from Lijee Philip from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com Harley plans to hitch a ride with two-wheeler makers, Classic Legends, Hero Motocorp frontrunners Mahindra’s Classic Legends could be the obvious choice for the iconic leisure bike making company as it aligns very well with M&M’s approach of catering to the premium end of the market with marquee brands , and for Harley, it gets a local company with a large manufacturing facility and an established local supply chain. After its global restructuring efforts to make Thailand its main hub for Asia Pacific, Harley Davidson is now understood to be exploring potential collaborations with Indian two-wheeler makers. The two possible names doing the rounds are Mahindra NSE -0.82 %’ subsidiary Classic Legends and Hero Motocorp NSE -1.89 %. The potential Indian alliance partners could do contract manufacturing for Harley Davidson in the mid-size motorcycle space – in line with Bajaj-KTM or TVS-BMW. Mahindra’s Classic Legends could be the obvious choice for the iconic leisure bike making company as it aligns very well with M&M’s approach of catering to the premium end of the market with marquee brands , and for Harley, it gets a local company with a large manufacturing facility and an established local supply chain. Classic Legends was established to re-introduce iconic marquee motorcycle brands in the market and currently retails the Jawa motorcycle brand also owns iconic brands like BSA & Yezdi. While it started of with impressive sales numbers, delays in deliveries and quality issues makes it difficult for the company to meet the growing demand. Hero Motocorp has stated that it’s open to partnerships to get a stronger foothold in the premium segment. Market leaders in entry level/commuter and the 125cc segments, it lacks premium bike building capability. After several attempts, Hero has finally managed to break-into 200 cc segment with Xtreme, but bikes beyond 350 cc domain does not exist with the maker of Splendor, with Harley coming on board, the positioning would have been quite complementary in nature. Harley-Davidson has been scouting for alliance partners in India with a manufacturing and distribution network to make lightweight motorcycles in the sub-500cc category. Under the new CEO, things are being reviewed again, say sources. .. While the contours of the agreements are still being worked on, sources say it will be a non-equity partnership to make bikes targeting the small displacement category. To a detailed email query , Harley Davidson, Mahindra ,Hero Motocorp and Royal Enfield said it does not comment on market speculation and rumours. “On its own and with limited volumes, Harley will struggle to localise. By partnering with a local company, Harley will not only be able to shed fixed cost, but also accelerate sourcing with the help of the local partner. Over the last five years, the company has explored mid-size motorcycles for India and India like emerging markets. Its model developed in China has a potential to cater to the Indian market,” said one of the several people in the know of the company’s plans. Earlier this year, Harley partnered with Chinese motorcycle maker, Zhejiang Qianjiang, mother company to Benelli, to launch Benelli 350 and the Harley-Davidson 338. Such kind of a smaller capacity motorcycle will be important for the Milwaukee cult brand which has been seeing slower sales in the country.

The good doctor came over to work on his Pandemic project yesterday and brought two Covid antibody tests, one for me and one for the Redhead, who deals with the public everyday at a local marina. I recently returned from South Dakota after the rally. Just to let you know; I’m not infecting anyone after Sturgis, I was cleared of ever having Covid, so was the Redhead.

I’m surprised anyone reads any media or watches any news programs, especially after their reports on Sturgis. Hell, I immediately refused to subscribe to the Week Magazine again after they called the rally a Covid Spreader. The numbers were ridiculously low, but they still blamed bikers. You were way more likely to contact the disease by staying home. So, I asked the doctor to define the various tests. For instance if folks received some of the tests, they could have come into contact with the disease months before the rally. They could have also had some contact but were not contagious. The media just wanted to blame bikers.

See below:

Hey,

This is a test with Sam’s Picks of the Week as a backdrop. I’ve been bugged about a book about my life. But my life is checkered with ups and down and violent does and don’ts. So, this is sort of an attempt at an outline or rough story line. There won’t be a lot of description, just brief reflections on events.

I’ve bobbed and weaved and been damn lucky in so many respects. It’s like riding a fast motorcycle. Some guys can’t ride around a city-block without ending in a bone-jarring accident. A buddy of mine called today and talked about a biker’s walk. It’s an interesting gate or wobble with all the broken bones and a painful history of asphalt torn ligaments.

