electric motorcycles

eROCKIT

I like this funky looking thing. But I think "Handcrafted in Berlin" is code for "will cost an arm and a leg".

Electric motorbikes seem to be everywhere. I've started to see some funky chinese moped-like things delivering Thai and Chinese food around Manhattan and Broolyn.

Now that the 1st annual TTXGP (zero emissions motorbike race) at the Isle of Man is over (written up perfectly here in the L.A. Times) and with development happening everywhere at once, we'll probably start to see "right sizing" of pricing structures for some mass produced Factory models out of Asia.

People are doing stuff in their own garages, both Yamaha and Honda are rolling out e-bikes in the next 24 months, parts are readily available for DIY projects and there are plenty of on-line guides.

It looks like the Golden Age of Electric Motorcycles has begun.

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warm sun, shiny bikes

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My friend Shawn went to Willow Springs last weekend. He sent me some pictures.

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All-Wheel-Drive Honda CRF250 on sale... Hellz Yesss. meh.

I want one i want one i want one i want one.

Christini is having a sale on their CRF250 Frame Kits. The Christini AWD Tax Return Stimulus Sale: $750 off plus free shipping. ($3250 US)

You ship them your bare frame and (in their words) "We’ll return to you a Brand New Pre-Assembled Christini AWD Frame kit complete with Custom Talon Hub, Billet Triple-Clamps, New Tank, White Plastics and Christini Graphics"

SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL TO ME! Now, all I need is a ski mask and a gun...

...and I am there Baby.

More info HERE.

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great sales pitch

The cynical voice inside me says that the commercial for Harley's new "Iron 883" was imagineered by a group of Ruthless corporate Marketing Flacks leveraging the latest obvious trends and targeting young hipster-ific types.

But I'm jaded.

No matter. The bike looks good and the clearest most effective part of the pitch is at the end: $7899 in a big bold white font. Nice. That's all I need to know.


click for video

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Russian High-Tech Low-Tech

Russians have a knack for designing and building good usable machinery.

Check out these oldie-looking Ural side-hacks. The Patrol, Gear-Up and limited edition Sahara models have on-demand two wheel drive: flipping a lever powers the sidecar wheel.

click for slideshow

Their site has all the details.
There's even a page of awesome/retarded flash animation commercials.

This one is my favorite. (Warning: the cartoon's folksy Hillbilly music might get stuck in your head and cause depression. It might drive you to the edge... you know: suicide or bowling.)

Here's another.

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oldie but goodie - turbo bike shenanigans

This video clip of a 500bhp Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo Motorcycle has been on the Global Interwebs for a few years. It's still one of the best videos ever recorded of unacceptable behavior on a public highway. Scary and exciting to watch no matter how many times I see it. Freakin Great.

click image to see video

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funky good supercharged motorcycle

otto nero posted this beauty:

A nicely crafted cafe racer - Jawa single mated to a separate gearbox and supercharged too.

What I found particularly appealing is the single-sided swingarm with what looks to be a drum brake with a hydraulic line going into it. Crazy cool.

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simple winter project

OR IS IT?

The (lack of) braking power on my 70's vintage Suzuki GT550 scares me. I could get all obsessive and trick - swap the entire front end with something modern, but I'm lazy. The easiest, cheapest way to add stopping power: add a second caliper and rotor on the left side from another model of the same period.

A used GT750 caliper (and rotor) from eBay. Clean and mount it up. Will it go smooth, or turn into a total pig-fuck? Stay tuned.


click for larger view

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modern caveman paintings

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cheesy Photoshop mashups of pix scabbed off the Interwebs is good snow-day fun.

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wow

On Southsiders MC' blog HERE,
something wonderful, old and good.

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AWESOME Flickr Photoset

Click for Slide Show
El Caganer's "Las Vegas Antique Motorcycle Auction" Photoset on Flickr. Super good.

Open Thumbnail Page in a new tab/window.
View Slideshow in a new tab/window.

El Caganer's other Motorcycle-related photo Collections.

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