The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

36 Million Motorcycles from China and India by 2010

By

By 2010, China and India will produce a combined total of 36 million motorcycles per year. Let me repeat that, ... 36 MILLION motorcycles PER YEAR! That number was buried in a news item this morning about a new microcontroller chip for motorcycle engine management systems. These chips precisely control the fuel/air mixture, ignition and who knows what else to keep the engine … [Read more...]

Yamaha XS-V1 Sakura for Tokyo Motor Show

By

Yamaha keeps rolling out the concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show and the XS-V1 Sakura follows the same retro line as the Honda concepts revealed a short time ago. The press release is long on philosophy and short on detail but the Sakura looks like a nice throwback to a standard motorcycle. From the Yamaha press release: We display the “XS-V1 Sakura” (special … [Read more...]

S&S 50th Anniversary Celebration and Bike Build

By

S&S has just announced the builder and sponsor list for their 50th Anniversary Bike Build running in conjunction with the S&S 50th Anniversary Celebration. This looks good, ... really good. Using engines from across the S&S line will be 50 builders from all around the world, all the usual suspects will be involved, from the U.S custom builders you would expect to see to … [Read more...]

Harley Davidson XR1200 in Europe for Spring 2008

By

Harley Davidson is set to ship the XR1200 to dealers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa next Spring. If you were thinking it was the kind of Sportster that might get you into your local Harley dealer here in the U.S., put your checkbook away because there is no mention yet of any shipments stateside. The XR1200 is styled after the XR750, a motorcycle that gained its fame … [Read more...]

Aprilia 850 Mana Introduced

By

As many of you already know, Aprilia is introducing the 850 Mana, available first in Italy, and while I'm not sure where it will be going next, the US website has no mention of it. That's too bad for riders here because this looks like a really nice bike. The Mana has Aprilia's "Sportgear" transmission which can operate with your choice of 3 different "Autodrive" mappings or as … [Read more...]

Yamaha Luxair Hybrid Motorcycle Concept

By

Yamaha has still more concepts for the Tokyo Motor Show, this is the Yamaha Luxair, a hybrid motorcycle that looks more scooter than motorcycle or perhaps you might call it a recumbent motorcycle. It certainly has the low seat height many of you have been asking for. It has a gasoline engine and electric motor in parallel, the electric motor kicks in for help during … [Read more...]