New black/orange colours for Moto Morini 1200 Sport

Moto Morini has introduced a new black and orange colour scheme for its 1200 Sport.

Nice!!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

BMF urges motorcyclists to speak up for bus lane use

Apparently not enough motorcycle riders are responding to the Transport for London on-line survey and saying how safe and convenient the bus lane use in London.

So if you don't want to lose the newly gained right to ride in London's bus lanes as this is only an 18 month tria,l then add your comments to the TfL survey that can be found at: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/roadusers/finesandregulations/motorcycleinbuslanes/default.aspx


Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

BMW UK motorcycle registrations up 15%

BMW Motorrad UK appear to have beaten the credit crunch for 2008!

UK motorcycle registrations fell by 5.3%*, but in 2008, BMW Motorrad UK achieved its highest ever number of registrations, increasing year on year sales by 15%, with a total of 5,850 bikes sold.

Combined sales of the R 1200 GS and its Adventure variant unofficially made it the UKs best-selling bike. Registrations totalled 2,411 units, up 21% over 2007.

BMW Motorrad increased its market share from 5% to 6% in 2008, to become the 6th best selling motorcycle manufacturer in the UK.

*Statistics supplied by The Motorcycle Industry Association Limited

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

Yamaha X-Max Special Editions

Yamaha have announced special editions of their Yamaha X-Max 125 and 250cc scooters for 2009.

These Special Editions have carbon style instrument faces, a new seat skin material, hot red instrument backlighting and a unique 3D logo.

Plus special wheel graphics join a lockable knee box and under seat storage space for 2 helmets.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

More of the Harley-Davidson XL 883 Iron

Thanks to Harley-Davidson we've got some more pictures of the new Harley-Davidson XL 883 Iron (see earlier blog on this model) for you to view.





But wait we can go one better we've got a great video from Harley-Davidson of the new XL 883 Iron in action!




Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

Friday's Flashback

Some more old stuff.

Inspiration. Ed Newton's Knucklehead art from the November 1968 Choppers magazine prompted me to do the drawing below.


1969. Not bad for a 13 year old kid. This was the first time I did a color drawing of a chopper. I purposely got wacky and exaggerated the engine, frame, and forks. As for the riders, that's another story.


Mind Blower! I haven't seen this for 40 years. All my old drawings have been kept in plastic sleeves in a binder since drawn. I had no idea this sketch was on the back until I pulled the art to scan.

Foot Peg Fetish Update

I stole this recently posted photo from Chopper Dave. He has been given Randy Smith's original patterns to use. Note Randy's original "Holy Pegs" pattern. Read the comments for the previous post below for more info. Don't confuse CCE (Custom Cycle Engineering), with CCI, (Custom Chrome Inc.).

Foot Peg Fetish

At one time chopper standard equipment included: Bates headlights and seats, Wassell tanks and ribbed fenders, Flanders risers and bars, and Anderson pegs.

In order of coolness, from left to right: Anderson, Posa Fuel, Holy Pegs, and H-D. Does anybody know anything about Anderson or it's history?


Note the markings. Holy Pegs (no name). Harley's are marked H-D on tip and Made in Taiwan (boo!) inside. The Anderson's are aluminum, not sure on the center two. H-D's are heavy pot metal.

The steel mount for the Anderson above is incorrect. The threads in the original aluminum mounts tended to strip. I have two sets and both have the mounts replaced with steel units. I have saved some original aluminum ones but they need repair.

The Posa peg and the Holy peg were mismatched in a box of parts I recently bought. I have since found another Holy Peg so, now I'll look for a Posa. Posa Fuel and Lake made those (injector) slider carburetors in the 70's. I don't know who made the Holy Pegs, Custom Chrome sold and may still sell them.

Harley still sells the ones on the far right with clamps (H-D #49144-86), as a multi-fit item for engine guards/crash bars.

Unknown NOS stamped steel pegs and mounts. I once had (sold), two of these sets. One set had a flat instead of rounded tip. They have very subtle round bumps on them.

This is just a small sample of the different styles and brands out there. I've seen some very similar to Anderson but marked ETB?

Long Beach MC Swap

BS'ing with friends and vendors... Zero $.
Misc. small parts... $1.00
Finding a set of leather saddlebags in trash... Priceless

God, I love Harley parts and Long Beach! Scored a great wheel. Everything to it's left, including the muffler was free. Saddlebags just need a couple of very minor repairs. One man's trash is indeed...

The LB Swap is one of the few things I like about LA.

Restyled version of the Buell City X XB9SX

As an addition to their 2009 model line up Buell have introduced a restyled version of the Buell City X XB9SX, it is a new fully blacked-out version.

A new black powdercoat finish has been applied to the frame, swingarm, engine, fork tubes, triple clamps, brake calipers and other components.

The Buell City X XB9SX will make its UK debut at the MCN London Motorcycle Show at ExCel between 29 January and 1 February 2009.

For those who don't make it to the show or who can't wait, there's a pic of the new model above.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Harley-Davidson introduces the XL 883 Iron

Harley-Davidson is introducing a new model at the forthcoming MCN London Motorcycle Show at Excel (29 Jan - 1 Feb), the Harley-Davidson XL 883 Iron as an entry level bike to the Dark Custom Range.