Some guys can’t get drunk without being beat to death by some gang behind a bar. Somehow, I survived a handful of such encounters even when I wasn’t drunk.

George Christie wrote a book and pissed off everyone. Then he switched it to fiction and some guys are trying to make a biker series about it in Spain. The Covid held up the shoot schedule, but they built a cast, and after Sturgis proved Freedom and motorcycles are better than masks, they set a shooting schedule starting in October.

I know George was sorta pissed at the club after being a member for 35 years he thought he could retire but got kicked to the curb, so his sizzling attitude guided his book effort. Survival was also a factor. There is no Hells Angel pension plan.

I strolled into a Chinese restaurant in the late ‘70s and opened a fortune cookie. The crumpled fortune cookie unraveled to declare, “You Will Be Lucky for Life!” I carried that glorious puppy in various leather wallets for 40 some years. Okay, fuck it. Let’s get started:

I grew up with violent parents who didn’t allow disrespect in any form and swatted and whipped my brother and I until we escaped. At five I started to run away. At 16 I tried it again. At 18 I succeeded and escaped to Vietnam for three tours aboard the 1st fleet flag ship, the St. Paul, a heavy cruiser. My brother did the same a year later. He ended up a captain of a river boat in Cambodia. Neither one of us wanted to have children, although I had a girlfriend who surprised me with my only son Frank. I wasn’t much of a father, mostly gone, being a biker.

My brother and I didn’t want to have kids, because in no way would we ever put a kid through what we went through. My brother responded to the violence differently than I did. That’s one of those massive lessons in life. No matter how I look at something, nobody else has the same slanted view of what happened. Nobody reacts the same way.

My dad was tough as nails and worked running a machine shop in the oil fields. Nobody fucked with him. He was a Seabee, WWII, Guadalcanal veteran. He liked to say, “If we fight, we fight to the death.” At about four my stepbrother was electrocuted flying model airplanes in Bakersfield, and that made me the oldest. A couple of years later my uncle and his son were assassinated in their sporting goods store in downtown Long Beach. My dad made them lead sinkers to sell as they struggled to make a go of it in the ‘50s.

Most of our violence came from threats, smacks, belts and punches from our parents. As teenagers my brother and I fought constantly, perhaps to relieve the tension. We had a cabin in Trabuco canyon, just down for Cook’s corner. One weekend I almost beat my brother to death in that cabin. He had a strange defeatist notion in violent situations and refused fight. “I’m not going to fight you, but fuck you anyway,” he’d tell someone. That got him into a couple of jams. Now that I think about it, that’s what my parents taught us, when it came to interactions with them. We could never speak up or defend ourselves. That’s maybe why I’m terrified of public speaking.

Once David did his thing in a black neighborhood where we were making up for bad algebra grades, during a sizzling summer school class. I had to escort him to classes for the rest of the semester.

I didn’t like fighting, but there was a violent edge to my surroundings, and I wouldn’t duck out, as much as I wanted to. I was in a High School fraternity for a short spell and we were fucked with by another club. I’ll never forget sitting in a lowered car in one of the first Mac Donald’s waiting for the gang to arrive.

We ended up face to face is a parking lot somewhere outside a school, in 1964, with tire irons and clubs. Our leader chose-off the leader of the other group and he backed down. We probably looked sorta tough, even if we didn’t feel it. I left the fraternity and bought my first motorcycle, a Honda 55 super cub and immediately wanted to customize it. Maybe I wanted to escape, and motorcycles became the path.

There weren’t many bike guys at our high school. My dad would not help with my used purchase, in fact he hated bikers and told me a story about a biker. Dad was a John Wayne time, neat and clean shaven. He drove the same way to work daily for 40 years, and a biker showed up one day on a new Triumph. As the months passed the kid’s hair grew, he grew facial hair and modified his motorcycle. One day he went down in some oil in front of my dad. He pulled over and confronted the kid on the concrete scrambling to get out from under his bike. “Are you alright?” My dad asked.

“Yes sir,” the kid said.

“Well, it serves you right,” my dad said, “you son of a bitch.”

I started to understand that I wasn’t a joiner, or I was constantly disappointed in groups of folks. They turned on each other. Like cops you call for help. They’re not going to go fuck with your neighbor, but if you have a joint in your ashtray you could go to jail.

