Motorcycles

Gallery: Highlights from the 2018 American International Motorcycle Expo

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Roland Sands built this extraordinary KRV5 tracker, a gorgeous custom built around a Kenny Roberts V5 MotoGP engine (circa 2002-05)
Our buddies Cat and Kinsy at Leod Escapes were at AIM, promoting their international sport touring and MotoGP track packages
Two-strokes are king of the hill again in the dirt biking world: the new Gas Gas XC300
Dragonfire has optioned up this Can-Am Maverick X3 Max with thousands of dollars of aftermarket extras
Amstar Motors focuses on extremely humble and efficient bikes with classic looks. Here's the 49cc Nostalgia 49.
Amstar's Rocky 49 offers a little off-road capability
Zongshen's Ryuka 150: takes some design cues from the Benelli TnT125.
A gem from the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle club: Honda's original 1979 CBX1000, with its iconic barrel-chested six-cylinder engine
A police-issue version of Honda's hugely popular CB750 from 1970. The siren is mechanically activated by forcing a friction drum against the rear tire as you ride.
The mighty 1975 Kawasaki H2 Mk IV 750.
Yamaha launches its all-new R3 sportsbike
The one and only 1956 Yamaha YC-1 in America. It's a 174cc two-stroke featuring the first Japanese-made monobloc carburettor.
Check out this magnificent beast. William Henderson fashioned his early-1900s large capacity machines as "the Duesenberg of motorcycles." This example appears to be from somewhere between 1913-1915, before the wheelbase was shortened. It features a 934cc inline four-cylinder engine, making a mighty seven horsepower.
MSI Wheels built the 34-inch monster on the front of this lurid custom trike, built by Shannon Davidson from Chop Shop, North Carolina.
We're glad this bike runs hydraulic lifters, otherwise that front suspension would be the definition of short travel.
Harley-Davidson's FXDR 114 power cruiser, new for 2019, has the ability to corner some
2018 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide 117
The custom Indian FTR750 flat tracker used by Travis Pastrana in his recent trio of Evel Knievel tribute jumps in Las Vegas.
Travis Pastrana is very much the Evel Knievel of today's world - although a thousand times more accomplished than the man who inspired him. It was fitting that Pastrana got to recreate and surpass some of Knievel's most famous jumps - and on a bike far less jump-friendly than his regular motocross machines, to boot.
The Stylish Indian Scout
Riders went a little nuts on this Virtual Reality supercross racing game, provided by the Legends and Heroes of Supercross tour
The new Royal Enfield twins on display after their huge launch in California
SYM's Wolf Classic 150 is a budget machine with a 65mph top speed and classic UJM styling
SYM's new Wolf CR300i brings a bigger motor and cafe racer styling to the table
SYM's Wolf CR300i cafe racer in white
Suzuki's stand at the AIMExpo - with the new V-Strom front and center
DongFang is another Chinese manufacturer that's getting up to speed with super cheap, stylish low capacity offerings like this DF250RTD fat-tire single.
Is that a Kawasaki Ninja 300? No, it's not. And there's something very odd about it. Can you spot it?
Perhaps this angle will help. Despite the, shall we say, heavily Kawasaki-influenced sportsbike bodywork, this is actually a 300cc scooter, complete with CV transmission. DongFang makes a series of odd bike/scooter hybrids like this, with bodywork to echo bikes like Yamaha's R3 and Ducati's XDiavel.
New colors for Suzuki's GSX250R
Yamaha FJ09, tricked out with hand-made Higdonion accessories like that skid plate and urban crash bars
Crazy trike-makers Vanderhall at AIMExpo
Vanderhall's single-seat Venice Speedster touring trike
The new Vanderhall Carmel autocycle roadster is a two-seater with a 180-horsepower 4cyl turbo engine and a 0-60 sprint time around 4 seconds
Vanderhall's brand-new Carmel, unveiled at AIM, is the highest-priced machine in the company's lineup, with a focus on luxury - at least, as much luxury as is possible in a tiny, open roadster like this!
New graphics and a US$9,999 pricetag for Kawasaki's Z900 in 2019
Kawasaki's new ZX-6R was the focus of its AIM presentation
Yamaha launched its sexy new 300cc R3 sportsbike at AIM
How's that for a 300? The new model brings the R3 into line with Yamaha's sexy 600 and 1000-class sportsbikes
We'll always have a soft spot for the Yamaha MT-07/FZ-07, even if it's grey with orange wheels
