This year’s ‘Old Indians Never, Ever Die’ vintage motorcycle rally held in Pebbleshire, Scotland between 24th and 26th of July gathered no less than 400 vintage Indians, which is very impressive to see on the old continent.

Proud of their achievement (and this was just the second time they got together the impressive number of Indian motorcycles and owners), the organizers will release a 1 hour long documentary about it. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the trailer.

Old Indians Never, Ever Die trailer originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:19 EST.

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We just came across this on eBay and started digging more into it only to find that we’re dealing with a 1973 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport completely restored by Combined Design. The rare piece of engineering is now called Cherry O due to the Candy Apple Red paintjob, but apart from that it’s as close to the original thing as you get. The bid starts at $5,988.88 so, with some luck, you’re in for a bargain.

eBay find of the day: Moto Guzzi V7 Sport by Combined Design originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 11:02 EST.

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Electric bikes have entered on an ascendant path and we’re seeing more and more interesting concepts. Among these, we’re caught up by Dan Anderson’s Voltra. Living in Sydney, Australia, the industrial design student created the electric café racer of the future for his final year thesis project. Dan says “the Voltra is the result of research into motorcycling history, society and culture as well as technology, materials and manufacturing and product semantics,” but you can see that by simply taking a look at the bike.

What you can’t really tell is what’s powering it and the claimed performances. Our Australian designer made sure to mention that an AC induction motor with a programmable controller is powered by Li-Ion batteries, which allow the thing to run an estimated 90 minutes after a full recharge, which lasts two hours. In return, riders get 129Nm of torque and a 200 kg weight (thanks to its carbonfibre monocoque chassis), translating into an impressive top speed of more than 200 km/h.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I hear about this concept turning into a prototype and heading to production in a couple of years.

Voltra Electric café racer concept looks fast originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 10:22 EST.

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Last week we helped spread out the word that Suzuki was going to unveil a 25th anniversary GSX-R1000 limited edition model at the NEC Show in Birmingham to celebrate a quarter of a century since the first GSX-R model of the series was produced back in 1985. Meanwhile, Suzuki did more than keeping their promise. They have also revealed a limited edition version of the extremely popular GSX-R750 with the same excuse in the back of their minds.

While the liter bike will sell in a number of 1000 units, its smaller sibling, the GSX-R750, will be even more exclusive as only 25 such motorcycles will be produced. But what will those who miss the chance to buy one lose? Technically nothing apart from the awesome-looking Yoshimura exhaust, but those who like the special color scheme replicating the 1996 blue/white one most likely don’t care about that. Each of the very special 25 Suzukis comes with a commemorative number on the top yoke and certificate.

Suzuki GSX-R750 "25th Anniversary Edition" originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 09:26 EST.

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Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj is better known for their clever, suggestive and often funny videos rather than for the motorcycles themselves (at least outside India) and they stick to the plan by giving us a flavor of their new Bajaj Pulsar and two Goodbye Traffic videos. All these are part of a special website that Bajaj has created for the occasion and which, of course, has a countdown timer that makes us even more anxious to see the full thing revealed on December 9th. The videos are attached after the jump.

Teaser: 2010 Bajaj Pulsar originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 30 November 2009 11:48 EST.

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Nobody has ever before attempted to backflip a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and when the thought finally struck, it did in two different heads, that of Kain Saul in Australia and Chuck Carothers in Prague. They both recently performed their backflips on Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles, meaning that both deserve our recognition and appreciation, despite the fact that the XR1200 used by Kain was specially-prepped for the job while Chuck’s much more rigid XR1200 through him to the ground. See both videos after the jump.

Harley-Davidson XR1200 backflip [w/videos] originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 30 November 2009 11:02 EST.

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Before we say anything about this unique Triumph Bonneville, we have to mention that no, this isn’t Brad Pitt’s latest motorcycle, although it looks like something that the respective celebrity would ride with pride.

The Bonneville bobber started live as a stock British piece of engineering until ending up in the hands of Detroit-based ’bobber Dave,’ who certainly made the thing wear his fingerprint. To begin with, Dave cut several inches of the rear sub frame and brought in short travel 11” Harley-Davidson shocks to lower the thing even more (I believe he doesn’t plan to pass over many speed bumps with this gorgeous thing).

But the first thing that strikes you isn’t the small ground clearance. The custom seat, which has a vinyl cover made from full gloss metal-flake bar stool material, is this Bonnie’s piece of resistance. A side mounted number plate, ace bars and vintage red grips complete the package. I don’t know about the chrome on the mechanical parts, but I guess it lights the bike up a little bit.

Triumph Bonneville Bobber can't see any better days originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 30 November 2009 10:09 EST.

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The fastest production motorcycle in the world, Asphaltfigters Stormbringer, comes from Germany and can accelerate from 0 to 300 km/h in only 13.9 seconds. And yes, it’s street legal!

Powered by an inline-four with 16 valves, the thing benefits of no less than 220 hp. Furthermore, at speeds in excess of 180 km/h, the engine can develop as much as 280 hp thanks to the performance admission system, which ‘pushes’ air directly into the engine above that speed. This function is limited to high speeds only because of traction problems and it only kicks in for short periods of time. It sounds suicidal to us, but the company will produce this in a limited series at their plant in Aalen, Germany.

Each Asphaltfighters Stormbringer has a starting price of €57.500 ($86,117), weighs 195 kg with a tank full of gas and comes with a color-matched protection suit with carbon fiber parts and a helmet made of Kevlar. The suspension, riding position and all the commands are modified in each case according to the dimensions and weight of the pilot.

The Germans say it goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h in 6.5 seconds and from 0 to 300 km/h in 13.9 seconds, while the top speed exceeds 320 km/h. The Bikerbox engine revs to as much as 13.700 rpm, maximum power being delivered at 13.500 rpm.

