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Regaining a measure of popularity recently in its native Europe, the supremely funky Moto Graziella foldable scooter seems to offer equal parts fun and humiliation to the daring rider.

The tiny bike with the stretched seat post and handle bars—and looking an awful lot like a little, motorized gazelle—is powered by a heroic Sachs 502/1A engine, which displaces 47cc and produces 1.8 horsepower at 4500 rpm. Believe it or not, but the Italian company maintained that that motive force was enough to carry riders of up to 286 pounds, though we’d guess any one that beefy would have a hard time reaching the quoted top speed of 25 miles per hour.

Have a closer look at the distinctive Italian mini scooter in our gallery above.

+ Museo De Transporte

In May of next year, science fiction fans will be treated to the eleventh (!) motion picture sized installment of the Star Trek series, getting to see a fresh face (Chris Pine, sorry Shatner) playing the monumental role of Captain James T. Kirk. In this early trailer for the movie, we not only get a chance to see the Trek crew’s imagining of the future’s motorcycle (George Lucas’s imperial speeder bike had better watch its back), we also are treated to a very young Kirk making a very foolish move with a Corvette. Geek out a little with the video above.

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Over the years, Fiat's sport division Abarth has been building a reputation for tweaking and intensifying cars to offer just that little bit more Italian insanity. Though the company primarily sticks to Fiats, it seems that it really doesn't stop them from getting its fingers on whatever is deemed fit. To wit, the tuning company recently got hold of a Yamaha FZ1.
 
And the result? A red, white, gold and black painted “naked bike” dubbed the Yamaha FZ1 Abarth Assetto Corse Concept Bike. But the attraction is not only skin deep as a new Akrapovic exhaust as well as suspension and brake upgrades have been fitted on. The FZ1-based concept also has a 150 horsepower 1.0-liter engine derived from the Yamaha R1 supersport bike.
 
This Yamaha concept was developed in cooperation with Abarth as part of a celebration to commemorate the firm founder Karl (Carlo) Abarth's birthday on November 15. Along with the motorbike is the release of a limited edition version of the 500 Abarth and a funky Abarth badged desktop computer powered by an Intel Core i7 Extreme processor.
 
+ Carscoop: Yamaha FZ1 Abarth Assetto Corse Concept Bike with 150HP R1 Engine

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Since the first Terminator movie made its debut in 1984, the mega-budget franchise has been the showcase for amazing action, and ground-breaking special effects. There have also been some first rate chase scenes—our favorite being a young John Conner (Edward Furlong) racing his dirt bike through the L.A. River in T2—which isn’t likely to change for the latest installment, Terminator Salvation.
 
Set to debut in May of 2009, and starring new action hero Christian Bale, the new movie joins Conner in his struggles against the nefarious Skynet after the nuclear holocaust. In this apocalyptic setting “the machines” are taking a much bigger role, and far more interesting forms than in the previous three movies.

Production director Martin Laing was responsible for envisioning some of the near-future killing devices, and has created (among a lot of other scary looking metal) this Moto-Terminator motorcycle. The bike seems to be the chilling Terminator character we know and love in motorcycle form (note the signature red “eyes”), replete with plenty of new mean toys attached.  Have a look at more images in our gallery above.

+ Quiet Earth: Take a better look at Martin Laing's TERMINATOR SALVATION production art

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Iconoclastic motorcycle builder Confederate is offering up its C120 Renaissance Fighter for 45 shoppers of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book this year, an utterly singular motorcycle in both design and execution.

Build largely from unadorned aircraft billet aluminum—with titanium used for parts of the chassis and suspension and wheels constructed from carbon fiber—the Fighter is no ordinary American made bike, despite its use of a big 1966cc V-twin for its motive force. That engine has had considerable attention paid to it as well, with forged alloy pistons, billet aluminum heads, and a dual counter-shaft balance system all in play. And the price of such two-wheeled glory? A cool $110,000, thanks for asking.

Confederate has also drafted a press release that is almost as idiosyncratic as its motorcycle. (We especially like, “The Fighter clarifies opaqueness and nullifies hype with straight-forward true to concept certitude.”) Read the full release, along with the Fighter specs below.

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Seeking to add, “an urban edge” to its growing range of motorcycles, BMW has just launched a new mid range bike at the EICMA Milan Show—the stylish F 800 R.

Joining the popular F 800 series that was launched in 2006, the R bike will be offered to the public sometime in May of next year, and will retail in the for a hair under £6000 (about $9400) in the UK. (There’s no word yet as to if the new bike will make it to North America.) The R will be powered by an 87 horsepower version of the series’ 798cc, four-valve parallel twin engine, giving the bike a nice balance between spirited performance and good fuel economy.
 
