From France: The Enzyme Icare concept

The Enzyme Icare. For those who want a French motorcycle with four wheels and an 1800cc, six-cylinder Honda engine...
Pics: Wired

Concept bikes probably don’t get more outlandish than this – the Enzyme Icare. Powered by Honda’s 1800cc flat-six (the same engine that’s used on the Honda Evo6 concept), the Icare concept has been dreamt up by French design house, Enzyme.

Enzyme say the Icare is ‘a superlative motor bike that would fill a currently vacant niche for top-of-the-range bikes.’ Er…, we suppose they’re serious about this, though with Ducati 1098Rs and Desmosedici RRs, MV Agusta F4 CCs and the upcoming BMW S1000RR and Aprilia RSV 4, we don’t really see any vacant niche in the world of high-zoot motorcycles.

It may never make it to production, but the Icare sure looks cool!

Then again, the Icare has been designed as a piece of art, so perhaps it’s meant for collectors and other weirdos who buy their bikes to park them in climate-controlled garages. According to report on Wired, the Icare is ‘fully clothed’ when it’s parked, but start it up, and the bodywork splits open to reveal the cockpit. Even the wheels split apart, going from two to four. And we thought Franco Sbarro’s Pendolauto four-wheel motorcycle concept was a bit OTT…

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Orca’s Red Bull Racing KTM RC8 1190

Orca's Red Bull Racing KTM RC8 1190. It's HOT!

Pics: Moto Caradisiac

Motorcycle specials builders, Orca have been at it again, this time working their magic on a KTM RC8. At around US$30,000 the Red Bull Racing RC8 is certainly not inexpensive, but the custom paint job looks terrific and the list of aftermarket bits is long. Among other things, the bike is fitted with an Akrapovic exhaust, folding brake and clutch levers, smoked windscreen, and various carbonfibre bits.

For more details and pictures of other Orca bikes, visit their website here

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Supercharged, 200bhp Yamaha R1!

With a Rotrex supercharger, this Yam R1 packs 200 horsepower...!
Pic: PB mag forum

A 160-170bhp Yamaha R1 isn’t, of course, fast enough for some people. Which is why there are NOS kits, turbochargers and superchargers in this world. And, right on cue, here we have a late-model carbureted Yamaha R1 fitted with a Rotrex supercharger, with the engine producing around 200 horsepower. At least now it should be fast enough for most people…

The Rotrex supercharger kit consists of the charger unit, engine cover, drive belt, oil cooler/oil container, oil hoses, intake tubes, air filter, plenum chamber, blow-off valve, carb mods, bigger fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, two head gaskets and modified exhaust. Other mods include an Akrapovic exhaust, Brembo brakes with four-piston radial-mount calipers and high-spec Ohlins fork and shock.

The owner says the bike is running very low boost, so does not need fancy new pistons or cranks. ‘It starts on the button every time and is a joy to ride. I’d recommend this mod to everybody. It is a complete pussycat if you want it to be, or an animal at the twist of the wrist. There is power everywhere…,’ says an obviously very happy R1 owner.

Including labour charges and seup, the R1 supercharger kit cost US$7,000. Maintenance routine is said to be the same as that for a regular R1.

Here are some other R1s that we like...


Some pics: London Bikers, Motorbike Sport

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Kawasaki ZX-9R-based ZX-RR MotoGP replica

This ZX-RR replica uses a 145bhp ZX-9R engine. Looks quite all right, we think...
Pics: PB mag forum

Here's another interesting bike we found on the PB mag forum – a Kawasaki ZX-RR MotoGP-replica. The engine is a completely rebuilt ZX-9R unit, with a Wiseco high compression kit in it. The carbs are 39mm flatslides, ignition is an adjustable Dynatek 200 unit and the wheels, front fork and swingarm are from a ZX-10R.

The Kawasaki ZX-RR replica also has a modified sub-frame, digital dash, Gilles rearsets and chain adjusters and fully adjustable Ohlins rear shock. The fuel tank and front fender are made of carbonfibre, the exhaust is a full Akrapovic race-line system and the bike has been fitted with an Ohlins steering damper.

