Concept motorcycle : Yamaha Gen-RYU hybrid

Yamaha is dropping no less than 9 world premiere models on the 39th Tokyo Motor Show coming up later this month. Of special note to us is the Gen-Ryu hybrid motorcycle prototype (damn!) which combines the YZF-R6 600cc engine with a high output, high efficiency electric motor. Combine that with some fat wheels and that long wheelbase and you've got a machine said to perform and handle like a "1,000cc class machine." Eco-power not workin' it for ya? Ok, well consider it has a vehicle-to-vehicle distance warning system, a "cornering light system" for a little night time knee-scraping action, and a noise cancelation system which is said to allow for an intercom, voice navigation, hands-free cellphone calls, and music player — damn impressive if it really works! And just for kicks, how about an LCD so you can watch those cagers mouth "what the…" as you roll on by.

Via

Renovatio concept motorcycle.

       The Renovatio (Latin for "Rebirth") concept motorbike from Confederate Motorcycles based in America is a radical concept bike designed by Confederate's lead designer Ed Jacobs.

       The Renovatio is extremely minimalistic with all the mechanical elements of the bike on show. With large attachment points easily accessible on the engine, upgrades and various configurations can easily be exchanged.

        The 135 horsepower, 125 ft/lbs of torque V-twin engine of the Confederate Renovatio concept was built by Katech Inc. of Detroit. Katech was hired to design five prototype engines, they chose to base the 1686 cc (103 cu in) V-twin on General Motors LS7 7.0 litre V8. Katech were also responsible for the 16 cylinder engine found in the Cadillac Sixteen concept car of 2003.

Confederate already manufacure two high-end and unique bikes, the Confederate Wraith and the Hellcat F131. The Confederate Renovatio is a concept created inline with Confederates current vision.

Tesla Motors Lithium Ioned up.

Now that Tesla Motors has resurrected the electric car in screeching sports car form, it's the turn of the motorbike to get all Lithium Ioned up. While it's not the first electric motorcycle, it is possibly the most rough and ready design: if you can afford the $15,000 odd fee for a custom modification, a team at the Electric Motorsport shop in Oakland will take out the nasty engine in your ride and replace it with an array of Lithium Ion batteries. As a prototype, the company created a fully electric version of the Yamaha R1 which has a top speed of 100MPH, a range of 100 miles, does 0-60 in 3 seconds, and looks pretty damn ugly to tell the truth. Ya' see, the number of brick sized Lithium Ion batteries required to eke out this level of performance is 28, which have to fit all willy nilly underneath the bike. Fortunately, the company hopes to produce a more refined production model, as well as a cheaper design with less advanced performance.

[Via Digg]