In black from fender to fender, the new Iron 883 has the 883 Evolution engine with a carbon reinforced drive belt.

It has a black powder-coated 883cc Evolution powertrain with black covers boosts with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) and performance tuning with a flat torque curve, and the distinctive V-Twin sound from pipes on the straight cut, short dual exhaust.

It will be available in Black Denim and Brilliant Silver Denim colours, with black cast aluminium wheels, front forks and fender supports, air box cover, oil tank, belt guard, drag style handlebars and mid-mount front foot controls. A passenger pillion and/or backrest can be added to complement the classic Sportster solo seat with a height of 643mm.

As usual we've a pic of the new Harley, for those who won't get to see it at the show!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth

Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk

Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/

L. Marvin By G. Sutherland, Celebrity Biker of the Week

I always liked Chino more than Johnny

In the Sutherland Brothers Chopper 1970 post, I showed a sketch that Gary did when we both worked at Hughes. Here's an example from 2005, of what he can do when he spends a bit more time.

Gary says he'll be sending more old photos from 1966 of the HA in Bakersfield. Some were taken at the same location as the Life magazine (1965), shots that have been circulating the blogs lately.

Bobber, not a Bobber Part 1

Bobber! From the Wingnuts M/C blog


If it's in a book it must be right. It's crap like this that's fueling the problem. Not a Bobber!

With all the new blood that has come on board there has been a fairly recent phenomenon to call all kinds of custom bikes bobbers. New blood doesn't just mean young, there are plenty of older guys that are new to this sport. It has gotten to the point that the term is now so over used that it has lost all meaning.

Where it started. After seeing racers like this, guys went home and bobbed their bikes.

To me, it's really important that the history of the sport doesn't get so distorted. I've been meaning to do a post about it because it's out of hand. It was also brought up recently on the Wingnuts M/C blog. I'm going to try to keep it simple without going into every detail of the history of cut downs, bob jobs, or choppers. There's just too much to get into for one post and I wanted to start the discussion.

So a white wall makes it a Bobber? I found this bike and others like it being marketed as a such. Stretched frame, extended forks,... too many things to even list. Not a Bobber!

Today, it seems if the front end is short, or the wheels are black, or it has a fat front tire, it's a bobber. Then, I see so called bobbers advertised like the bike above with none of those features. Now days if a bike exhibits an early or somewhat conservative form of a chopper they are wrongly being called bobbers.

Bobber!

The name bobber is a derivative of the term bob job. At one time It was clear what that meant. A bob job was a bike were you cut or "bobbed" the fenders or dumped the front one altogether. It was done by Class "C" racers and those who copied them. Many guys did it after the fenders or the tips were damaged. Instead of fixing that long fender (it was just going bang into something again), toss it or cut it off.

Side note: The practice of cutting off damaged fender tips continued during the chopper craze of the 60's and 70's. At that time Sportsters and early Superglides had front fenders that were much larger and whose front portion was always getting scraped or damaged. This eventually led Harley to just install smaller fenders on XL's and FX's.

So a Sporster tank, white wall, ape hangers, and black springer makes a bobber?... Not a Bobber!

A lot of guys think the term best pertains to post WWII bikes (sort of the golden years of bob jobs), and I for the most part agree with them. What's interesting is that during the later part of the 50's, the term chopper was starting to be used to describe to what many would call a bobber. Keep in mind that things were evolving and they were both terms for cutting.

I guess black wheels, forks, and bars does it... or chrome them and it's a chopper. Wrong again. Not a Bobber. Can a completely custom ground up after market bike really be called a chopper or bobber? How can you bob or chop something that never existed? Today I guess the word "style" has to be automatically inferred to the description.


Oh I get it now... red wheels white walls and flat black. Some guys call this old school. I got news for them, this lame subject was never taught. Not a Bobber!

Probably the best way to clarify what I think is a bobber and what isn't is with examples so, I'm going to do an ongoing post on the topic. The bikes I post and say are not a bobber will only be ones that I find inappropriately labeled as one.

Here's one to fight over . A nicely done new bike, with old style parts.


Bobber!

I know there are some gray areas. I also think you can "bob" newer bikes. Does that make it a bobber? Some call the old style "period bobbers", or "period correct". Maybe we need a new term for in-between, new, or questionable bikes. Chobber?

Monsterod T-shirts

Artwork inspired by the designs Ed Newton did for Roth. Watermark MCart is not on shirts.

A while back, I made a small number of these shirts and still have a few left. Silkscreen on 100% cotton Hanes Beefy T. XL only. $20 includes s/h anywhere in the USA. I take PayPal or other forms of payment.

I just found I have 2 size Large shirts in stock.

Click the Gallery/Store in the upper right column or contact me at: ckallasart@gmail.com

I plan on offering some new designs (MC's), soon.

Peugeot Speedfight 3 scooter arrives Summer 09

Peugeot have announced that the new Peugeot Speedfight 3 scooter will be in UK dealers this summer.