I joined the navy, went to electronics schools on Treasure Island in Oakland, then to Vietnam where we bombed the shit out of the coast for three years. Sailors got drunk and into fights on the busses back and forth to whatever base we were docked at in Japan or Bangkok. Drinking wasn’t my thing, but girls were. I would rather find solace with a young prostitute that sit with a bunch of guys and get shit-faced.

I started to work out with weights, and I boxed some. I started training with some guys in the helicopter hanger in the stern of the heavy cruiser. It was mostly fun and good for us until they announced the smoker competition. Then shit got sorta serious. There was a giant black guy with monster arms who taunted me constantly, then the bastard didn’t sign up for the heavyweight bout. Again, I was scared shitless, but ready to go three rounds with the big guy.

Again, that notion of perception seemed to loom. I didn’t know it, but I was on a search for something. My first tour was short but like war. We went to general-quarters a couple of times a day and raced toward the coast. We could hear the artillery firing back at us as we swung to the port and unleashed nine 8-inch gun salvos at the coast. We were hit once, a hole the size of a Toyota compact in the side of the bow. During the second 7-month tour, I was determined to buy a new 1969 Sportster, which I did at Long Beach Harley when we returned.

This time the captain had a mission to shower Vietnam with more shells than anyone had ever dropped on this little sweaty, lush green country. Must have been a competition to become Admiral. I fucked up over sound powered phones, while in the command center. The Captain called me to the bridge, and I was forced to stand at his side for a few hours, while he told me how hard he worked. I was wearing a dungaree shirt with a peace sign drawn with a felt pen over my chevron. It didn’t go well and on my next report they used impunity in my description.

A few brothers started to get together to smoke a joint and listen to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and the wild toons from the era. We huddled in the back of an 8-inch gun turret. When another turret fired our record needle jumped across the vinyl. We had to find another stash for our weights and went back to training in confined spaces.

In a gadda da vida, honey
Don’t you know that I’m lovin’ you
In a gadda da vida, baby
Don’t you know that I’ll always be true
Oh, won’t you come with me
And take my hand
Oh, won’t you come with me
And walk this land
Please take my hand
In a gadda da vida, honey
Don’t you know that I’m lovin’ you
In a gadda da vida, baby
Don’t…
Oh, won’t you come with me
And take my hand
Oh, won’t you come with me
And walk this land
Please take my hand

During one of our many stops in Subic Bay the town of 300 nightclub/brothels and three restaurants, I had to rescue some of my shipmates from a wild riot in the dirty streets.

I got a sense of some notorious situations and sometimes found myself lucky to know when to turn the flame down or pull back. We ultimately dropped 87,000 rounds on the Coast of Vietnam in 1968.

When I returned, I hit Long Beach Harley, quick, on a Monday. They were closed. I also went to Bank of America for a loan. “We won’t give you a loan for two reasons: You’re in the service and it’s for a motorcycle.” I never did business with BOA again and my dad pulled all his accounts after 30 years of business.

I started to see a girl and fell in love. She was soft as satin with a heart of gold. We were stationed in San Diego and I rode that Sportster back and forth to Long Beach at the drop of a hat. I rode in the fog and almost fell asleep. I rode in the rain. I rode in the cold and I rode every path I could come up with to get to her side for even a few hours. One path led off a short cliff into scattered underbrush.

I didn’t know shit about Harleys, but I knew the oil fields, a machine shop, welding and wrenching. I started to learn motorcycles, quick. It was a kick-only XLCH and I didn’t get the Tillotsen carb. I flooded it every time and sometimes kicked for an hour, until it warmed up.

I got married for the first time to this delightful woman, Laurie and headed out to Vietnam again. My mother wasn’t happy. Laurie’s father was a salesman and her mother was fooling around on him. The whole family went to hell.

After my third tour I couldn’t wait to ride. Laurie, who would come out on the porch and start to cry anytime I peeled out with a group of riders. She took my photo on the Sportster, which I had painted while I was gone. I had the forks extended and my dad and I extended the risers. There was a transformation in our society. Dad, who believed the government could do no wrong shifted as we neared the late ‘60s.

I looked like a monkey fucking a football and immediately sold the Sportster and bought a 1966 Long Beach Cop bike, a Shovelhead. I immediately started to tear it down. I had a burning desire to do everything myself and tried. When brothers were scrambling to make it to the next Grateful Dead concert, I worked on bikes for friends and myself.

