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Using a little girl as an eerie voiceover for a scary flick is not something new, however, using the same eerie little girl as voiceover for the new Kawasaki Z1000 ad, now that’s new!

You’ve got to give props to the guys behind this ad campaign for thinking out of the box. Who would’ve thought a 1000cc Jap bike, and a child, and some neat sound effects would create such a captivating advert? One thing is for sure – it makes, even us, want to get on one of these and wreak havoc during after dark escapades involving “bending” the law and disturbing the peace. Just looking at it after watching the video awakens the sinister side inside you – and it should. Priced at a reasonable $13 199, you get all the evil you can handle in the form of a 4-cylinder that summons 128BHP from the bowels of hell, belching it through a 4 –into-2 lightweight exhaust. Not-so-dark features include fully adjustable front forks and instrument binnacle and an equally dexterous windscreen. Making sure the nightmare comes to a halt when absolutely necessary are 300mm ventilated discs with 4-pot calipers. Long live the darkness!

Video: 2011 Kawasaki Z1000 Comes With Nightmares as Standard originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 14 October 2010 22:15 EST.

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Ducati’s brand new all-muscle street machine finally has a name and a debut date. It’s called the Diavel (Dee-ah-vel), which is Bolognese for Devil. That’s pretty nostalgic considering it was called that internally by the engineers who designed the little devil, much in the same way the “Monster” got its name 20 years earlier. Expect the Diavel to encompass everything we love about Ducati’s; lightweight, agile, and powerful while still being unique. ABS, Ducati Traction Control, and Ducati Riding Modes are all standard equipment and should help deliver a confidence-inspiring ride, while the Superbike-derived Testastretta 11° engine delivers the oomph. The bike weighs just 207kg (456lb) so it will be quick - anywhere.

Details are still sketchy at the moment, but you can bet on us keeping you up to date as they develop. Be at the EICMA International Motorcycle Show in Milan during November 2nd-7th and be among the first to see this machine hit the metal.

Ducati Diavel to Debut at EICMA originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 13 October 2010 09:00 EST.

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David Philippaerts of Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team will be unable to race for the incoming 64th Motocross of Nations due to an injury he sustained while showing off raging speed during the 2nd Moto race. Apparently, Philippaerts twisted his right knee and was unable to complete the race securing a third position in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship on the factory YZ450FM. The rider immediately went back to his home in Milan for a medical check-up that revealed that, although it was not serious enough to need surgery, his knee would require adequate rest for a period of twenty days before the 2008 world champion could begin light cycling routines.

On the other hand, luck comes to Gautier Paulin as Team Yamaha chose him to represent France in the MX1 category with a YZ450FM. “While I am sorry for Christophe this is an exciting news for me and I am proud to represent France as part of a strong team. There is not much time to prepare but we are working hard now to get ready on the bike and be as fast as possible for Thunder Valley”, Paulin said.

Hit the jump for the rest of the story.

Philippaerts injured; Paulin selected for Motocross of Nations originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 17 September 2010 17:15 EST.

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Team Yamaha Sterilgarda seems to be geared up and well-prepared for the upcoming 2011 World Sportbike with the finalization of their line of superb riders competing for the much-awaited match. Along with MotoGP rider Marco Melandri fighting for the title, Yamaha has also enlisted World Supersport rider, Eugene Laverty, to ride for the team. For the 2011 season, the 24-year-old Irish rider, who was last year’s WSS runner-up, will ride Yamaha Sterilgarda’s YZF-R1 Superbike.

In 2009, Eugene Laverty was racing for Parkalgar Honda when he trailed Yamaha Sterilgarda rider, Cal Crutchlow, to finish in second place. Currently, Laverty trails Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu by 12 points in the 2010 World Supersport Championship. He currently holds seven wins this year in 11 races.

This isn’t Eugene Laverty’s first ride with Yamaha. The young rider was famous for greatly showing off at the 250cc MotoGP Championship while enjoying two wild card World Supersport rides in 2008 due to an injury sustained by Fabien Foret. Laverty was noted to be very impressive during those times by finishing third in his second outing at Vallelunga.

Hit the jump for the full story.

Eugene Laverty signs up with Yamaha WSS team originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 17 September 2010 14:15 EST.

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AFT Metric Custom’s newest motorcycle “Kemosabe” built by the AFT Motorsports Models will be premiering at the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show
Sunday July 18th 2010 at the The Queen Mary Park, Long Beach CA.

AFT Custom bikes garnered Best of Show and 1st Place Metric Custom the last 2 years and went on to be featured in the FastDates.com Motorcycle PinUp Calendars. Official video and press release are well worth checking out after the jump.

“Kemosabe” Bonneville racer custom by AFT Customs, the star of the 2010 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 6 May 2010 14:32 EST.

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Former 250 racer Roland Sands recently finished work on his latest café racer, one that originally started life as a Harley-Davidson XR1200.

The bike looks miles away from the production version and considering the multitude of upgrades and modifications, it’s hard to find the best starting point. Probably the Ohlins forks, radial brakes and the front billet aluminum wheel from Performance Machine might represent just that, but it is a long way to the Ducati-like tubular single-sided arm and Ohlins shock at the back.

You’ll find that Roland Sands’ Harley-Davidson XR1200 cafe racer features clip-on handlebars and rearsets, a 2-1 from Vance and Hines as well as chain drive, just to mention a few of its unique features. Furthermore, the single seat behind the standard tank is what gives the bike that café racer look.

With a black-out chassis and a pentagram RSD logo and a 666 number over the matt black paint, this also qualifies as Satan’s machine. So what do you think about it?

Harley-Davidson XR1200 caf