Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Sweden

Browsing
News

CAKE Closes $60 Million in Funding

By 22 Comments

Swedish electric motorcycle/moped maker CAKE has just announced the closing of a $60 million funding round, which will help the company scale its production and bolster retail and service locations for the two-wheeled brand.

According to the company’s press release, the fundraising was done via two convertible notes (financial debt instruments that can be turned into equity stakes in the company, at a later time), totaling $14 million and $46 million each.

The bulk of the financing came from Swedish pension fund AMF, while the rest of the funding came from several investors, led by current CAKE shareholders Creandum and Headline.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Some Thoughts on the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701

By 55 Comments

This story has no timely reason, other than I was working my way through Husqvarna’s media site for a different story, and noticed that there were finally some well-lit shots of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 concept available for download.

The Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, as you may remember, builds off KTM’s Husqvarna’s 690cc platform, but uses the “Vitpilen” neo-café racer aesthetic. The result is what you see here, and it blew the doors off the EICMA show in Milan when it debuted late last year.

With these high-resolution photos, that thankfully were not taken in the dark this time, we can finally see the details of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, which were such a highlight when it debuted.

More importantly though, we can get a greater appreciation of where KISKA is taking Husqvarna, both in terms of separating the brand visually from its sister company KTM, but also on how the brand will sit apart from the rest of the motorcycle industry as a whole.

While I have no doubt that we will continue to see more conservative shapes and graphics on Husqvarna’s going forward, especially from Husqvarna’s dirt bike offerings, the Vitpilen segment is very intriguing as it brings a completely fresh take on a very tired-out market segment.

Keep Reading
By
News

Ghost Rider Giving Away His 499hp Turbo Hayabusa

By 19 Comments

I’m going to date myself here, but I remember when I first got into motorcycles, I watched a video of this guy named “Ghost Rider” storm the streets of Sweden. Weaving through traffic like it was a rolling chicane and evading the cops with reckless abandon, I would find out later that Ghost Rider had made a name for himself by doing something all motorcyclists have wanted to partake in at some time or another, but never had the stones to follow through with.

Releasing a number of DVDs of his street antics, Ghost Rider’s identity has remained somewhat of a secret throughout all this, though locals tell me that everyone knows who the man clad in black is, but because of how Sweden handles its burden of proof, Johan Law has never been able to knock on the Ghost Rider’s door. Whether you think his videos are cool, irresponsible, or both, it look like Ghost Rider’s 499hp turbo-powered Hayabusa streetfighter is going to a new home…and it might be yours.

Keep Reading
By