Philly trolley - i like trains too.

When the city of Philly was having a hard time financing the building of new cars on it's relaunch of the 15 line ("Girard Avenue trolley"), some genius came up with the idea "Let's just Hot Rod the old ones!"

So they took some shells of old 1940's era PCC trolleys, did some blasting and sanding, cutting and shutting.

Painting, pimping, retro-fitting.

They ended up with the sweetest Public Transpo hack of the last decade: The rebirth of the old school Philly trolley car - complete with modern newfangled air conditioning.



The Broad Street subway and Frankford Ave "El" gets you to Girard Ave on the north side of town.

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Mobiky x 2

First the Genius model, now the MY16 with bigger 16" wheels. The top of the line model has an 8-speed Shimano Nexus hub.


click for video

I like the ability to pop on and off the subway with a small footprint and no fuss. Why are these not readily available in the U.S. ?

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wheelmen, saddle up

It seems to me that using 6061 aluminum plate is a genius design decision for the Comoto by Hirsch design. Being primarily a bolt-together affair it should translate well to scalability of manufacturing, allowing for economical low production runs.

It looks mean too... if a bike don't look tough, what's the point? This one's got looks. It's just ASKING for a badass paint job. I'm thinking Metalflake with a naked Aztec princess on an alter on the side panels.

At 118 pounds total weight and a 40MPH+ top speed, it is essentially a fast bike with no cranks. Municipalities will have to get on track with defining new categories of rules governing the many different types of electric motorcycles and bicycle-hybrids. Are they bicycles? Are they motorcycles? Is the defining factor weight or speed?

The "New Normal" points to a flood in the market of 3rd-gen cheap knockoffs of e-bikes and e-motos in a few years. At least that's what I'm hoping for: a two-wheel electrified bike renaissance not unlike the original "wheelman" bicycle phenomena of the 1880s.

And for those who say that a no-crank bike is for the lazy and weak... you obviously have never jumped a full sized motorcycle up or down a curb or ridden a dirt bike down a flight of concrete steps. Moto-ing is hard work.

I'd like to try some of these under-200-pound machines on the streets (and sidewalks and concrete steps) of NYC.

via gizmag

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Moped 4 Life

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this is BAD ASS!

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Enicycle via Core77 via DVICE via gizmodo

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how to ride a Honda CRF450

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This looks like a whole load o fun.

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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

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Now it's on. Chinese Motorcycles invade Bed Stuy Brooklyn

These Bad Boys are showing up in Bed Stuy.

There are 2 dominant types of motorcycles in Bedford Stuyvesant: 1) sport bikes and 2) Enduros... specifically, KLR650 Kawasakis.

The Japanese Sport bikes are sometimes blinged out - polished and chromed, painted, aftermarket pipes... though many fly with stock setups.

The KLR650 seems to be the most popular bike here. Really the KLR650 should just be renamed "The official motorcycle of Bed Stuy". Last summer it seemed everyone-and-their-mother was blasting around on one of those big thumpers. Though I'm seeing a few more Honda XRs this summer and I have yet to spot a Suzuki DRZ400SM this year. Not sure what happened to those few DRZs that were wheelying around like crazy last year.

The real Leading Indicator bike spotting event was the 200cc Chinese Supermoto I saw on Malcom X Boulevard last night. The owner said he "imported it from New Jersey" - a beautiful little orange scoot with very little "sticker clutter" on the tank. The color was a little lighter and brighter than KTM orange... more plastic-ey looking. Reminded me of 1970's Chrysler muscle cars: over-the-top tones. Nicely done.

manufacturer's site: here

...annnnnd you can buy them on the Internet. Though I recommend finding a dealer (for ANY bike).

At $2299.00, they might just be the most affordable little city bikes available. At that price, I expect a lot more to be appearing in the hood.

A good starter bike. You know: for the kids. Light and nimble... for avoiding those ubiquitous always-reckless-and-speeding Car Service taxis that infest the streets of Brooklyn like roaches at a Crack House.

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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

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green machine

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My favorite of the current crop of '09 bikes - the Kawasaki Versys.

It's beautiful in green. Gorgeous. Down for anything "Swiss Army knife" of a bike.

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not a motorcycle

click for video

But CLEARLY, just as much fun as one. The video should be titled "how to ride like a completely self-absorbed twat".

Yeah, totally looks like a blast, and a great way to get around. Especially for subway-enhanced cities.

The Mobiky Genius.

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Motorcycle Outsourcing

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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.

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