This iconic sports scooter will now be in its third incarnation with a new design which still appears to have the sporting lines and distinctive appearance of the first Speedfight. - you can judge for yourself from the first photo's of the new sports scooter - see above.

The Speedfight 3 has a revised chassis, the fuel tank is relocated to a central position under the floor pan, lowering the centre of gravity. 32mm hydraulic forks (replacing the single arm on previous models) and larger 13” wheels, are said to give class-leading handling. Braking gets the latest technology Peugeot have fitted a dual piston radial calliper, together with the 215mm Shuricane front disc brake,

The relocated fuel tank is expanded to hold 8.5 litres (2 gallons) giving a claimed potential range of up to 150 miles. Under the seat is the substantial storage bay a with a dual function 12V socket.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

2009 Yamaha VMAX Video

Just posted the following motorcycle video up on www.YouTube.com and www.inter-bike.co.uk of the 2009 Yamaha VMAX at the 2008 Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter Show.




The VMAX legend continues with the all new 2009 VMAX. It has an all-new 1,679cc V4 engine providing an awesome 200 PS and 166.8 Nm of torque combined with Yamaha's new engine control technology YCC-I and YCC-T.The all-new low-profile diamond-type frame, which uses the engine as a stressed member has a mega-wide 200/50 R18 rear tyre to transfer all the V4s incredible 200 PS and 166.8 Nm of torque to the ground - the VMAX is definitely back!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

A New Prez Rolls In

Good Luck Man!, you're going to need it.

Sutherland Brothers Chopper 1970

During my incarceration at Hughes Aircraft Co. I met my pal Gary, another illustrator in our Media Dept. While getting to know each other, he told me how he and his brother Larry had built a Knucklehead chopper from a basket case in 69.

Gary sport'in the look in 1970.


Gary sent me all these shots over 10 years ago.

Yeah, like lots of dudes, the movie Easyriders got them hopped up to do it but, they had been digging on the chopper scene for awhile. Being natives of Bakersfield CA, the Suth Bros. were exposed to outlaws on choppers who took over town on annual runs or while attending the US Fuel and Gas Championship Races at Famoso. In 1966 they went to town in the back of a Ford Ranchero on a mission to take pictures of the commotion.

Bakersfield, March 1966. Seems this outlaw didn't like his picture taken. He later flipped them off and held up a piece of broken concrete as a threat. Get a load of those springer forks!

One day at Hughes after talking about bikes, Gary started doodling during a staff meeting. After the meeting he dropped the sketch on my desk. Gary's a great artist and the drawing was done very quickly and from memory. Keep in mind that he hadn't drawn a chopper in over 25 years.

I hung on to the staff meeting drawing(1992). It shows how good Gary's memory was. I like that he wrote "Avon" on the front tire.

Gary says he'll dig up some more stuff to share.

A new Royal Enfield model for the UK

Royal Enfield has added a new Deluxe model to its range of fuel-injected Electra motorcycles, the Royal Enfield Electra EFI DL.

With a black and chrome tank with gold pinstripes and rubber knee pads, chrome mudguards front and rear, chrome tool box covers and authentic Avon Speedmaster tyres.

Power is increased to 27.5 BHP, with 41.3 Nm of torque at 4000rpm.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

Single Loop Bike 1972

More Black and White Art.

I did this art not long after seeing the Ed Newton art of the last post. Since Ed's art was in the Sept. 72 Big Bike, it helps me put a date on this drawing.

The influence of Ed Newton's art is clear in this piece. I remember deciding not to take it serious and to just have fun drawing it as sort of a cartoon. I knew that his legs were too long but, what the heck?, keep going. It ended up having kind of a Robert Crumb feel to it.

At that time, Custom Chopper magazine was featuring a bunch of single loop (VL style), frame bikes from northern California. Some other signs of the times: dual Posa injectors (slide carbs), and highway pegs.

I was and still am a fan of the big flathead.

Bennetts Babes 2009 Calendar

The Bennetts Babes launch their third annual calendar in association with Two Wheels Only (TWO), the babes are back with a selection of 2009s hottest new bikes. The calendar will be available exclusively in the March issue of TWO, on sale from 23rd January. Among other bikes it will feature the BMW S1000 RR, the Triumph Bonneville and Ducati Streetfighter, as well as the Bennetts Babes of course!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/

CCM to launch two new models

The new CCM XTR250

The new CCM CXR230



Bolton based CCM have announced they will be unveil two new models at the Motorcycle Trade Expo which is at the NEC Birmingham from Sunday 18th to Tuesday 20th January 2009 inclusive.

The new updated CXR230 is now E3 homologated and has a new engine with a single over head cam, plus a striking white colour scheme. The CXR230 comes in trail specification as standard with supermoto wheels being offered as an optional extra.

Secondly the all-new XTR250 is also supplied as standard in trail trim, with supermoto wheels being offered as an optional extra.

With its red, white and blue design the XTR250 carries a look very similar to CCMs factory MX race bikes.

We've a couple of pic's of these new models prior to the official release!

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/