Hey, I’m researching FXDR models and was trying to find out the difference between FXDR and FXDRS. I was told there were slight differences, and then Ron and Bartels’ H-D helped. The only two-year model 2019 and 2020 were all FXDR but when they sent the paperwork it said FXDRS, so the confusion. The folks next door loaned me a fork lift. I have two motorcycles in my office and one in the living room upstairs. The brothers, Jeremiah and James were concerned, but it worked like a champ and we lowered them to the shop level in no-time. The Bonne Belle arrived at Departure Bike Works this week. Lee and his crew will install our new 45 flathead engine and get it ready for Bonneville. The international speed trials are on for August 25 in Bonneville, and we will be there with the Salt Torpedo and the Bonne Belle. Hang on for more reports.

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by Chris McGinness from https://www.ktvb.com

Motorcycle ‘lane filtering’ bill has strong support in Oregon

It’s not like California. Think of motorcycles passing at parking lot speeds. Supporters tout rider safety.

When you’re driving on a crowded freeway how would you feel about sharing the road with motorcycles moving from lane to lane? Sound scary and dangerous? Riders say it could actually be safer than what’s allowed now.

“Lane filtering,” as proposed in Oregon Senate Bill 574 (summary here), would allow motorcyclists to move back and forth between very slow moving traffic on multi-lane Oregon highways. Similar legislation has been discussed since 2015. This time around, there are clearer definitions for when the practice would be legal.

Still, the perception many drivers have about lane filtering is of the occasional reckless rider zipping though traffic. We asked a few motorists about it as they gassed up at Radio Cab in Northwest Portland.

“It scares me a little bit,” a man named Ravi said. “If there’s’ something in the road and I have to get out the way really quickly, I would hate to accidentally have to merge into his driving lane.”

“Well, I think that’s an incredibly bad idea but if you want to take that risk,” said a woman named Kate.

The lane filtering proposed in Oregon takes many of the concerns into consideration.

“Traffic has to be either stopped or moving less than 10 miles an hour. The motorcyclist cannot exceed the speed of traffic by more than 10 miles an hour,” said longtime motorcyclist Patrick Leyshock of Northeast Portland.

Advocates, of which there are many of both sides of the political spectrum, point to three benefits to permitting lane filtering: reduced congestion, reduced emissions and enhanced rider safety.

This last point seems counterintuitive unless you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle in stop-and-go freeway traffic.

“A motorcyclist in stop-and-go traffic is basically a sitting duck there,” said Leyshock. “You’re exposed to the elements, exposed to the traffic around you. This bill would allow you to actually position yourself in a safer place, namely between cars. And again, we’re talking essentially parking lot speeds here.”

“California has unequivocally shown that in the event of an accident, riders who are lane sharing are less likely to be killed or injured,” Leyshock said, referring to a 2015 UC-Berkeley Study.

California, Utah and Montana have legalized some form of lane filtering. With new clarification of the guidelines, the governor’s motorcycle advisory committee removed opposition to the bill.

Event Name         BARONA OAKS TT

Event Description Custom TT Track with good old fashion jumps and turns. Perfect for having fun with friends and your Run Wat Ya Brung motorcycle. Check-ins begin at 8 am at the BARONA OAKS MOTOCROSS FACILITY. Register here and give us a follow on Facebook and Instagram for event coverage and updates. Thanks, MB

Event Date/Time  March 28, 2021 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Host   Meatball and Abbie

Location      BARONA OAKS MOTOCROSS FACILITY

1800 Wildcat Canyon Rd,

Lakeside, CA 92040

Event Type  SOUTHWEST USA – Racing

 

 A classic Chopper show I try not to miss when in Daytona for Bike Week. Willie puts it together at his Tropical Tattoo, and it looks like lots of other people felt the same way about the Bike Week show.

 

 

One of the highlights of the show is when the MC Roadside Marty takes the microphone and wisecracks during the awards ceremony.

 

When not viewing the bikes most people go out to the back lot where there is a band playing while you enjoy a cool beverage of your choice and something to eat.

There are some good tattoo shots and a occasional one like the exhaust pipe checking out a chick’s butt.

 Thanks Willie and all those who help make this event one to look forward to every year!

 

from https://motorcycles.einnews.com

Bridgestone BATTLAX Motorcycle Tires Selected as Original Equipment on Suzuki new Hayabusa

by Dustin Wheelen from https://www.rideapart.com

Motorcycle enthusiasts around the world were heartbroken when Austria’s Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum was destroyed by a fire on January 18, 2021. Known as Europe’s highest motorcycle museum (7,200 feet above sea level), the Top Mountain housed over 280 motorcycles and cars. Not one of them escaped the early morning blaze.

