There isn’t a enough motorcycle art in the two-wheeled world. I am not talking about a shortage of photos, paintings, or drawings of motorcycles; but instead, I lamenting my desire for more of these pieces that really move me — works of art that strike a chord with my emotions, and then lead my thoughts down to some longing, proposal, or recollection of good times on a motorbike.

For our own part, A&R strives to pair inspiring photographs with our articles, often showing photos that add another dimension to the story, or at least a double entendre. But alas, the seemingly requisite need for visuals to provide an editorial explanation to the words below them can make achieving both goals often a lost endeavor.

Motorcycling in the western world is about passion though (that’s not to say there isn’t passionate motorcyclists all over the world, of course), so we still strive to straddle both sides of that fence anyways. It is for this same reason that we publish intriguing concept sketches & designs, when we find them, since the reality of the still unknown is a powerful one. You do remember what an imagination is, right?

Coming across the work of Adam Nickel, my imagination was again lit-up. Publishing a few of his drawings on his blog, I was drawn to the alliterately titled pieces Dedication, Defeat, Dreams, & Decisions — which portray four events that are sure to feel familiar to any motorcyclist. Enjoy them after the jump, and be sure to stop by Nickel’s site for more pieces of moto-inspiration.

This next article comes to you as a direct biproduct of my Labor Day weekend. While I don’t have any children of my own (none that I know of at least), I did spend the long-weekend around what I hope will be Asphalt & Rubber‘s future generation of readers, as well as motorcycling’s future demographic of riders (their parents may take some more convincing).

Kids seem to be fascinated with motorcycles…along with trains, firetrucks, planes, submarines, etc, so when I saw these line art drawings of some classic motorcycles today on Racing Café, I thought the mothers and father who regularly read A&R wouldn’t mind having something moto-related they could print out, and have their children color, shade, or draw all over.

For those of you without kids, well…here are some cool line art drawings of motorcycles. How’s that for a win/win? If you like these drawings there is a bunch more on Flickr, and it looks like the artist who made these drawings is selling them in poster form. Cool, right?

Overall, our impressions of the 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 was that the new baby Fighter from Ducati, is a well-improved upon successor to the original Ducati Streetfighter 1098. Helping differentiate the SF848 from the higher-spec, though otherwise identical, Streetfighter 1098 S, the Streetfighter 848 takes the geometry from the Ducati Superbike 848, which means it gets a much-better handling 24.5° rakes. Ducati has also brought over the Testastretta 11° engine, which made its first debut on the Ducati Multistrada 1200, and then found its way onto the Ducati Diavel.

Smoother and easier to operate, the new Streetfighter’s 849cc motor may be down on power compared to its Superbike counterpart (132 hp at its peak, compared to the Superbike 848 EVO’s 140hp), but the SF848 has a much flatter torque curve and a power band that extends into a more useable range for urban and aggressive street riding. When compared to its predecessor, just about the only thing we don’t like about the Ducati Streetfighter 848 is the foot clearance issue with the shotgun exhaust, which limits the movement of a rider’s right foot on the Streetfighter’s peg.

Releasing these CAD drawings at the 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 US press launch, maybe some eagle-eyed industrial designers can come up with a solution for this reporter’s kneecap. CAD renders after the jump.

The 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale represents a huge step in motorcycle design, mostly due to its frameless chassis or monocoque design. Using the engine as an integral component to the Panigale’s chassis, Ducati’s hallmark achievement was building an integrated headstock/airbox off the front cylinder. With the seat and subframe built off the rear cylinder, and the swingarm bolting directly to the motor, the Ducati 1199 Panigale was able to not only shed 22 lbs of its predecessor’s design, but also continues the Italian company’s new design trend of having components that take on multiple functional roles.

Being sure to keep the fairings on the Ducati 1199 Panigale fastened at all times, we have very little insight as to what Ducati’s new chassis looks like underneath its clothing, and after hounding Bologna for the past few weeks over the issue, these four renders of the Panigale’s frame are the best we can muster for our readers. The black background makes the black frame components hard to see, but the CAD drawings do provide at least some insight as to how the 1199 comes together. If the Panigale goes as well on the track as it does on the spec sheet, you very well could be looking at the future of production motorcycle chassis design.

Here’s some Friday eye candy for you, courtesy of Morgan Driessen. When Morgan isn’t out working on his multiple degrees in graphic design (he graduated with honors we might add), he’s likely jumping over things on his trials bicycle (training to compete in the world championship on that as well).

Now in the unlikely situation where you would be unable to find Morgan doing either of those afore mentioned things, then well he’s probably day dreaming about two-stroke racers, and putting pen to pad on a motorcycle designs. Today finds us catching the young Mr. Driessen at the latter, as he has done up some splendid drawings of alternative paint jobs and sponsorships for the Honda RC212V (above) and Yamaha YZR-M1 (after the jump).

Norwegian site MC24 has gotten its hands on some of the sketches used in the process of designing the Ducati Streetfighter. While the drawings show a glimpse into the process of what it takes to bring a motorcycle to fruition, you can also see the evolution of the design itself. From rough polygons and shapes, to the detailed and shaded sketches, and finally the CAD drawing of the finished design, one can see the refinement and process that must be going on in the artists heard.