Luxury Touring Shootout

You can see it in your mind as you daydream about it. Every inch of storage is loaded with all you’ll need for the next three days or three weeks. Whatever music gets your motor runnin’ is pumping from the CD player or satellite radio receiver. Your significant other may or may not be along for the ride, but if they are they’re perched comfortably in the armchair-like passenger accommodations.
Any cold weather you may encounter doesn’t bother you because your seat is heated at the flick of switch, and a big windscreen shields you from wind, rain and bugs. Getting lost doesn’t really worry you ‘cause you opted for the GPS system, and once you’re finally out on that long stretch of lonely interstate you can relax a little after setting the cruise control.

You’re on a road trip, the Great American Getaway. But are you in a car or on a bike? Judging from the above carefully chosen wording it’s hard to tell. Slippery wording aside, the truth is that we’re talking about motorcycles. And if we’re talking about motorcycles with such accoutrements, then we must be talking touring bikes!

Because touring is such an important part of the U.S. bike market, we wanted to get the best of what of each manufacturer had to offer. In light of that we went with a trio of luxury liners that are made in America, and we ordered them as loaded with options as we could get them. Let the trip begin…

Custom Vehicle Operations, or CVO for short, is a small collection of bikes gathered from Harley’s substantial array of motorcycles. This separate line-up usually consists of four bikes chosen from among the standard models, each receiving the hop-up treatment from a group of designers and engineers dedicated exclusively to the CVO line.

Each bike is a rolling display of many of the thousands of accessories available in the fabled Harley-Davidson Parts and Accessories Catalog. The bikes have rap sheets of chrome bits and custom accessories too long to list. Three available paint schemes that are unique to the CVO line, and truly are custom, receive hours of closely supervised painting and hand-laid pin-striping.

The Ultimate Rally: Archive

Joe and I went to Tampere today, and as result we now have secured three brand-new Skyteam Monkeys through sponsorship from Motor Power and the Skyteam factory.
In addition to the bikes that should be available before weekend we will also get a hoard of spare parts.
This is a great leap for the project, as now we only need to confirm the maintenance car and ferry services to Germany. Thanks to Motor Power for the deal! In addition to Monkey's, the company also sells Huoniao "Red Army - Long March" motorcycles. Fascinating...

Monkeying around doesn't mean only climbing up trees, shagging and detecting flees from your skin. Sometimes even the leading chimpanzee has to relax, socialize and negotiate with sponsors. For these rare occasions every ape has a decent suit.
Of course the white camouflage works much better on winter season, but it attracts more interested females when apes have a light tanning. Only thing that would make an ape more natural in the urban jungle would be roaming 50cc motor between his legs and autobahn in front of him.

Harley Davidson Motorcycles In India

Harley Davidson has launched in Indian Market with a Bang.The Company has already started looking to expand its dealerships in India and has set up its base as Gurgaon.

Lets have a look at the kind of motorcycles that are being offered by them in India.

Harley-Davidson produces heavyweight motorcycles (651cc+) in the custom, touring, roadster and power cruiser market segments. The Harley-Davidson range of motorcycles is divided into five families. Each family includes a variety of models, so there’s truly a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle to suit any rider. In addition we offer an exclusive range of limited production custom motorcycles lovingly assembled by our Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) team to be the last word in styling, luxury and performance.

Sportster®motorcycles are tough, no-nonsense, stripped down, ready-for-action street bikes. First introduced in 1957, they have remained true to their original raw styling for more than half a century with a trademark low seat height, peanut fuel tank and natural riding position. They are the most narrow,
nimble and agile bikes in the Harley-Davidson®family, with the most responsive handling.
The Dyna®models are pure, raw riders’ bikes. With exposed rear shocks and battery cover, they hark back to the earliest days of the factory custom motorcycle. The Dyna®range offers all the attitude and one-of-a-kind looks that caught the original FX Super Glide riders’ imagination back in 1971.

SUPER LUXURY BIKES

If you are not satisfied with Hayabusa, Fireblade or Yamaha R1, then you should look forward to the BMW motorcycles which would enter into the Indian market in the near future. Almost 13 years after its abortive attempt to enter the Indian market through a joint venture with the Hero Group, German luxury carmaker BMW is planning another foray into the country’s minuscule high-end motorcycle market
The company is studying India’s high-end and premium motorcycle market to introduce its Motorrad range of super bikes in India, said a top BMW India official. “Our people from BMW Motorcycle are having a look at the market. They are also in discussion with us for feedback on the matter.

