Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler behind new custom cruisers

Motorcycles and rock 'n' roll have been linked together since the 1950s, and this connection is vividly made with the introduction of Dirico Motorcycles.
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler lends his star power to the Dirico project, boasting a love of motorcycling that he says creates a sense of freedom he can’t find elsewhere.
Dirico Motorcycles is a collaboration between Tyler, his neighbor Mark Dirico, and his cousin Stephen Talarico.
“The talent and brains behind this is Mark Dirico,” says Talarico plainly. The man whose name is on the tank has an engineering background and specializes in machine design, a field in which he holds more than 20 patents. One of his other companies has the capacity to produce 4 million boxes a day!

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is getting into the bike-building business with his engineering neighbor, Mark Dirico. Photo by the author.

Talarico’s role is in providing marketing savvy as well as the facilities to build the bikes out of his impressive Manchester Harley-Davidson dealership in New Hampshire. Three full-time builders work out of the shop, and the company says it takes about 10 days to build a bike from start to finish.

Steven Tyler poses on the hot-rod Dirico Speedster. Photo by the author.

A Steven Tyler autograph is a no-extra-charge option on every Dirico motorcycle. Photo by the author.

As for Tyler’s contributions, the rocker says it’s mostly in “tweaks and details,” adding, “It’s an ongoing process with Mark.”
It was back in September 2007 when the company first announced its debut under the Red Wing Motorcycles brand, a reference to Aerosmith’s winged logo. But Honda didn’t take kindly to another motorcycle company having ties to the red-wing theme that is part of its trademark. “It was a fiasco,” Talarico comments. “Honda came after us and they were relentless.”
And so the company’s name became the less imaginative Dirico Motorcycles (I personally think “Aerocycles” might’ve been more provocative…), launched at a time when boutique chopper brands aren’t really in step with a tanking economy.
“The V-Twin market is really constricting right now, and we’re carving out a little niche” says Talarico. “We’re not giving up.”
“We’re trying to have fun with the products we’re doing,” Tyler interjects.
To get the word out, Dirico brought out a group of motojournalists to sample its three-model lineup around the lovely New England area surrounding Boston. Prior to our ride day, I asked Talarico what makes Dirico’s bikes different from other limited-production cruisers, and he responded with a cowboy boot analogy: “Some are uncomfortable, but a Lucchese boot feels like slippers.”
To maximize reliability and meet emissions requirements, Dirico uses off-the-shelf Harley-Davidson engines, both standard lumps and also Screamin’ Eagle versions. They are said to be 49-state emissions-legal if the muffler baffles are installed, which they weren’t. Ease of servicing is also ensured by the fitment of H-D switchgear, gauges and various other bits. The frames, however, are proprietary pieces drawn up by Mark Dirico and built by Rolling Thunder in Canada.
Custom options are virtually unlimited, and nowhere else can you get a Steven Tyler-autographed electric guitar in the same shade as your bike (for an extra $250). Signed fenders are free if you want ’em. Each bike comes standard with a 2-year unlimited-miles warranty.
Flyer
The retro-themed Flyer is perhaps the most appealing bike in Dirico’s lineup, offering cool, throwback styling with company’s lowest price point. Now, $31,900 ain’t chump change, but it’s not outrageous in the custom bike world.

The Flyer, with its springer front end and deep fenders, looks vintage but isn’t.

The Flyer is defined by three elements: the springer front end, large vintage-style steel fenders, and the spoked wheels with color-matched rims. It’s a tidy package with 61 inches between its axles, and that old-school springer fork is raked at a fairly modest 28 degrees. Together with reasonably sized Metzeler rubber (130/90-16, 150/80-16) and a 660-lb claimed dry weight, the Flyer is imbued with a charming deftness unlike most contemporary choppers.
A 26-inch seat height combined with a beach cruiser handlebar and well-placed floorboards keep a rider mellow, only becoming ungainly during U-turns when the wide bar will test your reach. The H-D high-mount speedo/odo is easy to see, and the bike ably fits riders of various sizes.

Duke gives the Flyer a blurry thumbs-up.

