by Kyle Wiggers from https://venturebeat.com Ride Vision, a startup developing “collision aversion” technology for motorcycles, today emerged from stealth with a $7 million round led by investment platform OurCrowd. Ride Vision also unveiled an AI-driven safety alert system called Ride Vision 1 that will go on sale in several European countries in early 2021. A spokesperson said the fresh capital will be used for marketing, distribution, and R&D as the company looks to expand its 20-person team. There are more than 700 million motorcycles on the road globally, according to estimates. And motorcycles currently account for 28% of all fatal road accidents, resulting in the death of roughly 378,000 people a year. That number could tick upward soon, as motorcycle sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic. The company’s Ride Vision 1 package will feature cameras and LEDs designed to alert riders to dangerous situations. Two small wide-angle cameras mounted on the rear and front of motorcycles or scooters transmit footage to an onboard processing unit running an algorithm that detects and notifies riders of collision threats in real time via mirror-mounted LEDs. A mobile app delivers customizable alerts (including at night); records up to two-hour continuous-loop videos; and keeps note of stats like speed, lean angle, distance, location, and time. Ride Vision says it can detect forward collision, blind spot, and distance keeping threats from cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and scooters. New alerts for rear collision, forward-left, and forward-right collision threats are scheduled to arrive post-launch. “Ride Vision has built a unique dataset particular to two-wheelers that’s used to train models taking into account different bikes, level of biking experience, locality, different environmental conditions, and synthetic use cases,” a spokesperson told VentureBeat via email. “Ride Vision has the ability to improve upon the skill set of riders should the riders elect to share their ride data [and] an option of impacting insurance due to ongoing risk estimations. This data can be used to lower riders’ insurance rates and open up new business models, such as ‘usage-based insurance’ to train various models.” Ride Vision 1 hardwires directly into a vehicle’s battery and claims to draw less charge than a standard cellphone. The system’s two water-resistant video cameras begin recording the moment the motorcycle is turned on and transmit footage to the app over Wi-Fi. Ride summary cumulative reports are broken down by weeks, months, and years and include total distance, total alerts, and max speed data. They can be exported for personal use or things like insurance reduction. Ride Vision walls new software, alerts, and other updates behind a subscription fee, but it offers a free plan with periodic security updates, bug fixes, and other small enhancements. Features on the premium roadmap include emergency contacts, enhanced video with automatic ride state overlays, and “more extensive” metrics. Ride Vision says it’s working with motorcycle manufacturers as well as with resellers and insurers. Currently, the company has resellers across the EU but is looking to expand further into the EU and North America. This latest funding round brings the Herzliya, Israel-based company’s total raised to $10 million. YL Ventures, Mobilion, and Metagal also participated in the round.

by Jasper Jolly from https://www.theguardian.com

Revived company plans to start assembling motorbikes in UK as soon as next year.

An Indian billionaire hopes to “resurrect the British motorbike industry” with a plan to build electric motorcycles in the UK under the venerable BSA brand.

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra Group conglomerate, is the main backer of a plan to restart production by the BSA Company, assembling motorbikes in the Midlands as soon as the middle of 2021.

The revived BSA Company will shortly begin building a research facility in Banbury to develop electric motorbike technology, before launching motorbikes with internal combustion engines closely followed by an electric battery model by the end of 2021.

BSA, which stood for Birmingham Small Arms, was originally founded in 1861 to manufacture guns at Small Heath, a setting for the hit BBC drama Peaky Blinders. Its metalworking factories were later turned to bicycles and then motorcycles. By the 1950s, it was the world’s largest motorcycle maker, but it went bankrupt and ceased production in the 1970s.

Anand Mahindra, who is worth $1.7bn (£1.3bn) according to Forbes magazine, said he had chosen to invest in the UK because of its history of motorcycle production. The company also received support from the UK government, which awarded the BSA Company a £4.6m grant to develop electric bikes, in the hope of creating at least 255 jobs.

“The UK was the leader in bikes right from the start,” Mahindra told the Guardian. “That provenance is something that we really want to retain.”

Mahindra Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors and the 20th largest carmaker by sales. It owns the Reva electric car brand that produced the G-Wiz city car, and it is also the world’s biggest producer of three-wheeled electric rickshaws.

Mahindra also has experience in reviving motorcycle brands. In 2016, it picked up a controlling stake in a company that had bought the BSA brand, as well as Czech brand Jawa. Jawa was relaunched in 2018, with 50,000 sales in its first full year, an achievement Mahindra now wants to repeat with BSA.

The project is being run by Anupam Thareja, a former investment banker who initially bought the BSA brand. He said he wanted to continue the “quirky English charm” of the original BSA company. Thareja said he hoped to build a factory near the original Small Heath site but declined to give estimates on annual production.

Mahindra said its experience with electric bikes would help the broader group in its eventual move away from products that burn fossil fuels, although he said the company would not “be dismantling our [internal combustion] engines” until the market reached a “tipping point”.

