Motorcycle Touring Guide

I'm soliciting comments about a web site I stumbled across: Motorcycle Touring Guide.
If you have experience with it, please share.

I plan to check it out over the next few weeks. I was frustrated this last summer not having a "theme" to focus our weekend rides (the previous summer I focused on suspension bridges in VA). Maybe this web site will be just the ticket for next summer?

Keep riding...

Ducati Art

Mmmmmm.....Ducati Art.

Electric Motorcycle Sets Speed Record

It's happening...

Electric Motorcycle Sets Speed Record: "Mission Motors, an electric motorcycle startup based in San Francisco, said Tuesday that its prototype vehicle had set a world speed record for battery-powered bikes of 150.059 miles per hour at the Bonneville Speedway in Utah."

Motorcycles that don't require you to squeeze the clutch

I mentioned in a previous post that electric motorcycles may be the future. Between then and now the ongoing efforts to eliminate manually using a clutch to shift gears will likely come to the fore. See below a posting about Honda's latest auto shifter for the next generation VFR. An interesting development that, I assume, is thought to help some potential motorcycle buyers who are uncertain about shifting manual transmissions. I'm not sure I'd ever buy one, but I would like to ride one of these modern marvels.

Honda Dual Clutch Transmission – Automatic Shifting for Big Engine Sport Bikes: "- Original article from: http://TheKneeslider.com - The Kneeslider -
Honda has announced their “Dual Clutch Transmission” for use in large displacement sport bikes. I read through the description of this new bit of technology and it’s pretty interesting, one clutch for odd gears, the other for even gears. Each clutch engages the next gear [...]"

The adventurous grasshopper

During my last morning commute, waiting at a stoplight I noticed a grasshopper sitting on the roof of the car in front of me. He was towards the rear appearing to have his right foward leg holding on to the base of the car's roof mounted radio antenna.

This will make for an interesting experiment: At what speed will the grasshopper be blown off the roof of the car? My guess was something around 35- to 40-mph.

The light turned green and I kept an eye on my speedometer and the intrepid grasshopper as I shifted up through the gears. In no time I was up to 55-mph.

The wind buffeted the grasshopper side to side. But he remained steadfast. I imagined hearing a small scream above the din of road noise. I was impressed. This continued through 3 more lights and I watched the brave hopper hang on as the car continued north when I turned west.

I thought about that hopper for the rest of the day. It occurred to me that he had probably settled on the car's roof hoping to rest for a while. Instead of resting, he had to hang on for dear life heading to places unkown. Suffering hardship along the way, he is no different than any adventurer of any age. The only thing that would have made his experience more fitting would have been to do it on two wheels.

Ride on brave hopper!




-- Post From My iPod touch

Indian Motorcycles Offers Cash for Clunkers

Hmmm....

Not that I'm trying to throw cold water on these nice folks from North Carolina...

At least this attempt at resurrecting the Indian moniker includes a proprietary engine...

But the $3K trade-in amounts to a 10% dent in the $30K MSRP for these bikes. I guess it's nothing to sneeze at, but $27K for what appears to be more or less a Harley-clone with valanced fenders seems high to me. (In fairness, $27K for any 2 wheel vehicle seems high to me.) If I were (the new) Indian motorcycle company, I would focus on making a modern version of the inline 4 engine used in the 1928-43 models (1940 Indian Four). Such a bike would stand out as something truly different among the cruiser crowd.

Good luck Indian.


Indian Motorcycles Offers Cash for Clunkers: "Indian Motorcycles has its own version of the Cash for Clunkers program, offering a $3,000 trade-in toward the purchase of a 2009 Indian Chief."

The future of motorcycling approaches?

Check it out: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/02/mission-motors/

Electric motorcycles. To be, or not to be. That is the question.

Have hybrid and soon all electric cars made electric motorcycles inevitable? Electric bike makers have, I believe, a bigger challenge than auto makers.

First, most motorcyclists are performance concious. 30 mph for 2 hours sounds too much like a kids toy. The bike in the link above is being built by a fomer Tesla engineer. Tesla Motorcars is making waves in the auto industry with it's $100k high perforfance, all electric coupe that is said to have exhilarating acceleration and practical range.