Ride and handling qualities are quite good, and the springer front end appears to have benefited from Mark Dirico’s “playing with the springs,” as it offered decent compliance and control. A weak front brake (Harley again) is disappointing but not entirely unexpected from a bike of this genre.
The Harley-sourced seat on the bike I rode was mismatched for this chassis, as the seat back rubbed obnoxiously on my tailbone. It turns out that Dirico is instead choosing another H-D seat for its production versions, and a quick test-sit revealed that it immediately feels much more hospitable.
To keep the Flyer’s price in the low-$30K zone, Dirico uses a stock Twin-Cam 88B Harley motor for power. As you’d expect from the 1450cc Harley lump, it’s very well behaved and offers great throttle response, even if it won’t yank your arms out of their sockets. Still, it feels sprightly enough for its intended purposes, and its counterbalancer keep unwanted vibes at bay. However, I was less appreciative of the two-into-one Thunderheader that had its baffles removed from its flat-black muffler. To my ears, the popping on the overrun sounds like firecrackers going off inside a trash can, but your ears may disagree.

More options...

The Flyer – with the new seat – is an enjoyable place to watch the scenery go by as you rumble through. The production versions of the Flyer will have pan-style heads, a kickstarter and body-color frames. Though a list of options wasn’t available to peruse, there’s a veritable cornucopia of accessories for the Flyer, everything from chrome fork springs, fender lights and bolt-on windshields.
Speedster

The Speedster, the bike we never rode...

Although built in the same vintage style as the Flyer, the Speedster is the hot-rod in Dirico’s lineup, as it boasts the 110-cubic-inch Screamin’ Eagle motor. It’s safe to assume that it has a much bigger kick than the TC88B in the Flyer, but assume is all I can do since another journo hogged the only one on our ride! It lists for a spendy $39,900.
Pro Street
There’s nothing vintage about this low, stretched-out chop, throwing out a 36-degree rake with a 71-inch wheelbase to create a stylish contemporary cruiser. A nice line extends from the headlight through the tank and over the 25.5-inch seat height. Dual frame downtubes bend inward in a stylish flourish, while the rear is punctuated by a fat chunk of 240mm Metzeler that rides on a Softail-style rear suspension.

This is Steven Tyler’s personal bike. To our knowledge, this is the only bike in the world that has had the asses of both Duke and Tyler on it.

The Pro Street is comprehensively slathered with deep chrome from the headlight housing and Marzocchi inverted fork to the wheels, motor and Samson Big Guns 3 exhaust. Braided cables add some more bling, while H-D switchgear and gauges don’t look out of place and function well. It even uses the H-D fuel gauge incorporated into the faux filler cap. Turn signals are nicely integrated into the mirrors and the brake light for a clean look.
The Pro Street isn’t the only one with a good stance, as the rider layout is accommodating for a bike of this ilk. The stock bar position puts a rider into a slight reach for the grips, creating a curved spine that is good at counteracting big bumps. I also got the chance to ride Tyler’s personal Pro Street,

The Pro Street has a preference for straight lines, but it is also quite content on the backroads of New Hampshire. Note the running lights and turn signals in the mirrors.

If Duke could figure out how to write while he’s riding, he’d be a lot more productive. harley davis

and it was equipped with taller bar risers which also provided a comfortable position. Grips are chrome jobbies with rubber inserts that were more comfortable than expected, and I was happy to feel forward controls that weren’t much of a stretch for a 32-inch inseam. The only comfort caveat is a scooped Corbin seat that rubbed me and my lower back the wrong way.
Despite the 21-inch front wheel residing in the next zip code, the 680-lb (claimed, dry) Pro Street isn’t overly cantankerous in its slow-speed handling. Metzeler has done a fine job producing a wide rear tire (240/40-18) that doesn’t radically spoil a bike’s handling. Not that the BG3 exhaust system allows much lean angle in right-hand turns. Also earning demerits was the frame of one bike that suffered a cracking effect in the  powder-coating, but Dirico assures us this was the result of an improper finishing process that has since been rectified.
The Pro Street’s suspension works surprisingly well for a fat-tire bike, aided by the long wheelbase and a well-damped fork. But the massive weight of the rear wheel and tire makes it impossible for the rear to smoothly follow bumps in the road. Although the brakes are just standard Harley items, they offer decent power and feel though braided-steel lines.
Unlike the more docile Flyer, the Pro Street uses a 103 c.i. Screamin’ Eagle motor that produces bigger bangs which can be easily felt on the butt dyno. The 1690cc V-Twin feels vigorous when the throttle is pinned, yet it also reacts coolly when just puttering around thanks to H-D fuel injection.
A revelation was found when I experienced a Baker Drivetrain 6-speed transmission for the first time. It shifts with much more precision than the 5-speed Harley tranny in the Flyer, a ka-click rather than a ka-clunk, and is a pleasure to use. Harley, call Burt Baker!

The Pro Street looks great and works well, but it might be held back by a shrinking market for riders looking for a $39K bike.

The Pro Street is a nicely finished, bad-ass-attractive scoot that will appeal to anyone in the market for such a machine. But at a list price of $38,900, it’s hard to figure out why it costs $14K more than the similar-themed Big Dog Coyote we recently tested, even though that Dog is more of a chopper than the hunkered-down Dirico Pro Street.
And this high-end price tag is what will hurt Dirico the most in these trying times. The days of a quick re-fi to fund a chopper fascination are behind us.
“In some respects we may have missed the bus,” says Talarico, “but we don’t care. We never designed this business to make money. This is a passion for all three of us.”
That passion, and presumably some deep pockets, are hitting a certain market. Dirico has already put 47 of its bikes in the hands of well-to-do riders, and one of its current customers is the wife of Russia’s Minster of Fisheries, a six-foot-one model. A custom Boston Bruins theme bike is also in progress, and a distributor has been set up in Japan.

This Pro Street will be sent to the wife of Russia’s Minster of Fisheries. We’ll guess she didn’t have to pay the extra $250 for the autographed matching guitar.

We’ll leave you with a statement from Dirico about the positioning of the company: “Designed and hand-built for seamless function, Dirico motorcycles are statements of craftsmanship, style, detail, and innovation, expressed through modern-age components yet assembled with old-world skill. Clearly not for everyone, Dirico motorcycles are designed to resonate with the more experienced rider who wants to be distinctive but not entirely different.”
The lingering question only you can answer is, how much is that (and a Steven Tyler autograph) worth to you?

Five Minutes With Casey Stoner

Like most top MotoGP riders, Casey Stoner holds a press briefing every afternoon during a race weekend. At Valencia, on the eve of his retirement, the 27-year-old outgoing premier-class world champion was asked several questions, to which he provided forthright replies.
Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron was first to raise his hand. “When you were at Ducati,” he began, “you said the rider had no role in development, that the engineers gave you a motorcycle and you were obliged to ride it. Was that the same situation at Honda?”
“No,” replied Stoner. “Toward the end at Ducati, I had the engineers working with me a lot better. But, unfortunately, the people above weren’t giving us the funds to push things forward more.
“At Honda, I haven’t found that at all. Since the first moment that I went there, everything I asked for, every bit of input, everything we thought would move us forward, they’ve tried to produce it, to get it to us and help us through these seasons. They’re very much about working with the rider.
“If you don’t work with the riders, then you can’t really move anything further forward because the rider has all of the input. There’s only so much data that you can pull off a bike that actually makes sense.”
Unlike the wet morning practice, conditions were such Friday afternoon that only 11 riders lapped the newly repaved track within 107 percent of the time set by Aspar Aprilia’s Randy de Puniet. Stoner was one of five, including newly crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who skipped the session.
“Disappointing day?” asked veteran writer Michael Scott.
“Yeah,” replied Stoner. “Big time. The surface sucks, especially in the wet. It doesn’t drain away at all. It’s very slippery. There’s no traction whatsoever. And, in general, I don’t feel the bumps are gone. There are a few major bumps that are better than last year, but, in general, I actually feel a lot more consistency of smaller bumps around the whole circuit now.
“There are also a couple of big joints in critical braking points that are not in the best position. And [the track] holds a lot of water in that place also.”
Asked if his retirement has “sunk in,” Stoner once again stressed he was not second-guessing his decision to leave the sport. “I make realistic decisions,” he said. “I’m not going to get to this point and think that I’ve made the wrong decision or a whole run of emotions are going to overtake me. I think a lot with my head and not always with my heart.
“It feels a little different that I’m not speaking about next year,” he admitted. “But, in general, it’s still the same once I’m in the box.”
On Monday, when other riders are preparing for Tuesday’s test, Stoner will be “packing up.”
Stoner described his injured ankle as “average. In the wet conditions, it wasn’t good today. I couldn’t really get myself off the inside [of the bike] as much as I’d like. So, it was a little bit difficult. We didn’t push at all this morning; I didn’t want to take any risks.”
“What do you think makes Lorenzo world champion?” asked another writer.
“Extreme consistency,” replied Stoner. “He was either first or second when he wasn’t taken out in a crash. It hasn’t necessarily been raw speed—Dani [Pedrosa] and I have been faster than him quite often this year.
“He rode a fantastic season and would have been very difficult to beat no matter what.”

