Tuesday 30 September 2014

Evan

Photo Noel Feeney

Photo Noel Feeney


#GPZBurnout #GPZ1100 #TonerLeathers #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Cat Girl

Cat Girl






































 #CatGirl #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Cat Girl


Cat Girl by Otto Schmidt





Illustration by Otto Schmidt


#CatGirl #OttoSchmidt #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Origami Panigale

So, today the Kawasaki H2 was unveiled at the Intermot show in Cologne. This should come as a surprise to no-one because Kawasaki have been releasing a series of teasers for the last couple of weeks. I watched the first few but found them a bit frustrating and not very interesting and so I didn't bother with the rest of them.

(I have a very short attention span and if I go to the trouble of clicking on something, you better reward me pretty quickly! Whatchagonnado!? It's the way god made me...)

Anyhow, despite the teasers I was looking forward to seeing the thing.

Kawasaki H2


Well, the thing everyone should be getting all excited about is the alleged 300hp motor. But the thing everyone is actually getting exciting about, is the fucking winglets!

So what is it? Well its a litre super-bike with a supercharger putting out 300hp. That's a lot. Currently, state of the art super-bikes are nudging 200hp so that extra 100hp is quite a leap. There are already turbocharged Hayabusas putting out more power than this, but typically they're lowered and stretched to promote stability whereas the H2 looks like a regular sport-bike (quite a lot like a Panigale, in fact!). So presumably, the winglets are there to produce down-force to stop the thing from looping at high speed.

But they don't look very plausible. And by the time you get to go into your local dealership and buy a H2, I don't think it'll be making 300hp, so maybe you won't need them...



Every now and then a motorcycle comes along and changes the game. In the late sixties, Honda reinvented the motorcycle with the four cylinder overhead cam CB750 and the in 1973 Kawasaki changed the world with the DOHC 900cc Z1. And pretty much every four cylinder motorcycle produced ever since owes the Z1 a debt of gratitude.

In the mid '80s, Kawasaki pulled another trick with the liquid cooled, 150mph GPZ900.

In my memory, the game-changer that stands out is the Honda Fireblade. Prior to the Fireblade, top class sport-bikes were big fat powerful things with the emphasis on power and maximum speed (FZR1000s, GSXR1100 etc). The Fireblade turned all that on its head. Yes it was powerful (130hp used to be powerful) but the emphasis was on light weight and handling and all your modern-day sports-bikes owe the '92 Fireblade a debt.

The Buell XB series came out in 2003 and was ignored by pretty much everyone ('cept me, I bought one). But then a couple of years later, sports bikes started to grow underslung exhausts and tiny wheelbases. And they'd probably be sporting rim mounted brakes discs if it wasn't for patent restrictions. Just sayin'...

And then there are bikes that cause a whole load of fuss upon their release but don't really make much of an impact. There are probably a couple of these every year, but the best example I can think of is the six cylinder Honda CBX1000. Did it change the game? No, not so much. Six cylinder engines just never really caught on. It was (and still is) a spectacular thing, but its a bit of a dinosaur from an evolutionary standpoint.

So the new H2? Is it the new Fireblade? Or is it the new CBX?

I dunno...

It's much easier to be disparaging of new things than to look at them without prejudice. I remember when the first Hayabusa came out in 1999 with its controversial bodywork - I thought it was repulsive. I also remember that the first time I saw one, I made a point of overtaking it on my CX, in the rain, on the Darndale roundabout just so I could show the Hayabusa pilot my disparaging look.

So I can clearly remember having very strong negative feelings about it, but I can't remember why. Because now, I think the first Hayabusa is a thing of great beauty and one day, I'll probably buy one.

So the Kawasaki H2? Only time will tell...



#OrigamiPanigale #KawasakiH2 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Monday 29 September 2014

Stealth Ruckus

Stealth Ruckus


























#StealthRuckus #StealthZoomer #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Lazareth FZR1000

Lazareth FZR1000


#Lazareth #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Scrambler Girl

Scrambler Girl


 










































#ScramblerGirl #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Church of Choppers FLH

Image by Jeff Wright


Image by Jeff Wright


#ChurchOfChoppers #CHVRCH #FTWCO #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Manga Scooter Girl

Manga Scooter Girl


#MangaScooterGirl #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage


Rei Ayanami

Neon Genesis Evangelion


#ReiAyanami #NeonGenesisEvangelion #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Asuka Langley Soryu

Asuka Langley Soryu




Image Unknown


#AsukaLangleySoryu #NeonGenesisEvangelion #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage


Sunday 28 September 2014

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I want to live in Japan...

Neon Genesis Evangelion


























#NeonGenesisEvangelion #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tech 21

Tech 21 Yamaha Endurance Racer


#Shiseido #Tech21 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Hiroyuki Ogawa

Oga's always a big hit with the girls!

Hiroyuki Ogawa


#HiroyukiOgawa #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Urban Cafe Style

Urban Cafe Style





































#UrbanCafeStyle #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Ashley Lammela

Ashley Lammela































#AshleyLammela #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Rei

I heart Japan.

Neon Genesis Evangelion



















































#ReiAyanami #NeonGenesisEvangelion #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Saturday 27 September 2014

Shiseido Tech 21

I need one of these. Full scale...

Tech 21 Yamaha Endurance Racer

Tech 21 Yamaha Endurance Racer

Tech 21 Yamaha Endurance Racer

Tech 21 Yamaha Endurance Racer




























#Shiseido #Tech21 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Algerian Sahara

Algerian Sahara




#AlgerianSahara #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tintin

Tintin


#Tintin #SideCar #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Poison Town

Poison Town



































#PoisonTown #LennyValentino #SideCar #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sailcat

Sailcat





























#SailCat #SideCar #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Drag Bars


Drag Bars





































#DragBars #WheelieBars #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Friday 26 September 2014

Honda Scrambler

This is a thing of perfection...

