Out of stealth mode today in Munich, Horex Motorcycles is back after getting the axe from Daimler-Benz back in 1960. To help usher the company back into the motorcycle industry, Horex has developed a V6 1200cc supercharged concept bike that uses a VR6 cylinder configuration. A solid looking street-standard, the Horex VR6 concept is expected to begin production late in 2011, and make somewhere between 175hp-200hp, and over 110lbs•ft of torque.
Target fixation can be the bane of both novice and veteran riders alike. Occurring when a rider fixates on an object, usually something they want to avoid, it often results in the opposite intended result: riding towards, rather than away from the object. This is because motorcycles usually go where you look, and riders freeze up when they should be taking action.
Just about all motorcyclists have a story that goes something like, “I was coming around the corner a little too hot, and I saw that the hill came right up to the shoulder of the road. I kept watching the hill get closer and closer, and the next thing I know my bike was crashed and I was being flown-out of the mountains by a helicopter.” Yeah…you know what I’m talking about, and in case you don’t, here are two video’s showcasing this neurological phenomena (video after the jump possibly NSFW).
A couple weeks ago we showed you the Ducati Car concept by Anthony Colard, which was of course a four-wheeled vehicle, and not a motorcycle. But for the past 6 months we’ve been quietly following the work of French transportation designer, and his Ducati Superbike project. Based off the Ducati 1098/1198 chassis, Colard has taken his own perception of the Italian motorcycle’s style, and improved upon some of its deficiencies. Now finished with the design phase of his project, we can finally share with you some of what this talented designer has been focusing on all this time.
Mark Miller took the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc to victory today at the Isle of Man’s TT Zero race. Miller lapped the MotoCzysz E1pc around the Mountain Course with an average speed of 96.820 MPH and with a time of 23:22.890. Just shy of the 100 MPH average speed barrier, Miller passed through the Sulby speed trap going 135.300 MPH, and topped 140 MPH at one point.
Following Miller was Rob “Bullet” Barber who averaged 89.290 MPH on the streamlined Team Agni machine. James McBride finished on the podium with a 88.653 MPH average on the Man TTX race bike. Jennifer Tinmouth on the second Agni finished 4th, just seven seconds behind McBride.
After teasing us last week with just a shot of the motor NCR Millona M16 motor, NCR has finally released full pictures of their take on the Desmosedici RR. Weighting just 319lbs, and making over 200hp at the wheel, we called the NCR M16 a Desmosedici on steroids when we first saw the specs. Now looking at the detail shots of the bike, we see plenty to drool over. Photos and more after the jump.
What’s going to be mounted on these protruding brackets? So far the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc has been lapping the Isle of Man without its full fairing on the motorcycle. If history teaches us anything, the presumption, of course, should be that MotoCzysz has something still up its sleeve before the team takes to the Mountain Course tomorrow for the TT Zero event. Last year it was batteries in the tail-section, this year it would seem to be streamlining the E1pc.
While Michael Czysz has derided the use of a dustbin style fairings in road racing, he has acknowledged that a course like the Isle of Man creates an opportunity for a race team to find some benefits in the design. As such, Czysz wrote three months ago that he would have a dustbin fairing at the ready, should someone else show up with one as well…and that’s exactly what’s happened.
Overshadowed by Rossi’s highside and subsequent injury, one thing we missed at Mugello (besides the Italian himself) was Rossi’s traditional custom helmet for the Italian GP. Always one to pander to the home crowd, Rossi has made it a tradition to have a special helmet designed for when he races at Italian tracks (with Mugello in particular), and this year was no different.
Valentino Rossi has had a horrific crash today during practice at the Italian GP at Mugello. Highsiding in Turn 13, Rossi has sustained a compound fracture to his right shin. He was flown by helicopter from the circuit to Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence where he underwent surgery on his leg. The surgery was successful in repairing the fractured bone, and Rossi is expected to be in the hospital for the next seven to ten days, and likely not to return to racing for at least six weeks. Video of the crash after the jump.
UPDATE: We just got an email from Michael Czysz about the new E1pc, and the team’s progress so far at the Isle of Man. Read it after the jump.
Our Bothan Spies were hard at work this weekend, and have brought us this photo of the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc that will be racing the TT Zero at the Isle of Man TT. From the pictures, the 2010 E1pc is sporting a significantly smaller tail (no hidden batteries here!), and a bevy of battery packs.
From what we can gather, there’s 12.5 kWh of battery power visible, assuming Czysz & Co. are using the same packs from the eDD. The front-end is the same MotoCzysz-patented design, while the rear of the motorcycle looks to have a longer swing-arm and conventional shock placement.
The motor is attached to the “suitcase”, low on the bike (as seen in the eDD renders) facing the clutch side of the motorcycle. It’s then linked via chain to a concentric shaft off the swing-arm (similar to the MotoCzysz C1), with the final chain linkage on the standard right-hand side of the E1pc. More info and photos as we get them. Big thanks to our anonymous tipster!
In a recent Ohio State Supreme Court decision, the armpit state of America further confirmed its status as the third worst territory in the United States by holding that a driver or motorcyclist can be convicted of speeding purely if it looked to a police officer that the motorist was going too fast.
The decision upholds a lower courts ruling, which held that a driver who challenged a speeding ticket could still be found guilty merely if the trooper stated the driver was “driving too fast” in their estimation.
Marco Melandri has an interesting post on his blog this weekend about Jorge Lorenzo’s Le Mans victory celebration. In case you missed it, after the race Lorenzo seated himself in a lawn chair with a bag of popcorn and soda right smack in front of one of the giant televisions that broadcast the race to the crowd. Considering the last race Lorenzo won, he jumped into a pond, this celebration was a bit more demur, but as Melandri points out there may be more than meets the eye on this celebration.
