Matt Farah, Alex Roy, J.F. Musial, Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli and Leo Parente. These are six of the greatest car guys you’re ever likely to meet and they’ve just joined forces to create DRIVE, a brand new automotive channel coming to Youtube this January. Their job is simple; cover everything that happens in the automotive industry in a way that keeps the rest of us riveted to our monitors.

DRIVE on YouTube: Launching January 2, 2012

New York, NY and London, England — DRIVE, the new YouTube original channel that celebrates the culture of cars announces a launch date of January 2, 2012. DRIVE takes our audience on the road, to the races, to the factories, to the studios — and to other places car lovers have always wanted to go, but never had the chance.

Watch DRIVE starting in January to activate your passion in the world of cars, performance, racing — and even plain ol’ commuting — that surrounds you. Cars may be something you need, but drive with us and you’ll never look at them the same way again.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to look at automobiles in a whole new light and these are the guys that are going to flip the switch!

Click through for the promo and subscribe.

The old adage of “do what you love and you’ll never work another day again”, is actually quite true. I mean think about that for a moment. If you’re able to take whatever it is that makes you happy and turn it into a full-on job, then in essence you’re really getting paid to enjoy yourself on a daily basis. In reality few people get to do this, however there are those who have found a way. This is Richard Pollock, owner of Mule Motorcycles in Poway, CA. He’s not only one of the most talented builders out there, but he’s living the dream by way of envisioning, creating and selling his two-wheeled visions. His bikes have an old school feel to them as Pollack grew up in Southern California around dirt tracks and scramble style motorbikes. Each one is unique and is built around the individual owners tastes. They’re beautiful, functional and at days end, all works of two-wheeled art. Click through for the video and enjoy.

Source: RalfBecker.com

Motorcycle reviews are something fairly new to The Smoking Tire, but our pal Matt has a lengthy history on two wheels. Like the esteemed Mr. Farah, I once relied on motorcycles as primary transportation, and I can echo his sentiments; living in Colorado, where it can and will snow from September through April, bikes are a poor choice as a daily driver. If you’re lucky enough to have the budget for a bike as a weekend toy, the tough decision becomes which style, then which model, to pick.

If you’re looking for a bike to do the occasional commute on, plus strafe canyons on the weekend and run the occasional track day, BMW’s F800R streetfighter seems like a reasonable choice. Its parallel twin engine makes enough power to be entertaining without being intimidating, and it’s upright riding posture means you’ve got a good view of the road ahead. Like all of BMW’s motorcycles, the price of admission may be on the steep side, but BMW’s bike are normally just broken in about the time that other motorcycles are approaching worn out. If BMW had a better dealer network in the United States, I’m sure they’d sell even more bikes.

So is the BMW F800R the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles? Is it the best choice for commuting and weekend fun? I won’t spoil Matt’s review, so check out his opinion of the BMW F800R in the video below.

No one ever plans on crashing. Not one rider has ever woken up and thought to himself, “I think I’ll grab some breakfast, then fracture a few bones in a painful get-off,” and I’m absolutely sure that no one has ever wished to get hit by a speeding pickup. Take the guy in the video below, out for a fairly sedate ride with his girlfriend on his BMW S1000RR. I won’t spoil what happens next, so check out the video after the break.

First, I should point out that this took place in Australia, where they ride on the left (wrong) side of the road. The rider wasn’t at fault, and you can see how quickly things nearly turned bad. There wasn’t any time to react, and it isn’t until you see the slow motion footage that you really what a close call this was.

If you ride, let this video serve as a warning to always expect the unexpected. If you drive, the same rule applies, and if you can’t hold your lane (for any reason), you shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

Source: StreetFire

Redshift is what happens when stuff moves away from you really, really quickly. And that’s what electric motorcycle startup BRD hopes their new RedShift MX bike will do on the trails—at least until its batteries run out. 

Motocross. Screaming two-stroke monsters spitting thick blue smoke, dust and vaporized rubber. Not anymore. San Francisco-based electric motorcycle startup BRD has built a pair of motocross bikes that are as quiet and soothing as fluttering butterfly wings. The RedShift MX and RedShift SM are 250-cc equivalent electric bikes that are built to tear up dirt and get downright grimy without burning precious dino juice.

