Tom Cruise rides another Triumph
in his latest Mission : Impossible
film. This time piloting a special
version of the Scrambler, having
rode a Speed Triple in the
previous M:I 2.
We started off with the film industry last month and do the same again this month to tie in with the launch of
Mission : Impossible 3. Bike fan and Confederate Hellcat owner Tom Cruise forsakes his U.S.-built machine in favour of a British Triumph Scrambler in this latest blockbuster. A specially made version is used by the star who rode a Triumph Speed Triple in
M:I 2.
Meanwhile
Long Way Round star, Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, is hoping to make a film about fellow Scot Bob McIntyre. The bike-mad actor is a big fan of his compatriot who was the first man to lap the Isle of Man TT course at an average of 100 mph way back in 1957 on a Gilera Four.
While this is just an idea at present, two other films about TT stars are in the making to coincide with the TT Centennial celebrations next year.
Mike the Bike is already under production featuring Mike Hailwood's historic TT comeback in 1978. And actor Liam Neeson has been tipped to play 26-times TT winner Joey Dunlop, in a new film about the Irish legend's life on two wheels.
Austria
KTM plans to mix things up in motocross with the 2007 450SXF, which features a claimed 59 hp motor and an electric start.
The new
KTM 450SXF motocrosser has just been announced, with a class-leading 59 hp motor complete with an electric start. Apparently this is necessary to save time if the bike is stalled during a race. The motor remains carburetted and is mounted in a steel frame. Expect to see it later this year.
Previously we have revealed that the RC8 Superbike first seen as a concept will soon be a reality, with a projected launch late in 2007. But now we can reveal that there will be a naked version of the bike called the Venom that will be released a year later.
KTM's Sales and Marketing Director, Hubert Trunkenpolz, has admitted that they are working on the bike, but it is not just a stripped down RC8. Most of the changes necessary, which could involve engine retuning, will be made after the Superbike hits the streets to gauge customer feedback before starting the final work on the project.
KTM's RC8 Superbike is planned to see the light of day some time in 2007, and will be accompanied by the Venom, a naked version of the superbike.
Fans of the Super Duke need not worry, though, as the new bike will run alongside it rather than replace it, as the firm want a bigger range of products of offer to the public. He hinted that even more bikes could be on their way in the very near future to meet this long term goal.
Germany
Sachs is Germany's oldest motorcycle manufacturer and is currently celebrating its 120th anniversary. It's now going down the all-too-familiar Chinese route, with the recent announcement that they will be selling scooters from New Superior Ltd, a well funded Hong Kong-backed company.
The collaboration means that Sachs get a large cash injection into their R&D department in return for their production know-how and engineering and quality control standards at the Chinese production plant. The first machine to come as a result of this tie-up is a high specification 49cc scooter that will sell for under 1,000 pounds ($1900) in the UK.
Italy
Celebrating its 60-year anniversary, Vespa releases the GT60 which takes its styling cues from the original prototype unveiled in 1946.
Italian icon, the
Vespa scooter, is now 60 years-old and the brand will now have its own museum in its parent company's (Piaggio) headquarters in Pontadera, near Pisa, Italy. This will hopefully be open by the end of 2007, but to celebrate now, they have launched three new models.
The new Vespa GT60 takes its styling cues from the original prototype that was first seen back in 1946. As a result, the bike's designer Marco Lambri has positioned the front headlight on top of the front mudguard as it used to be and the seat is split into two, to give the impression of a single saddle. The two other bikes, the GTV and LXV, also pay tribute to a golden age in the firm's production, but this time it is the '60s that the bikes draw their inspiration from.
Piaggio has spruced up the X8, including the addition of a fuel-injected 400ie version seen above.
Speaking at the birthday celebrations, Piaggio Chairman Roberto Colaninno announced that he intends to list the company on the stock exchange in June of this year. He made the announcement whilst stating he was targeting Honda in his plans to increase his market share worldwide. The Italian firm is already investing heavily in Asia, with India already producing 150,000 scooters out of the total production figure of 600,000!
In addition to the Vespa launch, the company has also launched the Beverly range under its own name. There are five models - 125, 250ie, S250ie, 400ie and a 500, with the "ie" designating fuel injection. The X8 now also gets a makeover and a 400ie version, while the liberty and Typhoon range also get a more modern look.
