The spread of machinery at the 14th street vintage bike block party in Greenpoint was pretty f*ckin epic.
Just so's you know - Brooklyn rules.
Dig the iron:
click for big picture gallery
continue reading Works Engineering / Brand X 2009 motorcycle picture gallery...
Don Williams review at Ultimate Motorcycling of a Kawasaki KX450F with Christini All-Wheel-Drive conversion.
"When the KX450F was switched back to AWD, the bike easily and controllably topped the hill, making the rider wonder if an entirely different bike has been substituted. Quite simply, the difference in these sorts of situations (mudholes are another), the difference cannot be overstated. It's the difference between painless success and unqualified failure."I sort of have an ongoing fetish for these Christini rigs.
continue reading Kawasaki KX450F with Christini All-Wheel-Drive conversion...
Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows this: Bikes are all about sexy.
Power, handling, economy - whatever other reasons we have are all secondary. The bike has to look hot. And for those few super-perverse ones (like myself), a hot mess of duct tape, Krylon, rust and dirt looks pretty hot too.
One of the reasons why Chinese bikes have not taken off here is that most of them are styled like "sooo yesterday". Of course there are other reasons: limited dealer networks, bad reliability reputation, etc.
But Fugliness is the maker-breaker factor. With Suzuki now having 2 factories in China, you can be sure that China's well-honed industrial espionage moles are in full swing. What they learn from the Japanese will likely help improve manufacturing and quality control throughout the sector.
Once they improve reliability on the higher-power 250cc class powerplants, and on up into the 400-600cc motors - we'll see a horrendous shakeup in the global motorcycle industry. China's motorcycle manufacturing capacity is greater than the whole rest of the world combined... by a LARGE margin. They are like the U.S. in 1946 on steroids.
Very soon, these non-ugly semi-knockoff-styled machines are hitting our shores.
As a bike lover, and cash-strapped consumer, I'm pretty stoked.
I, for one, welcome with open arms our new Manchu Overlords.
Qlink USA here
continue reading Rise of the (chinese) machines - qlink motorcycles...
These Bad Boys are showing up in Bed Stuy.
There are 2 dominant types of motorcycles in Bedford Stuyvesant: 1) sport bikes and 2) Enduros... specifically, KLR650 Kawasakis.
The Japanese Sport bikes are sometimes blinged out - polished and chromed, painted, aftermarket pipes... though many fly with stock setups.
The KLR650 seems to be the most popular bike here. Really the KLR650 should just be renamed "The official motorcycle of Bed Stuy". Last summer it seemed everyone-and-their-mother was blasting around on one of those big thumpers. Though I'm seeing a few more Honda XRs this summer and I have yet to spot a Suzuki DRZ400SM this year. Not sure what happened to those few DRZs that were wheelying around like crazy last year.
The real Leading Indicator bike spotting event was the 200cc Chinese Supermoto I saw on Malcom X Boulevard last night. The owner said he "imported it from New Jersey" - a beautiful little orange scoot with very little "sticker clutter" on the tank. The color was a little lighter and brighter than KTM orange... more plastic-ey looking. Reminded me of 1970's Chrysler muscle cars: over-the-top tones. Nicely done.
manufacturer's site: here
...annnnnd you can buy them on the Internet. Though I recommend finding a dealer (for ANY bike).
At $2299.00, they might just be the most affordable little city bikes available. At that price, I expect a lot more to be appearing in the hood.
A good starter bike. You know: for the kids. Light and nimble... for avoiding those ubiquitous always-reckless-and-speeding Car Service taxis that infest the streets of Brooklyn like roaches at a Crack House.
continue reading Now it's on. Chinese Motorcycles invade Bed Stuy Brooklyn...
click for big gallery of Chinese bikes n' stuff
My girlfriend got me this Made in China biker flask from Pearl River Mart. Them Chinese make all kinds of stuff.
All motorcycle images from made-in-china.com
eROCKIT
I like this funky looking thing. But I think "Handcrafted in Berlin" is code for "will cost an arm and a leg".
Electric motorbikes seem to be everywhere. I've started to see some funky chinese moped-like things delivering Thai and Chinese food around Manhattan and Broolyn.
Now that the 1st annual TTXGP (zero emissions motorbike race) at the Isle of Man is over (written up perfectly here in the L.A. Times) and with development happening everywhere at once, we'll probably start to see "right sizing" of pricing structures for some mass produced Factory models out of Asia.
People are doing stuff in their own garages, both Yamaha and Honda are rolling out e-bikes in the next 24 months, parts are readily available for DIY projects and there are plenty of on-line guides.
It looks like the Golden Age of Electric Motorcycles has begun.
click for more pictures
My friend Shawn went to Willow Springs last weekend. He sent me some pictures.
I want one i want one i want one i want one.
Christini is having a sale on their CRF250 Frame Kits. The Christini AWD Tax Return Stimulus Sale: $750 off plus free shipping. ($3250 US)
You ship them your bare frame and (in their words) "We’ll return to you a Brand New Pre-Assembled Christini AWD Frame kit complete with Custom Talon Hub, Billet Triple-Clamps, New Tank, White Plastics and Christini Graphics"
SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL TO ME! Now, all I need is a ski mask and a gun...
...and I am there Baby.
More info HERE.
continue reading All-Wheel-Drive Honda CRF250 on sale... Hellz Yesss. meh....
