Yes, we do like to watch motorcycle videos. Here's the five most popular videos ever published on Raptors & Rockets revisited. More than 150.000 people have already checked out these videos where the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 (vid 1 & 2) is the most popular with two of the top 5. Closely followed by the 2007 Honda CB600F Hornet launch video, 2007 Harley-Davidson Nightster launch video and 2006 Kawasaki Z1000 with Z750... Watch all of them at the same time with the volume on max or click on the links for the full sized versions and to leave your comments. TS
Coming: All new 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R! Erik Buell and Willie G. Davidson interviewed. 2008 Harley-Davidson world launch in NYC. Rocker, Fat Bob and Anniversary models... All 2008 Honda news... Rotax powered liquid-cooled Buell 1125R superbike test at Laguna Seca. Ducati Desmosedici on track. 2008 Triumph Street Triple test. 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. BMW HP2 Megamoto. 2008 Benelli news. MV Agusta surprises for Milan and much more only at Raptors & Rockets! 169.000+ uniques per month!
Harley-Davidson is overwhelming us with news today. So you might have been wondering what happened to the XR1200 prototype that Harley showed us in an exclusive press conference in Cologne last year. The model has now received the green light from Bill Davidson and his crew for production. . “The incredibly positive reaction we received to the XR 1200 Prototype and sustained level of anticipation amongst customers and the press across Europe confirmed how much interest there is in a Harley-Davidson motorcycle inspired by our racing line” said Davidson, Director of Motorcycle Product Development. At this point of time we do not know when we actually get to ride the XR1200, but sometime this autumn now sounds likely. TS
2008 Harley-Davidson, ALL the news! Dyna, Softail, 105th ann. 08 CVO and more!
New 2008 models are right here including the all new Dyna Fat Bob and Softail Rocker. Tests of these two bikes coming from New York City in just over a week. Follow the Harley 105th celebrations here at Raptors & Rockets because we will be where it all happens!
2008 Buell motorcycles, ALL the news! 1125R and Euro 3 sacrifices!
More here and here We ride the Buell 1125R at the world launch in Laguna Seca in August!
2008 Aprilia SL750 Shiver Sport and V4 clays ready
Coming: All new 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R! Erik Buell and Willie G. Davidson interviewed. 2008 Harley-Davidson world launch in NYC. Rocker and Anniversary models... All 2008 Honda news... Rotax powered liquid-cooled Buell superbike at Laguna Seca. Ducati Desmosedici on track. 2008 Triumph Street Triple test. 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. BMW HP2 Megamoto. 2008 Benelli news. MV Agusta surprises for Milan and much more only at Raptors & Rockets! 169.000+ uniques per month!
2007 Triumph Bonneville America featuring Billy Bob and Harley XL1200R
Take one 2007 Triumph Bonneville America and add our very own Billy Bob Leyfield into the equation and you get an interesting mix. Apart from the Suzuki 2008 news this last week has been all about America. So we thought we'd add an English motorcycle made in tribute to American consumers to all this. Triumph's whole Classic range will get upgraded fuel injection to replace the current carbs this Autumn so the America is one of the very last new carburettor motorcycles we will ride. The video below is a celebration to America and for good measures we've added another video showing the Triumph America with the Harley-Davidson XL1200R Sportster as well. TS
At the exclusive world launch in Minnesota and Iowa, USA we made this film. Onboard and walk around. The Victory Vision Tour and Street is bigger than life with some innovative American styling. Long and low, comfortable as few other motorcycles and built to last many miles on the open roads. Cruise control, big stereo with iPod connection, king and queen seat, big storage capacity and one of the most comprehensive fairings ever built. Then add a 1731cc V-twin engine and the road is yours. Read parts of our test here. Will Harley-Davidson take notice? We will know in mid July when we ride the 08 Harley models in New York.
Introducing Nonchalant UK featuring Charlie W Allen
2008 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa, the 1340cc real deal!
Dealers in the US have just been shown most of the 2008 range. This is the all new 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa. 1340cc, more than 190bhp enabled by Twin Swirl Combustion Chambers (11% increase in power), new chassis, new swingarm, new more muscular fairing, new 4-2-1-2 exhaust, engine mapping choice like K7 GSX-R1000, new brakes and a whole lot more!More here!