Where Is The Motorcycle Going?2013

Big motorcycle shows like EICMA always raise the big questions. It was easy to answer them at similar shows held right after WWII: People needed transportation, they needed it cheap and they needed it now, and motorcycles were the answer.
Today, it’s harder. Before the present economic downturn, motorcycling had enjoyed its longest-ever boom years; but now, only the well-fixed folk can buy what was hot back in 2007. For the rest of us, any bike that costs more than a decent used economy car could easily be too much. Manufacturers have responded slowly, with lower-priced and more-utilitarian hardware such as Honda’s NC700X.
But as we marched through the great halls of EICMA, we saw endless choices in every shape, color and intended use. In the old days, motorcycles came in good, better or best; today, the simple idea of two wheels, an engine and a place to sit has multiplied into commuter, tourer, sportbike, enduro, adventure, standard, cruiser. They are all competently designed from basic principles.

What this tells us is that motorcycles have come so far from their original basis as minimum transportation that they are now as various and as style-driven as clothing. How does this bike make me feel? Does this one make me look fat? Does this color go with my eyes? In more prosperous times, motorcycles evolved into free-choice additions to our rich, complex lives, alongside a hybrid car for socially responsible commuting and an Armageddon SUV with blacked-out windows for towing the boat. And then, the depression of 2008 hit.So, there we were at the Milan show, surveying motorcycling’s still-dizzying richness of choice and hoping economic recovery soon brings it all back within reach of the many who could last afford it five years ago

Clash of the Italian Middleweight Exotics – Comparison Test 01

We have a soft spot for the “characters” of the motorcycle world. That’s why we were excited to throw a leg over the new 675cc, inline-Triple-powered MV Agusta F3. Like the Triumph Daytona 675 before it, this Italian-made middleweight flips the bird at the conventional 600cc-supersport-displacement norm by packing a supersized engine into its lightweight chassis. Which is exactly what Ducati has been doing with its middleweight V-Twin for years: slowly upping the ante until the pot added up to its present 849cc.
In our November issue, we asked the question, “What is a middleweight?” The answer, as it turns out, was rather complicated, requiring mathematics, expert opinion (ours!) and some fudging to explain. But no matter how we justify it, these two motorcycles fit perfectly into the definition we came up with and clearly illustrate the wide varieties of engines that populate the class.
So, by now you are probably wondering where the hell the Triumph Daytona 675 is in this comparison? After all, it is the most obvious adversary to go head-to-head with the MV. Unfortunately, Triumph was unable to provide a Daytona for this test, so we’ll have to throw one into the mix in the future.
There was no way that Road Test Editor Don Canet and I were going to miss spending half a day at the Streets of Willow Springs after we were given approval. For the occasion, we spooned a set of Pirelli Supercorsa SP tires onto the MV to match the Ducati EVO Corse SE, which gets that sticky race rubber standard. (Additionally, the SE gets an Öhlins shock, larger 330mm front brake discs, TC and a quick-shifter compared to the standard EVO.)
On paper, the $13,498 MV F3 and $14,995 Ducati are a pretty close match. But due to their unique engine configurations, each offers advantages in some areas that the other just can’t match.
At the dragstrip, the ultra-torquey Ducati (63.6 ft.-lb. peak at 9360 rpm) easily got the jump on the MV (47.3 at 11,210), and the latter was not quite able to run the Duc down as it closed in at the quarter-mile marker. It posted a 130.1-mph terminal speed in 10.81 seconds compared to the Ducati’s 10.66/131.9-mph blast. Canet reported that the MV was very difficult to get off the line, requiring 10,000-plus-rpm launches followed by a battle with a grabby clutch. No such issues hindered the 848.
Measured top speed was close, as well. The EVO’s 121.5 horsepower helped it sprint to 163 mph, and although the 117.1-hp F3 pulled hard—its triple exhaust pipes belting out a glorious sound reminiscent of an F-1 car’s—it plowed into its rev limiter in sixth gear, six mph short of the Ducati’s best.
Although low overall gearing hindered the MV Agusta’s top speed, it likely helped the 675 put a serious spanking on the 848 in top-gear roll-ons, with 40-60 taking only 3.6 seconds compared to 4.2, and 60-80 3⁄10ths quicker than the 848’s 4.2.