Both bikes have 40 horsepower and weight around 250 pounds, putting them on par with 250cc bikes like the KTM 250 SX-F. But torque—there are gobs of the stuff right off the line for burnout dust cloud generation or epic wheelies.

The bike is built like a modern motocrosser with a stiff monocoque chassis and cutting-edge long-travel suspension. The motor and battery are stressed and placed for optimal weight distribution.

What about range? The bike is good for 50 miles—if you don’t ride it like a maniac. The guys at BRD, however, want you to ride like a maniac. CEO Marc Fenigstein told Wired. “We expect people to ride the snot out of these in a way that hasn’t been possible on previous electrics. That’s going to affect the range and we want to be careful about getting the specification right.”

If you ride it properly, expect about 25 miles to a single charge.

Other details like release date and price remain nebulous, however Wired says the bike will retail for around $15,000. That’s a lot of scratch for a little bike, but its the price you pay for going green.

Source: Wired

I’ve always said that motorcycle cops are some of the best riders on the planet. Their training course, in virtually any department, is among the most challenging things you can do in law enforcement. These guys throw around 700 pound Harleys like they were scooters, and their low-speed bike handling skills are second to none.

This video comes from a recent “rodeo” event in Grand Prairie, TX. I’ve been riding for a lot of years, and I’ll say this flat out: I doubt I could run the course without hitting a cone on a 250cc bike, let alone a full size Harley. I know for certain that I couldn’t match this guy’s time, no matter what I was riding. Despite the comments at the end of the video, a single training course won’t have you riding like this: what you see here takes years of practice, and a lot of low speed crashing.

Source: You Tube

Why yes, that is more than the space shuttle...

At first, I took this video to be nothing more than hype. After all, the final space shuttle launch will draw a ton of publicity, so Aprilia will get a lot of hits on the video because of it. Some of the comparisons are beyond ridiculous (“A space shuttle costs $1.7 billion. An Aprilia RSV4 costs $16,999”), as is comparing a motorcycle to the most complex vehicle ever designed and built by mankind. That aside, the video is done well and comes across as a fitting tribute to the end of the space shuttle program. Maybe if NASA had Aprilia’s marketing department, we’d still have a space program.

The problem with sportbikes is that they’re tricky to ride anywhere near the limit. Take launching one, for example: too much throttle and you either light the rear tire of loft the front end; too little throttle and you suddenly find yourself looking at every other rider’s taillight. Then there’s the issue of power-on wheelies exiting corners; sure, they’re fun, but they’re also slow. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could buy a sportbike that minimized problems like this without slowing you down? You can, and it’s called the Aprilia RSV4. Equipped with all the techno-wizardry you need to make you a better rider, the bike is way smarter than the average rider. The video below explains what Aprilia’s Performance Ride Control can do better than I can, but be warned: you still have to supply your own common sense.

Electric motorcycles can be ponderous things, battery-laden hulks that awkwardly lope around the track. But not the Amarok. It’s light and lithe, a nimble and ferocious beast that tears at the tarmac. It’s the creation of Canadian builder Michael Uhlarik and at just 325 pounds, it’s the lightest TTXGP racing bike ever created.

Amarok is Inuit for “wolf” and the bike certainly looks like a gaunt predator. Uhlarik built it from scratch in his Quebec garage using common lightweight materials like aluminum and chromoly steel. And unlike most electric race bikes, it was designed from the ground up to run on batteries. In fact, the Amarok is batteries. The entire bike is built around a compact and lightweight battery box backbone. Everything bolts to the battery core, making a significantly lighter bike. That also makes the Amarok more efficient—it can run on a 7.5-kilowatt-hour battery whereas most race bikes need 12 kwh or more.

The Amarok uses the same powerful Agni 95 motors as the venerable Mavizen (and Chip Yate’s 190-mph beast), but in the Amarok they’re pushing less bike. That makes the Amarok one of the quickest-accelerating electric race bikes ever made.

The Amarok is one of only a few in the TTXGP that were designed from the ground up to be electric bikes. Others include the MotoCzysz E1pc, which won at the Isle of Man and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last year, the Brammo Empulse RR and the Mission R. And all those were built by relatively big shops. Uhlarik hopes to best those outfits, which would be a big win for backyard engineers everywhere.

