Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

carbon fiber

Browsing
Bikes

Carbon Fiber BMW HP4 Race Debuts in China

By 28 Comments

As we predicted, the BMW HP4 Race carbon fiber superbike debuted today in China, at the Auto Shanghai 2017 expo. This is the production version of the prototype that BMW Motorrad teased at last year’s EIMCA show in Milan.

Details were scarce in Italy, but now BMW is ready to tell us all about its halo bike. The numbers? Only 750 units of the BMW HP4 Race will be produced. Each one will make 212hp, and weigh 377 lbs when fully fueled and ready to ride – which is lighter than BMW’s WorldSBK-spec S1000RR racing machine.

Of course the main feature of the BMW HP4 Race is that it drips in carbon fiber. The bodywork, main frame, and wheels are made of this composite material, with the tail section being a self-supporting carbon fiber unit.

BMW Motorrad has interestingly chosen an aluminum swingarm for the HP4 Race though, a departure from the show bike, likely for rigidity/handling reasons.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Is The 2018 BMW HP4 Race About to Debut in China?

By 27 Comments

After this year’s April Fools hijinks, we have a whole new respect for the cunning that resides at BMW Motorrad, and the Germans seem to be honing that trait even further today.

Announcing its plans for the upcoming Auto Shanghai 2017 later this month, BMW lists a number of four-wheeled news items for the Chinese auto show, and then casually slips-in at the end of the press release that we should expect a big unveil from BMW Motorrad.

The statement reads that “the highlight of the BMW Motorrad stand is the world premiere of one of the most exclusive models ever offered by BMW Motorrad,” which is terse, though given what we know about the Bavarian brand, it should be easy to guess what they are hinting at.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Mike’s Carbon Fiber Motus MSTR

By 10 Comments

The Motus MSTR is a beast of a machine, it just oozes raw power and torque from its 1,650cc V4 engine; and to compliment all that grunt, the MSTR also comes tastefully wrapped in painted carbon fiber fairings.

But when a composites expert wants one of your motorcycles, painting those carbon fiber body panels might not be the best of choices – it may even be an affront the Gods of Internal Combustion.

When customer “Mike M.” wanted to see show off the weave of the Motus MSTR’s carbon fiber bodywork, he opted for his machine to come sans the livery. We think that was a pretty good choice, and the gods are surely pleased as well.

So, to help get the New Year off to a proper start, and to return to the appreciation of all things two-wheeled, we give you Mike M.’s Motus MSTR motorcycle (how’s that for alliteration?) – we think you will enjoy it.

Keep Reading
By
News

XXX: The BMW HP4 Race & Its Carbon Fiber Sexiness

By 19 Comments

If you are like us, you can’t get enough of the BMW HP4 Race, which debuted today in Milan, at the 2016 EICMA trade show. Featuring a carbon fiber frame, carbon fiber wheels, and carbon fiber bodywork, not to mention a bevy of premium-spec components, the BMW HP4 Race is the track bike of your wet dreams.

BMW Motorrad plans on making the HP4 Race a production model too, with an expected release date somewhere in the second-half of 2017. Quantities will be limited, and each BMW HP4 Race will be hand-built. So basically, we are telling you that the price tag will be not be cheap.

So for many of us, photos are as close as we are going to get to this supreme beauty. Luckily, we have some ridiculously large photos for you to drool over. Enjoy!

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

BMW HP4 Race Gets a Carbon Fiber Chassis for 2017

By 11 Comments

We already had a pretty good idea what to expect from BMW Motorrad at the 2016 EIMCA show, but it is good to see that the Germans can still surprise us – and what a surprise it was, indeed.

Sort of a “one more thing” moment in Milan, the BMW HP4 Race was teased to the assembled EICMA press – giving us a look at their ultra-premium version of the BMW S1000RR Superbike, and it drips in carbon fiber.

Of course what really sets the BMW HP4 Race apart is the fact that it uses a twin-spar carbon fiber frame, making it, and the recently debuted Ducati 1299 Superleggera, the only production motorcycles with such a feature.

Details beyond what we can see are very scarce from BMW Motorrad, though we do know that we can expect the BMW HP4 Race to debut in the second-half of 2017. The name suggests that the bike might not be homologated for street use, but time will have to tell on that.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ducati 1299 Superleggera – A 215hp Carbon Fiber Superbike

By 5 Comments

Photos of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera leaked this past weekend, and well before that we already knew some of the details about Ducati’s “Project 1408” machine, but none of this detracts from the truly impressive machine that Ducati debuted today in Milan, just ahead of the official start to the 2017 EICMA show.

