Motorcycles tend to do one well, and the other horribly. Which is why if you want to ride both surfaces you should have two. Nick Kleinfelder‘s friend’s father done just that, owning a Suzuki RMZ 250 and a Yamaha XV 750 Virago, both of which Nick has recreated for him as a Christmas gift. Clever parts usage and a some immensely fiddly looking connections make these bikes some of the most realistic at this scale we’ve seen yet, and you can hit the pavement or the dirt via the link above.
LEGO’s officially licensed motorcycle range is about to get bigger!
Yes, following the fantastic recent 41207 Ducati Panigale V4 R and 42130 BMW M 1000 RR Technic sets, LEGO are bringing not just a new superbike but a new manufacturer to the line-up. This is the brand new 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP.
Constructed from almost 1,500 pieces, the new 42159 set recreates Yamaha’s flagship 1000cc 4-cylinder superbike in Technic form, and brings with it a whole host of new pieces too.
Working suspension front and rear (the front using the lovely gold shock-tubes seen on the 42107 Ducati), a 4-cylinder engine with (gold) chain drive, functioning steering, bright blue wheels (the design of which debuted on the 42130 BMW M 1000 RR) and a three-speed gearbox all feature, with the latter of these likely be of the most interest to Technic builders.
That’s because the Yamaha’s gearbox debuts a slew of all-new transmission components, including shift drum, shift fork, gear shift ring and ratchet drum parts.
These new pieces are rather brightly coloured when compared to the grey components of old, but we suspect that won’t matter too much to those eager to deploy them in their own builds.
An augmented reality app, physical and digital building instructions, a display stand, and the prerequisite black box with ’18+’ printed on it ensure that the new LEGO Technic 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP is a set pitched squarely at adults, as does the £200 price of admission when it reaches stores in August 2023.
Expect those new transmission components to be changing hands for similarly hefty prices very soon after…
…is all you need to move yourself about. And – as anyone that’s familiar with transport methods in many Asian countries will know – not just yourself, but your spouse, children, family dog, and shop. All at once.
The Yamaha 70cc scooter is one of millions and millions that form the backbone of much of the world’s travel, and this 1974 example perfectly captures the simplicity of the real thing.
Built by Marco Gan of Flickr, just a handful of carefully chosen pieces have been used, some of which might be held together by magic.
Climb on board (along with three others, a box of live geese, and shop selling delicious snacks) via the link above, whilst we ready a rather marvellous building competition that celebrates vehicles just like this one…
…Yellow. At least according to F@bz.
F@bz’s ‘Yamaha FY2’ motorbike is an intriguing interpretation of the future of two-wheeled transport, with a design loaded with some properly inventive parts usage.
Technic, System, and Bionicley/RoboRidery pieces have been deployed to wonderful effect and there’s more to see of F@bz’s creation on Flickr via the link.
Is there a more dangerous vehicle than a quad bike? Of course there is, because back in the ’80s you could have one with a wheel missing.
The logic was probably of the bar-stool variety, in that three legs don’t wobble. However when an engine and rider are attached, and one of those legs moves about from side to side, wobbling, followed by crashing, was very much the order of the day.
Still, we would totally have a go, because the fear of tipping over and being pinned to the ground by a ferociously hot lump of clattering metal was half the fun!
Flickr’s Pat Lacroix is helping us reminisce, and you can see more of his superb ’80s ‘Dirt Trike’, complete with rear suspension, steering, and a chain driven engine via the link above. Just have a first aid box ready.
Gosh scramblers are annoying. They’re ridden around TLCB Towers by obnoxious teenagers at full throttle to maximise their irritating noise all the time, and with a top speed of 48mph it means they take a week to disappear from earshot. BNEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Of course if we had a scrambler we’d ride it at full throttle to maximise its irritating noise all the time too, but that’s not the point. They’re bikes for knobs.
Much better is this, George Panteleon (aka ZetoVince)‘s superb Model Team replica of the Yamaha XT550, and not only is it much quieter than its infuriating real-world brethren, George has produced instructions so that you can create this ace motorcycle at home.
Click the link above to head to Flickr for the full gallery and to find that instructional link. BNEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!
This delightfully outrageous concept motorcycle is the work of one Flickr’s most inventive builders, the brilliant F@bz. Inspired by the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie, which is a feat in itself as the movie was one of the most uninspired we’ve seen in recent times, it’s called the Yamaha Hidenka, and there’s more to see at F@bz’ photostream via the link above.
The Lego Car Blog Team own some interesting cars, as you’d probably expect from a website as nerdily automotive as this one, but no motorbikes. This is because if we owned motorcycles this blog would never have made it to five years old, and our organs would now belong to other people.
However despite our aversion to owning motorbikes, we do still rather like them, and fortunately newcomer Nesme Laurent (aka NEMOOZ) allows us to indulge in this passion from the safety of a comfy chair.
Laurent has built almost fifty Technic replica motorcycles, from manufacturers including BMW, Ducati, MV Agusta, Moto Guzzi, Honda, KTM, Yamaha, and Kawasaki, each features a variety of working functions, and instructions are available for many of the designs too.
You can see a selection of Laurent’s builds at his newly created MOCpage, and you can see the full back-catalogue of fifty or so bikes via Brickshelf.