2008 Victory Vision Street & Tour launched! 106ci new V-twin!
We have been cruisin' with the alien in America and Victory's home state, Minnesota. In a very exclusive group of selected people we rode both the Vision Tour and Street for 500 miles between Minnesota and Iowa. The Vision luxury touring bikes cost millions of dollars to develop and Victory have been working on these bikes since the beginning in 1998. The final specifications that you have been waiting for are as follows: Tour (Street): 1731cc new air-cooled V-twin engine, 92bhp and 109ft-lbs torque, 365kg dry weight (Street 325kg), 22.7 litre fuel capacity, Ipod connection ready, button adjustable windscreen (stepless), black colour launched in addition to cherry and silver, 50 amps max output alternator and a innovative cast aluminium air box/frame section. We found the bikes close to Area 51 and looking at 30 of these bikes in a line down a straight road made for a pretty impressive sight. Soon we will tell you much more about these bikes right here and here. Videos (onboard, walk around, press introduction and more coming next...) TS
More action, more speed, more everything! Check out the second onboard video of the 2007 Aprilia SL750 Shiver being tested in Italy. Launch and press video also added below. TS
The funniest official motorcycle video ever, Triumph Rocket III!
Whatever you are doing today, whichever bike that you might own, watch this video from Triumph about the scientific aspects of creating a Rocket III from scratch. Now naturally, to create a Rocket III from scratch, you need to kick-start the universe first-but Rocket science never was funnier! When Triumph first came up with the idea to make this film they wanted a Harley in the film too. The Harley would sort of merge into this fat American bloke and the Rocket into an average English bloke. Puns intended, but Triumph left it to what you can see below. It's very funny so make sure you watch this video. TS2007 Triumph America test coming...
Every year Raptors & Rockets visits the top international motorcycle shows in the world. This is where all the new bikes are launched for the first time and 2007 looks to become a record year in news. We expect many new models from the Japanese manufacturers. Yes, there will be the usual upgrade in sports bikes. We expect a new Honda Fireblade, New Suzuki GSX-R600 and something fresh on the Yamaha R6 and Kawasaki Ninja front. But the bikes everyone will be talking about is the new Yamaha Vmax, Suzuki Hayabusa, something special from Honda, KTM RC8 1150, Aprilia's V4 possibly being shown in race-trim, Ducati 848 and perhaps an upgraded Ducati sports tourer, More Hypermotard style bikes and something top secret from BMW. Buell will have something exciting to show us already in August (might include more water than usual...). We'll tell you what from Laguna Seca... It is also expected that the Harley-Davidson XR1200 will get an all out official go and launch sometime this summer/autumn too. After Victory stepped up and launched the futuristic Vision Tour and Street luxury touring bikes (test coming right here by June 22nd...) we are waiting in anticipation for Harleys take. Will Harley-Davidson do a big touring bike upgrade this year? We expect a touring version of the V-rod first of all and that's pretty big news. Much more to come on all these leads throughout this summer and autumn. The big international motorcycle shows this year are as follows: 2007 Paris International two-wheel show Sept 29th-Oct 7th, 40th Tokyo Motor Show Oct 26th-Nov 11th, EICMA 65th International Motorcycle show in Milan 06th-11th Nov and the International motorcycle & scooter show in Birmingham, UK Nov 23rd- 2nd Dec. TSBIKEBABES!
We test new bikes all the time and always try to do some video at the same time. In our latest video just uploaded to Youtube we have mixed film of both the K6 and K7 Suzuki GSX-R1000 with the 2007 Yamaha R1. There are a lot of people that wants to know how different the exhaust note is etc. We have done this for you in this video. We have started out with the K7 GSX-R1000, then K6 and then the 07 R1 in cycles throughout the 4 minute film. The K6 Suzuki GSX-R1000 might just have a slightly deeper growl than the K7, but there's not much in it. If you fancy discussing this or add a comment on which bike sounds best to you then visit this link. TS
Motorcyclists would be a very soft target in Baghdad, so really you need at least a Humvee. Check out some merciless filtering tactics from the streets of Baghdad. Yeah, I've hit a few mirrors from time to time on motorbike in London and Manchester, but this is just brilliant! Buell's Ulysses will have to do the stand in as motorcyclings Humvee in full camo. TS
Just arrived back from the international launch of the SL750 Shiver in Italy. First impressions are that of a very much Italian naked motorcycle. Chassis, suspension and brakes are all of the very best'ish (because there's a Factory version coming off course...) quality. The Ride by wire system is a first on a naked mainstream motorcycle and actually more advanced than on the Yamaha R6... 2 ECU units, one slave for the other with safety features that should be bullet-proof and a powerful computer provides torque at all times. At a UK retail price of around £5.500 the Shiver should be able to make the Japanese competition Shiver indeed! Everything about the bike, pictures, videos and much more coming next... Raptors & Rockets knows about three different projects deriving from the Shiver (we've already told you about one that was a scoop) and then you've got the SL1200... Oh, and did I mention that we have got top secret and very exclusive information about the V4 race bike too... Coming soon... Tor
