Writing in American Motorcycle Dealer, respected journalist Alan Cathcart reports on growing stockholder unrest following Harley management's decision to shutter rather than sell Buell. According to Cathcart, Bombardier made two separate offers to Harley after Buell's closure was announced, but both were declined seemingly for reasons of vanity. Now, HD stockholders have savvied to the fact that declining the offers cost the hemorrhaging doo-rag manufacturer $125 million in shutdown costs and potentially many times more due to negative publicity. Remember, Harley shut Buell without first calculating the costs.

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Look closely, this isn't the Honda CB1100 Customize Concept that was shown alongside the production Honda CB1100 back in September, but rather a customized version of that production bike from Mugen. It's hard to tell the difference, so look at this Mugen's weedier forks, rear grab handles, smaller "Mugen" branded seat hump and slightly darker shade of red, those're the changes. Not bad, this is a near direct interpretation of concept to reality. Are we getting any CB1100 here in the US? Well, it's up to American Honda's product planners, who are under pressure from across the company to find a way to bring it in.

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KTM is planning to show both supermoto and enduro versions of its new electric bikes at the 2010 Tokyo Motorcycle Show next week and thanks to some tricky work in Photoshop from Grant, we're able to bring you exclusive details and images. The KTM FREERIDE twins are an evolution of the KTM Zero Emissions Motorcycle that was shown in prototype from in October, 2008, but unlike that bike, these use a twin-spar aluminum frame, beefy WP forks and full-size motorcycle wheels.

Update: KTM describes these two bikes as, ""Near-series prototypes which in one year's time will transfer the "Ready to Race" sporting spirit of the brand into a series model fit for the 21st century." Which means these are slightly blingier versions of production bikes coming for 2011.

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Harley-Davidson (HOG) stock is trading frantically right now as speculation that private equity firm KKR may purchase The Motor Company in a leveraged buyout offer. Harley shares are up five percent already. We'll keep you updated.

via Reuters

Update: Both KKR and Harley are declining to comment on what they describe as "market rumors and speculation." 

Seventy percent of ownership in TTXGP is being turned over to participating teams in a move designed not only to encourage new entries in the international electric motorcycle racing series, but also to give those teams a controlling interest in their sport. This will give participants a stake in the series' profits and also a say in its governance. You won't be able to buy into the TTXGP Trust, you have to race to join and shares in the trust won't be sold, they'll be given away to teams based on the number of races they complete and their points standing. Such a trust is unprecedented in motorsports, radically blurring the lines between participation and ownership.

We'll bring you more analysis shortly, in the meantime, check it out for yourself at Trust.eGrandprix.org.

Before Bill Paxton became a successful polygamist he was in a band called Martini Ranch. They only ever made one album and two music videos, one of which, "Reach", was directed by blue fetishist James Cameron and cast Paxton as a biker cowboy rolling into a small town. We actually have no idea what the plot of this is supposed to be, but it involves motorcycles, Paul Reiser, Judge Reinhold and a chick in a very skimpy leather bathing suit pounding some iron. If this is the post apocalyptic future, Glenn Beck better start advertising leather and chains. 

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Long known for their self-deprecating, totally not cheesy in the least sense of humor, ze Germans at Continental Tires have applied that to this BMW S1000RR. The rest of the modifications are just catalog bolt-ons, so let's focus instead on the jaw-dropping paint job. According to it, the S1000RR eats gas, body builds with exhaust pipes (we may not get this one) and signals that it can't stop using its brake lights. Also, it plays on the Nurburgring, which is actually pretty cool and the tires apparently equal "riding performance." And yes, acid wash jeans and rubber-spiked backpacks are still in fashion. Germany, you rule.

via MotorradOnline

Thanks for the tip, Paul.

A lucky dealership in Stockholm got its hands on a Honda NR750 and RC30, both brand new and still in their original boxes. These aren't toys we're talking about, but the real deal. Two of the rarest bikes ever made, the NR750 was a technological showpiece while the Honda RC30 was an homologation special built by HRC for World Superbike. Only a few hundred examples of each were either produced and these must be among the last to still be in their boxes. That means this could be the last time such an unboxing is ever experienced. The dealership plans to display the bikes in its showroom.

An update from Ivar at MC24.no: The owner of Stockholms MC-Varuhus (yeah - Motorcycle Warehouse), Bengt Gunnarson, has kept them in the basement for 20 years. Apparently for no other reason than the fun of unpacking them now!

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When the Aprilia Dorsoduro Factory was originally released at EICMA back in November, all we got was four studio photos. Now, we get to see it moving. As far as Factory Aprilia's go, the Dorsoduro is relatively tame, gaining only carbon bodywork, fully-adjustable Sachs forks, a fully-adjustable remote-reservoir shock and four-piston radial Brembo brakes. All that manages to shed a kilo from the dry weight (now 185kg) meaning the Dorsoduro is still relatively porky compared to the now-lighter 172kg (dry) Ducati Hypermotard 1100 Evo. At 92bhp and 60lb/ft of torque, the Dorsoduro is 3bhp and 15lb/ft down on the Duc too. 

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Until the Dainese D-Air or Alpinestars airbag suit reach the market, we're guessing the Dainese Jacket Wave Pro (combined with a leather jacket or suit) is the safest you can practically and comfortably make your upper body on the road. Combining protection for the neck, chest and shoulder blades with the usual elbow/shoulder/back stuff is what makes this system special, but the aluminum honeycomb-core armor doesn't hurt either.

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Why are we writing about a shitty little electric scooter? Because the e-max city 80L does something no other realistic means of two-wheeled transportation does: the battery comes out easily so you can charge it inside your house or office. Designed specifically for urban use, scooters like this offer equivalent performance and equivalent ease of licensing to 50cc ICE scooters -- long a staple of cities outside the United SUVS of America -- but have always suffered from one major drawback: if you live in an apartment building or work in an office building, they're impossible to charge unless you get very creative with a very long extension cord. No longer.

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It's a rare item of motorcycle gear that can be anything but solid black and still be appropriate for adults to wear. These Dainese Vintage Racer gloves do just that. I guess the trick is they don't use much color; what they do use is vibrant and classic; it's contrasted by black detailing and the white leather is perforated so it doesn't look cheap. It helps too that the leather is high quality and the gloves aren't covered in a bunch of plastic. We wouldn't want to crash in these anywhere outside of town, but they should provide decent abrasion resistance thanks to the reinforced palm and kevlar stitching.

Dainese

Despite unconditional denials by Piaggio's owner, Immsi, rumors of a possible merger between Ducati and Piaggio are intensifying in Italy. Word is that leading global management consultancy McKinsey & Company has been contracted to evaluate potential merger candidates for the struggling Piaggio Group and that the now privately-controlled Ducati is being tipped as the best option.

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