Press release is attached after the jump.

It shouldn't exist but it does: World's Fastest Street Bike has 220 hp and does 0 – 60 in 2.9 seconds!!! originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 November 2009 13:33 EST.

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Henry Cole is back with a new series of The World´s Greatest Motorcycle Rides and we have just found out that the Travel Channel presenter will swing his leg again on a Saxon Motorcycle. The European motorcycle company sent us a press release to help spread the news, so find it attached after the jump. You can also watch videos from the previous season. Enjoy!

Saxon Motorcycles again in The World´s Greatest Motorcycle Rides originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 November 2009 11:13 EST.

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After Max Biaggi was recently confirmed for an additional WSBK season with Aprilia, the Italian bike manufacturer issued a release saying that 23-year-old British racing rider Leon Camier has joined Aprilia’s SBK team for the 2010 season. It seems that Aprilia was more than satisfied with Camier’s results on the RSV4 during the last race of the season at Portimao, where he obtained place sixth and seventh, as well as by the post-race tests on the Portuguese circuit. Their final decision completes the team for the 2010 WSBK Championship.

Leon Camier was born in Ashford on 4 August 1986, won the British 125 cc championship title in 2001 and made his world debut in the 125 class in 2003. He then got into four-stroke bike competitions and won the 2005 British Supersport title. Following this achievement was his 2007 debut in the British Superbike championship, which was an unfortunate one because of a serious crash that caused Camier to be placed eight overall. 2008 saw him finishing the championship in fifth place and in 2009 he won detached the British Superbike championship title with 18 first-place victories out of 26 races and three second places. This British rider’s racing trajectory propelled him to compete in the Magny Cours meeting and the last race of the season at Portimao in Portugal and, finally, to becoming Max Biaggi’s teammate.

Leon Camier completes the 2010 Aprilia WSBK team originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 November 2009 10:11 EST.

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With all the ‘Black Friday’ frenzy coming down on us, we offer you a way to profit of the busiest retail shopping day of the year without being brought in the state of killing the guy ‘shopping’ next to you. Remember our post about Ducatigifts.com, the new website that Pro Italia and Ducati have recently launched? Well, they were kind enough to offer a special 10% off coupon code to Top Speed readers. The code – topspeed – is good from Nov 27-Nov 30. Happy shopping you all and don’t forget to mention us when making your order.

Black Friday Special for Top Speed readers originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 November 2009 09:08 EST.

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This is the latest motorcycle made by Lorenzo Cycles, it is called The Icon and it will be produced in a limited number of only 13 units. The chopper is a beautiful result of the small company teaming up with custom bike builder Eddie Trotta, who substitutes Ralph Randolph, the creator of the first two bikes.

We happen to like The Icon, but feel there is much more potential waiting to be exploited from the new company. Also, the specs – which you can read after the break – are in accordance with any renegade’s standards.

The Icon by Lorenzo Cycles originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 26 November 2009 15:55 EST.

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Brain swelling is the immediate effect of head injury and it is a proved fact that the stopping of this effect can make the difference between life and death because of the pressure that the brain has to subdue when it meets the skull. This is precisely what paramedics are trying to prevent when applying a cold pack on the head of accident victims. So hearing about ThermaHelm having created the Brain Cooling Helmet, we started digging deeper into this potential life saving idea, only to find that the prototype stage is now completed and it should see production.

ThermaHelm’s Cooling Helmet works by storing separately gel or water and ammonium nitrate in a slim plastic packet positioned in the lining. During a serious crash, tiny spikes pierce through the separate compartments, causing the ammonium nitrate to mix with the gel or water, triggering an endothermic reaction that cools the brain, dramatically reducing the effects of the crash. Furthermore, it features an LED indicator that warns premature activation, small cameras that are able to record those crucial 60 seconds before a motorcycle crash, integrated Bluetooth headphones and fog-free visors. In other words, it brings helmets into the 21st century.

Press release and video are attached after the jump.

ThermaHelm Cooling Helmet can turn out to be a live saver [w/video] originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 26 November 2009 14:12 EST.

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Those with a soft spot for trikes can finally fulfill their passion without getting into trouble. What you see here is a three-wheeled vehicle that looks like the Stealth bomber, allowing us to suppose that the cops won’t be right on your tail once you give that Corvette engine some juice. Called the Cheetah, this is one of the most unusual trikes we have seen lately and it is powered by a fuel-injected, Corvette LS-1, mid-engine V8, which is mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission, meaning that this unique cat is not as hard to master as you would think.

From obvious reasons, this project started from a brand new chassis made of stainless steel, while the aluminum bodywork with hydraulic tilt is what actually gets the peoples attention, apart from the fact that it takes as much parking space as an SUV.

Stealth trike gets Corvette mill! originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 26 November 2009 12:17 EST.

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In order to pay a tribute to the 750SS Imola, Ducati’s notorious sportbike from the 1970s, Spain-based Radical Ducati has created an absolutely gorgeous café racer, which was recently revealed. They call it the RAD02 Imola and it is built for track use, but we hear it can be homologated with a few tweaks.

The engine is a 900SSie unit with hot cams, while the chassis is that of a Monster S4R with 749S fully-adjustable forks and MV Agusta ride-height adjuster. Also note the asymmetric megaphone cans, which we happen to like a lot.

The Spanish Ducati builders are already taking orders and mention that the price depends on the exact specs. Still, considering the hours spent to achieve this kind of built quality, the Ducati RAD02 Imola café racer addresses to riders with deep pockets.

Find out more here.

Ducati RAD02 Imola café racer by Radical Ducati originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 14:53 EST.

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