Autoblog

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There are few thrills in motorcycling that compare with the sensation of pinning the throttle wide-open on a liter-class sportbike and hanging on for dear life. Of course, there are also a few inherent problems with this operation, though, and one of them is losing control. Another is the cost of replacement body parts (those of the bike, not yours!). And so the streetfighter was born, with owners of sportbikes choosing to remove their damaged plastic bodywork instead of replacing it. As with many trends, a small but fanatical industry has sprouted up to offer ready-made bikes which mimic the streetfighter look. The Suzuki Hayabusa is a prime candidate to get the streetfighter treatment, and BFO Motorcycles has decided to offer a limited run of 100 frame kits for the Japanese falcon-bike. Oddly, the kit also will include a carbon-fiber fairing, making it a true streetfighter in name only. Regardless of what BFO considers this bike, we think that the rendering looks awesome and we can't wait to see one of these in the real world.

[Source: BFO Motorcycles via Motorcycle News]

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The original Honda Gold Wing was a standard-style motorcycle. Honda has pretty much abandoned the high-output naked bike market lately with their 919 attempting and failing to hold the fort. Might Honda be looking to capture back a piece of that market? Take a look at the EV06 concept bike that Honda is set to show off next month in Tokyo. We love the looks of this bike, and think that the six -cylinder 1800-plus-cc engine looks way better in this naked bike application then it ever did in the Rune. While the similar engine in the Honda Gold Wing allows for adequate performance, in a smaller and lighter bike such as this it would truly be awe-inspiring. The fact that this bike is being shown in the first place should not be surprising considering that Suzuki has already announced its super-powerful Hayabusa-inspired B King, which comes with the former's 1340 cc four-cylinder engine, along with rumors that Kawasaki is considering offering a naked bike using the engine from the ZX-14. Honda does not have a large capacity four-pot engine to convert for naked bike use, but as this bike shows, it does have a monstrous and torque-rich six-cylinder just begging for duty in the same category. Honda should follow Aprilia's lead and not detune the engine or "tune it for torque". While some of the four-cylinder engines from Japan Inc. tend to be a bit "peaky", with this horizontally-opposed six, torque should not be a problem.

Honda -- please offer this bike for sale in the U.S.! Make sure to keep the styling intact, including the snarling headlight and very well integrated radiator. Touches like the single-sided swingarm, USD fork and dual front disks would be nice too. Follow Suzuki's lead and keep the styling mildly controversial and you've got a winner on your hands.

[Source: Wired's Autopia]

Gallery: Honda EVO6 Concept Motorcycle