I was still searching for something bigger than myself. It was in most part, right at my fingertips, two-wheeled creativity. As a kid my folks forced my brother and myself to attend church. “We don’t care what church you go to, just get up and go to church!”

We begrudgingly hauled our scrawny asses to one church after another. The Catholic church intimidated us; other churches didn’t feel real. We kept looking until we found a little Lutheran church a few blocks away. I settled in and studied the bible, became a choir boy and was ultimately baptized. Laurie was a born-again Christian and I started to question organized religion.

I questioned a lot of shit through my life. I question the notion of Climate Change and started to study the facts. It seemed correct but had holes and was ultimately all about control and they used lies to support it. Two things stood tall for long run, Freedom and motorcycles.

Finally, when the St. Paul announced a fourth tour to Vietnam, I had to escape that big gray bastard. The company kiss-ass was offered a new assignment on a small destroyer, the USS Maddox, purportedly headed back to the dying conflict even sooner.

[photo 1014013]

I researched it and discovered its new assignment as a reserve training tin can. I took the orders and held my mud until the day I loaded my seabag and hit the road. For the rest of my naval stretch, I was stationed in my hometown, Long Beach. 

Okay, what do you think so far? This is a fascinating exercise. It’s a search for the meaning of life. I’m constantly studying writing and I ran across a lecture series by James Scott Bell. This guy is sharp and I’m trying to follow his code of the west, which brings up a larger topic: my fucking life and everyone’s life.

–Bandit

OFFICIAL TRAILER (will be live at 8:30am PT/11:30am ET):

The trailer for “Long Way Up,” the epic, new Apple Original series from stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman is now available. The first three episodes of the 11-part unscripted series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 18. New episodes will roll out weekly, every Friday.

“Long Way Up” reunites McGregor and Boorman for the ultimate adventure in travel and friendship after more than a decade since their last motorbike adventure around the world. In their most challenging expedition to date, the two cover 13,000 miles over 100 days from Ushuaia at the tip of South America to Los Angeles.  In order to contribute to the sustainability of the planet, the duo travels on modified electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire® motorcycles.

Using cutting-edge technology, they travel through 16 border crossings and 13 countries along with their longtime collaborators, directors David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, who follow in the first two electric Rivian trucks ever made.

“Long Way Up” was created and executive produced by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman, David Alexanian and Russ Malkin.

 

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

From scenes from the Terminator to a replicated photo of a loved one, there was almost nothing people didn’t airbrush on the hoods (and other parts) of their cars. Not long ago, car customizers (and to a lesser extent those in the business of remaking motorcycles) went through what may very well be perceived as an airbrush age.

That age ended a number of years back, as people moved on to better things, and has been replaced by other gimmicks. Carbon fiber, for instance, is now used extensively, and often times even extremely creatively.

But airbrushed parts still have an appeal to them. Just take a look at the wolf painted on the fuel tank of the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy we have in the gallery above.

The bike is a custom work of German garage Thunderbike, and because of the fuel tank it got the name Fat Wolf. We are not being told who the artist behind the design is, but we can clearly see the results of the work: a two-sided story, with a white wolf looking away from the tank on one side, and howling at the Moon as wolves usually do on the other.

Because this is a Thunderbike build, the airbrush on the tank is not the single element that sets this Fat Boy apart from the rest of the pack. A long list of custom parts were added (from the handlebar to the footpegs), and most of the two-wheeler’s components were either wrapped in chrome or made from polished aluminum.

The most important addition to the motorcycle, mechanically speaking, is the linking of a special Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system to the Milwaukee-Eight 114. This modification should make the Wolf’s voice stand out even more.

Not including the exhaust and the paint job on the tank, the other modifications cost around 4,000 euros, which is about $4,700 at today’s exchange rates.

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Harley-Davidson is not exactly riding the high wave at the moment. Still plagued by corporate-level issues, the bike maker struggles to come up with new models that should turn the fortunes around.

Bronx, Pan America, and an yet mysterious muscle bike are only three of the bikes Harley plans to launch into battle as soon as 2021, hoping to regain that which it has lost in recent years. Until then though, something has to be done when it comes to the existing range as well.