Honda Scrambler


#HondaScrambler #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

GSXR Racers

GSXR Racers


#GSXRSlabSide #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Suzuka GPZ

Suzuka GPZ


#SuzukaGPZ #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Thursday 25 September 2014

Racers

Racers






































#ShiseidoYamaha #YamahaFZR #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Shiseido Yamaha FZR 750/OW74

1985 Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Racer. This thing is beautiful...

Shiseido Yamaha FZR 750/OW74



http://www.mercenary.ie/2014/09/mecha.html


#ShiseidoYamaha #YamahaFZR #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

On Any Sunday

The Next Chapter

On Any Sunday  - The Next Chapter






































#OnAnySunday #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Desmo Design

Radical Ducati closed it's doors a while back, leaving open the possibility that they may be back to produce a bike from time to time.

This is a concept from Desmo Design in a Radical Ducati stylee. I don't think it's actually a Radical Ducati.

It's nice though...

Desmo Design




#RadicalDucati #DesmoDesign #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Slammed 848

Here at MERCENARY we revile all forms of snobbery. We like to promote inclusiveness and to show love to and cherish all the weird, fucked up, ugly Ducatis that no-one else likes.

Except the Sport Classic. The Sport Classic can fuck off!

Slammed 848


#SlammedDucati #StretchedDucati #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

M.A.D KUUSAA Caddy

Y'know, if you really want to impress MERCENARY, do a burnout in the back of the Caddy while doing a burnout in the Caddy!!

M.A.D KUUSAA Caddy

#MadKUUSAA #VWCaddy #Burnout #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Infamous Team

If this doesn't make you want to buy a Team Infamous hoodie, I don't know what will...

Get yours here - http://theinfamousteam.com/pl/sklep-online/

Infamous Team

























#TeamInfamous #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Ed Turner Motorcycles

This bike has featured on MERCENARY before. It's now been modified slightly with a hand-made aluminium tank.

Ed Turner Motorcycles


#EdTurnerMotorcycles #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Wednesday 24 September 2014

OEM

Old Empire Motorcycles


#OldEmpireMotorcycles #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Ducati Sidecar

"I know! Lets take one of the sweetest handling bikes in the world and stick a sidecar on it! It'll be great!"

"Mmmmokay..."

Ducati Sidecar


#DucatiSidecar #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

WTF?

WTF?


#StuntGirl #Stoppie #TriumphStunts #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Scrambler

Pic by Paul Macleod Photography


Pic by Paul Macleod Photography


#TriumphScrambler #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

SBAY

SBAY


#SBAY #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Stealth KLR

Mercenary Garage - Stealth KLR 250

Mercenary Garage - Stealth KLR 250


#StealthKLR #BlackOpsKLR #MurderedOutKLR #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Monday 22 September 2014

Emmelie Aslin

Emmelie Aslin


#IndianStyle #EmmelieAslin #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Leopard Style

IDK...

Did the girl and her leopards just wander into the frame as the photographer took the shot? I mean, she looks a little bit surprised...

Or maybe the photographer just can't stand BMWs either...

Leopard Style


#LeopardStyle #BMWHp2 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Triumph

Triumph Style


#TriumphCafe #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Yupadee Vongtaveesub

Girl got style...

Yupadee Vongtaveesub


#YupadeeVongtaveesub #StuntStyle #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sunday 21 September 2014

Triumph Hurricane

I love this!

It's a beautiful layout with vibrant colours, but it makes absolutely no sense!

Go modern, Go Triumph - Fair enough. Despite it's pushrod engine the three-cylinder Hurricane looked pretty futuristic. With its speed-stripes and multitude of exhaust pipes it looked like it was designed by Hanna Barbera (Scooby Do, Whacky Races etc.) but in fact it was designed by Craig Vetter who is probably better known for the Windjammer fairing and various fuel-efficient streamliners.

It was way ahead of its time in terms of styling and it's hard to believe that such a conservative company (Triumph of Merriden) could produce something so positively psychedelic!*

So, on the one hand we have Go Modern, Go Triumph and a crazy acid trip of a motorcycle and it all makes a certain amount of sense if you're going after a young, West Coast, American market.

But then in the foreground, entirely upstaging the bike, we have a diamond encrusted posh tottie armed with a riding crop and a fucking jaguar! The girl is lovely and she seems happy enough - I imagine David Niven is off to one side, reassuringly holding her fur coat and a glass of cognac. But the jaguar looks a bit unsure of himself - he's thinking, why the fuck am I here? I usually do car commercials!

As a designer myself, I can imagine how that happened. The graphic design company got the brief from the dealerships who wanted to tap into the youth market. The designers thought this was a great idea, got off their tits on acid by way of research and came up with something that looked like a Jimi Hendrix poster, all paisley and psychedelic typography.

This didn't fly with the mobsters from the dealerships though. They wanted it Frank-Sinatrafied, y'know, a bit more Vegas! Hence the showgirl, the diamonds and the jaguar. Then in a vain attempt to pull it all together, the copywriter came up with "For Wild-life enthusiasts everywhere."

It's rubbish!

But that doesn't matter! It's wonderful!

The past is a foreign country... it's nice to go there on holiday.

Triumph X-75 Hurricane

Illustration - Murray Robertson


*In fact it was the American dealerships that demanded the Hurricane, it wasn't really a Merriden initiative.



#Triumph #TriumphHurricane  #CraigVetter #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Siege

Siege Vintage Motocross Models


#Siege #Husqvarna #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage