w/video]

Uwe Wachtendorf of Cycle Canada rides the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight on the roller girls track in the quest for the ideal cover shot for their next month’s issue. The joining is a stretch and they admit it in the video, but my opinion is that, considering the way some of those women look, they should have used the FAT Boy model.

Harley-Davidson FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide

The Harley-Davidson Wide Glide is new for 2010 and it is entirely reduced to a big V-Twin engine around which they’ve contoured the old-school chopper style. Inspired by its glorious past and looking towards the future, this Dyna model is a low, stretched-out custom with drag bars and forward foot controls that give its rider a real fists-in-the-wind profile. Also, the LED stop/turn/tail light combo and side-mounted license plate keep the chopped rear fender clean; so clean that no rebel out there will ignore it.

1975 Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker = $1800 worth of parts

A simple look at this street tracker is enough for one to think this is a rather expensive project bike and, considering the work and dedication that went into it, there’s nothing wrong with thinking that. But the truth is that Ken Fontenot and the crew at Cycle Sports in Houston, Texas started from a 1975 XS650 rolling chassis that was rusting outside their shop for the past decade and a half. They’ve restored it and used other parts from around the shop to turn it into a fully-functional motorcycle worthy of the checker flag. In the end, the project took six months and under $1800 worth of parts to complete, so it is a winner from the start. Just click past the break for the official description.

World's first chopper rider that needs training wheels?

Take a look at this chopper and start saving money because apparently this is what your kid will ride for the first time in his life if you give him a certain kind of milk.

This children’s powdered milk ad is from the Executive Center agency in Luanda, Angola and we have to admit that if it wasn’t for that can in the bottom of the page, we would have still been wondering what is this suppose to mean.

NCR turns Ducati's Desmosedici RR into Millona 16

It is hard to believe that someone can take the Ducati Desmosedici RR and make it better, but it happened. This is the NCR Milona 16, a lightened, upgraded and implicit faster Ducati Desmosedici RR. We wouldn’t have believed it if the thing wouldn’t have recently been unveiled at the World Ducati Week at Misano.

The Italian tuning specialist has fitted the 200bhp MotoGP replica with a multitude of carbon fiber main parts such as the all-new frame and swingarm, rims, fuel tank, half-fairing, rear subframe, tail unit and front mudguard. All these, together with the titanium and aircraft-grade aluminum, reduce the bike’s dry weight to 319lbs (an impressive 71lbs less than what Ducati achieved).

Using performance Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes, NCR’s M16 turns into a much sweeter ride. Although it doesn’t go significantly over 200bhp, which is the standard bike’s horsepower figure, the retuned engine is aimed at delivering a whole different rush across the powerband.

Claimed to be ‘world’s most exclusive motorcycle’, the NCR M16 will be built to order only and we don’t dare to think about the six-figure price.

Harley-Davidson FLHTK Electra Glide Ultra Limited

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For 2010, Harley-Davidson took the Electra Glide and gave it a shot of steroids. The end result is even more performance and much greater touring looks. Now powered by a Twin Cam 103ci engine, which is 10 percent torqueier than the Twin Cam 96 engine, the all new Electra Glide Ultra Limited had to feature a new chassis that would withstand the new demands involved. The single-spar, rigid backbone frame and a stout swingarm sound like just the right components to start with.

2010 Mugello MotoGP race report: Dani Pedrosa dominates and wins!

Dani Pedrosa rode his Honda towards the win of Italy’s MotoGP Grand Prix yesterday in Mugello during the forth stage of the 2010 Championship. The Spaniard was followed by Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo (the man on top for the moment) and teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi crashed quite hard during the qualifying rounds on Sunday, so he had to satisfy with the moral support shown by fans during the race as he was recuperating in hospital in Florence after his right tibia operation. Please read the race results after the jump.

Kawasaki Z900 gets the magic touch

Turning a classic inline-four Japanese motorcycle into a modern custom doesn’t sound like the easiest task, but the results can be truly satisfying. Just take a look at this 1976 Kawasaki Z900 that Spanish custom builder La Perra Bikes recently finished.