Second, motorcyclists are style concious. An electric bike that looks more at home with a kid's Hotwheels collection is going to have little mass market appeal. The bike above is too way out in some futuristic style to appeal to a wide riding audience. Why can't electric bikes look more like standards or cruisers or even touring bikes?

So, what will a successful electric motorcycles need to be successful? Just like with today's fossil fuel burning bikes, there will need to be a variety to appeal to the myriad likes and dislikes of riders:

For the performance enthusiast, the bike above may not be too far off the mark.

For most cruiser riders however, the bike above doesn't cut it. A more laid back riding position with a seat lower to the ground and handlebars that reach back to the rider rather than the other way around will be needed. A nice fat rear tire will work. A raked out front end will be a nice touch.

But, even if it had all these, it will still be missing the all important aural component. No self respecting cruiser rider will ever ride a two-wheel vehicle that makes no sound. So, a successful electric bike for this crowd will need to include a separate electric circuit devoted to a 500 watt amplifier with Dolby Surround 5.1 speakers embedded in faux exhaust pipes to blare out a motorcycle engine sound track. Nice features will include audio jacks to plug in an iPod and a sound mixer to overlay music with the engine soundtrack. Remember, loud pipes save lives.

For me, an electric sport tourer would fit the bill. Something with the lines of a Kawasaki Concours or Honda ST or even a BMW RT. I'm happy to zip silently past traffic so no need for a soundtrack for me. I look forward to the future.

-- Post From My iPod touch

Retro Motorbikes Gone Wild

I really am resisting the urge to re-post existing pieces elsewhere on the Internet. Really.
But this one struck me as particularly interesting because:
1. It's retro. I'm of the age where retro is interesting.
2. It's from the Wall Street Journal. See! I really am sophisticated enough to read the WSJ.

Click the link in the article for the full text.

Retro Motorbikes Gone Wild: "

The Wall Street Journal has published a fun piece on retro motorbikes called “Riding Retro Style.” Here’s the lead

From Chrysler’s PT Cruiser to Chevrolet’s new 1969-style Camaro, retro styling has been used by carmakers to generate buzz and spur sales.

Now motorcycle companies are following the auto industry’s lead, sprinkling the market with midsize, beginner-friendly models that evoke the 1970s.

Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Moto Guzzi are among the makers pushing retro bikes. Moto Guzzi’s V7 Classic has clean, delicate styling typical of bikes from 35 years ago. Matte-black paint and an aggressive rumble give Harley’s Iron 883 an old-school outlaw feel. Triumph’s Scrambler has the wheel spokes and off-road styling of a ‘70s trail bike.

The bikes all have two-cylinder engines between 700 and 900 cubic centimeters in size–midsize by modern standards. Indeed, some riders would consider them small. But each looks and sounds faster than it is and has enough style and attitude to mask the fact that they are mildly powered machines meant for green riders.

They all cost less than $9,000. Yes, it is a lot of money for two wheels, and yes, you could buy at least three nice used motorcycles for the same amount. But in today’s market, bikes under $10,000 get stamped with the “affordable” label.

Here’s the slide show.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: HarleyDavidson, Triumph, MotoGuzziV7Classic

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Intorducing The eniCycle… [video]

I'm getting one of these....really!

Intorducing The eniCycle… [video]: "

Aleksander Polutnik, an inventor from Slovenia has created the eniCycle, which is an electric unicycle that operates with an electronic gyroscope to help balance and stabilize this one-wheeled wonder. Just like a Segway or the Uno, leaning forward or backward will put the eniCycle in motion and the shifting foot pegs will steer it depending on which direction you want to go.

The top speed is 10 mph and will work for three hours on a full charge, Polutnik, claims that the average user will learn how to ride it in less than 30 minutes, unlike the most frustrating traditional unicycle…

Watch it in full action after the jump.

Source

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Motorcycle Stolen Over a Five Year Period

Now that's what I call patience!


Motorcycle Stolen Over a Five Year Period: "

Zhang, a Chinese factory worker admitted that he started stealing parts back in 2003 and assembling them at home over a five-year period. When the motorcycle was finally completed, the worker was pulled over almost immediately when police noticed he had no license for the bike. Zhang, was ordered to return the motorcycle, fined $725 and put on one-year probation.

Source

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