Gizmodo Australia » motorbikes

Akira Bike Replica Will Bring Out The Mini-Rebel In You

Rosa Golijan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:25:00 +0000

The year is 2019. You’re in post-World War III Tokyo. There are some bad guys calling themselves The Clowns. You battle. You win. You leave on your highly-customised bike. You wake up in 2009 and pre-order a replica of that bike.

It may be $US375 and not out until the first quarter of 2010, but this replica of the bike driven by Kaneda in Akira is ridiculously awesome. It’s a one-sixth scale, comes with plenty of sound effects, LED illumination and a workable suspension. All you need is a bit of adventuring spirit. [BigBadToyStore via Nerd Approved]

At Giz Gallery ‘09: Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycles

Adrian Covert — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Motorcycles are cool. But I’ll venture further out and say that Electric Motorcycles are even better because they’re silent, require no fuel and no shifting. That’s why we’ll have the all-electric Brammo Enertia Motorcycle at Giz Gallery ‘09.

Brammo’s wonderbike runs off six lithium phosphate batteries and reaches a top speed of 80 kilometres with no emissions. Plus, because the bike is 100% battery powered, the bike doesn’t require gears or a clutch. Basically, it’s the ultimate way to get around a city.

Mission One Electric Bike Breaks World Speed Record

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0000

From concept to real product: The Mission One electric bike—designed and made by Yves Behar and Mission Motors—is now the world’s fastest electric bike at 260km/h. And they got a video to prove it.

The bike broke the record on September 1, averaging 241.50km/h, and reaching a top speed of 260km/h. The most amazing thing is that this is not a prototype, but an actual production model. It’s the same as the first 300 bikes that will be available in 2010. In fact, you can get one of the first 50, which are already available for custom order. [Fast Company]

Electric Dirtbikes Now Available In Australia

Nick Broughall — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:14:09 +0000

Dirtbikes and environmentally-friendly electric motors don’t seem to be the most logical of bedfellows, but Zero Motorcycles have forced the two to shack up, and now their Zero X and Zero MX bikes are available in Australia.

Sales of the bikes will start next month, if the idea of a dirtbike with a 100% recyclable lithium ion battery appeals to you. Disappointingly, it doesn’t look like the Zero S street-legal bike will be available from launch next month, but hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.

The local website hasn’t launched yet either, but you can get a heap of info on the Zero X and the Zero MX from the US site below.

[Zero Motorcycles]

Electric Superbike Uses iPhone As Its Dashboard

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Scrap the new iPhone, Snow Leopard, and even the Apple tablet. What I really want is this MotoCzysz Erpc, an electric superbike that not only looks amazing, but uses the iPhone as its dashboard, as you can see here:

According to Wes at Hell for Leather Magazine, the Erpc may win next Friday’s zero emissions TTXGP race at the Isle of Man. He doesn’t know how exactly the MotoCzysz Erpc uses the iPhone, but my guess is that it uses custom software that will mix the use of available sensors—like the GPS, the accelerometer, and even the light sensor to turn the lights on or off—and some kind of custom interface that connects it to the bike’s electronic systems via USB, to give real time feedback about its mechanics. Or at least, that’s how I would like the MotoCzysz Erpc to work at the TTXGP race or anywhere else.

Whatever it is, the biggest question now may be if these bike people hate vowels or what. [Hell for Leather]

320KPH Bike Uses US Military Cruise Missile Engines

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:20:00 +0000

320kph in 7.887 seconds. That and liquified brains when you smash against a concrete wall is what this superbike will get you. I wish we could see the end of the run in this fiery video.

Each of its J402-CA-702 Model 373 turbines—originally used in cruise missiles—have 1,000 pounds of trust. [Techeblog via Dvice]

Kvant Motorbike: Half the Snowmobile Yields Twice the Danger

Jack Loftus — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Designer Patrik Petersson took his dirt bike and a snowmobile into a shed, played them some Yanni, and the result is the Kvant Motorbike.

Combining the important parts of each vehicle, the Kvant isn’t very practical, or even possible (anyone want to weigh in on that?), but it looks cool. For concepts like this, that’s what matters.

Free advice though: I’m no designer, but let’s get some foot pegs on this beast, ok? [Design Blog]

Terminator 4’s MotoTerminator Cycles Come to Life at NY Auto Show

Jason Chen — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Jalopnik just got shots of three Confederate motorcycles that look very, very much like the bikes in Terminator 4. [Jalopnik]

Di Blasi R7 Folding Motorbike Is Awesome And Practical

Nick Broughall — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:00:32 +0000

I don’t know what part of this story I find more appealing: The Di Blasi R7 folding motorcycle, which weighs just 29.8kg, travels at 50kph and has a 50cc engine; or the fact that the distributor’s have created a company called Scoot2You, which rides one of these bikes out to you and your car after a few too many drinks and then drives you home.
The bike itself looks like its extremely easy to fold up and unpack, as you can see in the above clip. The 50cc engine means that in some states of Australia, all you need is a regular driver’s license to drive around. Sure, it has only got a single cylinder, two-stroke engine, so it’s never going to be suitable as a vehicle for long trips, but for driving around the inner city – or for added mobility if you happen to own a boat or light aeroplane – it will do the job admirably. What’s better, the bike starts at $2,990 + GST + on road costs, so it’s actually really affordable.

Meanwhile, the Scoot2You service, which is currently available in both the Gold Coast and Brisbane, means the days of drink driving are essentially over. After a few drinks, you can call them up, and they’ll ride their Di Blasi bike out to you, pack it up and pop it in the boot of your car. Then they drive you home in your own car, unpack the bike and drive to the next person. So long as there’s a stringent screening process for the drivers, this is a fantastic idea. They’re also planning on franchising the service, so hopefully we’ll see it available in other capital cities as well soon.

You can grab more info on both the bikes and the Scoot2you service by clicking through below:
[Scoot2You and DiBlasi]

Triumph Speed Triple Carbon Motorcycle Comes In One Colour Only

Mark Wilson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:55:00 +0000

I can’t decide whether I like carbon fibre, or I just love the colour black.

The Triumph Speed Triple motorcycle features a 1050cc triple engine to get you going and twin 4-piston, 4-caliper brakes to bring you to a stop. But if that’s not enough, a special, limited run of 55 Triumph Speed Triples will get the carbon treatment that includes a flyscreen, cowl, infill panels, heat shield, mud guard, and sprocket covers, all done up in the matte black material.

The carbon fibre privilege will cost you $US11,800 over the bike’s base price (which is probably pretty high to begin with). In other words, enjoy the pretty picture. [Triumph via Carbon Fibre Gear]