At its base, the bike remains the same, so the low bars and black wire wheels, Ohlins inverted forks, Brembo radial brake calipers as well as the wavy Galfer brake rotors help bring it back through the living. Once there, the chopped exhaust should make sure everyone hears it roar.

All in all, this looks like a short way from classic to custom, but it is the black and gold combination that really makes a striking difference.

Harley-Davidson XR1200X

As hard as it may be to believe, Harley-Davidson’s XR1200X model was only available in Europe ever since it was introduced a year ago, keeping Americans away from the bike’s 74 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm and 40-degree lean angle, not to mention the impressive looks. But it is all over now that Harley announced that the 2011 model year comes stateside (how does that even sound considering the American company’s huge fan clubs stretching from coast to coast).

For a price of $11,799, the 2011 Harley-Davidson XR1200X offers a lot. To begin with, the sports bike features Showa Big Piston front forks with adjustable rebound, compression and preload working together with the dual Showa rear shocks with 36mm pistons and piggyback nitrogen-charged reservoirs. Also, the front brakes – 292mm full-floating rotors and four-piston calipers – are supplied by Nissin.

But this bike is definitely all about the looks and with the rider positioned in a rather sporty riding position – at 29.2 inches from the ground, gripping on rear-mount pegs and holding on to dirt track-style handlebars – it will most likely be a hit in the States as well. So the question remains: why would H-D test the old continent market before introducing the bike here? Anyway, colors available for 2011 are Black Denim and White Hot Denim.

From barn find to café racer: Honda CB750 [w/video]

A café racer fan found this 1977 Honda CB750 on eBay and made it his for a couple hundred bucks. The bike was sitting in a barn for a couple of years, but it was fully functional and could be ridden for the next few months before the café racer transformation began.

First thing first, clubman bars and a tri-bar headlight were added so that the bike would lose its factory look. Also, the seat was reformed and reupholstered so that it would add a sporty look and yet offer plenty of comfort. After getting its carbs synchronized, exhaust pipes trimmed and brakes overhauled, the old CB was already transforming into a much sweater ride.

But this Honda’s Norton-like toutch was to be given during the second stage of the customization process by a new tank paintjob. In the end, this looks like a sweet and comfy café racer with plenty of years left to spend on the road. Hear it after the jump.

Suzuki Boulevard M90

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Suzuki has accorded a lot of attention to performance cruisers in these last few years and so have been introduced models such as the entry-level M50 and their ultimate demonstration of power, the M109R. But their famous Boulevard line of cruising motorcycles didn’t feature anything in between these two models, something that would fill in the big gap and keep consumers hooked to Suzuki…until last year’s Suzuki Boulevard M90. The bike carries on to 2010, so let’s find out more about it.


Suzuki DR-Z70Ex-presidents Clinton, Bush visit Haiti

Triumph Street Triple unveils its flat-tracker side

Many will agree with us on the fact that Triumph’s Street Triple is suitable for all kinds of riding activities, but we’re surprised to see it can look well as a flat-tracker as well. The Triumph Street Triple Tracker was built by German dealer Motorcorner and the bike they started from was actually an R version.

As hard as it may be to believe, changes were actually minimal. The engine is unchanged (but does get an aftermarket exhaust for a racy sound) and so is the chassis apart from the 17” spoked wheels.

Who would have thought that a white/gold paintjob and a pair of aluminum rims would transform Triumph’s middleweight roadster into a veritable flat-track racer? This project follows Motorcorner’s 2009 Bonneville-based street tracker. Hope this turns into a tradition.

Finance overhaul is being used as re-election toolTriumph Speed Triple by Schneider

Badass electric cruiser concept of the future

What we like the most about the Duka electric motorcycle is the fact that although it retains the timeless lines of cruisers, it is actually conceptualized as an electric machine of the future. Obviously, it won’t sound mean, but the two compact and efficient DC motors are claimed to allow the Duka to ride freely on the highways and yet remain manageable around the city.