The new BSA Company plans to start with assembling traditional internal combustion engine bikes costing between £5,000 and £10,000 with parts from various suppliers in the UK and beyond.

Thareja said it was wary about possible tariffs for exports under a no-deal Brexit, but believed motorcycle brands could benefit from customers’ desire to travel once the worst of the pandemic is over.

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Inventory is limited and will start delivering Spring/Summer 2021. First purchases of each model get a special Serial Number 1 Tribute medallion. Serial 1’s debut line-up of pedal-assist eBicycles all feature mid-mounted motors, integrated batteries, belt drive, intelligent sizing, integrated LED lighting, and even more features that make these the easiest and most intuitive way to experience fun, freedom and adventure on two wheels. Delivery for most models will start in Spring of 2021, but quantities will be limited so to insure that you get one, consider buying yours today!

Hi

It’s Keith here, otherwise known as Fat Albert. My love for motorcycles started at a very young age and has turned into so much more than a hobby – some might even say it’s an obsession. Do you feel it too? Spending all those miles experiencing something so close to freedom… it’s exhilarating.

I have searched the world, looking for quality gear at affordable prices. Every item I offer to you has been tried and tested by bikers. Each one has reached our stringent standards and managed to crack the nod.

So to celebrate this passion we have in common, I have a gift for you.

For the next 48 hours, take $15 off any helmet of your choice.
Use the code BIKER4EVER to get your discount.

> SHOP HELMETS   

RIDE HARD, LIVE FREE

We need to get out. We need to ride, and we should ride in style. Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations has always set the gold standard of style and luxury. Because they are manufactured in a limited quantity, they always sell out. In this time of a Wuhan Covid quarantine a CVO may be the perfect prescription for your sequestered soul.

Often CVO is gilded in bold colors, dripping in chrome and stitched leather but the 2020 CVO Road Glide dares to be different. This puppy is available in only one color, Sand Dune monotone with pearl topcoat and subtle graphics highlighted by Gloss Black Onyx finishes and red accents. A classic little black dress, ruby red lipstick and red high heels… very sexy.

The CVO Road Glide is the only Harley tourer offered with a 21-inch front wheel. The 21-inch front/18-inch rear split seven-spoke wheels are finished in Gloss Black/Smoked Satin and the Heavy Breather air cleaner is finished in Gloss Black. I love that the bar and shield badging is all name free. It modernizes the overall look and vibe. Come-on Harley-Davidson is one of the most well-known brands on planet earth anyway. Did you know that 83 percent of all google searches are for Harley-Davidsons.

An amazing array of safety features have been integrated called REFLEX™ DEFENSIVE RIDER SYSTEMS or RDRS. This new collection of technologies helps give you confidence and control in less-than-ideal situations.

Even a HOLD function that holds a 1400 pounds of human and passengers on a San Francisco hill hands free! I suggest looking at their video online at https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/content/reflex-defensive-rider-systems.html

Premium Boom! Audio lets everyone know you are arriving in style. The CVO Road Glide has 300-watt amp and four Boom, Stage I two-way speakers. The infotainment system includes a Boom Audio 30K Bluetooth Helmet wireless headset interface. Integrated into the system is a Mesh Intercom Network that can connect as many as 16 riders over a range as far as five miles. Voice command capability is also part of the package. For long-distance riders, in just 20 minutes the headset can get enough charge for five hours of talk time, should you run the battery out.

The Road Glide is hands down my favorite Harley-Davidson. As it is for many other distance riders. Its Harleys only frame mounted faring which offers less wind buffeting, easier high-speed handling and corning.

We all want a reason to get in the wind and you won’t want your 2020 CVO Road Glide spending time sequestered in some dank, dark garage. Get out and ride!

www.kozmoto.com
2020 CVO ROAD GLIDE
Sand Dune monotone with pearl topcoat
Starting at $40,999

by Vlad Mitrache from https://www.autoevolution.com

Up until very recently, the thought of a drag race between a Porsche (any model) and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (any hog) was one of the most preposterous ones that anyone could come up with.

On the one hand, you have a German automotive brand with a strong history and deep roots in motorsport. Sure, it’s guilty of also building SUVs – with some even powered by diesel – but you’d be pushing it to call any of its models “slow”.

On the other hand, you have an American motorcycle specialist with an equally strong history and plenty of racing connections throughout its history, though less so in the more recent years. Indeed, these days Harley-Davidson is better known for its range of cruisers and choppers, the type of machines that don’t necessarily value speed.

However, when things go electric, speed always has a knack for making its way into the center of it. That’s probably because making electric vehicles go quick is surprisingly easy – there is no complicated transmission, no engine with a million moving parts – just an electric motor and tons of instant torque.

There’s also the fact that you can’t get too much range out of a 15.5 kWh battery pack – and you can’t fit a larger one on a bike – so if reaching faraway places is out of the picture, you still have to offer the buyer something. And that something is speed.