As soon as we see potential for available market entry for sustainable growth, we would take that into consideration,” said Peter Kronschnabl, president, BMW India. The bikes of the Motorrad range will cost more than Rs.10 lakh in India, said another BMW India official.

Harley-Davidson launches new Iron 883

Most motorcycles are, by definition, luxury items. In the United States, a very small percentage of motorcycle riders use their bikes as daily transportation, instead choosing to take the “cage” for the various day-to-day trips that are a necessary part of life. This being the case, as fewer people have reserves of money left over to spend on discretionary items in a recession, sales of Harley-Davidson’s Big Twin models are suffering.

Enter the new Iron 883, which is based on the Sportster underpinnings and features a fuel-injected 883cc V-twin powerplant. Besides the smaller displacement engine, the rest of the bike mimics the bobbed look of its larger sibling, the Nightster 1200, right down to the blacked-out color palette, front fork gaiters, solo saddle and side-mounted license plate holder. This cost cutting has allowed Harley to place a $7,899 price tag on its Iron 883, neatly undercutting the Nightster by a full $2,000.

SUZUKI LUXURY BIKES

Suzuki is another member of the “Big Four” from Japan. It began manufacturing motorcycles in 1952 and has become well known around the world.
Its off-road bikes and roadracers have won world titles, and its street machines range from the cruiser Boulevard series to the legendary GSX-R series of sportbikes. It, along with Honda, is unique in that the company also builds automobiles. Michio Suzuki founds the Suzuki Loom Company in Hamamatsu, Japan. He builds industrial looms for the thriving Japanese silk industry. After the war, Suzuki (like Honda and others) begins making clip-on motors for bicycles.The Colleda COX debuts, a 125cc bike equipped with a steel frame.
Meet the Hayabusa's first cousin the B-King. And while the Hayabusa is a sleek sophisticated, the B-King is its rowdy alter ego. Its aggressive styling gives it an attitude that simply says, Don't mess with me! Featuring a slightly modified version of the 2008 Hayabusa's new engine, complemented by state-of-the-art chassis and suspension systems, the B-King offers incredible all-around capabilities - breathtaking acceleration matched by precise, responsive handling.

Speed and luxury at Allianz Super Car&Bike

This is the fourth time that Allianz Super Car&Bike will be held in Moscow. According to its organizers, over the last few years the exhibition has become well-known for its presentation of the world's best super-premium and sports automobile, motorbike, and yacht producers in the boldest and most unusual way. Since its establishment, Allianz Super Car&Bike has discovered 25 new elite brands for Russia.

This year almost all the international automobile, motorbike and yacht leaders will participate in the show. These are both well-known and elite brands that only the most versed and well-off people may be familiar with. This year Mercury, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, and Audi will be presenting their exclusive models. Caparo Ò1, Gilet Vertigo, Mosler, Gumbert and Koeningsegg will also bring their elite super cars that are known mainly to true automobile connoisseurs.

The event will be held on May 22 - June 1, 2008 and will be open both during the day for the exhibition itself and all through the night when guests will be invited to hot parties. These will all take place at the 'Pokrovsky Bereg' beach club, a huge area on the embankment of the Moscow River where a unique stage will be set up both on the beach and on the river for a yacht show specially for the launch of Allianz Super Car&Bike.

The Moscow Festival of Speed will also be held as part of the exhibition where various high-speed and even super-speed means of transport will be showcased.

Brembo S.p.A. is another participant worthy of special attention. It will remind drivers of the importance of effective acceleration and deceleration. The A1 Alarm Service tuning company will introduce its tuning center which performs cutting-edge technology of the world's tuning leaders Brabus, Techart, AC Schnitzer, Overfinch, and Startech. Various car tuning packages for Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, Range Rover, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep cars and so on will be introduced during the exhibition.

A premier show of a new topical blockbuster Speed Racer is also scheduled as part of the event and visitors to the Allianz Super Car&Bike exhibition will get a chance to watch it one day ahead of the rest of the country. The sponsor of the premier show is Yokohama, one of the world's top tire manufacturers.