Featuring inside-out aluminum frame structure based on structural I-beams, this should be a safe and durable cruiser with a low center of gravity and a forgiving riding position. Also, interchangeable components named “Pods” should ease maintenance and upgrades, but we would have to see at least a prototype before we start drooling.

Obama urges patience, lower expectations on economy2020 Harley-Davidson concept looks neat!

Harley-Davidson Hexagon - it's all in the details

There are custom bikes and then there are amazing custom bikes. This one fits in the second category from obvious reasons. It is a Harley-Davidson customized by Horst Dzhangmen in a unique way during three long years. Long story short, all parts were cut in the form of hexagon, apart from the Shovelhead 1340 cc engine, transmission and modified frame, which are all original H-D parts.

Looking for a reason to why would someone spend that amount of time handcrafting parts for such a bike? No special reason. This is just another way to stand out.

Pew poll: Obama's public support is erodingHarley-Davidson XR1200 café racer by Roland Sands

Suzuki DR-Z70

After the launch of the all-new Suzuki DR-Z70 back in 2008, the Japanese manufacturer carries on producing this model with little changes, something that makes us suspect that youngsters won’t be seeing this exercise applied on Suzuki’s small off-road model pretty soon. Not only the bike is a favorite in its category and there’s no reason to change something that isn’t wrong, but we also have the example of the bike’s bigger siblings, the DR-Z125/L.


Son of late Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles may run against SinkSuzuki V-Strom 1000/SE Touring

Suzuki DR-Z400SM

Not long ago, Suzuki inspired from the DR-Z400S to create their first dual sport model, a very punchy and versatile one called the DR-Z-400SM. The bike successfully addresses to youngsters in search of a light and easy to ride motorcycle that would stand both for a commuter and an adrenaline source depending on the rider’s demands.


Funny: “fully-accessorized” Suzuki DRLawmaker glimpsed `beach babe’ photo

Suzuki DR-Z400S

Following the evolution of its bigger sibling (the Suzuki DR650SE), the Suzuki DR-Z400S remains visually unchanged for 2010, but ads a few distinctive touches in order to stand out by its own. Mechanically, the new DR doesn’t feature any late additions worth to brag about, so it remains the same bulletproof built machine on the trails and a docile commuter when not on them.


Ex-presidents Clinton, Bush visit HaitiSuzuki V-Strom 1000/SE Touring

The sexiest BMW S1000RR owner ever!

If beauty is what your eyes keep rolling after, you surely are familiar to American model Hope Dworaczyk and the BMW S1000RR superbike, but we’ve come to find that these two beauties recently collided.

Playboy magazine selected the 25-year-old Texan to be their ‘Playmate of the Year’ and handed her in a $100,000 check and the keys to 2010’s best superbike. With that kind of wheels and money, she can go riding around the world for a year with a few photo studio stops, of course. Here’s her first shot with the bike…we know, it hurts.

Last but most importantly, this is the first time in 45 years that the Playmate of the Year has been given a motorcycle instead of a car, meaning bikers are expecting even more such delights.

The sexiest BMW S1000RR owner ever!Lawmaker glimpsed `beach babe’ photo

Brembo's new airbag jacket can be a life saver [w/video]

We recently made a post about the Alpinestars Tech Air Race motorcycle suit that features airbags as an extra protection system and while that is a viable solution for riders that plan on keeping the action mostly on the track and definitely using superbikes, this late airbag jacket that Brembo has created appears to be much more appropriate for daily use by commuters and mainly for those who also want to retain a fashionable and stylish note apart from the extra safety.

Called the Brembo Life Jacket, this very special motorcycle/scooter clothing item features an airbag system that deploys in just 80 milliseconds when the rider is suddenly separated from his/her machine. The immediate response is thanks to a new activator developed with Helite and Sabelt. These lasts are responsible for the inertial reel connection cable that is attached to the motorcycle that triggers the airbag.