Harley-Davidson LiveWire can reach 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standstill in roughly three seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 114 mph (183 km/h). Its motor produces 105 hp and 86 lb-ft (117 Nm) of torque to battle the 549 lbs (250 kg) that the rig weighs.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo, its competitor for the day, has obviously got very different figures, but the one that matters the most in this case is actually identical. Like the LiveWire, the Turbo will reach 60 mph from a complete stop in three seconds. Does that mean we have an even race on our hands?

Well, motorcycles very rarely manage to keep up with their four-wheeled counterparts during these drag races, and it’s usually in the second part of the competition where they make up ground as finding traction stops being a problem. With the Taycan Turbo being the grippy monster that it is, it’s hard to imagine the LiveWire stands any chance.

As the driver of the Taycan says (opinions about how likable or not he is in the comments below, please. I want to know if it’s just me), the most important thing to take away from this race isn’t so much the winner, but the performance potential of electric drivetrains for both cars and motorcycles.

 

We lost an incredible member of the Babes in the Dirt family this spring, Scott Burtness. He was and will always be one of the biggest champions of our community and enthusiasm and dedication to get more people to enjoy motorcycling will never be forgotten. We love and miss you so much Scott! The entire industry has rallied around the cause and given to help support SBs family! We, along with WLF Enduro have built 14 incredible prize packs to choose from. Every $5 you spend gets you a ticket. Raffle ends Sunday 11/29.  Winners will be announced Friday 12/4 through WLF Enduro‘s instagram.  ALL PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO HELPING KEEP SCOTTS PROPERTY “HONEY PINE FARM” OPERATING IN HIS NAME. THIS IS A PLACE SCOTT BUILT WITH HIS BARE HANDS AND WILL HOUSE EVENTS, RIDES, A PETTING ZOO FOR KIDS, A PLACE TEACH NEW RIDERS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT. HELP US KEEP SCOTTS DREAM ALIVE FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY! #ScottyBisWLForever”

by Bandit and Sam Burns

Recently one of our esteemed Bikernet™ contributors sent me a batch of historic Motordrome shots, then a pile of great shots of classic racing bikes from that era. I recently wrote a screenplay, called Splintered Road, about this era around WWI and it’s being looked at in Hollywood. This year one of the racing heavyweights, and a man who has been involved in the industry all his life, Don Emde, published a magnificent book on the sport of board track racing. – Bandit

The Board Track Era ran from 1908 to approximately 1929. There were dozens of tracks across America that touted high banks and were up to two and one-half miles around. The term “Board Track Racer” also referred to the similar version that was raced on dirt tracks.

Originally, turns were banked at about 15°. But while this curvature may have been well-suited to the slower speeds of bicycling, it soon became obvious that banks could be steeper for motorcycles. Motordrome designers kept pushing the envelope, eventually reaching banks as steep as 60°. Speeds kept getting faster, reaching and then surpassing 100 mph.

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AHDRA motorcycle drag racing series race coverage report.

When Bill Rowe purchased the assets of the inert AHDRA All-American motorcycle drag racing series late in 2019, the challenges before him and his family staff were daunting enough. But when 2020 came along and the event landscape went haywire, Rowe put his head down and completed a schedule for AHDRA racers at some of the best tracks in the world—finishing the season at legendary Gainesville Raceway on November 6-8.

Raceday started off with a rousing, live National Anthem by Rebecca Daniels and was topped off Monday’s true, classic racing banquet with great food and drinks in a suitably classy atmosphere. Champions get gold cards, jackets, great framed Moto-Lenz montages, and of course—#1 plates.

Click Here to read this Racing Report on Bikernet

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by Chris Best from https://www.wkrg.com

Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at age 42, was also a motorcycle fan. A 1975 FLH 1200 Harley-Davidson that he liked to ride around his Graceland estate in Memphis carries a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 – $350,000 at a memorabilia auction in Los Angeles. Another of Presley’s bikes was sold for $800,000 in September 2019.

But that’s just part of the auction. A gold and diamond “TCB” ring worn by Elvis Presley is expected to fetch more than $500,000. The ranges from rock guitars to a set of master tapes from the Woodstock festival.

The Elvis Presley ring is described as the first in a series of rings with the TCB (Taking Care of Business) letters and lightning bolt motif that the singer adopted as his mantra in 1969 when he returned to performing concerts after focusing on movies.

“It’s the quintessential Elvis jewelry piece,” said Brigitte Kruse, founder of GWS Auctions. Kruse said she thought the ring could fetch anything between $500,000 and $1 million at the 300-item auction on Nov. 28.

Presley gave the ring, which has a total 2.25 carats of diamonds and which he designed himself, to his opening band singer J.D. Sumner in 1975.

The most expensive lot could be a collection of master tapes from the 1969 Woodstock festival that sat in a producer’s storage locker for more than 10 years and have never been available for sale before.

The 700 plus hours of tapes, independently valued at $1.6 million, include performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who and dozens more artists who took part in what is seen as a cornerstone of hippie culture.

Kruse said it was difficult to estimate how much the Woodstock tapes might sell for. “There’s just nothing to compare it to,” she said. “Every now and then we bump into those pieces that are truly exceptional and things you wouldn’t even think still existed.”