Here are the first drawings and rendering of the future Husqvarna naked road going bike which is said to be under development. While the rendering looks kind of odd, we do like the drawings of how the new Husqvarna 900cc engine, a bigger bore version of the BMW F800 unit, will be fitted to the naked bike.

The thing we find particularly incredible about these drawings is just how characteristic they are of Husqvarna design. If the finished model turns out like this, we can look forward to roadgoing bikes in characteristic Husky style. A tubular trellis frame looks like it’s being used, and we are likely to get simple but robust components.

The new Husqvarna roadgoing bikes will have to be distinctive to create their own niche and compete in the marketplace, and we could see some serious marketing happening before launch, especially on social networks. But at this stage, we’d be happier to see more of the bike. Expect to see more renderings, or even spy shots, coming soon.

Husqvarna road bike sketches

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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

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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

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Italian motorcycle design just got a touch of new talent with students from the IED design institute creating these designs based on the Moto Guzzi Griso and the Ducati Hypermotard. The Griso is a splendid bike but in this revolutionary design it’s almost unrecognisable. The design brief in this case was to change only the upper structures and fairing, which also applied to the Ducati Hypermotard project.

The nine students in their second year at the European design institute had carte blanche to do as they liked to two bikes provided. The bikes had no seat, fairings, fuel tank or exhaust. The designs produced seem to have extended the bikes charisma and are certainly worthy of the label of exciting design.

The Griso, an example of Moto Guzzi’s characteristic retro style, gets catapulted into the future with angular looks, a redesigned aerodynamic but chunky front, and a strong rear look. Knowing it’s a Griso you can still see the original under the fairings, but otherwise it’s well disguised and we’re quite taken with it, particularly from a front-on view.

Griso and Hypermotard design concepts

Continue reading: Moto Guzzi Griso and Ducati Hypermotard design concepts

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This hefty looking motorcycle concept from Paolo di Giusti. Described as a ‘big battery’ electric motorcycle, the idea is that it would have an electric motor in the rear hub and another one up front. The larger rear motor and smaller front motor would be powered by a single battery pack that can be exchanged when charge is up.

That would mean no recharging on the bike itself is possible, and we can only imagine that however good the looks of the Big Battery SE might be, that with two motors and a large battery pack it would be quite a heavy bike. As these are only renderings there’s no speculation as to how much power we might get from something like this.

Di Giusti also has other designs, one of which uses a kind of single cylinder turbo diesel bike as part of two Moto Guzzi design concepts - one naked and one tourer. See some of his stuff at Paolo di Giusti.

Source | The Kneeslider

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Microsoft head Bill Gates has invested a whopping $23.5 million US in engine producer EcoMotors International. The company is a start-up company who is working on research and development of environmentally-friendly engine technology. One of EcoMotors main projects is the OPOC two-stroke engine.

OPOC stands for Opposed Piston and Opposed Cylinder, and it has two cylinders and four pistons. Higher engine speeds have been produced through using outboard pistons in the place of cylinder heads, with each piston travelling half the distance needed to complete a full stroke. There is even an electronic turbocharger with overboost system.

It seems that Bill Gates has been investing in various alternative energy companies, although this particular investment is a curious choice. The money will be used to complete engineering and testing on the OPOC and who knows, maybe we’ll see this in a motorcycle design sometime soon.

Source | TheKneeslider

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Motorcycling in America has always seemed like a twilight zone if looked at from European eyes. Harley Davidson is the flag bearer of American motorcycle design - a kind of antithesis to the European sports bike focus. But new American bike brand Motus Motorcycles is breaking the US bike-building mould and is manufacturing with a new design in mind.

Currently in its final stages of development is a new engine unit borrowed from Corvette Racing fame - Katech and Pratt and Miller. While the engine, called the KMV4, has its roots in American muscle cars, it will be used for an exciting new entry in sports tourers for the US market.

We’ll spare you the comparisons with Corvette, not being experts ourselves, and say that the engine is designed with two valves per cylinder, activated by pushrods and a camshaft situated deep inside in the aluminium engine unit. The cylinders have a 90-degree V formation, but many other components of the unit come from General Motors, as well. More details and video after the jump.

Motus Motorcycles Corvette engine sports tourer

Continue reading: New American brand Motus Motorcycles uses Corvette engine on its bikes

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French designer Bako has designed this futuristic sports bike, christened the E-TX Urban. This completely electric motorcycle will chargeable via an AC outlet, powered by a Roadson Etronic 16 generator, that supplies 132.5 kw of energy which can generate a maximum speed of 240 km/h.

Source | bako.fr

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If you love both Japanese anime cartoons and motorcycles, you’d best get to SankakuComplex for the both put together. At the 2010 Moehaku event - like an auto show meets manga - there’s plenty of work going on to get your anime character on a bike, and we can only imagine that it’s not an easy task. Check out some of the pieces in the pics below.

Anime and manga bike decorations

Continue reading: Manga motorcycles: anime bike decorations from Moehaku 2010

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When the Voltra electric concept bike from young designer Dan Anderson first came across our desk, we were eager to know more. Below is our interview with Dan about his electric motorcycle design project, and believe me: the more you get to know about the Voltra and its creator, the more impressed you’ll be.

Dan grew up around bikes and his natural passion for the subject matter really comes through in his technically interesting Voltra. It’s not just a project put together so that his university thesis looked good - it’s a truly original effort, well studied and well-built. If you think that electric motorcycles are playing an important part in the future of motorcycling, this interview is s must-read. See how a young, aspiring motorcycle designer views the future of motorcycling, and the role that electric powered bikes might play…

Firstly, tell us something about yourself. Are you a motorcyclist yourself? How did you embark on the project of making an electric motorcycle and did you have a team to help?

I’m a 23 year old, recently finished Industrial Design student born and raised in Sydney, Australia. I’ve been around motorcycles my whole life. My father raced classic British bikes when I was young so I spent a lot of time at the track having my hearing ruined by unsilenced exhaust megaphones! The sights, sounds and smells really stuck with me and bikes have been a fixture in my life ever since. I ride a lovely old Ducati Pantah 600 which I restored in the summer holidays. I have a ‘thing’ for old bikes; even if they spend more time on the workbench than on the road!

Dan Anderson Voltra electric

Continue reading: Electric motorcycle design: interview with Voltra concept designer, Dan Anderson

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If you check out this video of Maarten Timmer’s VertiGO concept, you may be one step closer in being convinced by electric motorcycle engineering and technology. The idea is to gain the approbation of the supersports market in terms of the style and performance of electric motorcycles, using the innovation of electric power on the classic speed look of a supersports bike.

Maarten Timmer is currently participating in the Delft University design competition, with the aim of winning the 7,500 euro prize money to put the VertiGO into prototype production. To see more details on the competition, and vote for the VertiGO design, see the Delft competition site.

Source | HellforLeather

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It’s a risky enterprise, undertaking an interpretation of a possible future Lamborghini two wheels, when a legend of the auto world moves onto new territory. But Laurentiu Trifescu from Romania has turned his hand to the task, producing this Lamborghini V4 1,000 Caramelo.

It’s a mix between Aprilia, KTM and Ducati style with a four stroke V engine and rear swing arm. A real challenge is: if you were to produce a Lamborghini superbike, what would your vision look like?

Source | Motoflash

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