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Cross a motorcycle with a small car, and you get a new kind of hybrid -- the three-wheeler Auto makers -- even some big ones, like Daimler-Chrysler's (DCX ) Mercedes-Benz -- have been developing car-motorcycle hybrids and other three-wheeled vehicles for years. But what's different now is that some of these concepts, such as the Volkswagen GX3 unveiled this month at the Los Angeles Auto Show, could actually make it to the marketplace (see BW Online, 1/12/06, "Concept Cars Are Getting Real"). And the GX3, backed by VW's global distribution capability, would stand a chance to develop a niche market....

Easy riders, free loaders The Stockholm chapter of the Hell's Angels biker gang is under investigation for benefit fraud after police noticed that 70 per cent of its members were claiming state disability payments after being certified as depressed by the same doctor. Christer Nilsson, deputy head of Stockholm police's criminal investigation department said: "It seems to be depressing being a member of this club." The Hell's Angels have a violent reputation in Scandinavia, allegedly participating in frequent shootouts and bomb attacks. However, in recent years they are believed to have branched out into benefit and tax frauds, police said.

LAHORE, Pakistan Feb 13, 2006 (AP)— Gunmen on a motorcycle Monday killed a Pakistani doctor who spent six months in jail on suspicions of harboring al-Qaida suspects and possessing illegal weapons. Some in this eastern city blamed the United States for the shooting of Ahmad Javed Khawaja, who had spent much of his life in the United States. A protest of about 500 people erupted shortly after the killing, with many shouting "Death to America!" as they blocked a street and set tires on fire. Khawaja, 72, was attacked while walking to his clinic after morning prayers at a mosque,...

MOTORCYCLE DESIGN TROPHY 2005 10 February 2006 The overall winner of the 2005 Motorcycle Design of the Year has been announced; The winner was the Ducati Hypermotard concept bike, with the runner-up bike being the Yamaha MT-OS. Other bikes which were highly rated by a panel of motorcycle designers included the Yamaha R6, MotoCzysz C1, Aprilia RS125 and the Victory Vision. Presentation of the awards will take place later in the year - full details will be announced on the MDA website.

Fawlty powers ... two weeks in jail if fans goose-step like Basil GERMAN cops will use sweeping powers to collar England fans doing Basil Fawlty-style Hitler impressions at the World Cup. Yobs will be instantly banged up for TWO WEEKS if they goose-step like John Cleese in his most famous Fawlty Towers scene. And hard core louts who give Nazi salutes — like the one jokingly made by Michael Barrymore in Celebrity Big Brother — could be hauled before a judge within 24 hours. If convicted of inciting hatred they will face jail terms of up to THREE YEARS....

Redesigned for 2006, the flagship CBR1000RR hits all the marks, trimming pounds but improving performance and looks Whether on the track or on the street, Honda proposes the question: Was its new 2006 CBR1000RR redesigned to be the fastest bike for the ultimate rider or as a fast bike for the widest range of riders -- including those with a little less experience who are curious to get a glimpse of life in the fast lane? Honda (HMC ) claims to have done both with its new model. I was invited along with a few other motojournalists for a firsthand...

Karl Logan, lead guitarist of heavy metal powerhouse Manowar, was injured on Tuesday, January 24th 2006 in a motorcycle accident. Logan sustained severe injuries to his left arm, which will prevent him from performing for an as-yet-unknown period of time. "Manowar will have to reconsider all of our plans, but the good news is that Karl is ok and he'll be back stronger than ever," says Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio. Logan was preparing to record his lead guitar parts for the upcoming, yet to be named, Manowar album, the release of which will now be delayed. Touring plans are also...

Health Care Denied Imagine you went to work one day, and your boss handed you a memo that said your employer, to protect the benefits of “responsible” employees, would no longer cover motorcycle-related injuries under the company’s health insurance? Plus, the company wouldn’t make good on its employee life insurance policy if you were killed in a motorcycle crash. You’d still be covered if you did almost anything else: bungee jumping, skydiving, scuba diving, skiing. Just not on your motorcycle. Outrageous? We think so. But that’s exactly what happened this summer to hundreds of workers at the American Coal...

They’d have to stop for red lights and check for traffic but then could proceed. Street-level complaints sometimes inspire letters to lawmakers. But Sumter resident Billy “Reb” Richardson took his concern one step further. He was inspired to write a law. Richardson got tired of getting stuck at traffic lights riding around the state on his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle. His solution: Let motorcyclists drive through a red light once they have stopped and checked for traffic. Traffic lights often are triggered by sensors that pick up metal and mass when a vehicle stops on them, but some modern motorcycles...

