Coco Mademoiselle (updated)

I know it's fake and she isn't really riding the bike but... I can't help but love this video clip.

Happy Birthday Italia

CR&S celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy with the construction of the VUN Tricolore.

I Mille (the one thousand)

On this day, one hundred and fifty years ago, the peninsula of Italy was united as one nation. One of the decisive acts in uniting the disparate Italian states was the famous march of Giuseppe Garibaldi. In 1860, with a force of just 1000 volunteers (the redshirts), Garibaldi sailed from Genova (in the north) to conquer the island of Sicily. After decisive victories, and with his army swelling in numbers, he crossed to the mainland and marched north conquering Naples and uniting with the Piedmontese army from the north. This campaign led to the eventual unification of the Italian peninsula and its freedom from various foreign powers of the day (France and the Habsburg empire).

 Giuseppe Garibaldi

Il Tricolore

Il tricolore, the three colors (green, white and red) of the Italian flag, originate from the days of the 'first Italian republic'. This was comprised mainly of the northern Italian regions of Lombardia and Romagna (i.e. CR&S territory).

The VUN Tricolore will be on display at the "Esperienza Italia" exhibition in Turin. The event celebrates the anniversary of the Italian Unity. After one month of exposure, the VUN will will be substituted by a Tricolore version of the CR&S DUU.

Italy in Crisis

The Italian leadership of today seems blithely out of step with current world events: The Italian premiere fawns over and publicly kisses the hand of Muammar Gaddafi, who upon returning to his kingdom of Libya, begins to brutally repress and murder his people; Japan struggles to prevent a major nuclear disaster, while Italy prepares to hold a referendum on whether to allow the construction of nuclear reactors on Italy's earthquake-prone territory (the referendum is worded in such a way that if you are against changing the law to allow nuclear reactors you must answer "yes" - 'furbo').

Today, in Italy, it is difficult to find someone who is enthusiastic about 150 years of Italian unity. The nation seems increasingly divided into various factions: north vs south, communists vs fascists, AC Milan vs Juventus. And while public attention is diverted over such intractable divides, political and global business interests are exporting the country's industrial heart. The place and status of women in Italian society is being undermined and eroded at all levels by the mainstream media, the advertising industry and of course the scandalous acts of its political leadership. The once proud performing arts are being axed, even the ancient excavated city of Pompeii has begun to collapse, building by building, through bungling and neglect.

Perhaps it is time, once again, to remember the fateful words of Giuseppe Garibaldi: Qui si fa l'Italia o si muore.

VUN photos gratefully supplied by motoblog.it.

Second Hand VUNs Online

CR&S is now hosting a second hand VUN market on its company website. The site is a service to current VUN owners who want to connect with future VUN owners. If you are looking for a VUN motorcycle at a more affordable price then this is a good place to start.

There are currently two VUNs on sale at this site:

These VUNs are selling at €11,800 and €12,500 respectively. Every VUN is unique with its own specification and customization. For more details visit the CR&S second hand web page.

The motorcycles listed on this site are certified to be original CR&S motorcycles. CR&S Motorcycles is not directly involved in the trade-ins. The page is only a service for CR&S customers.

VUN Eye Candy

Oliver Thiel, of Thiel Motorsport, is planning a new "big bike killer" VUN. The all important graphic design details are being finalized and if these are anything to go by this VUN will really turn heads.

The design is by Steven Flier from Stuttgart, Germany. Steven was recently responsible for this iconic BMW 1000RR design...

Oliver's plans include a target weight of 120kg with 70-75HP.

Motus MST

The Motus motorcycle company has just released this video of the sports touring bike they have been developing over the past few years. The project is coming along nicely, and that V-4 engine sounds great.

Sounds like they are using a "big bang" firing order as per the current Ducati Desmoseidici Moto GP bike. But the Motus has a longitudinally-mounted crankshaft (a-la Moto Guzzi) powering the rear wheel via a drive shaft rather than a chain.

