DEPT OF WEIRD MOTORCYCLE TIE-UPS

Triumph Breitling Edition Speed Twin

We’re not totally convinced about matching up a £16k Triumph Speed Twin with a £4500 Breitling watch. But then we’re Apple Watch men around here, daddio! The special edition Speed Twin is a handsome beastie, with natty blue paint to match the dial on the Breitling Top Time watch. It’s limited to 270 copies and allows you to buy the equally limited edition watch to match. You’ll know if this is the sort of thing for you.

KTM Brabus 1300 R

Brabus? Isn’t that the firm that makes add-on wings and big alloy wheels for smart cars? Well, yes, and it does do some decent stuff for other cars, especially big fast Mercedes-Benz autobahn-bashers. But what is it doing here, on our favourite nutter supernaked V-twin, the KTM Super Duke? Well, the firms have ‘teamed up’ to produce the first Brabus bike, based on the wild Austrian 1290. It’s mostly a cosmetic and chassis upgrade, though there is a Brabus silencer and a quick-action throttle, so the 180bhp motor should be extra-peppy. It also has forged rims, WP APEX semi-active suspension, WP PRO steering damper, and a load of CNC-machined chassis bracketry and carbon panels. Just 77 of each colour will be made – black or red – and they all sold out within two minutes of going on sale, even at the £35k price tag…

Ducati XDiavel Nera

So far, we’ve had watches and cars, so what about settees? Bizarrely, this Ducati XDiavel Nera features a special leather seat from high-end Italian furniture maker Poltrona Frau. Imagine, if you will, a DFS edition Triumph Rocket 3 (okay, don’t do that actually).

It’s a lovely leather saddle, we’re sure, and the XDiavel is a proper performance cruiser with its 160bhp 1262 V-twin motor. But at £25,895, you’ll probably need to be a big Poltrona Frau fan to put an order in on one of the 500 limited editions.

Most of you will be well aware of our old mate Andy Ibbott – either from reading his words or being taught how to go round corners faster… He started out his career as a road tester here at Fast Bikes in the mid-1990s, then moving to MCN, before launching the California Superbike School here in the UK and throughout Europe.

He’s had some health issues in recent years, having suffered a massive stroke during a life-saving operation in 2011. But he hasn’t let that slow him down – and now he’s taking on Mount Everest to raise funds for the excellent Two Wheels for Life charity. Andy will be climbing to Everest Base Camp in May and aims to raise £10,000 to support the MotoGP-backed charity. Good luck sir!

Find out more and donate here: www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/andy-ibbott