I have never seen a bike that is this ugly or cool (I have not decided).  This is Honda’s DN-01.  Inside this odd bike there is a 680cc liquid-cooled engine with a HFT continuously variable, hydromechanical two-mode automatic transmission.  The transmission also has a six-speed manual mode that I can picture it being clunky like an automatic transmission in a car. 

This motorcycle appears to be new for 2009.  I’m looking forward to seeing this bike in person.  From the picture it looks like this bike could be quite comfortable to ride while still giving the sporty bike appearance.  The handle pars appear to be raised and allow the rider to sit fairly upright.  However the windshield does not look like it will do much for a ride who is sitting up.

I can see this bike as being a fairly good motorcycle for touring.

I went into bike shop to look at some saddlebags for my bike.  As I was walking in a red bike caught my eye.  It was the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 S.  I’ve seen pictures of this bike before, but it looked so much better in person.

What attracted me to this bike was the cross between an off-road styling and a sport bike.  It has an aggressive, mean look to it and with an 1100 cc engine to back it up I’m sure it’s a great ride. 

If you have ever ridden this bike let us know how you like it.

While spending a couple of days at the annual EAA Airventure I stumbled upon this folding motorcycle and storage system.  Every pilot needs good transportation when he arrives at his destination. 

The motorcycle was a Yamaha dual sport motorcycle around 250 cc.  When I was talking with the Motopod staff they had not settled on a motorcycle for the final version.  It will be some road legal dirt bike style motorcycle because they tend to be lightweight.  They take the large knobby tires off and replace them with good road tires and add a quick release to the front wheel.  Motopod designed a folding handlebars that lock solidly in place to make the bike fit into their pod.

The pod is made out of nice composite materials, is fairly aerodynamic and can be painted to match the airplane.  The locking system looked like it would stay in place trough just about anything.  I particularly like the winch system for hoisting the pod up.

Motopod has designed this unit for the bottom of airplanes however I think there are other places this could be used.  There is plenty of room under the average semi trailer to secure this pod. 

It will be interesting to see how Motopod is doing in a year or so.  I think they have a good idea but I don’t know if it will catch on.

I was working on a project in the garage and had all the motorcycles out on the driveway.  KT took this picture and thought I should post it on my blog.  I’m not sure that this bunch of bikes is worthy of being called a collection.

On the right is my first motorcycle, a 1979 Kawasaki KZ650.  It’s a nice bike but this particular one needs some work.  I put a lot of work into it when I got it but I prefer riding to tinkering.

In the middle is KT’s 1991 Honda Nighthawk 250.  This is her first bike.  She likes it because it is lightweight and easy to handle.  It also runs well.  As she becomes a more experienced rider I’ll have the turn signal lights fixed.

The last bike on the left is my current ride.  I picked it up in February.  It’s a 2007 Suzuki SV650.  It rides nice and is a lot of fun around the curves.

I’m not sure I need three bikes.  I may sell or trade the KZ650.  I’m thinking a dirt bike or maybe an enduro would be a fun addition.

That was the headline on web BikeWorld’s page today.  ABS is one thing that I believe would make riding a motorcycle significantly safer.  Often riders are not well trained or well practiced in how to use the front and rear breaks together.  Riders often in a panic situation lock up the rear wheel and skid out of control.  With a combined ABS system the rider could panic applying either the front or rear break and still have control of the bike.  ABS would also be useful on wet slick roads where the conditions are not as predictable.  I am looking forward to the day when this becomes standard on motorcycles much as it is on cars.

My wife Katy took this picture.  Feel free to download it and share it with friends.

Ducati’s SportClassic caught my eye from across the room.  The dealer had it tucked back in the corner behind some sport bikes.  Compared to the average sport bike this was the coolest looking bike on the floor.  I appreciate the designers making a new bike feel old.  Triumph does this with the Scrambler but the Ducati reminds me of a fast café racer.  With a 992 cc fuel-injected engine producing 92 hp and 67 lb-ft of torque probably goes faster than any of the original café racers.

The Triumph Speed Triple is what a naked bike should be.  In my opinion the Speed Triple is one of the most unique naked bike packages on the market.  First Triumph put a three-cylinder 1050cc engine on a bike that only weighs 416 pounds.  Producing 131 horsepower this bike can go from 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds.

Next Triumph made a frame that accented the design of the bike.  This frame is tucked under the fuel take and provides the same visual elements as a pinstripe would–accenting the visually interesting parts of the bike, fuel tank and engine, without getting in the way.

Last they made the Speed Triple look aggressive and mean.  The dual headlights and the matte black frame along with the riding position give this bike somewhat of an aggressive look.  Many people replace the dual headlights with a single round light.  I like the look of the dual headlights.  It is one of the unique things that make the Speed Triple stand out from its Japanese competitors. 

When I was looking at bikes to purchase what discouraged me from purchasing this bike was the very intense maintenance cost.  There were major services scheduled almost every year.  Parts and labor were expensive and hard to find compared to the major Japanese brands.  While the initial purchase prices were inline these service items pushed me toward the Suzuki.  But I really like the look and design of the Triumph Speed Triple.

Suzuki should have never removed the fairings from the GS500.  When I started writing this post I was going to say I liked the looks of the Suzuki GS500 better than the Honda GS650.  However, yesterday I made some time to ride down some back roads of Southwest-lower Michigan and stumbled upon a Suzuki dealer. On the show floor sat a new GS500F.  The GS500 with fairings looked so much more complete that I wondered why they took them off.  I think the real problem I’m seeing is that this naked bike was designed to have fairings.  Suzuki decided to enter the naked market on the cheap without re-designing the bike.  When the fairings are removed an ugly frame designed to be hidden, is reveled.  What Suzuki and others should have done is design a new bike from ground up with frames and engines that complement each other.

The one up shot of the GS500 is the engine is a focal point.  When designing a bike it is important that there be some type of focal point and the engine is a safe place to draw peoples attention. 

The Honda HalkGT NT650, has been considered by many to be the first production naked motorcycle.  Honda was the first motorcycle manufacture to catch on to the stylistic removal of fairings.  This bike, produced for the 1988 production year, was key in developing the naked bike cult-like following. 

The NT650’s soul was a twin 647cc SOHC (Single Over Head Camshaft) engine.  Not a particularly striking engine but it seemed to do the trick.  As I look at this bike I think the combination of aluminum frame and engine is ugly.  It really should be a sport bike with fairings.  Honda did not spend enough time on the frame design to make it aesthetically appealing.  The frame is boxy and cuts through the middle of the engine area leaving holes under the gas tank take that draw your eye to nothing.  The single sided swing arm is a nice touch but the stock exhaust destroys the affect. In fact, this bike is so ugly that people decided to produce fairings to return it back to its sport bike heritage. 

The one redeeming feature of this bike is the wheels.  I particularly like the styling of the wheels.  The triple spoke design with a fan like twist is quite nice looking and the best design feature of this bike.  They are the only piece of this bike that indicates it could go fast.