BMW Motorrad also boasts that the F 800 R will offer the same high levels of safety and comfort that riders have come to expect from the company, including ABS braking, and cozy seating for both rider and passenger. Read on below for the full press release and check out a few images of the new BMW F 800 R in our gallery above.

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California-based Zero Motorcycles has just announced the latest and greatest in its line of zero emission, fully electric motorcycles, the very off-road friendly 2009 Zero X.

The go anywhere two-wheeled EV draws power from its lithium-ion battery pack, powering the motor to deliver 23 horsepower and 50 pound-feet of torque at peak output. That grunt, married to a lightweight, hand-welded aluminum frame, should make the Zero more than capable (0-30 mph in under two seconds) of providing motive thrills—even before the bike’s ability to ” handle monstrous 65-foot jumps" is factored into the equation. The super-tough suspension, with fully adjustable front forks and a double-diamond rear swing arm, help to make such aerobatic maneuvers possible for the lithe EV.

The Zero X has got a range of about 40 miles between charges—each of which takes about two hours for a full dose—and carries a price tag of $7450 for those who get there orders in before the end of November. Order for delivery after the New Year and the price rises to $7750.

+ Zero Motorcycles

The Bicycle Design blog has opened up a competition, whose goal is to find bike designs that might convince more commuters to get out of their cars and on to a cycle as often as possible. Bike maker Cannondale has agreed to chip in one of its Bad Boy bikes (pictured above) as a prize for the winning design.

Contestants are asked to design a cycle that could, “persuade the average person, with no prior interest in cycling, to park the car and pedal to work.” No mean feat, to be sure, but one that we’d guess will provide a fertile starting place for ambitious concepts. Thinking outside of the current market will be a key to success here, though submissions are required to not “break the laws of physics, etc.” Fair enough.

Click through the link below for more contest details and submission requirements, and be sure to check back in to see the results after the contest is called on December 5th.

+ Bicycle Design

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It seems as if the already rather geeky (and we mean that in the nicest possible way) cadre of Segway owners is taking a step towards the bizarre, by embracing the blooming trend of customization in the personal mobility market. Adorning their rides with acres of diamond plate and colored Lucite, these bold individuals aren’t afraid of standing out from the crowd—not as much as they fear walking a few blocks, at any rate.

Is a fully chromed and chopped Segway with matching tow-along trailer a true bid for individuality, or just another sign of the impending apocalypse? You can judge for yourself by sifting through our gallery above.

+ GeekAlerts

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What do you get when you cross a motorcycle with an F1 car? Mix that hybrid with a fetish for the Volkswagen GX3 concept and a product like the Energya will likely come about. The three-wheeled "recreational vehicle" was conjured up by a Higgins-Aubé Inc., a Canadian start-up company, and is currently in the early design stages.

With the rear of a motorcycle, the intake of a formula racer, the Energya is a looker that does not hold back with its smooth curves and sharp lines. The open-cockpit vehicle with two-seater set up will be made up of mostly aluminum, and so far it's estimated to weigh a measly 770 pounds.

The Canadian company will start initial designs with a motorcycle engine, but could lead to becoming an electric vehicle if development funds appear.

+ Green Car Advisor: Eye Candy For Relief From News About Politics and a Slumping Economy

I politely panned the 2008 Can Am Spyder when I reviewed it almost a year ago. What I had just ridden through the canyons of Southern California was not nearly as quick or agile as a motorcycle, nor as stable as a sports car. So when the Spyder's manufacturer asked me to try a SE5 edition (that features a five-speed semi-automatic gearbox), I was prepared to truly hate it. I predicted to myself that by taking the clutch away, the trike would loose what little appeal it possessed for me.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Precisely because the Spyder is not hardcore road hardware, the manu-matic gearbox fits its personality perfectly. Dropping the clutch removes any pretenses of serious performance, so when you swing your leg over the saddle, you're not expecting to be able to run with the Ninjas or CBRs. This puts the rider in a better mindset to enjoy the Can Am for what it is.

(Click through the post to continue reading this review.)

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British interior designer and motorcycle enthusiast Barend Hemmes hadn’t any experience at designing vehicles, but the 36-year-old South London resident knew he had struck a winning shape when he penned Jaguar’s famed “Leaper” logo onto a bike frame.

