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.

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

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

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.)

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?