K&N brought out this mint 1982 Suzuki Katana. Our photographer made loud and undignified noises when he saw it.
While the Givi stand at AIM was quite small, the company's range of soft and hard luggage and accessories is absolutely colossal
Triumph's Tiger 1200 adventure tourer
AIM is a great place to check out just about every aftermarket accessory and replacement part under the sun
Honda's presence at AIM 2018
Unable to hit Euro 4 emissions standards, Honda's CBR600RR supersport bike is off the menu in Europe. It's still available in the USA, but the 600 class isn't what it used to be, and many wonder how long it'll hang in there.
It's hard to overstate the importance of the venerable Cub, one of Honda's most successful machines ever
The 2019 Honda Monkey, relaunched after the Grom made it clear there was still a market for tiny giggle-bikes
Honda's VFR1200X, a V4 adventure tourer
Honda's Africa Twin and its up-spec Sport DCT variant (pictured here) get new paint jobs and pricetags for 2019. This bike is now going for US$15,699 plus destination charges
It's still so odd to look at a thousand-cc ADV bike and see a gaping hole where the clutch should be
The standard Africa Twin, complete with clutch lever, is now US$13,499 plus destination charges
Honda's CRF450RX is one of four CRF450 models for 2019 - effectively it's the R model motocross bike with the thumb-starter and suspension from the X model enduro bike. It's also got 3-stage launch control, so it's not here to mess about.
Honda's CRF450L is a much-anticipated road/trail machine featuring serious performance figures
Many trailer-shy dirt bikers are extremely excited about the upcoming CRF450L street-legal enduro machine.
Skidbike's lead product is an adjustable rider training device that lets riders experiment with braking techniques and sliding the bike without the risk of gravel rash
The DTV Shredder brings dual-track stand-up shenanigans to the off-road market
The New Zealand-built Ubco 2x2 is an unique 2WD electric utility machine
Our buddy Jocelin Snow's BMW R1200GS, freshly returned from the 2018 GS Trophy through the USA, South Africa and Mongolia. She's at AIMExpo promoting Sena's Bluetooth communications gear.
Sena's fully integrated Momentum smart helmet range
The Zero Resistance Throttle puts a pair of bearings between your throttle tube and handlebar, making for an extremely light and friction-free throttle that doesn't wear against the handlebar
Yamaha's YZ-series dirt bike family
Argo's Hydratek D2488B, an amphibious, dual-tracked ATV
Argo's Hydratek D2488B: rubber tracks plus twin props and generous ground clearance make this thing nigh-on unstoppable
Argo's Hydratek D2488B: in the cockpit
Kawasaki's outrageous H2 Carbon gets a generous step up in power for 2019
Kawasaki's hugely popular Z900RS, cafe racer edition
The Z900RS, in red/black
Analogue dash is true to the Z900RS's roots
SMPro's delectable Platinum series aftermarket rims at the Avon tire stand
AIMExpo offered all sorts of opportunities to ride the latest bikes
Try-out rides from many major brands in the Vegas sunshine
Line 'em up! Kawasaki demo rides at AIMExpo
China is ramping up its aftermarket parts export business
Stand after stand of Chinese replacement parts and fairings
Pimped-out Honda Groms: still very much a thing
The Goonies Grom Squad: minibike stunting specialists
Roland Sands Design kitted out an Indian Scout as a Super Hooligan bike
Roland Sands built this extraordinary KRV5 tracker, a gorgeous custom built around a Kenny Roberts V5 MotoGP engine (circa 2002-05)
RSD KRV5: 200-plus horsepower V5 engine inspired by Honda's famous MotoGP donk
RSD built "No Regrets" here as part of the Biker Build-Off television show in a span of two weeks.
No Regrets: 124 ci twin-cam Harley engine makes 150 horsepower
No Regrets by RSD: that tail looks like it could sting you
Who knew Victory went racing? The brand has now been discontinued under Polaris ownership.
Teufelhunden, or "devil dogs" is what German soldiers once called Americans. Fitting on this tricked-out BMW R NineT!
We're not sure how lucky we'd feel if our primary purpose was interfacing with biker backsides, but this RSD seat design looks on the bright side
This guy was custom-painting Bell helmets, but wasn't the talkative type
San Diego Customs brought its FXADV, an adventure bike built around a Harley motor. That underslung rear brake rotor looks like a bit of a liability to us, and this would have to be the first ADV bike we've seen with fourteen-inch handlebar risers.
Hodaka's Road Toad, a 100cc cutie from the 70s.
View gallery - 88 images

