This Sydney based Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Hearse sidecar outfit's coffin bed can accommodate the largest caskets available. Hearse builders, Hillier Design supplied the chrome fittings and the friction rollers. Chrome end clamps secure the coffin without compromising its pristine presentation. The casket can be loaded and removed from either the front or rear of the unit.
"Scattergood Sets a Speed Trap" Artwork was produced in 1924 for the April 1924 Issue of American Magazine. The long arm of the law himself looks to be on a 1923-24 Harley JD.
Via: Police Motor Units
Iron Sky. “In 1945, the Nazis went to the Moon. In 2018, they are coming back…” The film is currently in pre-production.
Via: Warren Ellis
Sweden’s SE Service, run by Stellan Egeland. The latest SE motorcycle is the Harrier, a radical BMW-powered machine that Egeland is promoting as the first in a new line of ‘modern customs’-Via: bikeexif
The village smithy stands-or rides. 3rd December 1951: The Groom family of Slough, Berkshire, have been blacksmiths for generations, and brothers Bill and Tom have continued the tradition. Their smithy is a mobile one, attached to the side-car of a motorcycle, and they travel to their customers. Bill, shaping a shoe, left, is also the welter-weight wrestling. Picts via: life/Getty Images
By Mike Collins Via: aopa.org
"Samson Motorworks has been working on a flying motorcycle, the Switchblade, for two and a half years. The three-wheel motorcycle’s design features three lifting surfaces, like the Piaggio Avanti, and side-by-side seating for two people. “These are actually pretty exciting times for us,” Sam Bousfield, CEO of Samson Motorworks, said at Sun ’n Fun. “In the last two months we’ve seen options that reduce our weight by 200 pounds and increase the range by 50 nautical miles.”
A swinging wing has replaced the design’s original telescoping wing. “They convinced me it could be done, and it provided a lot of benefit,” Bousfield said, citing reduced maintenance, weight savings, and range increase. “On the ground, the wings are tucked in and protected.” The wings will fold beneath the motorcycle’s body; clamshell doors and a steel keel will protect them from “road rash” and unseen speed bumps, he added.
The company plans to complete a prototype in time to display it at the Oshkosh air show July 27 through August 2, and then begin constructing a flying prototype that Bousfield hopes will take to the air early next year. “We lost some time with the switch from the swing wing to the telescoping wing,” he said.
Why a flying motorcycle? “The motorcycle manufacturing regulations are a lot simpler, and reflect aviation more than automotive [regulations],” he said. “We don’t have to meet automobile safety standards, because we’re a motorcycle—[although] we do anticipate a front crumple zone.” A desire to grow aviation is another motivation. “I wanted to bring in new pilots to aviation,” Bousfield explained. “If we don’t do that, we’re missing out on our future. We want to expand the usefulness of aviation and reduce the cost of flying.” To attract newcomers, the interior will include air conditioning and a sound system.
The Switchblade is “one smoking little vehicle,” Bousfield said. It is expected to have the power-to-weight ratio of a Ferrari Testarossa, accelerating from zero to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds. He anticipates a range of 300 nm, cruise speed of 128 knots, maximum speed of 168 knots, and stall speed of 61 knots, with an ability to carry 400 pounds of passengers and 50 pounds of luggage. Anticipated takeoff distance is 500 feet or less.
It will be certified as an experimental homebuilt aircraft; Bousfield said the company might seek experimental light sport aircraft certification at some point, although most customers want higher speeds than ELSA would allow.
Engineers are working to reduce its weight of 1,400 pounds. The company hopes to use a 120-horsepower rotary engine from the United Kingdom if it’s certified in time; otherwise, several motorcycle and aircraft conversion engines would work, Bousfield noted. Rudder control has not been determined, but may be accomplished with hat switches on the control wheel. Cameras will provide visibility to the rear, and an optional ballistic parachute will be offered."
The G.I Joe Silver Mirage Motorcycle was first released boxed in U.S. toy stores in 1985. It was also sold in 1986 and was discontinued in 1987. Via: Yo Joe.com
"This impressive piece of work was found right in front of an amazing basketry store (Korb & Rattan Manufaktur) on Winsstrasse near the corner of Marienburger Strasse, Berlin."
Via: Zis German Life
37 year old Bharadwaj Dayala from Vizag Andhra Pradesh has circumnavigated the globe riding Alone on a Hero Honda Karizma in a mere in 19 months. Bharadwaj successfully completed his journey on 4'th Nov 2007 which was originally flagged off on 2'nd April 2006 at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Via: 2wheelsindia
Joe Wright, of Great Britain on a supercharged AJS, 1933 time trials at Southport, Lancs Via: Ironwigwam
Art Deco Motorcycle Belt Buckle Sterling silver with a copper border.Sterling silver motorcycle created from hand drawn silver
Brent Reed is a jewelery designer from Vancouver Canada. He is also currently the instructor of the metalsmithing course, part of the Jewellery Design Diploma Program at LaSalle College in Vancouver.
Jaine Grace Omorogbe is an English model and actress, perhaps best known as "Rio" on ITVs "Gladiators", who is now a TV presenter and motorcycling journalist. She was the pit-side reporter for Live Speedway on Sky Sports. She is presently the Grid and Pitside Reporter for ITV’s British Touring Car Championship coverage.
