Ecosse motor works is the manufacturer of this extremely limited and expensive motorcycle. The Iconoclast have only been made in a 11 limited Edition hand made run. Ecosse is only selling it through the millionaires only web site 20 Ltd
The massive 2 litre V-Twin engine produces 135 horsepower at the rear wheel and 140ft-lbs of torque. The whole big V-twin have been machined from solid billet aluminium for extra strength, cooling ability and beauty Ecosse said in their press release. The whole engine is blue printed and then Ecosse have polished the engine casings for an exclusive finish.
The stubby exhaust silencers have also been machined from one solid piece of aluminium.
The chassis have been made from chrome molybdenum and the swingarm and sub frame have a Trellis design.
The Iconoclast Classic and Timeless gets this Matt black colour scheme with silver pinstripes. The wheels are 17inch forged aluminium items. The Ohlins suspension is of a very high spec and the rear shock mount can be adjusted to three different riding styles: Dragster, Cruiser or Road-racer.
The brakes are 6-pot radial mounted ISR's with 12 individual brake pads for better feel.
All the foot controls are adjustable and the comfort have been taken care of by adding gel seats both for the rider and pillion.
2008 Ducati 848, first walk around and onboard video!
Directly from Almeria in Spain we publish the first walk around and onboard video from the 2008 Ducati 848 launch in Spain. Much more coming... Enjoy. TS
Evel Knievel-The greatest motorcycle stuntman ever!
The worlds greatest motorcycle stuntman has died at the age of 69. Evel Knievel died 30th November according to his website.
We ride Ducati 848!
At the Almeria circuit in Spain we have tested the new Ducati 848 rubbing shoulders with Ruben Xaus again. Ruben even did 15 minutes around Almeria with our onboard camera...
NEC 2007: The babes are out, Charley Boorman interviewed, 250 pictures!
It's all out there now, the news from KTM, BMW, Ducati, CCM, Royal Enfield, Megelli, Triumph, Hyosung, Benelli and Vectrix. The 990 Supermoto, The Woodsman, CMX, Gorgeous Triumph show specials, 08 BMW's, Charley Boorman and a lot of babes! See it all here!
Live from the NEC International motorcycle show! 08 KTM 990 SM, CCM, Megelli etc...
Direct from the NEC in Birmingham we bring you the latest metal from KTM, Royal Enfield, CCM, Megelli, Triumph and Hyosung. Much more coming soon... Pictures here.
NEC show 2007: Toseland meet young racers in Birmingham
Now that the NEC show has just kicked off we thought we'd show you these nice pictures of James Toseland with a few very young racers. Toseland met the young superbike recruits in Birmingham city centre and had this to say:
“It’s fantastic to meet such a talented group of young riders as Bradley, Wayne, Fraser and Charlie, and to bring biking into the centre of Birmingham as we have today. The West Midlands is the centre of British biking and next week’s NEC Bike Show will showcase the latest models from the biggest names in biking for the first time in the UK. It’s the perfect place for anyone to get their first taste of biking, including having a go on a mini-moto just like the ones we’ve had here in the Bullring today.”
Even though we knew well in advance that Ducati would unveil its new mini-superbike in Milan, it was a real pleasure to finally see it. And when the spec sheet of this downscaled 1098 is just as impressive as the 999cc superbikes of only a few years ago we think Ducati once again are bound for success. 134hp @ 10.000rpm and 96Nm @ 8.250rpm are not numbers to laugh at, on the contrary. Since we last tested the Ducati mid-sized sportsbike (749S) the 848 have lost a whopping 20 kilos. Compared to the newer 1098 the 848 is 5 kilos lighter. 168 kilos of pure Italian metal and L-twin. Ducati even claim that the power to weight ratio on the 849cc motorcycle is better than the old 999. The 848 comes standard with Showa suspension front and back and on the fork a pair of Brembo monoblock stoppers are attached for good measures. We can expect an S and R version within the next couple of years. All that remains for us to see is if the 848 continues in the great tradition of the 749 to be a true riders machine. In only a couple of weeks we will know as we will ride the bike on track at the world launch. Available in Red and White. TS
At 190 horsepower MV Agusta have tested the F4 RR 312 up to a top speed of 312km/h (194Mph) hence the 312 in the name. New is a boost in cubes and the F4 now gets a very powerful 1078cc in-line four. The new F4 RR is a mix between the super exclusive F4 CC (1078-76x79) and the F4 R 312 (996). The extra R in the model name is truly justified when looking at the spec sheet. MV Agusta claims in its press release that one of the goals was to be faster than a Boeing 747 at take off. But fast as it may be, it is barred from world superbike racing due to the size of the engine. So, MV Agusta will continue to make the F4 1000, but for racing purely. The F4 1000 gets the same updates as the RR though which involves a new slipper clutch, gear ratios, suspension changes and new brakes. Homologation for racing will be taken care off by MV. Other subtle news are new design on the trademark four pipes where the end is now stubbier like a slice of salami (MV said it themselves...) New headlight unit and smoked screen from the F4 CC. The Sachs steering damper from the CC is also in place on the RR. One of the most sexy additions might be the Brembo monoblock callipers that makes the MV even more Italian than before if possible... They are Brembo racing items as seen in World superbike, but with an additional dust cover for street maintenance. Peak torque is now reached at 8.200rpm rather than the old peaky 10.000rpm. And the figure is a massive 124Nm. Everything here!
