Tuesday Afternoon Moto Design News - Custom Builds, New Wheels and More

A well-to-do kid helps out his family business, moves to a new town and then sets about pursuing his dream. It does help that he had the backing of his parents, but his ideas are good. Tony Johns opened Motorcycles of Bend in 2006. He lets customers purchase their bikes in parts and then assembles them in his shop. It is the only shop of its kind in the Oregon city of Bend. Check it out...

http://tinyurl.com/yehhb82

Along the same lines, but with a more environmental bent, is a new design from Lawless Motorcycles. It is a hybrid motorcycle which allows the rider to switch from full electric to gas-power as needed or wanted. This is the bike which Orange County Choppers was building with help from Schneider Electric. It will be revealed on national television later this week. For more information, take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ye34vuj

http://tinyurl.com/yk322fb

Next on this list is another air-powered motorcycle design. This one is from Matthew Perez, a Mechanical Operations Technician for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and he calls it the AirHead. It will do about 20 miles and the air is contained in four standard SCUBA tanks.

http://tinyurl.com/yzuogxd

Now there is yet another new creation from the tire geniuses at Michelin. They have two versions called the Active Wheel and Motor Wheel. The Motor Wheel contains one motor which is used for propulsion, and the Active Wheel has two motors, one for propulsion and one for suspension. So far, both Peugeot and Renault are testing with it currently. Of course, the interesting aspect of this to us is the motorcycle designed by Keegan McClain of Lafayette, LA. Take a look to see the future of transport.

http://tinyurl.com/yz9equ4

Indian Hybrid Motorcycle Gets 282 MPG - The ET-120

Eko Vehicles based in Bangalore, India, has built the ET-120, which is now rated at 282 MPG, for the Indian market only. It will only cost US$850 there - an incredible price considering the cost of ownership. It is not the prettiest machine on the road, but it is something which could change the face of the Indian motorcycle industry.

http://tinyurl.com/ya4o4uy

EICMA: Piaggio Reveals USB Scooter Concept

The USB stands for Urban Sport Bike and it is only a concept at this point. However, it does have a gasoline-electric hybrid drive train which puts out 147 lb/ft of torque! The top speed is only around 60 mph, but it actually should get 155 miles per gallon in this form! If they were to produce it, it would sell in every nation that they could send it to. It is likely, though, that production costs at this time would be rather high, so the sale price would probably reflect this and make it ultra-expensive. Still, it is nice to see that the technology is improving constantly.

http://tinyurl.com/yc5l95n

Piaggio Group Invests €12 Million into Moto Guzzi - With Some Stipulations

The European Investment Bank loaned Piaggio Group €150 million in December of last year, but they required that the funds also be used to create electric or hybrid motorcycles. So, if the €12 million comes from this loan, Moto Guzzi may be entering into the electric or hybrid world. Of course, we also heard that Azhar Hussain is working with a large European motorcycle manufacturer for his new Mavizen project - could this be related? In either case, it is good to know that Moto Guzzi will be releasing some new designs in 2011 - 2012...

http://tinyurl.com/yh8mbw9

Yamaha Unveils True Hybrid Motorcycle at Tokyo Motor Show - the HV-X

Yet another big announcement from the Tokyo Motor Show - I guess that the motorcycle part of the show IS important to them. Yamaha has announced a hybrid motorcycle which is a true hybrid - the gasoline engine will shut off when the vehicle is stationary, leaving the bike running on electric power. There is a sweet video attached to the site at the other end of the link. Unfortunately, Yamaha has not said when - or if - they will begin production. I sure hope they make a decision soon!

http://tinyurl.com/yfv6dg6

http://tinyurl.com/ygu9o8c

News of the Weird - Motorcycle Sports Car Hybrid Design

What and awesome concept...in some ways. This thing took a very long time to produce and you may judge it to not be worth it, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I admit to never seeing anything quite as interesting...just click the link to see more photos.

http://tinyurl.com/ydn97nk

CAF-E Hybrid Supercharged Motorcycle

Tim Cameron has designed a hybrid and supercharged motorcycle which could enter production. It is a 'naked' styled machine and will probably cost around US$85,000! Not much here beyond photos, but it is worth looking at...

http://tinyurl.com/yc2homz

Orange County Choopers to Build First Hybrid Chopper

Schneider Electric has joined with OCC to build the bike, which will have both a gas-powered engine and an electric motor - and will contain some very high-tech components. Schneider hopes to show the bike as an example of what their components can do for future design of such machines. From a press release:

http://tinyurl.com/qjseq6

Yamaha Reveals Hybird in Europe

Yamaha and Toyota will team up to build the first hybrid motorcycle...or, so they have said. I hope this is not just PR!

http://tinyurl.com/ks435f

P.S. I wonder if they know of the Piaggio MP3 Hybird? It should be available early next year...

Speaking of Hybrid Motorcycles...Here's Piaggio's Answer

You may have heard about this if you have kept up with the reviews and articles in the motorcycle press about Piaggio's MP3 scooter. Back when Piaggio released the MP3 500, the company had stated they were working on a hybrid model to be released by 2010. It is honoring that statement...but, I found this article within an online magazine from Singapore (hopefully, a full review will be available soon):

http://tinyurl.com/leeu6o