 

[ Great effort was taken by MV Agusta to keep the price of its first-ever middleweight sportbike within the same galaxy as the competition. MSRP is just $799 more than the Triumph Daytona 675R and within $1800 of the most expensive 600cc inline-Four from Japan, the Suzuki GSX-R600. ]But what do all these numbers mean both in the real world and on the racetrack? Well, with the MV, that’s not so simple, since the engine’s output characteristics are so widely adjustable, and figuring out the myriad of electronic functions in its Motor and Vehicle Integrated Control System (MVICS) involves a steep learning curve. Amongst its menus are Normal, Rain, Sport and Custom mode, the first three of which have default settings for initial throttle sensitivity, maximum torque output, engine braking, engine response and a hard or soft rev limiter. The eight-level traction-control system can be adjusted independently for any mode other than Rain, while the Custom map allows multiple options for all of the aforementioned parameters. Add in a quick-shifter that can be turned on and off, and the choices can be overwhelming.By comparison, the Ducati is much simpler. A quick-shifter and a very effective TC system are its only electronic means of optimizing traction and drive.Given all its electronic options, the MV required some experimentation when we first got to the track. “I began in Rain mode for two laps just to feel the full effect of the TC, which defaults to Level 8,” said Canet. “Soft delivery turned the F3 into a real pussycat, but ultimately, the TC was far too intrusive on a dry track.”Both Canet and I worked our way through the modes (on the fly) during our sessions. We ended up doing our quickest MV laps in Sport mode with TC set at level 1 or 2 or with low-intervention TC settings in Custom. But, as I discovered, shutting TC off wasn’t an option, as I almost high-sided even when TC was set to level 1!Once we got in the ballpark and went for fast laps on the F3, some other issues arose. “Now the chassis felt notably livelier with a bit of headshake when accelerating out of some bumpy corners and though the quick side-to-side transitions,” said Canet.

Though the MV’s engine performance is really entertaining, with a broad spread of power from 8000 to its 15,000-rpm redline, keeping the F3 in check calls for a lot more physical effort (getting weight over the front wheel) than is required on the Ducati. A steering damper would be a welcome addition, considering the MV’s short wheelbase, steep front-end geometry and light overall weight (400 lb. dry).
Both Canet and I were consistently quicker at Willow Springs on the EVO (a second and half-a-second, respectively), thanks to the 848’s excellent composure. “Solid chassis stability quickly gained my confidence and allowed me to push the pace,” said Canet. “I really trusted the bike on corner entry and exit, and the brakes were my favorite of this pairing, as well, with a good balance of power and feel.”

[ Unlike Ducati's "S" models, which typically get the entire accessory catalog thrown at them, the EVO SP (a $1000 premium) takes a slightly more conservative approach. Well-chosen upgrades like the Öhlins shock, larger front brake discs and special paint keep the price from skyrocketing. ]Midrange torque from the Duc’s V-Twin provided good drives from as low as 6000 rpm, and the TC system offered more info via sequential dash lights to help judge traction at the limit. Plus, the Ducati’s superior quick-shifter made it easy to keep the bike on the boil with slicker up-changes and no missed gears.By the time our half-day of lapping was over, Don and I were unanimously in favor of the 848. Its superior stability, simpler electronics and torquey engine provided a better platform for going fast. But would the same prove true on California’s highways and byways?In the real world, these two middleweights also have distinctly different personalities. When commuting or riding in stop-and-go traffic, the MV wasn’t very happy. Its fueling is a bit rough compared to the clean-running Ducati’s, and a tall first gear and the high revs required for a smooth launch demanded more attention and effort. And around town, we finally had to shut off the F3’s quick-shifter; it would occasionally select a false neutral instead of the next gear if the longish-throw transmission was not shifted with a wide-open throttle.As for the 848 EVO, its strong bottom-end torque, great clutch and good fuel mapping make for a surprisingly forgiving streetbike—much more so than its big brother, the 1199 Panigale. The Ducati Quick Shifter was faultless regardless of rpm, even on the street at a mellow pace. Add in a nice seat and a slightly less-cramped leg position, and the Ducati is more comfy, despite its low clip-ons putting more weight on your wrists.On mountain roads, the two bikes were much closer. The MV’s sharp handling and light weight gave it an advantage when the tarmac tightened up. But just like on the track, the Ducati’s stability and poise made it easier to ride. So, in most cases, the 848 required less effort than the 675 to go the same speed.After flogging the only two Italian middleweight supersport bikes for a few weeks, we had no doubt which one came out on top. The Ducati 848 EVO SE is just too polished and refined to allow the MV Agusta F3 a chance at victory. In virtually every aspect, the Ducati outclassed the F3, from engine performance to handling to braking to overall rideability. And the 848’s displacement advantage wasn’t necessarily a deciding factor; with 174 fewer cc, it still would have emerged victorious.But the 675 didn’t disappoint, either. We were impressed with MV’s initial attempt in a new and very competitive category. Especially considering that at first, it appeared to have bitten off more than it could chew with an all-new engine and chassis, not to mention the most sophisticated electronics package in the class.So, three cheers to MV for showing Ducati what the future has in store. But bravo to Ducati for showing MV how it’s done now.