Hemmes says that he had been doodling at, “combining corporate logos with motorbikes” when he realized that Jag’s Jaguar would make for a perfect fit with a motorcycle. Having no construction experience, Hemmes sought out the bike builders of South Yorkshire’s Polar Cycles, who helped to craft the cat on top of running gear from a 1997 Buell S3 Thunderbolt.

The re-bodied Buell doesn’t exactly have performance to match its sleek appearance – only reaching speeds of around 50 miles per hour for unspecified reasons – but according to Hemmes the bike is quite the head turner wherever he rides it. It could be argued that a motorcycle shaped like a giant duck could boast the same,but we digress.

Have a better look at the Leaper bike in our gallery above.

+ Mail Online: Pictured: The ultimate PURRING machine - a motorbike in the form of the pouncing Jaguar logo

So you say you haven’t heard of Japanese mega star Rollerman? Please allow us to help you remedy that injustice, with a short look at this fascinating video above. Here, the wheeled-wonder takes on some dude riding a motorcycle, in a battle that teaches lessons about carrying speed through the corners. Watch and learn.

+ YouTube: Human bobsled vs. motorcycle

From the Can-Am Spyder to the Piaggio MP3, it seems like there has been a pronounced uptick in trike development and interest over the last year or so. The question is… do you care? Are these new three-wheelers interesting to you, and would you ever consider buying one... or would you really rather just have a motorcycle?

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Making a rather extreme spin on vehicles like Piaggio’s three-wheeled MP3 scooter, thanks in part to the borrowing of a 654cc 63 horsepower engine from Austrian motorcycle builder KTM, the Brudelli Leanster looks to be an impressively fast and agile toy.

Ridden in the same fashion as a traditional sport bike, the Leanster sports two front wheels which follow the driver’s side to side inputs by leaning up to 45 degrees each. This setup gives the vehicle a vastly more stable platform on which to ride while still allowing for superb handling characteristics. Brudelli claims that the Leanster can handle road surfaces ranging from normal tarmac, to gravel, to snowy surfaces, while giving even novice riders the ability and confidence to perform “controlled power slides” with apparent ease.

While the Brudelli creation should make for some truly recreational riding when it begins limited production sometime next month, the 21,000 Euro price tag may prove to be a rather large hurdle for most buyers. Have a closer look at the Brudelli Leanster in our gallery above.

+ Gizmag: The Brudelli Leanster - remarkable car-bike fusion

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Israeli designer Amir Glinik is the latest in a long line of artists who’ve attempted to create something beautiful and outrageous enough to carry Ferrari’s storied crest on only two wheels. Glinik’s Ferrari superbike concept is centered on an unrealized V-4 engine, and is said to draw as many visual cues from the F-16 fighter jet as from the slinky forms that abide in Maranello. The enclosed bodywork gives the concept rendering an eye-bulging shape that’s made all the better for its lack of needless ornamentation.

Ducati may make the worlds closest real interpretation of a Ferrari bike but we’d be willing to give this one the once over if it ever made the leap from monitor to motorway. Have a look in our gallery above.

+ Autoblog: Lean Machine: Ferrari V4 superbike concept

Yesterday we established that many of you would be willing to make the switch to a two-wheeled commute, weather permitting, but what sort of bike would you choose? Big cruiser, sport bike, out right crotch rocket, perhaps even something along the lines of a vintage moped or scooter? Pick your poison, and post a picture if you have one handy, in comments.

Just having spent some time in the scooter-happy (and year-round warm) Austin, Texas, we’ve been wondering about how many drivers would make the switch from four to two wheels for their daily drivers. Have you considered a scooter or motorbike for your daily ride, or will your everyday vehicle always be something a little more contained? Give us your choice, in comments.

With so many nooks and crannies for road filth to hide in, washing a motorcycle can be a tedious task. So consider us intrigued in Moto Express Wash, reportedly the country’s only fully-automated bike washing system.

According to its builders, this Indianapolis car wash system can wash and dry a motorcycle in five minutes, and the prototype machine even automatically rotates the wheels to ensure all of the bike's spokes are cleaned.

Amazon has added yet another level of shopping functionality to its consumer’s paradise of an online store with news coming today that the retailer has opened a motorcycle and ATV wing to its site. The new store will offer parts, clothing and protective gear, and other sundry items for the sport rider. Amazon has been offering general automotive parts and accessories since 2007 and believes that, with interest in motorcycles and scooters getting greater every month, the time is ripe for additional motive sales. The store has opened with the usual “all in” approach, with major manufacturers like Harley-Davidson, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha already signed on. Click through the link below to check it out.

+ Amazon