The American International Motorcycle Expo is run and done for 2018, featuring all sorts of two-wheeled contributions from all over the world. Take a look at the new, the old, the weird and the wonderful as our AIMExpo photo gallery takes you through the halls in Las Vegas.

Worldwide launches this year included Yamaha's very sexy new R3, a new ZX-6R 636 from Kawasaki, complete with traction control and a quickshifter, and a new top-of-the-line twin-seat three-wheel luxury Carmel roadster from Vanderhall's range of retro-styled oddities.

The new Vanderhall Carmel autocycle roadster is a two-seater with a 180-horsepower 4cyl turbo engine and a 0-60 sprint time around 4 seconds

Probably our favorite of the vintage bikes on display was the exquisitely-kept Henderson below, from somewhere between 1913-1915. Using nearly 1000cc worth of displacement from its four-cylinder engine, this luxury "Duesenberg of motorcycles" made a whopping 7 horsepower.

Check out this magnificent beast. William Henderson fashioned his early-1900s large capacity machines as "the Duesenberg of motorcycles." This example appears to be from somewhere between 1913-1915, before the wheelbase was shortened. It features a 934cc inline four-cylinder engine, making a mighty seven horsepower.

The Asian presence at AIM was impossible to ignore, with a flood of Chinese small capacity bikes and scooters, as well as booth after booth of aftermarket parts suppliers lining the halls. While quality seems to be improving year by year, the Chinese attitude to copyright was clear to see. Take a look at the fascinating 300cc bike below from DongFang. Its fairings look a lot like the ones you'd find on a Kawasaki Ninja 300, but it's actually a CVT scooter, as you can see by the swingarm-mounted motor.

Perhaps this angle will help. Despite the, shall we say, heavily Kawasaki-influenced sportsbike bodywork, this is actually a 300cc scooter, complete with CV transmission. DongFang makes a series of odd bike/scooter hybrids like this, with bodywork to echo bikes like Yamaha's R3 and Ducati's XDiavel.

AIM certainly wasn't restricted to two wheels, with a number of trikes and ATVs on display. But there was little to compete in the "how many wheels have you got" stakes with Argo's extreme ATVs, some of which feature rubber tank-style tracks, and most of which are amphibious, enabling them to cross the roughest and wettest terrain you can throw at them.

Argo's Hydratek D2488B: rubber tracks plus twin props and generous ground clearance make this thing nigh-on unstoppable

On the custom bike front, as well as the exquisite RSD KRV5 in the hero shot above, which was built around a Kenny Roberts V5 MotoGP engine from the early 2000s, the bike below caught our eye. It's an adventure machine, built around a Harley engine and christened the FXADV by San Diego Customs.

San Diego Customs brought its FXADV, an adventure bike built around a Harley motor. That underslung rear brake rotor looks like a bit of a liability to us, and this would have to be the first ADV bike we've seen with fourteen-inch handlebar risers.

Jump into the gallery to see the rest of the best of AIMExpo 2018.

View gallery - 88 images
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1 comment
ljaques
2 words: Shredder and Argo. Talk about nonstandard fun.
I miss my friends' old Hodaka Combat Wombats, which I used to race on the motocross course near our house in my '62 Corvair convertible. Gettin' Air in a Corvair! Fond old memories popped up when I saw the last pic of the Hodaka.