resurrection

Emerging from its storage boxes in the Zombie Apocalypse Workshop secret location near the docks, the GS1100 Special claws its way back to life.

Updates will appear here at Motorcyclicio.us

More pictures below

continue reading resurrection...

collapse resurrection...

Works Engineering / Brand X 2009 motorcycle picture gallery

The spread of machinery at the 14th street vintage bike block party in Greenpoint was pretty f*ckin epic.

Just so's you know - Brooklyn rules.

Dig the iron:


click for big picture gallery

continue reading Works Engineering / Brand X 2009 motorcycle picture gallery...

collapse Works Engineering / Brand X 2009 motorcycle picture gallery...

Rise of the (chinese) machines - qlink motorcycles

Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows this: Bikes are all about sexy.

Power, handling, economy - whatever other reasons we have are all secondary. The bike has to look hot. And for those few super-perverse ones (like myself), a hot mess of duct tape, Krylon, rust and dirt looks pretty hot too.

One of the reasons why Chinese bikes have not taken off here is that most of them are styled like "sooo yesterday". Of course there are other reasons: limited dealer networks, bad reliability reputation, etc.

But Fugliness is the maker-breaker factor. With Suzuki now having 2 factories in China, you can be sure that China's well-honed industrial espionage moles are in full swing. What they learn from the Japanese will likely help improve manufacturing and quality control throughout the sector.

Once they improve reliability on the higher-power 250cc class powerplants, and on up into the 400-600cc motors - we'll see a horrendous shakeup in the global motorcycle industry. China's motorcycle manufacturing capacity is greater than the whole rest of the world combined... by a LARGE margin. They are like the U.S. in 1946 on steroids.

Very soon, these non-ugly semi-knockoff-styled machines are hitting our shores.

As a bike lover, and cash-strapped consumer, I'm pretty stoked.
   

I, for one, welcome with open arms our new Manchu Overlords.

Qlink USA here

continue reading Rise of the (chinese) machines - qlink motorcycles...

collapse Rise of the (chinese) machines - qlink motorcycles...

The Ching Chong Super Lucky Dragon Motorbike and Sliding Door Manufacture Technology Co., Ltd.

click for big gallery of Chinese bikes n' stuff

My girlfriend got me this Made in China biker flask from Pearl River Mart. Them Chinese make all kinds of stuff.

All motorcycle images from made-in-china.com

continue reading The Ching Chong Super Lucky Dragon Motorbike and Sliding Door Manufacture Technology Co., Ltd....

collapse The Ching Chong Super Lucky Dragon Motorbike and Sliding Door Manufacture Technology Co., Ltd....

Motorcycle Outsourcing

click for more pictures
I don't think I'm being an asshole when I say, "Chinese motorcycles are ugly as sin."

BECAUSE THEY ARE UGLY (with a few exceptions - the QLINK XF200 Supermoto is in the not-ugly category).

So let's say you get a designed-in-the-U.S. > built-in-China thing going.

Enter Johnny Pag.

I'm not a big fan of factory built cruisers, which is what they've been selling for a while. but this new Sport model is pretty damn sweet.

They put the same twin cylinder 300cc motor in it, but give it a naked/streetfighter-ey treatment: Black everywhere, wave rotors, pipe-under-seat... you know the drill.

The big 'ol electric fans behind the blocky radiator look a bit kludgy, but I like that kind of kludgy. Makes it look tough.

I'm betting it's a kick-ass funtastic around-town ride.

The bikes are assembled in China by 8-year-old chinese girls. (okay I made that part up.)

Oh yeah, MSRP is $3,399... dollars... AMERICAN dollars.

They should give these away free with Happy Meals at McDonalds. The girl version could be painted pink with a Hello Kitty tank badge.

Hey Johnny, do it up with 17 inch wheels. Or an 18" on the back too. Do it. do it.

do it.

continue reading Motorcycle Outsourcing...

collapse Motorcycle Outsourcing...