LEBANESE youths and ethnic "lions" from Melbourne are preparing to join Sydney's race riots, with busloads of troublemakers rumoured to be heading north. Expectations among the young Lebanese community in western Sydney that further trouble will develop over the weekend comes despite calls from their religious leaders, police and politicians for both sides to calm down. One 22-year-old ethnic Lebanese man yesterday told The Australian he and his friends were ready for a turf war. "The boys reckon it'll be like a scene out of Braveheart," he said. Sources within the Lebanese community said three busloads of young men from...

The recent gang riots in Toledo, Ohio has produced a renewed interest in the issue of street gangs and their criminal activities. Americans were shocked at news broadcasts showing gang members on the streets of Toledo looting, breaking into homes and torching buildings. The news media template for the rioting is that these thugs were anguished and enraged over a group of Neo-Nazis protesting on the streets considered the territory of gang members. But an honest view of news footage of the gang members rioting displayed an atmosphere of celebration and lawlessness rather than anguish. The violence broke out about...

'I have always striven to be your full-service column-writer. For example, for readers who are not as immersed in the news as we copy editors, I have written helpful summary guides covering clowns such as Cindy ("Warmonger!") Sheehan and Joe ("Spy Leak!") Wilson. Then, two weeks ago, I described how to feed yourself until next February on just $400 by producing a Big Blue Bucket of Meat. Therefore, you should not be surprised that today I'm offering even more valuable information. I want to tell you how to beat the price of gas. The answer is simple: the motor scooter....

Greenville officer arrests man who stole his motorcycle Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Greenville police officer found his stolen motorcycle after stopping a truck that didn't have its headlights on. Cpl. Jeremiah Motz said he saw a pickup driving through his apartment complex parking lot early Saturday morning with a bike in the back. "I was shocked," said Motz, who confirmed the motorcycle was the one taken from his yard the day before by checking the license tag. When the driver spotted the officer, he sped off, according to a police report. The truck eventually pulled over in a...

(09-29) 9:24 PDT FORT ROSS -- The body of a Santa Rosa motorcyclist missing since Sept. 19 has been found along with her bike several hundred feet down a cliff off Highway 1 in Sonoma County, police said. Melinda Moore, 40, an avid biker and student at Santa Rosa Junior College, had last been seen by her fiance when she left the Santa Rosa home the couple shared. On Wednesday, a caller told police he had found a motorcycle helmet that day that matched the description of Moore's. He found the helmet on a rock alongside Highway 1 about 3...

A night before a driver pinned Igor Kruk's motorcycle to the back of a sport utility vehicle with his car, killing Kruk in what police are calling a fit of road rage, Kruk had a dream his bike was in pieces on the ground and that he was unable to put it together, his family said yesterday.

Friday, September 23, 2005 Highway accident have been avoided with a helmet? Erin Stein of Lee was not wearing a helmet Wednesday night when he lost control of the motorcycle he was driving and crashed into a tree in downtown Dover Wednesday night. He was 32 years old and now he is dead. Would a helmet have saved his life, or were his injuries of such a nature that he would have died anyway? People at the scene did everything they could to make Erin Stein comfortable. Dover firefighters did everything they were trained to do. But it was too...

A UNITED Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America. England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest. The study, based on telephone interviews with victims of crime in 21 countries, found that more than 2,000 Scots were attacked every week, almost ten times the official police figures. They include non-sexual crimes of violence and serious assaults. Violent crime has doubled in Scotland over the past 20 years and levels, per head of population,...

CHEYENNE, WYO. - A man and a woman on a motorcycle were killed when they tried to turn around on Interstate 80 and were struck by a tractor-trailer rig near Pine Bluffs. David M. Rhoades, 55, and Lillian K. Rhoades, 50, both of Lewisville, Texas, stopped alongside the eastbound lanes Saturday to take pictures of the Nebraska state sign, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. David Rhoades then drove their 1995 Harley-Davidson across the median. He pulled into the path of a Volvo tractor-trailer, which hit the motorcycle broadside. The truck driver was not hurt.

Double Standards for Hooliganism Apology Letters In response to "Poland Asked to Apologize," a news article on Aug. 2. Editor, I was saddened to read about the attacks in Warsaw on the Russian diplomat's children and their Kazakh friend. I hope the police are able to apprehend the attackers quickly and that they are punished as severely as the law allows. I was also surprised at Russia's response to the attacks. Since I live in Russia, it does seem rather strange that the Russian government should be so upset over a mere act of hooliganism, the kind that routinely takes...

Poland expresses regret over 'hooligan' attack on Russian teenagers 01.08.2005 Poland has expressed regret over an attack of the children of Russian diplomats in Warsaw. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry described it as ‘an act of bandits and hooligans’ but stressed that it was without any political or international overtones. ‘This should not be linked to any kind of political action against the Russian Federation’, he said. Three teenaged sons of Russian diplomats and a young Kazakh national were attacked and robbed in a Warsaw park by a group of young Poles. All four victims were hospitalized. Nine people...