It’s not always an easy task pulling out historic or vintage bikes as design inspiration precisely because there’s so much inspiration to be had. In this motorcycle design study, we see the 1934 Peugeot 515 get a modern interpretation from industrial design student Simone Madella. He says of his Peugeot 515 motorcycle concept:

“I focused on the Peugeot 515 (three world records) from 1934. At the time this bike broke three world records equipped with a single-cylinder, four-stroke 500cc engine capable of getting to 140 mph which for the time was very fast. Inspired by the Peugeot EX1 [electric concept car], I wanted to create an electric motorcycle that could beat any record - speed, endurance, trustworthiness, recharge time etc., while following the same racing spirit with which it was built.

First I decided to put a big electric motor on the rear wheel and a battery pack in the middle (with a cover and ventilation outlets. The lowslung weight meant a lowered centre of gravity which is best for improved agility and stability. Under the battery pack is a fin with sensors which can analyse the road conditions - wet, damaged, dirty etc - and communicate them to the rider.

Continue reading: Peugeot 515 motorcycle concept

The Japanese brands are legendary in the world of motorcycling and frankly, we’re often suprised not to see new entries on the market from famous Asian automotive brands. Designer Min Seong Kim fixes that problem for us today with this Hyundai motorbike design - a vehicle which would be added to the company’s large collection of automobiles and heavy equipment.

Strictly a conceptual bike at this stage, the Hyundai motorcycle concept (which seems to be without a name but we’re happy to be corrected on that front) uses organic materials that are flexible and which stretch and contract in much the same way as our muscles work. That’s pretty cool stuff, but like the guys on Autoblog, we’ll ignore the Suzuki leathers at this point.

Hyundai Motorcycle Design

Source | YankoDesign

This Easyrider motorcycle concept has been developed by bike designer Roberto Vernile in collaboration with Aprilia, and is a new concept based on the theme of personalisation and characteristic design. The Easyrider concept is designed to be a production bike that takes advantage of the strong image of Italian motorcycles and that can adapt to new styles.

It’s based on the Aprilia Shiver and is made with a completely adjustable chassis where the rider can move the seat, handlebars and foot pegs. The trellis frame has various parts, linked by modular connections that enable this flexibility. The entire set-up of the riding position can be adjusted in various phases so that each individual rider can choose between sportier or more upright positions. The passenger seat adapts to the rider, and is made from Technogel with stow-away footpegs.

The Easyrider model would have Aprilia’s ride-by-wire traction control, and the fuel tank is integrated with the front brake and the adjustable parts mean that it can adapt to various storage needs as well, including helmet space, navigation systems, or a larger airbox. The front of the bike is made from perspex and can be adjusted in height and angle, and can be removed and substituted by a smaller windshield for sports riding.

Continue reading: Aprilia Easyrider concept bike

This Ducati Superlight 1100 Concept comes from young Italian graduand, Mario Antonioli, studying industrial design at Milan’s Politecnico University. The motorcycle design looks like a kind of mix of European sports style and some café racer elements, in a bike designed to be light, simple and powerful.

Antonioli’s project is one he’s been working on in his spare time between completing his thesis and riding his own Moto Morini 1200 Sport. It takes a classic bike, the Ducati Superlight, and tries to make it even better but without radically changing the simple electronics and 100 hp of the original.

The designer wanted to create what is a light, simple but beautiful bike which could eventually be affordable and used on the road. He estimates that the 100-hp, 120-kg Ducati Superlight 1100 could be produced for about 8,000 euros, making it the “perfect bike” in his mind.

Continue reading: Ducati Superlight 1100 Concept

Italy’s Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza for automobiles is a world famous concours hosting some of the most beautiful concept and vintage cars you’ll ever see. To give you an idea, the 2011 Villa d’Este event will host a new Aston Martin-Zagato concept and a one-off Ferrari built specially for an American collector. And now we’ll see the inaugural Villa d’Este motorcycles space on the shores of Lake Como.