Like its 1199 counterpart, the Ducati 1299 Superleggera is a limited edition version of the company’s venerable superbike platform, and it focuses on being the lightest, most powerful, street-legal machine that Borgo Panigale can produce.

Upping the ante this time around, Ducati has used a carbon fiber chassis (frame, swingarm, wheels, and bodywork) for the 1299 Superleggera, in addition to an array of other exclusive components and exotic materials.

Also of note is the Akrapovi? race exhaust, which looks like it fell right off Ducati’s World Superbike project. When combined with the rest of the race kit, the Ducati 1299 Superleggera makes 220hp, and tips the scales at 162kg (wet). Truly impressive.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Photos Leak of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera

By 49 Comments

Ducati has updated its microsite for its Project 1408 motorcycle, and unsurprisingly those with access to the photos have posted them to Facebook and other social networks, for the whole world to see.

The photos reveal the Ducati 1299 Superleggera, which drips carbon fiber (including its frame, swingarm, and wheels), and features a WSBK-spec Akrapovic exhaust in its race kit, which brings the total power figure of the v-twin Superquadro engine to 220hp (215hp stock).

Limited to 500 units, for those who can afford its $80,000 price tag (USD), the new Superleggera weighs a paltry 150kg dry (330 lbs), making it the lightest and most powerful superbike ever from the Italian brand.

Not officially debuting until Monday evening in Italy, we expect the Ducati 1299 Superleggera to be the main topic of discussion at next week’s EICMA show.

Thus, we will have to wait to get proper high-resolution photos and official tech specs from Ducati, but until then we have a bevy of leaked image grabs from Ducati’s Project 1408 microsite.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Part Descriptions Leak About the Ducati 1299 Superleggera

By 23 Comments

With the news that Bologna is showing its new lightweight project, the Ducati 1299 Superleggera to would-be owners, it shouldn’t surprise us then to see information leaking out about the superbike.

Unsurpsingly then, some of the component images and details have leaked out from the Project 1408 microsite, posted to forums by invited guests.

These leaked details give us a glimpse as to how Borgo Panigale is going to improve upon its namesake even further, namely through the use of carbon fiber.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

A Ducati 1299 Superleggera with a Carbon Fiber Frame??!

By 116 Comments

Ducati has begun teasing something very special, which for now is going by the name of “Project 1408” on a micro-website the Italian manufacturer has setup.

The site itself has no information, and doesn’t even tease what Project 1408 could be, but Ducati has already begun reaching out to its VIP customers, teasing something made from carbon fiber.

Sources tell us though that the Ducati Project 1408 is a new Superleggera model, based off the Ducati 1299 Panigale platform.

This new superbike isn’t just the Ducati 1199 Superleggera with the 1299 motor bolted into it though, with our sources saying that the Ducati 1299 Superleggera takes the weight savings a step further, with the highlight being a carbon fiber chassis.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

The Carbon Fiber VanderHeide Is A “Gentleman’s Racer”

By 25 Comments

Dutch motorcycle-builder Rolf van der Heide calls his machine a “gentleman’s racer” – we’re not sure what that means exactly, so we’ll just settle on calling it beautiful.

The VanderHeide features a monocoque chassis, made completely from carbon fiber. The swingarm and front-end assembly are also made from the composite material, all of which was engineered and hand-built by Rolf van der Heide himself.

At the core of the machine is an Aprilia RSV4 engine, which makes 201hp in its stock form. VanderHeide says it can provide a 230hp superbike option, if one’s wallet so desires.

Other go-fast bits include 17″ BST carbon fiber wheels, a MoTeC dash, Brembo brakes, and a very unique setup for the bike’s Öhlins TTX36 shocks, which provide the suspension for both the rear and front wheels.

All told, the VanderHeide weighs 175kg dry (386 lbs) in street form, with the race version tipping the scales at 165kg dry (364 lbs). But, we haven’t touched the tip of the iceberg on what makes this motorcycle so breathtakingly unique.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

David Yurman Forged Carbon Moto by Walt Siegl

By 13 Comments

Many of you have likely seen Walt Siegl’s “Bol D’Or” custom MV Agusta Brutale 800 with a retro-flare. It is an amazing piece of work, and the basis for today’s post, which brings you a glimpse of the David Yurman Forged Carbon Moto by Walt Siegl.

Actually the first model from Walt Siegl’s Bol B’Or line, we are just seeing this motorcycle now because it comes with a twist: it has forged carbon parts, crafted by jewelry maker David Yurman.

A lot can be said about forged carbon, enough worthy of its own article, but the tl;dr version is that the composite material is set to replace traditional carbon fiber parts – in a big way.

Keep Reading
By