Triumph have finally unveiled the final design for the 2008 Street Triple. It is a fine mixture between the donor Daytona 675 and the big brother Speed Triple 1050. Take some finely tuned triple power, tune for even more torque at revs where you need it. Then add some stylish S3 underseat exhaust and double round headlights and voila you've got the new Street Triple. Simon Warburton told us in an earlier interview that the Daytona 675 was designed from the beginning with a naked version in mind and here it is. In the UK the new naked will retail at £5.500. Raptors & Rockets will ride the new bike on the road in the UK as soon as the Street Triple is ready on the press fleet. TS
Simon says-secrets from Simon Warburton, Triumph Product manager
New products are more important now than ever. Manufacturers like Triumph and Ducati spend pretty much every penny that they earn on new products and R&D. Triumph have seen instant good results with spectacular new models such as the Rocket III and Daytona 675. What's next?; Tor Sagen asked Simon Warburton
You just can't leave your bike safely anywhere anymore. This is what happened to our 2007 Suzuki GSF 1250 S Bandit when we left it in Edale in the Peaks. In lack of sheep this Welshman helped himself to the Bandit exhaust. Too graphic to show here, but we did a burnout on this man's reproduction equipment after these pictures were taken. TS
Next: Triumph reveals first official info on new 675 naked. May 25th we reveal it to you right here
Why not, we love these bikes. Compare the sound of these two bikes in the below videos. First the ultimate Ducati Hypermotard launch video and our older video of a winter test of the KTM 950 SM, founding member of the king-size motard club. Enjoy...
In a statement on Youtube (yes, the Ducati CEO is just as digital as the rest of us) Federico Minoli stated that he will leave Ducati on May 21st. Minoli was employed by the Texas pacific group and the current Italian shareholders wants someone closer to them in the CEO post. Federico Minoli started the Desmo blog and made sure that Ducati was always present in new media such as Youtube. Minoli stated he is sad to leave Ducati, but that he will remain a Ducatisti and continue his charity work with Riders for health. Watch Minoli give his statement in English below. TS
We spent time with Ducati and Ruben Xaus in Sardinia testing the all new Ducati Hypermotard. We have tested the bike both on the road and on track. Pictures, videos, blog etc coming... TS
Lush green English Spring, the best roads in the world, burning sun and one of the best bikes in the world. Check out how we are doing with the long-term Suzuki GSX-R1000 day to day here.
Yamaha was in so much trouble just after the world launch of the new FZ1 and FZ1 Fazer in South Africa last year. The fuel injection was criticised and one Italian journalist got killed doing a wheelie on the wrong side of the road. The launch was aborted after that tragic event. This is our take on the Yamaha FZ1 Fazer, but in full sports touring trim. Read the test and watch the video here. Next: 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250S test.
BMW have just launched a new colour scheme for its F 800 S midrange sportsbike. The motorcycle itself is nowhere near capable of 186mph, but the paint scheme has been inspired by the colour of pyroclastic flows, extremely fast moving and destructive hot ash from bursting volcanoes. So you could say that the shadow of the new F 800 S is faster than the bike... It will be available from June. TS
The editor of Raptors & Rockets was invited to get some exclusive one-to-one tuition with Craig Jones. Now we have the pictures from the event and below you can watch the video that shows Craig getting down to it in part two of the stunt school. The video is spectacular and it all starts with a demonstration of low speed handling on an Buell XB12S Lightning. Craig then continues with a very educational stunt show including wheelies, stoppies and burnouts. Highlights are when Craig performs several 180 stoppies, a spectacular stoppie that turns into a burnout when the rear wheel touches the ground and handlebar wheelies. Craig will be at Caps Harley-Davidson in Aarhus, Denmark this coming weekend performing for the public. Craig Jones travels the world with his stunt show so he'll be in a town near you next time. Enjoy the videos and pictures from this event here whilst waiting... By: Tor Sagen/Photography: Henrik Andersen. Craig Jones official homepage
We'll let Craig do the talking on this one. Below you will find part one of the stunt school that we have made with Buell stunt rider Craig Jones. When Craig is not wearing boobs size 36D as Angelina Jolie's stunt double he works as a sponsored stunt/extreme rider for Buell and the Motor company. Jones gave us all the secrets of how to look spectacular on a motorcycle and soon we will tell you everything! You can look at our three videos in the meantime recorded in Denmark this weekend. Video 1 is in the classroom. Video 2 is all wheelies, stoppies and burnouts where Craig explains whilst riding and crashing (whilst doing a wheelie sitting on the handlebars...) and video 3 is the final "vertical" lesson and extras from Aarhus in Denmark where Craig will do a big show this coming weekend. Video 2 and 3 you'll find right here!