The Milwaukee bike maker already announced the introduction of the 131 crate engine for certain two-wheelers in its portfolio, and this past week went for a more visual approach by announcing a partnership with Italian motorcycle parts company Rizoma.

In what Harley calls “the first co-branded collection of its kind designed exclusively for H-D® motorcycle riders,” a rather very short list of billet aluminum parts and accessories will be made available for riders of “a broad range of Harley-Davidson motorcycles” who wish to make their machine look apart.

The list starts with 1.44 inches in diameter hand grips, continues with rider and passenger footpegs, and goes up front for specially designed mirrors with a broader view for the rider. The LiveWire, the electric motorcycle that will soon be seen in action on Apple TV+ when the Long Way Up show hits the web on September 18, was not left out, and receives a solo custom element in the form of a charge door.

“Precision craftsmanship and unmistakable style define this collaborative collection from Harley-Davidson and Rizoma. Lasered H-D and Rizoma logos on a subdued black on black finish display minimal branding that lets the machined texture and performance aesthetic take the lead,” Harley says in a statement.

“This sleek collection of billet aluminum accessories is the first co-branded collection of its kind designed exclusively for H-D motorcycle riders.”

Pricing for these new exclusive parts was not announced. You can learn more about them and the bikes they fit by following this link.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. (September 5, 2020) – Monster Energy® Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo finished just off the overall podium during the first of two races at the RedBud I National in Buchanan, Michigan. With two races in four days at the iconic motocross layout in Southwestern Michigan, racing on the RedBud track did not disappoint. Cianciarulo battled all day pushing hard for fifth overall (5-3) while his teammate and defending champion Eli Tomac claiming sixth overall (4-5). In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Cameron McAdoo earned seventh overall (5-7) with Darian Sanayei returning from injury to finish 14th overall (10-20) and Mitchell Harrison finishing 18th overall (14-37).

Mother nature looked kindly on the Pro Motocross paddock as the riders lined up for practice/qualifying with a high temperature only reaching the mid-70s. The mild temperatures were welcomed as the series will race again at the same location on Monday. During qualifying practice, it was Cianciarulo who rode at a blistering pace, missing fastest qualifier by only six one-thousandths of a second while his teammate Tomac was right on his heels qualifying third.

Cianciarulo took advantage of his second gate pick to launch his KX™450 into battle for the lead on the first lap. While running second, the defending 250 class champion tipped over while pressuring the leader and dropped 10 positions in the running order. Once he remounted, Cianciarulo charged up through the field to earn a top-5 finish and an opportunity for an overall podium finish. Tomac wasn’t far behind his teammate off the start sitting in seventh place. Tomac worked hard throughout the moto applying pressure and making passes on the riders in front of him as he made his way up to fourth by the checkered flag.

Cianciarulo once again shot out of the gate in Moto 2, nearly grabbing the holeshot before beginning a race-long battle for second place with rival Justin Barcia. The two battled throughout the moto with Cianciarulo bringing his Monster Energy Kawasaki KX450 home in third place. Tomac started mid-pack and clawed his way up to fifth in the moto.

With their finishes today, Tomac and Cianciarulo hold onto fourth and fifth, respectively, in the championship point standings.

“The way the moto scores fell was a little frustrating. Zach (Osborne) got the starts today and that seems to be where I fell behind. Everyone was really close in pace, so I wasn’t able to come up through the pack like I normally am able to. I was doing everything I could, and I would run up on the end of the train at the end of the moto, but that wasn’t good enough. I feel good for the next race, we’ll recover and be fresh for Monday.” – Eli Tomac

“Today was a day where things seemed to even out, I went 5-3 for second place earlier this season, and today 5-3 was only good enough for fifth. I felt really good out there today and Justin (Barcia) was riding great. I felt I had a little more pace than he did, but I also wanted to be smart when I was trying to pass him. I feel really good right now and I still have a lot of energy in the tank for Monday’s race.”- Adam Cianciarulo

In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Harrison was comfortable from the start racing in his home state. The Brighton, Michigan native qualified seventh with his teammates McAdoo qualifying 12th and Sanayei in 18th. With ideal track conditions and perfect dirt, lap times were tight throughout the field.

As the gate dropped on Moto 1, it was the No. 74 of Harrison who shot out near the front in third and even ran in second for a moment before dropping a few positions to finish just outside the top-10 in 11th place. McAdoo had his work cut out for him as he was forced to charge from mid-pack to finish ninth place.

