Honda has planned nine cars and three motorcycles for the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon scheduled to kick off on January 11. While the four-wheeled machineries aren’t of our interest, the bikes are.
Surprisingly, Honda won’t bring the best of each lineup, but an economical cruiser – the Shadow Classic 400 – as well as a scooter – the Forza X. Still, they show off with the Black and White 2009 CBR 1000RR so that evens up the scale pretty nicely.
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As the pictures show, the Slidescooter isn’t what you might call a technology marvel, but a simple and innovative mean to have fun and even commute if necessary. Based on the idea that no road should be
unpracticable during winter and no beach left unexplored during summer, the Slidescooter features a bolt on front ski and 300 screws in the rear tire, but apart from that it is a regular 50cc scooter.
In fact, RiminiMoto’s product can be fitted on all regular scooters and the fact that you can simply spend $650 on a kit and revive the old two-stroke beastie is what makes it so great.
The ski that makes it suitable for winter riding is called a front track and there are six different ones available so that you can choose the one that suits your riding style best. Furthermore, the professionals are in for an all-carbon version.
Already caught up by the idea? That means you’re definitely a scooter guy so I shouldn’t mention that we recommend fitting an aftermarket silencer as well in order to squeeze a precious horse, maximum two, out of the small engine because you’ve most likely already done that, but I’ve said it anyway.
The Italians behind this project have also made a video in order to promote their Slidescooters, but I reckon these things have no problems in promoting themselves.
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Searching the web, we’ve come across this beautifully styled Suzuki Burgman 400 which is a scooter replica of Suzuki’s road racing lineup. At a first glance there really isn’t anything not to like about the recently unveiled concept at a Las Vegas Suzuki conference.
Like the GSX-R series, it features an aerodynamic front end characterized by perfectly integrated headlights, signal lights as well as air scoops, everything being adapted to the fairly bigger scooter front end. The seat is extremely spacious and the passenger’s handles unite into what replicas a racing rear end on top of the scooter one.
There are also performance additions to the quiet, fairly small machine that often finds its purpose of life underneath modern European couples. These are the powerful brakes featuring waved discs and the exhaust which, like on the GSX-R models, have that nice triangle shape and follow up the machine’s design lines.
God knows what they’ve done to the engine, but as far as we can see, the road behavior has been improved by lowering the concept scooter while the color scheme is exactly like the one of the bike that inspired its creation in the first place.
Now, I love super sport bikes and everything that has to do with them, but if you can come up with a plausibly reason to why would anybody wish such a transformation, I am ready to accept it. Until then, I find no reason for it to go into production as it isn’t practical at all…though I would love to swing a leg over it during a day at the track.
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Advise: If you’re heard saying “I’m not scared of bikers. If they crash into my car, they crumple and I go home” or, also referring to bikers “One day I will silence them by stretching a piece of cheese wire across the road”, it isn’t quite recommended to be spotted riding a two-wheeled vehicle, isn’t it? The mastermind behind these actions is Jeremy Clarkson’s, presenter of Top Gear car BBC show and declared hater of motorcycles.
The thing is that this picture not only shows him agreeing with the simplest, cheapest and most convenient form of transportation, but also makes him a total woos. A speed addict finds his way to motorcycling…on a Vespa scooter equipped with red gloves and protective glasses?
He even uses a communication kit that allows him to talk at its mobile phone while riding, something that tells us that he’s been doing this for a while. At least it won’t get caught speeding and talking at the cell phone in the same time.
Freshly unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show is the entirely new HYmotion3 Compressor concept by Peugeot. A three-wheel tilting trike which features combined characteristics of a car and a scooter, the concept benefits of late Peugeot ‘HYmotion’ technology involving simultaneous powering of a petrol engine and two electric ones.
Featuring two seats and three wheels, the all-new vehicle powers the rear wheel with a 125cc, supercharged petrol engine developing 20 bhp. That only could have decently powered the Peugeot (and it actually can when selecting petrol only engine mode), but in that case it wouldn’t have been called a hybrid. So it gets two equally powerful (3kW) electric motors for each front wheel, quality that makes electric-only mode possible.
As you already suppose, the Peugeot is a highly efficient fuel economic trike, and you haven’t even heard the best of it yet. It actually features start/stop system which offers significant reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in urban and stop-and-go traffic. Still, performance isn’t that bad as it needs 11.2 seconds to hit 60 mph while a quarter of a mile will require 17.6 seconds.
Because the HYmotion3 features roll-over protection, designers made sure that wind protection and that of the elements won’t become things to worry about so a screen/roof was added, making the trike worthy of being ridden by people wearing expensive suits rather than leather jackets.
Peugeot’s master plan also includes parallelogram type front suspension, which allows the front wheels to tilt, anti-lock brakes and a regenerative braking system which charges the batteries of the front electric engines. Life on board will also be made easier by the rearview camera and ride-by-wire controls.
The way I see it, Peugeot is most likely to stay keen on this project as there is a continuous increase of commuter vehicles and I wouldn’t be surprised if it will head to the production line in a couple of years.
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