Indian Chief Vintage Thunder Black Motorcycles in Georgia, page #16

Moto blog

US Highland Making a Comeback

US Highland appears to be making a comeback, announcing plans to begin processing new orders and having discussions with several OEMs for the use of the Oklahoma company’s powertrains. The Tulsa-based company did not mention which OEMs it is working with, though US Highland says the discussions could result in sales of over 20,000 units per year. The company is developing fuel injected V-Twin engines in 750cc, 950cc and 1050cc displacements and Singles in 350cc, 450cc and 507cc displacements.

First Polaris-era 2012 Indian Motorcycle Rolls Off Spirit Lake Assembly Line

A new era has begun as the first Indian Motorcycle under the ownership of Polaris Industries has been produced at the company’s Spirit Lake, Iowa, factory. The landmark first Polaris-owned Indian won’t be heading right to the showroom floor however; instead, it will undergo extensive testing and evaluation by Polaris. As such, this particular Indian Chief Vintage, and the rest of the 2012 Indian line, will be fairly similar to Indian’s previous offerings, save for some minor updates to catch any issues Polaris already discovered.

Lambretta Licensees Deny Consortium’s Trademark Infringement Claims

Two companies named in the Lambretta Consortium’s claims of trademark infringement say they have legitimate rights to use the Italian scooter brand’s name. Clag International and Motom Electronics Group (MEG) have released a joint statement saying Italian courts have ruled their licenses to use the Lambretta name are valid. The statement was released in response to the Lambretta Consortium’s announcement about taking legal action against unlicensed use of the brand.

Piaggio Reports First Half 2011 Results

The Piaggio Group reported slight increases in net sales and net profit over the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Net sales increased 1.1% to 830 million euros (US$1.19 billion) over the first six months of 2011, compared to 820 million euros (US$1.18 billion) in the first half of 2010. Piaggio reported a net profit of 33.3 million euros (US$47.9 million), a slight increase from the net profit of 33.1 million euros (US$47.6 million) reported last year.

Two Recall Campaigns for 2009-2011 Indian Motorcycles

Polaris issued two separate recalls for 2009-2011 Indian motorcycles, one for a problem with the headlight and another with the kickstand. According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the kickstands on 2009-2011 Indian motorcycles may not fold up and to the rear if the motorcycle is moving forward with the stand deployed. As a result, the kickstand fails to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.

Our Magnificent seven

Remember to dust your Union Jacks down if you happen to be visiting any Grand Prix this year as we have no less than seven youngsters to cheer on in the junior Moto GP classes. I don’t think we’ve ever had this many ‘yoofs’ in the GP paddock so let’s hope they can do the business and bring an end to our long drought of Grand Prix titles. And that could be soon as Scott Redding is already a hot favourite for the 2011 Moto 2 championship on his Marc VDS Suter machine.

Mahindra teaser video revealed

WE GAVE you the heads up last month on Mahindra Motorcycles' plans to enter the lucrative Indian motorcycle market - and here's a teaser video showing one of the company's machines on track in Italy. The Indian company will offer a variety of motorcycles, ranging from low-cost entry models to premium two-wheelers, said Anoop Mathur, the head of Mahindra’s motorcycle wing. The company is already an established scooter, 4x4 and tractor manufacturer.Despite their optimism, Mahindra is aware the company is moving into a competitve market, dominated primarily by Honda.

Custom Art Deco-era Henderson Motorcycle

When we saw pictures of this recently restored art-deco custom built back in 1936, we felt we needed to share them with you. A 1930 KJ Henderson provides the platform for the sculpted design originally built by O. Ray Courtney, and it’s powered by an air-cooled inline four-cylinder engine.

See Britain's land speed record hopeful at Race Retro 2010

SEE THE MACHINE that could propel Britain to a new motorcycle land speed world record at The Race Retro 2010 show, held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from 12th to 14th March. Almost a year has passed since Visordown broke the news of the planned UK assault on the land speed record - this coming August the Angelic Bulldog team travels to Bonneville, where it is hoping to smash the 400mph barrier and bring the motorcycle Land Speed Record back to the UK for the first time since 1937. The current record stands at 360.913mph over a kilometre.

Hybrid Motorcycle Gets 282 MPG

The ET-120 is the hybrid version of the Strike EV that was released earlier by Eko Vehicles based in Bangalore, India and claims to be the first hybrid motorcycle in the world.  The new hybrid bike will feature a 70cc gas engine and electric motor that will get 120 km/l or about 282 mpg in hybrid mode, has a top speed of 40 mph but the power and torque will be equivalent to a 120cc engine. More info and a press release after the jump. The price will be around $850 U.S.