Ducati continue their financial restructuring with the release of over 160 million shares onto the stock market this month. This will raise 80 million Euro in capital to help fund their restructuring and the development of some of the new models mentioned in this column over the past few months.
Ducati test rider Vittorianno Guareschi has already turned laps on the 800cc machine, with which the Italian marque will compete in the 2007 MotoGP championship.
Ducati have already tested their 800cc MotoGP bike that they are getting ready for next year's rule change. For 2007 the engine size will be dropped down to 800cc in an effort to slow things down in the name of safety. The Bologna factory has been the first to publicly launch and admit to testing a new bike for the premier world class.
Factory test rider Vittorianno Guareschi recently completed 50 laps of the Mugello circuit with the new bike that features a completely new engine and chassis. Factory MotoGP riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will get a chance to try the new bike in July after some fine tuning of the electronics has been completed.
Meanwhile back on the road, rumours continue. Thanks to the success of their range of retro-based bikes like the Paul Smart Replica, Sport 1000 and recently launched GT1000, even more could soon be on their way to the dealer's showrooms. First up could be a replica of the 750 F1 that Marco Lucchinelli and Virginio Ferrari raced in Endurance events. This could soon be followed by a retro scrambler with a V-Twin motor instead of a single powering it, and also a new version of the F2 World Championship-winning TT2 600 Pantah. After these, anything is possible, especially with the craving of the lucrative Japanese market for all things retro!
The street-legal Vun from CR&S weighs in at 298 lbs and is powered by a Rotax Single that pumps out a claimed 68 hp. It is the first stage of a design built to achieve the late John Britten's dream of a 100-hp Single machine that tips the scales at 100 kg (220 lbs).
New Zealand bike genius
John Britten had a dream before he tragically died, that of a 100-hp single-cylinder machine weighing in at just 100 kg (220 lbs). Italian Roberto Crepaldi worked with the Kiwi on the idea and has now progressed to the first stage of trying to turn that dream into reality as mark of respect for his mentor.
The Vun is a road-legal bike made by his company
CR&S, and he hopes it is the first step in achieving Britten's dream. The current machine weighs 298 lbs and is powered by a 68-hp Rotax single-cylinder motor, which, while reliable, is not quick enough.
Cue Italian engine manufacturer TM, best known for its kart engines. CR&S have managed to tune a 710cc motor from them to give 75 hp, but they feel there is still another 10 hp to come. This new unit is smaller and lighter than the Rotax powerplant, but Crepaldi feels he can still shave more weight from the bike.
Getting closer to reaching Britten's goal, CR&S plans on utilizing a 710cc engine from TM, which hopes to pump out up to 85 hp. The design still needs to find a few more ponies and has to shed 78 lbs.
This continued development will be in the shape of a race bike to help sort out handling and suspension as well as overall power and weight. While the Britten's 100-hp/100-kg goal may well still be some way off, it is hoped that this next gestation will be even closer than at present.
Aprilia is set to re-launch the RS50 which has been given a makeover so that it now closely resembles the RSV1000R in appearance; similar treatment has already been given to the RS125. However, beneath the new suit of clothes, nothing much changes, with weight and power output remaining the same.
Legendary Italian designer Massimo Tamburini, currently an integral part of MV Agusta, is believed to have designed the new
Husqvarna Supermoto that is currently undergoing testing near the factory at Varese, Italy. Could this have the new V-Twin Husky motor that we mentioned last month? Watch this space for more details as they become known!
UK
Team KR has been doing its best in the MotoGP ranks, but a street version of Kenny Roberts' race machines could be hitting a road near you.
In the UK,
Aprilia are the title sponsors of the Inspired Art Fair and have issued the 'Aprilia Art Challenge' to artists. All they have to do to win the prize of a trip to the factory in Italy and their own Mojito scooter is to use some or all of its parts in a work entitled 'The Nature of Urban Life' to illustrate the fusion of engineering and art!
Racing legend King Kenny Roberts, who runs his
Team KR MotoGP outfit from Banbury England, has revealed that plans are well advanced for a road-going version of his race machine. Apparently this has always been in the overall the plan since the original collaboration with Modenas way back in 1996.
