Sport

Legendary designer Pierre Terblanche gave us many striking motorcycles, and the Ducati 749 was one of the very best.

Dig this ride? Well, we’ve got some good news. Although it was discontinued in 2006, the folks at Bring A Trailer have a clean and sinister Ducati 749 Dark up for sale, a bike that is perfect to make you feel like the savior of Gotham.

Triumph Motorcycles has of late only given us updates about its EV plans, without shedding any light on the future of its ICE products. But now, the British bike maker’s upcoming 2022 Street Triple 765 has been spotted testing for the first time, revealing a fair bit about what we can expect from it.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 has been a go-to motorcycle for custom bikemakers looking to create easy-on-the-pocket builds. But MK Designs, based out of India, has something for existing customers, can up the sport quotient on your GT 650 by a sizeable chunk.

Climate change is now a more prominent issue than ever and it’s about time we begin doing our part to reduce its impact. This is also the message the city police of Lausanne in Switzerland wants to give its citizens by switching to electric motorcycles for patrolling

Yes, you read that right. The local police force has replaced two of its gas-powered BMW patrol bikes with all-electric Zero SR/S motorcycles, thus urging its citizens to do the same.

Helmets are arguably the most important piece of protective riding gear you can get. And thanks to this, they are also the highest-selling and most popular riding gear amongst riders.

To cash in on this, many helmet companies roll out special colorways for their helmets, which vary from MotoGP editions to full-blown, loud Marvel and DC Comics liveries. And similarly, leading Japanese helmet-maker Shoei has introduced limited-edition liveries for its popular helmets, the RF-1400 and the GT-Air II.

Let’s take a closer look.

There are a lot of theories suggesting why you shouldn’t store tires or leave them on your motorcycle for a long period and even why you shouldn’t buy tires that are older than a few years.

But how true are these things really? Well, that’s exactly what we’re debunking here, with the help of a very informative video by Revzilla.

The Kawasaki Ninja moniker has been on the market since forever now and one of the most iconic models in the Ninja lineup was the ZX7R. With 12 AMA superbike championships under its belt, it’s safe to say that the ZX7R was also a pretty fast motorcycle in its time.

Although the bike was discontinued in 2003, it still remains a hit amongst bike collectors. And one such bike was sold by reseller Iconic Motorbike Auctions, based in the USA, and the new owner has tastefully turned it into a one-of-a-kind ZX7R.

When looking for a value-for-money multi-cylinder bike, it doesn’t really get any better than the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650. Hailing from India, the bike offers a fantastic blend of classic styling and a thumping engine.

The only gripe with it though can be its power output, which is closer to 400cc bikes rather than its 650cc rivals.

To counter this, French bikemaker Baak Motorcycles has taken matters into its own hands and has created a one-of-a-kind custom Continental GT 650, putting out more power than the Kawasaki Ninja 650!

Over the years, the Suzuki Hayabusa has become one of the most popular motorcycles to pop a turbo or supercharger and an extended swingarm to create a blistering fast drag bike.

And this is exactly what UK-based supercharger specialist TTS Performance did by popping in a supercharger on a second-gen Hayabusa, which puts out a bonkers 401 horsepower!

While this is a dyno-tested figure, the folks at 44Teeth wanted to test it out in the real world, so they did what any person would do with a bike like this - take it on an airstrip. But they didn’t stop there and brought along an all-new third-gen Hayabusa to do some drag races.

Up to speed? Let’s get to the real deal.

Back in 2003, Warner Bros released the movie Matrix Reloaded starring Keanu Reeves alongside Carrie-Anne Moss, and it still remains an epic watch.

One of the movie’s most iconic scenes was the motorcycle chase sequence where Anne Moss heroically runs from the police astride a fancy emerald green Ducati 996. In fact, this chase became so popular that the Italian giant decided to launch a special Matrix edition of its then flagship bike, the 998 in 2004.

Now, 18 years later, one of these exotic bikes has come up for sale at Motorcycle Investment Services based in the U.K, for a relatively affordable price. Let’s dive into the details.

Honda has dropped the first-ever teaser image and video of its upcoming Hawk 11. To jog your memory, there had been several rumors suggesting that a new old-school Honda motorcycle is set to swoop in, essentially replacing the CB1100 that was discontinued last year.

But that’s not all, another teaser will drop sometime between now and the official launch date of the bike, set to take place at the Osaka Motorcycle Show 2022 scheduled for March the 19th.

With that out of the way, let’s dive into the details (or whatever we know so far).

The Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 is a striking motorcycle as it is and rarely do we see any custom builds based on it. This, however, is one of those rare times.

Meet the ‘Yellow Arrow’ by Slovenia-based Gas & Retro customs which is a souped-up Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 with numerous bolt-on parts and a very special mechanical upgrade. More on the latter in a bit.

Indian’s “R Carbon” serves as the flagship model for the road-friendly FTR family with a special trim package and exotic materials that set it well apart from the rest of the flat-tracker range. Power comes from the same liter-size, 120-horsepower V-twin engine that drives the rest of the FTR bracket along with top-shelf ride-quality electronics and suspension components to complete the package.

Troy Bayliss’s success in the World Superbike Championship has been commemorated with this limited edition Panigale V2. Featuring special Öhlins suspension and a bespoke paint job, it’s lighter than a standard Panigale V2 and, remarkably, makes more power from its 955cc engine than the race 996R he won his first championship on back in 2001! It costs $4,500 more than a standard Panigale V2.

Harley Davidson is busy reinventing itself, helped by the Revolution Max liquid-cooled engine. But where does the company go next? Could we see a sports bike some time in the future?

Ducati rolls into 2021 with a pair of new additions to its famous Monster family. Built to be light, easy to control, and above all fun, the chassis is compact and sporty with ample Monster DNA on display; but its the twin-cylinder Testastretta that really steals the show. In spite of its low overall weight, this is decidedly not a machine for the uninitiated.

The new race-tastic S 1000 RR defines engineering limits known to current technology. Launched back in 2019, this current sports machine comes with a spruced-up inline-four plant, a more track-focused chassis architecture, wind-tunnel tested bodywork, and modern equipment lists like LEDs’ and IMU-based electronics. All of which makes this Beemer take on the competition with mighty force.

In its 10th year of production, the folks in Germany decided to equip this machine with the “M Performance Parts,” giving it an even higher level of riding dynamics and adjustments. Similar to the offer available for BMW M automobiles, these specialized functional components come with precision developed alongside the brand’s extensive racing experience.

Starting with a sportsbike as your first might seem off-putting. Still, with technology and the manufacturers’ ability to make bikes as user-friendly as possible, it might just be the right entry for your motorcycling adventures. They are sleek with aerodynamic bodywork, top-spec suspension and braking setups, and ride with aggressive riding positions.

There are plenty of affordable bikes out there for every skill level matching the size of small wallets. These are our recommendations for young riders itching to feel the wind in the most stylish and flashy manner. And occasionally maybe want to drop a knee on a racetrack or zoom around your local canyon road.

Showing the world how to do it right all this while, the folks upped their game for 2020 when they unveiled a brand new streetfighter, the SR/F. The bike features a new “Cypher III” operating system that brings in Bosch Motorcycle Stability Control and a multitude of data onto the TFT dash. USB charging ports, LED lighting, storage space, a fly screen, heated grips, and aluminum bar ends adds to the oomph factor.

Now, the same guys have taken that and slapped aerodynamic fairings, taller handlebar, lower footpegs, and a windscreen to create their exciting new entry into the sports-touring territory. This is the Zero Motorcycles SR/S, unveiled at an event in New York. And honestly, I love how it carries a hint of retro on it.