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Harley-Davidson Considering an Electric Model

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Our favorite brand from Milwaukee continues to surprise us, as we’ve gotten confirmed reports that Harley-Davidson is considering an electric model to its line-up.

Details are scarce on the project, but the company has made a poor secret out of its desire to return as an industry innovator (yes, there was in-fact a time when you could call a Harley-Davidson a trendsetter in the motorcycle industry…it just hasn’t been in this blogger’s lifetime).

Likely eyeing the next big trend in motorcycling, internally the Bar & Shield brtand has been exploring the idea of an electric or hybrid ICE/electric drive train.

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Bikes

Sbay Flying 1800 Custom Cafe Racer

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Here’s to starting Monday morning off right as we bring you the Spanish-made Sbay Flying 1800 custom café racer from Sbay Motor Company. If cruisers from a certain American manufacturer could look like this, we imagine that talks of an aging demographic would cease to exist as the Flying 1800 has ample doses of eye-candy, sportiness, and innovation.

Between the 3.7 gallon carbon fiber tank that is hangs below the oil-holding frame and above the motor, the rear taillight that integrates into the tail section like a Ducati GP9/GP10, and the tasteful use of copper pipes that we liked so much on the Confederate Fighter, there’s plenty to get you drooling on this bike as it borrows from some of the best ideas in motorcycle design.

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Recall

Recall: Kawasaki Vulcan

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Kawasaki is recalling some 2009 & 2010 Kawasaki Vulcan cruisers because of a faulty ECU issue. Apparently when riding the motorcycle, if a rider pulled-in the clutch and coasted down the road, some Vulcan’s were stalling the motor because of an improper setting in the bike’s software. Since a stalled motorcycle at speed could cause an accident, Kawasaki is issuing a recall for these affected Vulcan’s, which will see dealers replace the bike’s ECU with one that has the correct software settings.

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Bikes

Ducati Mega-Monster Spy Shots

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MotoBlog.it has snagged some spy shots of the rumored Ducati power cruiser, or Mega-Monster as it’s now being called in the press (the Ducati Vyper nomenclature has seemingly been dropped). Aimed to take on Yamaha V-Max and it’s crew, the Mega-Monster is a big step for Ducati in tackling new market segments.

Taking a page from the Multistrada 1200 campaign, which saw a plethora of “leaked” images, we don’t really know if you can call these photos true “spy shots”. As with that release, these photos are clearly being staged by Ducati PR people, and then being leaked to motorcycle magazines.

With each rider clearly wearing Ducati apparel, the dots are being connected for us as we can see that the Bologna brand has indeed been working on a cruiser-styled bike, despite saying the project was canned last year. Photos and more after the jump.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the CR&S Duu Cruiser at EICMA

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After leaking out ahead of EICMA, we were excited to go check out the CR&S booth to see their new Duu cruiser. With an S&S v-twin motor, the bike is a mixture of American street muscle, and Italian styling, which makes for an interesting effect. While we like the concept overall, there are certainly elements of the bike we crinkled our nose at, despite the obvious master craftsmanship. More on the Duu, and a plethora of photos after the jump.

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Bikes

CR&S DUU Concept Picks Up Where Ducati Left Off

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While the internet as a whole was resistant to the idea of an Italian bred street chopper, Italian firm Cafe Racers & Superbikes has picked up where Ducati may have left off.

After spending the last two years sprinkling Italian styling in the cruiser segment, the CR&S DUU (we think the name needs some work still) is finally taking a more clear shape, and will use a traditional chopper-esque American born 2.0L v-twin motor, surrounded by modern styling that takes its inspiration from the sportbike scense.

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Bikes

OCC Builds Electric Chopper for Siemens

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Orange County Choppers is at it again with another sponsored show bike. Getting the Teutul treatment this time is Siemens, who commissioned OCC to build an electric chopper, appropriately named the “Siemens Smart Chopper”. Let’s just sidestep the whole issue of why electric cruisers are a horrible idea, and get straight to the part where we tell you about the bike.

Underneath the streamlined bodywork, there is a 27hp Advanced DC motor, which should be good for a 60 mile range and 100mph top speeds. Charging time will be about 5hrs, or 7 mechanical bull rides, or about 1 college football game while wearing an inflatable helmet.

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News

Cruiser Market Hit the Hardest by Recession

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According to the latest polls conducted by PowerSports Business, the cruiser segment of motorcycle sales have been hit the hardest during the current economic meltdown, seeing nearly a 31% drop over last year’s numbers. Following close behind are dual-sport sales, which were reported to be down 29%. Touring bikes have fared better than the rest of the industry, showing only an 9% drop in sales figures.

No numbers were released for the sportbike segment, but these numbers do seem to be better a better outcome than what was being reported by the metric manufacturers earlier this month. Without more data, it’s hard to say who/where the most pain is being felt in the industry, but there clearly are brands and segments that seem to be more insularly to the fluctuations in our economic condition.

Source: PowerSports Business

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News

Ducati Abandons Vyper Cruiser Concept

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For many, this will come with a sigh of relief. Ducati VP of Marketing, Diego Sgorbati, has confirmed that Ducati has no intentions of making a cruiser motorcycle…for the time being. Long rumored to appear at the upcoming EICMA expo, the Ducati Vyper concept has stirred a few imaginations, as well as a few stomachs. Reported in various forms, we still like to visualize it with the renders that Luca from Bar-Design provided us with last year.

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