Sanayei once again battled for the holeshot in Moto 2 and took the lead early on the first lap to put his Kawasaki out front briefly. It was Harrison and McAdoo though who stayed with the leaders, with both battling for a moto podium. Just past halfway Harrison crashed forcing him out of the race. McAdoo continued his consistent riding throughout the moto, earning seventh place in the moto and seventh overall. Sanayei held on to finish just inside the top-20 at the checkered.

“Today was a little better than last weekend. In both motos I got good starts that kept me close to the lead and I just worked to stay there. There are some things I can clean up and we are going to make some changes before Monday’s race.” – Cameron McAdoo

“I felt like I was riding good today on my Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki KX250. In the first moto, something was just a little off so I just did what I could to get the best finish I could. In the second moto, things were going a lot better. The track got rough and caught me off guard which happens sometimes. I’m going to rest up these next two days and come back out stronger on Monday.”- Mitchell Harrison

“Today was a day where I was focused on doing what I could do well. I got two good starts in the motos, but I was riding with a lot of pain in my shoulder, so it was hard to stay up front. In the second moto, I hit the braking bumps on the downhill and it jarred me pretty good, I felt like I was only able to hold on with one arm for a little bit. We’ve got a couple of days off and I’m going to keep getting better and come out on Monday looking for better results.” – Darian Sanayei

from https://www.sfgate.com

The winning nominee will receive a free 2020 Harley-Davidson XL1200 Sportster Roadster provided by Dunlop Motorcycle Tires.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (PRWEB) September 04, 2020

There are humble heroes all around us—the ones you don’t hear about, who forego sleep and work impossible hours in constant danger, the ones who battle on the front lines of the pandemic and put themselves last to take care of us first.

There are many words to describe them—professional, compassionate, selfless, dedicated, brave, tireless—but we simply call them Heroes.

At Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, we want to honor these Humble Heroes by giving you the opportunity to nominate a healthcare worker or first responder who went above and beyond during the pandemic, and we’ll reward one individual with a new 2020 Harley-Davidson® XL1200 Sportster Roadster™.

Dunlop has a special appreciation for those who stepped up during the pandemic. Our factory in Buffalo, NY was designated essential early in the crisis, and our associates showed up, masked up and continued to do what they do best every day—build premium tires for the American motorcyclist.

Harley-Davidson’s Sportster Roadster was a natural for this project. Dunlop has been a trusted original-equipment tire supplier to Harley-Davidson for more than 35 years—over ten million Dunlop tires have rolled off the motor company assembly line—and the iconic Sportster is popular among new riders and offers many customizing variations.

To emphasize this, Dunlop Motorcycle Tires is collaborating with long-time partner Roland Sands Design (RSD) to create custom variations of the Sportster over the coming months featuring different Dunlop tires. The winner of this contest will receive a new 2020 Harley-Davidson XL1200 Sportster Roadster in stock condition. RSD’s builds will showcase what a great platform the stock Sportster is for customizing, and you will be able to follow along through Dunlop and RSD social networks: #humbleheroes, #wearedunlop, #ridedunlop, @rolandsandsdesigns, @ridedunlop.

“Nobody has seen a crisis with the global effects of Covid-19 before, and hopefully nobody ever will again,” said Mike Buckley, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing, Dunlop Motorcycle Tires. “Hard to imagine how much worse this could have been without the health care heroes and first responders on the front lines every day and night. The Humble Heroes Project is our way of giving a little back and saying thanks for all you have done.”

by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com

The idea of making something that would be halfway between a bicycle or motorcycle and a car is not new; after all, the advantages of such a vehicle would be many for a large segment of the market.

In the Czech Republic, inventor, fabricator and full-time pilot Arnold Wagner has been making one such vehicle since the late ‘80s. Since 2009, with a new partner, he launched the PERAVES CZ company, and they’ve been putting out these cabin-motorcycles dubbed MonoRacer since then.

They probably haven’t sold more than a couple of hundred of them (90 of which were made before the 2009 partnership), but that could change as early as this month. As it turns out, PERAVES CZ has made an electric version of the MonoRacer, called the MonoRacer 130E, and it is now in the process of receiving EU-certification.