The owner says the ZX-9R engine makes 145 horsepower and 120Nm of torque. Not bad, eh?

Also found these bikes on the PB mag forum, here and here. A Honda RC45 (above) and Yamaha OW-01 FZR750RR (below). Both bikes look hot!

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An American Hot Rod: 1984-1986 Honda CB700SC Nighthawk S

It's the Ride to Work Day!

It's the 17th Annual Ride to Work Day today. Please help and support RTW.
Visit their official website here for more details!

Norton NRV588 to be raced during the Mallory Park Summer Festival

The rotary-engined Norton NRV588. From the engineering perspective, it's the most outstandingly brilliant British motorcycle in recent years...

Pics: PB, Sport Rider

The Norton NRV588 – possibly the most intriguing British motorcycle in recent years – will be raced during the Mallory Park Summer Festival motorcycle races at the end of this month.

Developed and built by Brian Crighton, the NRV588 is fitted with the revolutionary twin-rotor Wankel rotary engine, which is now fuel-injected and produces about 170bhp at 11,500rpm. The engine also gets variable inlet tracts and ride-by-wire tech. In conventional engine terms, the NRV’s engine capacity is 588cc and with its carbonfibre fairing (made by Harris Performance), the bike only weighs 130 kilos.

The NRV588’s twin-spar aluminium chassis is made by Spondon, and race-spec Ohlins suspension is used front and rear. ‘The bike feels like it's powered by an extremely potent electric motor. There's a huge range of seamless, linear power from 3,000rpm all the way up to the 11,500rpm rev limiter. Throttle response is crisp without being abrupt, and the engine is so smooth that you have no sense of feel that it's time to shift. This caused me to bump into the rev limiter often…,’ says Alan Cathcart, who rode the NRV588 for Sport Rider magazine some time back.

British 250 GP racing champ, Lee Dickinson is the man who’ll be riding the NRV588 at Mallory Park at the end of this month. ‘It is a brilliant project to be involved with, and I hope we can put on a good show straight out the box,’ he says. ‘The engine characteristic is different to anything else I've ever ridden. The twin-rotor Wankel engine pulls from nothing at all and is very torquey. It’s easy to ride, but hard to ride fast. It handles well and feels like a fast 250, but stands a bit taller,’ says Dickinson.

Here at Faster and Faster, we love the old Norton F1 rotary racer and we think the NRV588 is utterly, totally brilliant. If only a company like Honda, with its huge resources and high degree of engineering competence, adopted the rotary engine concept and developed it further, who knows what it might have led to. A rotary-engined Fireblade, anyone?

The NRV588 on the dyno. Sounds awesome, eh?

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Community nurse to do 4,800km motorcycle roadtrip to raise money for charity

Lou and Tristan - riding for a good cause...

A UK-based community nurse, Lou Hartley is off on a 4,800km European roadtrip, which she will complete in three weeks on her Yamaha MT-03. Lou, who got her motorcycle rider’s license just six months ago, will ride through 10 countries with the aim of raising £40,000 for cancer charities.

Lou is making the trip to help raise awareness of breast cancer in younger women. She was herself diagnosed with breast cancer at 40 years of age but she’s now recovering. ‘Whilst 80 percent of breast cancer cases occur in women over the age of 50, it seems the disease is becoming more common in younger women. From the age of 20, women should self­examine from time to time. I’m one of the lucky ones because I was breast aware and the doctors caught it in the early stages, but many women aren’t so lucky,’ says Lou.

Accompanying Lou on the trip is professional photographer Tristan Poyser, who will be riding a Yamaha Fazer FZ6. Tristan, who has volunteered three weeks of his time to make the journey, is an integral part of the Breast Quest team and has been involved in their fundraising activities from the beginning.

The bikes for this roadtrip have been supplied by Yamaha Motor UK. If you or your company would like to offer your services or make a financial contribution to the trip, please contact Lou or Tristan via the Breast Quest website.

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Motorcyclin' USA: Riding with Killboy

Time to ride the Deals Gap again, with Killboy!








Killboy has some of the best, coolest motorcycling pics on the planet. Visit the Killboy blog here and to buy some of their pics, visit their store here
Pics: Killboy

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