MV Agusta have with the 1078 RR fulfilled many people's dream of an ultimate and really brutal Brutale. It boasts 154 horsepower @ 10.700rpm and a massive 117Nm of torque @ 8.100rpm. New gearing allows a higher topspeed, but with the extra cubes it's the extra torque that will be noticeable first. the Brutale 1078RR keeps the same chassis and suspension as before, but with modified internals and radial mounting for the new Brembo Monoblock radial callipers. Big news are also that the engine braking system has been replaced by MV's latest slipper clutch. The catalyser have now been resized to enable an easier process through emissions. Dry weight: 185kg. See the whole bike here. Also: 2008 MV Agusta 989R and F4 312 RR 1078. 2008 Triumph Rocket III Touring test from Texas
2008 BMW F 800 GS, R 1200 GS Adventure, F 650 GS and G 450 X!
On our Milan dedicated page we have unveiled all 5 new BMW models for 2008. This includes the first picture of the: 2008 BMW R 1200 GS, R 1200 GS Adventure, F 800 GS, F 650 GS and G 450 X. Enjoy, more details soon. Pictures of all the new models launched in Milan here. TS
Bimota have now in true fashion upgraded the DB6 Delirio to an R version. The DB6R Delirio gets forged aluminium wheels, Brembo 320mm discs, radial brake and clutch pumps, the 1100cc Ducati air-cooled L-twin (90bhp), slipper clutch and some carbon fibre replacements in the fairing. All in all 7 kilos lighter than the standard DB6 Delirio. See the whole bike and the 2008 Bimota Tesi 3D here. Latest: BMW to launch 5 new models in Milan!
2008 NCR Leggera Hypermotard! Dream motard with titanium trellis!
Leggera means light in Italiano. And light is just what this Hypermotard dream bike is. Titanium, Aluminium and carbon fibre has been used generously all over this Tierblanche/Ducati/NCR master piece. The NCR Leggera only weighs in at 157kg! Incredibly, the whole frame and sub-frame is made from grade 9 Titanium and weighs only 4.8 kilos! NCR have added as standard a carbon fibre exhaust by Zard that allows the 1100cc 90bhp air-cooled L-twin breathe freely, but legal. And off course, all suspension from the fork, mono-shock and steering damper is by Ohlins. The 300mm wavy disc by Braking is graced by a Brembo monoblock racing radial calliper. The wheels are made of carbon fibre. And if that wasn't enough, the adjustable rear sets are made from aluminium and titanium and even the passenger footpegs are made from titanium. Want more power too? NCR can do that and are offering two different kits with a 125bhp 1160 kit and a full on racing 1200cc 142bhp version weighing in at a mere 140kg. It starts at only 33.600 Euro (66.500 USD)! Leggera is NCR's first street bike. More pictures here. Next: 2008 Bimota Tesi 3D, Delirio R and DB7 1098! 2008 Aprilia SMV 750 Dorsoduro
Piaggio will launch the new X7 scooter with a 125 and a 250cc four stroke engine in Milan. The X7 gets 14 and 13 inch wheels. It's a small scooter with big looks similar to Yamaha X-Max 250i.
2008 Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 8V first official pictures!
Moto Guzzi have today given us the green light to publish the first official Stelvio 1200 pictures. The Stelvio gets the 8 valve 1200cc twin and produces more than 100 horsepower and massive torque according to Moto Guzzi's official note. The wind-shield is adjustable and below the wind-shield sits a magnum 50mm USD fork and radial Brembo callipers. The Excel wheels is a 19inch front and a 17inch rear. The seat is adjustable in three different steps. More pictures here (10). All 2008 Piaggio, Aprilia, Derbi, Benelli, NCR, Ducati, MV Agusta, Cagiva, Bimota and Moto Guzzi news coming! Then KTM, BMW, Suzuki, Honda...TS
The 2008 Suzuki B-King 1340 have already captured our minds and stolen our lost souls... It was love at the first grip of the throttle. The B-King is a massive motorcycle in any way and the acceleration is absolutely addictive. We have not felt this way about any new Suzuki since we first rode the original hooligan in 1997, TL1000S. Suzuki is back with the B-King and it's the story about the 01 concept bike not meant to be. Now it's here and we're on it! Enjoy the coverage. TS
Cagiva Mito has virtually looked the same for the last 15 years. In 2008 Cagiva have re-designed the front heavily to resemble the old Cagiva 500GP bike, but arguably also the new Ducati Desmosedici RR. So the 125 stays a 2-stroke by the miracles of a electronic carburettor and tricky cold/warm engine emission situations. When the engine is cold the emissions just passes EURO 3 only at given rpms. If you have ever ridden the Mito 125 you will know that absolutely nothing happens whatsoever until around 10.000 rpm. So no fuel is used either until very high rpms. Hence the SP525 sneaks through Euro 3 and lives yet another year... Check out our vid from our last test of the Mito 125 below. See 5 more pictures of the SP525 here. Pictures courtesy: Snellingen/MC24 Got more pix of 08 models? Send them in!