Now that Honda are supplying him engines, the plan could move a stage further toward production, as there are plenty of suitable powerplants for the replicas. Marketing surveys have shown that the brand is well known and very strong all around the world, and there would be a strong market for the replicas whatever the cost.
You've seen Orange County Chopper creations, like this one dedicated to N.Y.C. firemen, take form on the Discovery Channel. But now rumors abound that the Teutels may be teaming up with Triumph for a joint venture.
But, the plans apparently do not just stop with race replicas, as there are already ideas for a whole range of road-based machines with various engine sizes. Even the idea of a custom chopper has also been mentioned!
Triumph is in discussion with American TV stars, Orange County Choppers, after it was revealed that they are using the Hinckley-built twin-cylinder engine for some of their future projects. This could see some form of official tie up in the future, although both sides remain tight-lipped at present.
A record price has just been achieved at auction in the UK when a British Superbike from the 1920s sold for 109,350 pounds ($207,000). The 1924 Montgomery-Anzani is a V-Twin with eight valves and a power output of 38 hp, far in excess of what the punitive brakes can cope with. The pre-sale estimate for the fully restored bike was half of what it eventually sold for!
GoBlade, a British manufacturer, has almost completed testing its electric motocross bike the Blade XT. Apparently the claimed 38 hp allow for wheelies.
A British firm is in the final stages of testing its mass-produced electric motocrosser. The Blade XT offers three hours of battery life and has the equivalent of 28 hp. It is intended for use in areas where noise pollution is a problem. More information on
www.goblade.co.uk
Staying with alternative power, a British precision engineer has produced his own liquid-propane-gas-powered bike. A 1970s-era Yamaha XT500 motor is converted to run on the cheap LPG carried in tank mounted below the seat. Drive is provided by a toothed belt to the rear wheel.
The ecological utilitarian bike is mainly recyclable and very light thanks to extensive use of aluminium. The fuel-efficient machine uses 25% less parts than a conventional motorcycle and even carries its own spare wheel to deal with the odd puncture and act as a crash bar as it is mounted across the front of the engine beneath the headstock sticking out either side of the bike!
The bike has single-sided swingarm and a unique front fork which aids the wheel changing. A host of other novel features abound, and the bike's creator Dave Akhurst has written to all the manufacturers as he sees it making a good road bike, even if run on petrol. To date he has not received any response, so he may well just use it as his own transport as he is unable to fund production costs!
India
Next to China, India is the second-largest motorcycle market, and two-wheeled sales in March came close to topping the 7 million mark. Honda topped the list with 3 million thanks to its Hero subsidy, followed by Bajaj Auto Ltd and then TVS Motor Co. These figures are expected to rise even further now that Suzuki has resumed motorcycle production in the region.
Japan
The MV Agusta Brutale has been in the pages of Euro Gossip almost every month. Now word comes out that Japan's importer of the Italian marque, Motoplan, has produced a half-faired version of the bike naming it the Brutale-Aero. The current version is based off the 750 American Brutale, but the same changes could be made to the beefier 910R version seen above.
Japanese tire giant
Bridgestone has just launched a new BT002 tire for trackday addicts. The fully road-legal tyre showed impressive levels of grip at its recent Spanish launch and is said to be well on a par with the opposition from Pirelli and Dunlop in this class. The new rear is no longer a dual-compound item, although the front is. Expect the matched pair to be available this summer.
Suzuki has reported an overall rise in net profit of 9% for the 2005 fiscal year, giving them record profits of 65.9 billion yen. Sales of motorcycles were up 21% while cars rose just 15%.
The Japanese MV importer Motoplan has just produced a half-faired version of the Brutale and is putting it for sale as a production bike if there is enough interest. As well as the new fairing, the bike called the Brutale-Aero has different exhausts to the original. Although based on the limited-edition 750 America, the changes could also be made to the more powerful 910R version if there was a demand.
Africa
Lastly if you live in a state that does not have the helmet law in place, consider this: Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Commission has arrested more than 2000 motorcyclists for not wearing helmets. Adding to their problems, their bikes were impounded as well!
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