Awesome Motorcycles

Jay Leno’s Garage gets a look at Ducati’s first ever cruiser. It has an L-twin that produces up to 156hp and 95lbft of torque. Jay found its feet-forward stance and handlebar position to be very comfortable, and the bike itself to be nimble and versatile. Test ride at 13:33.

Motorelic overhauled Honda’s failed street bike into its ideal form. They lowered its front forks, added a rear hoop then worked their metalworking magic with the front plate, seat and exhaust. Homeward Bound’s racing paint job completed the rebirth. More here.

Silodrome spotted this insane bit of footage from an very unusual motocross race, in which a passenger rides along in a sidecar. There’s just something so surreal watching these unwieldy things go flying through the air. More here.

Jay Leno takes a break from featuring the year’s hottest cars and mods to showcase one of his old reliables. This classic Indian Scout has surprisingly great handling and low maintenance needs. It just couldn’t compete with the Model T. Ride along at 12:35.

Munich-based bike builders Philipp Wulk and Matthias Pittner aka Impuls turned a 1985 BMW K100 into this minimal racer. This particular bike features hand-drawn polygonal art by artist Fabian Gatermann. Custom parts include the rear frame, air intake and exhaust.

(PG-13) Director Alex Vivian follows up on his amusing dude-on-dude bike riding lesson with something a little bit, er… a whole lot… sexier – something we like to call Two Girls, One Bike. Is it hot in here, or is it just us?

Aussie daredevil Matt Mingay takes us on a ride-along on his flaming Hot Wheels stunt bike, giving us an up-close perspective on his crazy tricks, and just a tiny taste of how much it hurts when he crashes. Stick around til the end for some awesome car drifting action.

This totally bonkers motorcycle from French custom shop Lazareth puts its rider atop a monstrous Maserati 4.7-liter V8. In all, the bike packs 470 horses and 457 lb-ft. of torque, and basically looks like a car engine with wheels. We can’t imagine how hot that seat gets.

Kuma Films captured some awesome footage of Anpei Yo, an extremely agile and well-balanced moped rider as he worked his way around the handlebars and seat of his spinning bike. We’re not sure he even needs a front wheel.

Royal Enfield’s new motorcycle is a no-nonsense adventure bike. The Himalayan has a 411cc single cylinder engine that produces up to 25hp and 23.6 lb-ft. of torque. It has a 21″ front tire, a 17″ tire, nearly 8″ of travel in its front suspension and 7″ in its rear monoshock arm.

Deus Ex Machina’s new Japan branch turned a 1961 Honda Super Cub – the Beetle of motorcycles – into a race-ready machine. Aside from increasing the engine’s output by 20%, the shop also custom made parts such as the monocoque body and adjustable race shocks.

The reviews are in – the new Honda Africa Twin is a worthy successor to its predecessor and its Dakar Rally roots. The CRF1000L has a 998cc parallel twin motors, 6-speed manual or DCT transmission, ABS and adjustable torque control.

Instead of a chin strap, the RS 1 motorcycle helmet has an adjustable chin cup and splits into two so you can easily put it on or take it off. Its snug fit means it won’t be jostled around by strong winds or thrown off your head in case of a collision.

Kuberg’s new electric motorcycle is designed to be easy enough for teens to ride but fun for adults as well. It weighs 79lb. and goes up to 34mph. Its battery lasts up to 1h per charge. The optional dongle and app let you record stats and limit torque and speed.

British Customs worked with “the godfather of street trackers” Richard Pollock of Mule Motorcycles to turn a 2015 Bonneville T100 Black into a flat tracker that can compete and look good doing it.

Custom motorcycle shop Bandit9 continues to redefine the Honda Supersport. Like her predecessor Eve, Ava has a skinny and shiny handmade steel unibody. It also has a custom front cowl, front suspension, brake light and leather seat. Limited to 9 units.

It looks like a fairly standard, but good looking off-road bike at first glance… until you check out the stock model. Australian bike shop Ellaspede made the tank, panels, shrouds, seat, pannier racks and the muffler for the exhaust pipes under the seat.

Indian Motorcycle’s new entry level bike. It has a liquid-cooled V-twin engine that delivers up to 78hp and 65lb.ft. of torque, a five-speed transmission, and that stylish and stable Scout body. Best of all, it’s around $2,000 cheaper than its big brother.

BMW gives its cafe racer a more casual design. The R NineT Scrambler has the classic sheet steel and brown leather combo, an upright riding position and 19″/17″ wheels while still being open to customization.

Yamaha took the 847cc engine from the sporty FZ-09 and gave it a more classic body. But aside from its aluminum tank and body details, the XSR900 also has improved suspension, an assist-and-slipper wet clutch, adjustable traction control and ABS. Drops 02/2016.

The Yamaha PES2 is an electric motorcycle concept that has two electric motors – one under the tank and another one inside the front wheel – for two-wheel drive. It also has a crazy augmented reality helmet that overlays data from the bike’s cameras and other sensors.

British motorcycle maker Triumph sets its eyes on the future with five successors to the Bonneville. These new models bring more powerful engines, improved chassis and suspension, new assistive technology and damn good looks. More at Bike EXIF.

Yamaha has developed an industrial robot that is capable of riding a motorcycle. While we wait for the robot MotoGP races some day, Motoman is helping to make bikes safer and more comfortable for humans. For now, he has training wheels, but they’ll come off soon.