The MonoRacer 130E is an electric motorcycle with a fully enclosed cabin, of the kind Lightning Motorcycles is also working on over in the U.S. It carries two passenger in tandem, and handles slower speeds and stops with help from two extendable outrigger wheels. So, instead of the rider having to stretch out and place his legs on the ground, which is now impossible because of the cabin, he simply presses the button and the wheels comes out. Another button immediately brings the wheels back up.

This e-bike boasts a top speed of 240 kph (150 mph) and a range of 400 km (248.5 miles), according to the company. In addition to having room for a second passenger, it also has a 120-liter (4.2-cubic-foot) baggage compartment. Driving it takes some learning, as Arnold explains in the first video available at the bottom of the page, but he is available for lessons.

Everything about the 130E is designed with top quality in mind. This isn’t just a fast and reliable two-wheeler with excellent torque, but actually a comfortable ride throughout. Owners get PERAVES AMG-leather seats, top of the line audio system and, as an extra option, remote controlled door. All of this makes the 130E “the valuablest tool for your future personal mobility.”

Safety is also important. To those who might feel like getting into a cabin-motorcycle on the highway amid heavy traffic would be comparable to having a death wish and carrying out, PERAVES CZ says they’ve gone to great lengths to ensure safety is a priority.

“In case of a car accident, you will never face a frontal collision,” reads a note on the website. “The cabin hardness and an egg shape in combination with multipoint safe belt guarantee your maximum safety.”

In other words, think outside the box – and this company will do the rest with this enclosed electric two-wheeler.

The stated mission on the company’s official website is to reinvent or redefine personal mobility, with an EV that’s fast, cheap to maintain and plenty of fun to drive. According to a recent report in Ride Apart, as soon as the e-bike gets EU certification, deliveries to Switzerland will kick off right away, which means they’ve been taking orders all along.

And now for the bad news. As awesome and convenient, not to mention eco-friendly, as this vehicle claims to be, there’s one very big obstacle to it becoming a popular solution for personal mobility: the price.

The same report notes that the MonoRacer 130E will sell at a starting price of €79,500, with extras like a second battery or remote control door, driving it up to €90,000. That’s $94,117 and $106,547 at today’s exchange rate for our American readers.

Simple math will tell you that, for this kind of money, you can get a 4-wheel EV and a bunch of electric two-wheelers of the widest variety. But in that case, you wouldn’t be riding in a very unique and striking EV.

by Mircea Panait from https://www.autoevolution.com

It’s ready for adventures, big and small. Two years after Honda showed this bike as a concept in Tokyo, the Trail 125 ABS joins the Super Cub, Monkey, and Grom for the 2021 model year with a rugged construction, plenty of ground clearance, and a no-clutch transmission.

Priced at $3,899 excluding $190 for the destination charge, the CT125 is offered exclusively in Glowing Red with black garnish and old-school decals. The design harks back to the Trail 90 from more than half a century ago, and just like the original, this mini motorcycle is a blast to ride in the urban jungle as well as on more engaging roads.

Tipping the scales at 259 pounds including fluids and 1.4 gallons of gasoline, the four-stroke bike relies on a two-valve engine and four speeds for the semi-automatic transmission. The front and rear suspension promise 3.9 and 3.4 inches of travel (99 and 86 millimeters), and both wheels measure 80/90 by 17 inches just like the Super Cub C125 ABS.

The high-mounted air intake and upswept exhaust system enhance low-end and midrange torque, and on full song, you can expect 8.7 horsepower and 8.11 pound-feet of torque. Tree stumps and rocks shouldn’t pose a problem to the engine guard, and the lack of a radiator is means that we’re dealing with an air-cooled motor that’s relatively easy to service.

“The Trail 50 became ubiquitous in American campgrounds and on motorhome bumpers in the ’60s and ’70s and led to a number of successors,” declared Lee Edmunds, senior manager of Powersports Marketing. “For that reason, the CT brand has a special history with the U.S. market, and it’s great to see it return with the Trail 125 which, like the Super Cub and Monkey, harkens back to a golden era of American motorcycling.”

Zero accessories are available at the time of reporting, and the same can be said about optional extras and trim levels. The ABS in Trail 125 ABS stands for anti-lock braking system, and as expected of a budget bike, only the front wheel is treated to this safety feature.