Source: Wired Autopia

As a kid I was always fascinated with anything that had a petrol engine attached to it. Be it a scooter, go-kart, motorcycle or automobile. If it was powered by an engine I wanted a piece of it. It wasn’t until around 1988 or so that I got my first taste of open road freedom by way of a little 50cc Honda scooter called the Spree. It had a top speed of about 35 mph and was, quite honestly, everything that I had built it up to be. The Spree was fun and got me from Point A to Point B, but it wasn’t until college that I really started having fun with motorcycles. I started out with a 1986 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, then bumped to a 1987 Yamaha Radian and then finally, right before I graduated I purchased a 1990 Ducati 750 Sport. Since then I’ve had around twenty or so bikes ranging from Ducati 916′s and 998′s to a Kawasaki KLR 650 and an MZ Baghira. The 1990′s were truly where I had the most fun on bikes which is why I decided to put together a listing of 10 Influential Motorcycles from the 1990′s.

• 1994 Ducati 916

Power: 114 bhp
Top Speed: 162
Place of Origin: Italy

Significance: Designed by Massimo Tamburini and Sergio Robbiano, the Ducati 916 is still considered to be one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever produced. Items like the single-sided swingarm, under seat exhaust and dual catlike headlamps are still design elements that are mimicked today.

• 1992 Honda NR750

Power: 125 bhp
Top Speed: 159 mph
Place of Origin: Japan

Significance: The Honda NR750 utilized oval pistons that allowed for eight valves per cylinder thus increasing power output due to the increased air/fuel mixture throughput and compression.

• 1997 Bimota VDue

Power: 110 bhp
Top Speed: 165 mph
Place of Origin: Italy

Significance: Two-stroke 500cc 900 degree v-twin that utilized and in-house designed fuel injection system that was built do meet strict U.S. emission laws. These are very limited as only 340 were produced.

• 1999 Aprilia RSV Mille

Power: 128 bhp
Top Speed: 167 mph
Place of Origin: Italy

Significance: Coming on strong in 1999 the Aprilia RSV Mille 1000 was the first real Italian motorcycle to give rival Ducati a run for their money in the consumer market.

• 1994 Harley Davidson VR-1000

Power: 135 bhp
Top Speed: 170 mph
Place of Origin: United States

Significance: Designed to be raced in World Superbike competition, the Harley-Davidson VR-1000 was an ingenious design, but was unfortunately too slow to keep up with the competition.

• 1993 Yamaha VMax

Power: 102 bhp
Top Speed: 135 mph
Place of Origin: Japan

Significance: Even though the VMax or “Mad Max” was released during the 1985 model year, Yamaha’s V4 muscle cruiser was the first bike to take on, and beat sport bikes in straight line comparison tests. Production of the VMax still continues today.

• 1992 Kawasaki ZX7R

Power: 105 bhp
Top Speed: 149 mph
Place of Origin: Japan

Significance: With massive 43 mm inverted front forks, a lightweight aluminum twin-spar frame, and rear Uni-Trak suspension system, the Kawasaki ZX7-R is credited with 9 AMA superbike championship victories.

• 1998 MV Agusta F4 750S Serie Oro

Power: 126 bhp
Top Speed: 173
Place of Origin: Italy

Significance: Like the Ducati 916, the MV Agusta F4 was designed by Massimo Tamburini. However where the Ducati utilized a 90 degree V-twin for power, the MV was powered by a liquid cooled inline four cylinder.

• 1990 BMW K1

Power: 100 bhp
Top Speed: 149 mph
Place of Origin: Germany

Significance: Originally designed by BMW as an open road sports tourer, the BMW K1 was more of a technology packed designed study. It utilized a single sided paralever swing-arm, shaft drive, and had a world class leading drag coefficient of 0.38. Styling is of the love it, or leave it variety.

• 1993 Ducati Monster

Power: 65 bhp
Top Speed: 128 mph
Place of Origin: Italy

Significance: The first bike that blended open air urban comfort and sport bike handling with drop dead gorgeous styling and full-on hooligan capabilities.