Another Ghost, a 1,600cc, 6 cylinder powered BMW concept:

Congratulations to KTM on their 1st victory in the top class at the Czech G P with newboy Brad Binder aboard in only his 3rd race in this class .. and no fluke either he pressured the Petronas Yam's up front afore getting into the lead and then scarpering off into the distance with the works Ducati's and Honda's also rans .. 

 

47 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Congratulations to KTM on their 1st victory ...

Yes, well done.  I guess Red Bull does give you wings.  (Like the heir who flew the coop. 555)

 

How long has KTM been racing in Moto GP?

3 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

How long has KTM been racing in Moto GP?

The project was announced 2014 .. after all the start up stuff that teams go through they debuted in the 1st race at Qatar 2017 so this is their 4th season .. to win a race up against the might of the Japanese works teams is no small achievement but to do it in such a convincing manner in only the 4th season is impressive .. 

And this is Brad Binder's first season with them. 

9 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

And this is Brad Binder's first season with them. 

Yes 1st season on the big bike .. he finished 2nd in the feeder class Moto2 championship last year on a KTM .. 

8 hours ago, JimShortz said:

I know not beautiful in everyone's eyes, but in mine she is...

If I were to move to Thailand, I'd have one of those (and a dirt bike and a beat up Wave with a sidecar for beer runs.)  I'm small and light and I feel comfortable with something I can manhandle a bit.  For bopping around Loei Town, I'd even consider a Z250SL. 

 

How is the Z400 for longer trips and long inclines?  How is the vibration at speed? 

6 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Yes 1st season on the big bike .. he finished 2nd in the feeder class Moto2 championship last year on a KTM .. 

I hope they feed him well and scratch him behind the ears.  It might work out nicely for them.

21 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

I hope they feed him well and scratch him behind the ears.  It might work out nicely for them.

Yea for sure .. and there will be a number of works rides up for grabs at the end of the season .. KTM better offer him a improved contract if he continues as he did today or the likes of Ducati will be lurking in the background .. 

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Yea for sure .. and there will be a number of works rides up for grabs at the end of the season .. KTM better offer him a improved contract if he continues as he did today or the likes of Ducati will be lurking in the background .. 

These are the kids who are putting their lives on the line to race. They had better take care of them.

Before I get any flak for this take a look first .. 

Newron EV1 electric bike .. love 'em or hate them they are here ..

The large cylinder thing where the engine fuel tank would normally go is the 75 kWh battery .. the little stripes around and along it are LEDs that glow for the full space craft experience .. said to do 0 - 60 mph in under 3 sec's which is on a par with a 1000cc sports bike and topping out at 135 .. range depends on how it's ridden but the makers claim upto 185 miles on a full charge taking it gently .. full connectivity as you might expect and with a choice of wood for the 'erm wooden bits ( real as well they say ) .. the looks I admit are challenging but I'd like to see it with more conventional metal components as chucking it down the road might see it having to go to a carpenters rather than bike shop for repair .. 

 

Ilmor's ill fated X MotoGP bike from 2006'ish when the class reduced capacity to 800cc for a couple of years .. made it to the opening race of the '07 season before the team halted operations due to lack of dough .. the bike itself turned up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a few mths later in an attempt to drum up a bit of sponsorship but none was forthcoming so they slipped away .. 

 

FKS from Germany .. 250 twin and 350 triple both liquid cooled , handbuilt and from the 60's 'ish .. 

 

 

I've only owned zingle zylinder bikes.

Honda Gold Wing this is a 1976 ,you either love them or hated them ,I put them in the same mode as HD's  the latter  

Bike magazine tested an early one and dubbed it a Wing and a Prayer ,did not handle over well , weather  it was the nylon tyres of the time, some said the rear end with shaft drive did not help. 

At the time of 4 cylinder OHC  UJM's it certainly was different.

Mate of mine part exchanged  a Suzuki GT 550 for one.    

Harris WCM Yamaha 2002 from the first full season that MotoGP went to 990cc fourstrokes .. Used a engine based on Yam's R1 design and incorporated a few insignificant parts from the Yam engine .. That got it banned under the rules that stated Motogp was a class for bikes not based on production machines .. essentially hand build custom made machines .. WCM appealed through various courts right upto the court of sporting arbitration costing thousands in the process but to no avail .. it was deemed to be outside Motogp's construction rules and banned .. shame as they were one of the last true privateer teams to be in the top class .. 