Given that a small team of enthusiasts can get this far on a shoestring, seems to me that Moto Guzzi just haven't been trying in recent years (decades). Bad for them, and the countless Moto Guzzi fans around the world... good for Motus.

Jungle Boogie

Below: Deus Ex Machina's new Temple of Enthusiasm in Bali.

Deus Ex Machina - Temple Of Enthusiasm, Bali from Deus Customs on Vimeo



1978 XS650 from Deus Customs on Vimeo

Above: the simple essence of motorcycling + I want a t-shirt like that!

VUN Marathon in Circulation

CR&S enthusiast and friend, Maurizio Primo, is #27 in the growing line of DUU customers. Maurizio recently fulfilled his wish to participate in Germany's famous wintertime "Elephant Rally" (Elefantentreffen), on a CR&S motorcycle. Since the DUU is still preparing to go into production, CR&S made their VUN Marathon available for Maurizio's trip.

The VUN Marathon was last in action during Claudio Zanoni's 18,000km round trip of Europe in just 29 days!!

The Elephant Rally takes place on the first weekend in February or the last weekend in January each year in the Bavarian Forest of Germany. It is organized by the Federal Association of Motorcycle Riders in Germany. Each year between 5,000 and 10,000 riders from all over Europe brave the winter conditions to participate in the rally.

More on the VΨRUS 986 M2

In this video (in Italian) VΨRUS motorcycle's Ascanio Rodorigo, talks about the new VΨRUS 986 M2 project. He says that 2011 will be a development year for the race bike project therefore we cannot expect to see VΨRUS compete in Moto 2 until the 2012 season. However, private enthusiasts will be able to purchase track versions of the bike this year and street versions by September.

Pricing for the street version should be €25,000 and €55,000 for the track model. The track version will weigh in at 135kg with around 136CV peak power (nice square figures).

VΨRUS Moto 2 Race Bike

News at this month's Verona Bike Expo was that VΨRUS motorcycles has produced a Moto 2 race bike for this year's Moto 2 race series.

For those who don't know who VΨRUS is, it is a boutique motorcycle manufacturer out of the coastal Italian town of Rimini who produce hand-built hub-center steered motorcycles. Until now, all of their models used either Ducati 4-valve superbike or Ducati 2-valve supersport engines. The company was born out of the ashes of the collapse of the Bimota factory (one of the many collapses). Design plans and technical staff were available at the time to advance one of Bimota's most ambitious projects, a hub-center steered superbike.

Now Bimota too has risen from the ashes and is also producing a hub-center steered, Ducati engined superbike. This leaves VΨRUS in a difficult situation. There are now two boutique companies based in Rimini who both produce a Ducati-engined hub-center steered superbike, based on the same original design.

Producing a Moto 2 race bike using their hub-center steered designs is a logical and extremely ambitious move for VΨRUS. It proves that they believe in their hub-center steered concept and are willing to put their ideas to the ultimate test. All Moto 2 race bikes must utilize the same Honda 600cc engines and engine management systems. Thus chassis, setup, aerodynamics, tires and rider ability are the deciding factors in who wins or looses. This makes Moto 2 the perfect format for advanced and alternative chassis designs. It is interesting, and somewhat disappointing, that no one else competing in Moto 2 has taken the opportunity to think out of the box. More kudos to VΨRUS for being the first.

To top it all off, VΨRUS has now announced plans to put a street-legal version of this bike into production by September this year! It should be amazing!

With the introduction of MV Agusta's F3 last November, Triumph's already successful 675cc Daytona, and now the VΨRUS 600 - middle-weight sports bikes are where all the most exciting developments are occurring right now. This is logical given the weight and handling advantage a middle-weight has over a full-sized 1000cc plus superbike. The only advantage a superbike has is in horsepower, but this is hardly an advantage on normal roads when you are comparing say 130hp against 190hp. With 130hp you are drinking from the garden hose on full whereas with 190hp you are drinking from a fire hose. Either way you can't drink all that water, but the fire hose will make you a lot more than just wet.

Thanks to MotoBlog.it for allowing the use of this photo.