The gardens of the Gran Hotel Villa d’Este and the Villa Erba in Cernobbio will also host 35 motorcycles from 1910 until today in five different categories including concept motorcycles and examples of innovative motorcycle design over the years. The categories and the bikes on show are as follows:

Class A Pioneers, pre-1917 motorcycles
- F.N. 5 hp, 1910 Belgium - four-cylinder motorcycle made by F.N which originally produced arms and ammunition.
- Pierce Four, 1910 USA - Inspired by the F.N, the Pierce had a four-cylinder, 4-hp engine and top speed of 97 km/hr.
- Wilkinson Touring Auto Cycle, 1910 UK - Designed by PG Tacchi, it was a revolutionary bike built on a Gran Turismo platform.
- Husqvarna Moto-Reve, 1910 Sweden - equipped with a 274 cc twin-cylinder, it was the first Husqvarna branded bike.
- Militaire Autocycle, 1915 USA - Defined by the company itself as a “car with two wheels” it had an automobile-style aluminium steering system and a four cylinder engine.
- Pope Twin, 1916 USA - using a V-Twin engine and valve heads it had about 25 hp. Rear suspension was innovative - a bike subsequently copied by many manufacturers.

Continue reading: Motorcycles now at Concorso d'Eleganza, Villa d'Este

How cool is this Husqvarna Mille 3 Concept? Below you can see live pics from EICMA of the cross between a cruiser and a motard and as a pure design exercise, we love it. The retro style is not all this is about, though, as Husqvarna has decided to use three cylinders from its usual range making a V-triple, 930cc set-up. The chassis is a sleek, low affair with a central tube and then a twin-beam structure with aluminium support at the rear.

The cruiser look and big wheels might lull you into thinking this is a roughly put together concept but the guys at Husqvarna have bothered to include some supersports aspects like top-end brakes, adjustable suspension and twin exhaust. And it looks very smooth and sexy despite its evident dirt bike inspiration. The Mille 3 Concept deservingly drew quite a crowd - check it out in the pics below.

Husqvarna Concept Studio Mille3 Eicma 2010

Continue reading: Live pics from EICMA: Husqvarna Mille 3 concept

It makes so much sense to us that BMW should create its own maxi-scooter model that we almost can’t believe it hasn’t done so before. The BMW Concept C has been presented live at the EICMA show and it made quite a splash among those present. BMW plans to introduce two premium maxi-scooter models to start with, both equipped with an internal combustion engine. A future model will most likely offer an electric option but let’s take this one step at a time.

BMW has already announced the production of its new maxi-scooters at its new Berlin production plant. They will offer an innovative and futuristic take on the maxi-scooter segment (we like the style already even if the production version will change somewhat from the concept seen here) where the ‘C’ stands for Commuter. And there’s nothing BMW will do better than offer a luxury, cool but practical commuting scooter. Imagine going to work on this thing and you’ve got what BMW has in mind.

BMW Motorrad has done an impressive job with the Concept C scooter. Maxi-scooters are not traditionally the most emotional part of the motorcycle market, but the company has tried to mix both technical functionality and great style. On this first glimpse, we feel they’ve achieved that so far. For all the details, check out the press release after the jump with more pics from EICMA 2010 and the official Concept C gallery.

BMW Concept C live Eicma 2010

BMW Concept C maxi-scooter official pics

Continue reading: BMW Concept C maxi-scooter live pics from EICMA 2010

Thank goodness for Wikipedia, because we found out that this motorcycle concept is based on the Mospeada Armor Cycle VR-052T from the Japanese anime science fiction Genesis Climber Mospeada series that ran in Japan in 1983 and 1984.

If you read Japanese you can head over to the bbb-bike wesite and then let us know all about this Japanese concept.

Source | neatorama.com

Inspired by designs of Persepolis, Iranian designer Mohammad Reza Shojaie has come up with this super nake bike concept dubbed “Ostoure” (Legend in Persian).

According to Shojaie his concept features a power transmission system consisting of two differentials; the steering in front wheel is performing by these joints. The rear suspension system is a regular single spring and in front wheel is the same but in opposite direction. Due to this type of suspension in front wheel the radiator dimension has been minimized and two extra small ones invented in bike’s sides under its body support the central radiator.

The indicators are optional, one is on the bike’s head; and the other is a HUD indicator in the helmet that has been equipped with speakers an AC system, and connect to the bike by Bluetooth; the commands generate from a module devised on right side of steering handle. Bike steering is like what the pilot experience in the plane.

Source | topspeed.com

Italian company Sak Art Design (who are very close to Ducati) has come up with the electric Superbike concept, obviously called SBIK_E” and is based on Agni Motors electric powerplant and inspired by sea creatures. Check out the video to find out more about this cool looking electric motorcycle concept.

Source | stayontheblack.com