 

Petronas FP1 .. The harvest of collaboration between Petronas , Sauber Engineering and later Carl Fogarty .. project started 2001 with a brief to build a MotoGP bike but switched to WSB when the level of development needed to be competitive became excessively expensive .. 

899cc 3 banger pushing out 127 hp and weighing in at 180 kg .. not a looker really with the pointy front end and surgical gown green colour but they were reasonably competitive in the first couple of seasons in WSB before the rule change allowing 4 cyl bikes back rendered it a back runner almost overnight before they withdrew altogether in 2006 .. 

150 built for homologation purposes of which 100 were made available for sale .. most of those have gone straight into collections or locked away as an investment .. 

 

Top bike .. the original Z750/4 Kawasaki on the drawing board from 1968 and scheduled for release in 70 only to be trumped in late 1969 when Honda debuted their CB750 prompting Kawasaki to cancel the 750 launch , go back to the drawing board and return in 72 with the mighty Z1 .. even pic's of that 750 are rare nowadays .. 

 

Kawa also dipped a toe into the rotary sector with the X99 but like Yamaha left it to Suzuki to see if the concept was a goer in commercial terms .. which it wasn't as we know .. 

 

Honda also dipped their bread in to rotaries but if I'm honest judging by the effort below based on a 125 mule they were even sure at the prototype stage and didn't even bother building a big version as the rest did .. 

 

We all know "Boss" screwed up hitting that policeman with his Ferrari.  Terrible driver.

 

A real pro driver in the USA rear-ended a bike and kept going in grand style, taking the bike with him.  The rider was thrown clear and was merely bruised a bit.  But he was puzzled as to where it got to.  The perp continued down the road a considerable distance before turning off the highway where the bike got detached.  Perp then wrecked the van into a fence and did a runner.  Called cops to say the van was stolen.  Brilliant.

 

 

 

 

I had a CB750/4 rat bike for a few years back in the mid-'80s, strong running and trouble free, I think that bike was a big turning point for Honda in the US...

Yamaha's OW31, a TZ750  with some mods ,a 4 cylinder in line 2 stroke , producing  110 BHP, this one is Steve Bakers ,a 1976 model ,Kenny Roberts  was clocked doing 182 mph on one OW31 that year.  

^ A stroker! Be still my heart.

Honda NSR500.  500 cc V4 with around 200 HP, could do 190+ MPH.  Wicked engine...

Suzuki GS1000 .. Smooth as silk these and a vastly underated machine .. followed on from the equally classy GS750 but was somewhat overshadowed by Kawasaki's revamped Z1000 and the CBX 1000 Honda in the late 70's and never got the recognition it deserved before getting revamped itself .. 

 

Ducati 350s and a 450

 

1938 Brough Golden Dream flat 4 ( sort of but not in a Goldwing layout .. more like 2 BMW twins one atop t'other with the cranks geared together ) .. only 5 ever built before WW2 kicked off and Brough never returned after it ended making these pretty much priceless .. believed one still in running order with another under resto' the last time I looked .. 

 

2 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

1938 Brough Golden Dream flat 4 ( sort of but not in a Goldwing layout .. more like 2 BMW twins one atop t'other with the cranks geared together ) .. only 5 ever built before WW2 kicked off and Brough never returned after it ended making these pretty much priceless .. believed one still in running order with another under resto' that last time I looked .. 

 

Fab....????

10 minutes ago, transam said:

Fab....????

Thanks Trans .. some more of interest .. engine drawing for the Golden Dream .. 

The bike at the bottom retains the same engine config' but is significantly different in the barrels and heads dept' .. not enough info on this one to know if it is/was another machine they were developing alongside Golden Dream or whether it is counted as one of the G D total ..

 

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

Thanks Trans .. some more of interest .. engine drawing for the Golden Dream .. 

The bike at the bottom retains the same engine config' but is significantly different in the barrels and heads dept' .. not enough info on this one to know if it is/was another machine they were developing alongside Golden Dream or whether it is counted as one of the G D total ..

 

I worked on Brough SS JAP V twins.....????

2 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Thanks Trans .. some more of interest .. engine drawing for the Golden Dream .. 

The bike at the bottom retains the same engine config' but is significantly different in the barrels and heads dept' .. not enough info on this one to know if it is/was another machine they were developing alongside Golden Dream or whether it is counted as one of the G D total ..

 

 

Surely whomever drew this got their sprockets mixed up at the bottom?