It looks good, but this is how the Mito 125 sounds like:
And Cagiva Raptor 125 burnout (until it stalls...):
Scooter Porn! How to add stereo on your scooter, onboard and much more!
Oh yes, our 07 Yamaha X-Max 250ijust became that much more practical with our improvised stereo! Check it out in the first vid below. In the second vid you can see the X-Max 250i filtering onboard, burnout and more. Pure scoot porn, or Scootertastic! On Friday we swap the 250 scooter for a 1340 brutal naked so enjoy this until then... Check out the 2007 Honda SH300i as well if you are into scooters. TS
This spy-shot shows how the 08 Cagiva Mito SP125 will look like. It's the front that has been heavily re-designed and it now looks like a mixture of a Ducati 1098 and Desmosedici RR rather than the old classic 916 look. Cagiva will show the new Mito in Milan in November. TS More here.
This week we start our 7 days on the 08 Suzuki B-King. The Hayabusa derived 1340cc engine produces a claimed 181bhp at a lowish 9.500rpm whilst the torque tops 140Nm @ 7.200rpm. We are going to video it and keep a diary in the blog of how we get along with the big in-line four beast. Only the Intruder M1800R beats the B-King on being more expensive in the Suzuki 08 line-up and you have to pay one whole quid more for the B-king than the new Busa. OTR price: £9.000
Suzuki B-King mini site Also coming soon: 2008 Triumph Rocket III Touring test, more Scooter porn!, Tokyo 2008 and EICMA 2008.
Jon Flickinger (48) is the President & Chief Operating Officer of Buell motorcycle company and Vice President in Harley-Davidson. Anything happening with Buell has to be approved by this man and he is the main link to the parent company Harley-Davidson. Recently the Buell 1125R was launched with the company’s first ever liquid cooled engine. But at the same time another big project, the 450 Dirt bike was shelved. Flickinger explains why in this interview. Read more here
Scootertastic! 2007 Honda SH300i and Yamaha Xmax 250i on test!
Only Raptors & Rockets will give you first the Triumph Rocket III with 2.300cc and then the Honda SH300i with only 267cc. After a couple of weeks on the 2007 Honda SH300i we have just swapped it for the 2007 Yamaha Xmax 250i. They are quite different to ride... Check out the blog for some more videos and comments on many things. TS
2008 Triumph Rocket III Touring, first official picture and info!
The big new Triumph Rocket III Touring model is now official news. The new Rocket model gets the same 2.300cc triple engine as before, but an all new frame, suspension, seat, fuel tank, lights and instruments. Being a Touring model it now gets hard luggage and a big windscreen as standard, both easily detachable. Tear shaped footboards are in place and the tyres are now narrower than on present Rocket models. Price: £12799 OTR
After Triumph's huge success with the Daytona 675 the Italians are following. Both MV Agusta and Benelli are well on their way developing their own 675cc triple engines. Triumph found the recipe for success in the midrange sportsbike market with the 675 and will be racing in World supersport next year. This looks to be the best way forward for both Benelli and MV Agusta as well. We welcome the news because the Triumph 675 is a very exciting and competitive package. We expect to see both the Benelli 675 Tre and the MV Agusta 675 triple sportsbikes in Milan. TS
2008 Triumph Rocket Touring, first picture (top left)!
Triumph have left some news for later this year. In Paris the upgraded Speed Triple, Thruxton 900 with new bars and fuel injection and the Daytona 675 Special Edition was launched. Not one all-new model, but the Street Triple 675 was launched early as an 08 model to satisfy demand. The Rocket Touring is literally the biggest new bike as we're talking the next Rocket III model. The Rocket Touring will as you can see on this shady picture be long and low fitted with a big wind-screen and hard luggage. We don't expect it to be too different from the current Rocket III Classic fitted with touring gear so we have added a picture of that too next to the mad Tribal we spent much time on this year. So for now our speculation of a Gold Wing version of the Rocket III is out of the window for 2008. Perhaps 2009? We really do hope Triumph will build a massive fully faired and modern mega tourer in the future, but such a bike demands heavy investment and a lot of development time. The 2008 Rocket Touring will be launched later this year in Texas and we'll be there. Raptors & Rockets have tested all the mammoth touring machines available on the market today. See links below. Tor Sagen