Pict via: The Onyx Rider
Via: unequalled
"The 2015 Honda CB 750 by Igor Chak is a futuristic motorcycle concept that has it all to impress bike lovers with its advanced features. The cool bike concept balances attention and distraction while driving. The bike features an on-board computer, which can be controlled through a 5” OLED multi-touch display positioned right on the fuel tank. There are three menus: GPS, Drive modes and diagnostics mode. And it also features radar technology to “sense an upcoming head-on collision and will automatically slow the bike.” This eco-ride is powered with a four-cylinder liquid hydrogen engine and has a six-speed dual-clutch transmission with electronic lurch and traction control. Almost every feature can be electronically tuned including the front and rear suspension, drive mode etc. - most of these features can be manually disabled to suit the driver simultaneously. Sensors show readouts updating every 1/10 a second and can adjust everything on the fly."
By Paul Ruben Via: Parkworld Online
"After more than a century of starts and stops, rollercoasters in which riders sit astride mounted seating, usually a horse or a motorbike, have finally caught on with the thrill-seeking public.Pict via: Themepark Review
Guests have ridden astride similar coasters in the past, rides like the Cycle Chase (1976-1979) at Knott’s Berry Farm (above), the Steeplechase at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1977-present), and of course the classic Steeplechase that operated for years at New York’s Coney Island (1897-1964) before being moved to Pirates World in Florida (1966 to 1975). What is new and innovative about the latest collection of Motorbike coasters is both the absence of a chain lift, as they are launched rides, and the much-improved restraint systems. You can’t fall off.
As we celebrate the resurgence of the sit-astride rollercoaster, it may be surprising to learn that the concept began in England. JW Cawdry invented a mechanical racecourse consisting of metal track, over which large wooden horses ran on wheels, coasting by gravity and climbing by momentum, imitating a horse race.
“They [the horses] careened around old creaky tracks at breakneck speed,” remembers Danny Sweet, who grew up in Brooklyn. “As insane as it may sound now there were no seat belts, so you had to hold on for dear life!”
When Steeplechase Park finally closed in the fall of 1964, the Steeplechase Horses were purchased for $100,000 by Pirates World, Dania, Florida, and reopened there as the Grand National Steeplechase in 1966. The ride operated as four parallel tracks between 1,600 and 1,700ft long. Pirates World closed for good in 1975.
But the sit-astride coaster concept was not dead. The very next year (1976), Knott's Berry Farm, California, introduced Cycle Chase. Supplied by Arrow Development, it consisted of four 1,778ft-long lanes of track, one rail above the other. Atop the rails rode motorcycle-themed vehicles. Riders sat precariously on the cycles, and once free of the lift hill, the cycles reached speeds of up to 40 mph.
“One of the most terrifying experiences I ever lived through was riding the Motorcycle Chase,” recalls guest Cheryl Monteiro. “I was 26 or 27 years old when I was talked into riding it. From the outside it looked like just a cute little ride on a faux motorcycle with only a sash around your waist to hold you on--how dangerous could it be? Very dangerous, to say the least! After the ride ended I endured whiplash, sore arms from hanging on for dear life, and had the shakes for several hours.”
The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster was the first of the modern era to emerge when it debuted at Toverland, Sevenum, Holland, in 2004. The ride consists of a train with nine cars, each with two motorcycle seats designed to replicate the seating on a motorcycle. Riders are clamped in from behind, but allowed free upper body movement. It is like taking a rollercoaster ride on top of a bike, but being high in the sky with almost nothing underneath to spoil your view. After dispatching from the station, the train is hydraulically launched from zero to 47 mph in three seconds, into a twisting layout.
In 2007 Intamin introduced its Family Launch Coaster (FLC), a version of the sit-astride coaster, at Dreamworld, Coomera, Australia. Called Mick Doohan's Motocoaster after the Australian-born five-time MotoGP champion, the rotating tires that power the train through the launch are driven by hydraulic motors. Guests sit two abreast in eight rows for a total of 16 riders and reach a top speed of 44 mph within three seconds as they race over 1,984ft of track. Keeping the track low to the ground also increases the feeling of speed and allows the onlookers to be more a part of the excitement.
The Zamperla MotoCoaster, initially built as a demountable ride on a base frame, consists of a 12-seater train of six cars, two seats side by side per car. Similar to the system pioneered by Anton Schwarzkopf in shuttle coasters more than 30 years ago, Zamperla's coaster uses a flywheel and clutch system to launch instead of an electromagnetic or hyrdraulic launch system. The standard track layout is a three-layered figure-eight. The prototype was installed in 2008 at Darien Lake outside Buffalo, New York, and another will open this summer at Petapa Park, Xetulul, Guatemala. A specially designed version, with ride vehicles styled as horses, was also installed in 2008 at Knott's Berry Farm, where it is named Pony Express.
As ride manufacturers continue to devise new rollercoaster variations, expect to see more sit-astride coasters. They may take the form of motorcycles, horses, jetskis, or perhaps even galloping camels, but because of their moderate price more are sure to surface in the coming years. The ride that once thrilled only visitors to Coney Island has found new appeal worldwide – only now it’s a lot smoother."