Reports reflect that a faulty museum display led to the massive inferno. By the time firefighters arrived, they couldn’t save the 32,000 square-foot structure. However, they were able to contain the fire to the museum, keeping it from spreading to the nearby ski resort and restaurant. While the blaze is still fresh in our memories, Top Mountain founders Attila and Alban Scheiber are already planning a comeback for the Timmelsjoch museum.

“We want to offer more than a world of experiences, the goal is to offer something also to non-motorcyclists,” the Scheibers said. “There will be 250 motorcycles already promised by collectors from all over the world.”

Prior to the fire, the Scheiber brothers had plans to further expand the sprawling museum. The pair will leverage those blueprints to reconstruct the Passo Del Rombo facility along with the drafted expansions. The enormity of the project isn’t stopping the Scheibers from setting an ambitious goal of reopening by winter 2021. With the future museum hosting collectors’ motorcycles from around the world, safety will also be of the utmost importance.

After the damage incurred during the January, 2021, blaze, plans should undoubtedly include fire repellent building materials and advanced sprinkler systems. Of course, the project has many months of hard work ahead. However, if we would have known that the Mountain Top Motorcycle Museum would be back in less than a year after the winter 2020 fire, we might have been a little less heartbroken.

Fun in the Florida Sun
Photos and text by Rogue

The motorcycle community was tired of being cooped up with the Covid Pandemic and said enough is enough. They just wanted to come to sunny Florida to party. Either way there was noticeable a larger crowd than at Biketoberfest 2020.

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by Arun Prakash from https://www.rushlane.com

Royal Enfield Tops Clean Manufacturing Test With BMW, Honda, KTM, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati

Japanese motorcycle manufacturers along with their European counterparts are considered clean enough barring those from Italian manufacturers.

Ever wondered which bike manufacturer has the cleanest running motors. No, we are not exactly talking about emission standards of a motorcycle which are very much equal thanks to emission standards. We are talking about the preciseness of the company’s manufacturing process which results in minimum quantities of impurities getting through an engine from an assembly line.

Test by FortNine
FortNine recently collaborated with a laboratory that evaluated similar criteria for various car makers across the world. The lab tests the first service oil from various manufacturers and checks the presence of impurities of different magnitudes and sizes which are a result of less than a perfect manufacturing process.

A similar evaluation was conducted for several motorcycle manufacturers. FortNine collected first service engine oil from twelve random brands of motorcycles and sent them to the labs for testing. These brands are Royal Enfield, BMW, KTM, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Triumph, Suzuki, Harley Davidson, Aprilia, Ducati and Yin Xiang.

The results which arrived recently, around seven months later, might be a little surprising to motorcycle enthusiasts, especially those from India. Royal Enfield has beaten the rest, and managed to top the list in the clean manufacturing process test.

Quantity & Nature of Impurities
The impurity measured were of various sizes with particles ranging from less than 5 micrometres to 100 micrometres. The laboratory even tried evaluating larger particles but some of the samples were so messed up that they formed alliances with smaller sized impurities which made it hard for scientists to make an accurate reading. However, readings taken were pretty consistent for impurity particles of all sizes. Take a look at the detailed test video below.

While impurities such as carbon and metal shavings are expected to be part of any automobile assembly line and likely to trickle into an engine, the findings suggested presence of other uncommon impurity materials such as cloth fibre, sand, plastic, chips of wood and others. 100ml of each sample was tested for the quality of engine oil, the presence of carbon content in it and the magnitude of impurities.

Yin Xiang Performs Worst
However, impurities in the Chinese manufacturer Yin Xiang’s sample were so large and frequent that scientists could only test 25ml of the sample and multiplied the result into four. No wonder that the manufacturer recorded over an astounding 11.88 million impurity particles in its sample which measured less than 5 micrometres. Two Italian manufacturers Aprilia and Ducati were the next with impurities worth 2.3 and 1.8 million respectively.

Iconic American motorcycle brand Harley Davidson also did not have a favourable result as it fared just a little better than its Italian counterparts. Rest of the makers were considered as clean enough at least for now. While most motors will not have a problem complying with stricter emission norms in future, the Italians and the Chinese manufacturers will have their task cut out.

Royal Enfield-Cleanest of All
The surprising part was that the list was topped by none other than India’s Royal Enfield which had the least number of impurity particulates in its sample. Therefore, it is considered to be one of the cleanest motors, if not the cleanest, in the world.

Currently, lead is used to manufacture spinning parts of motorcycles which is soft enough to absorb impurities rather than grinding them. However, stricter emission norms will ban use of heavy metals which means no more lead. This will pose further challenges to manufacturers in coming days

 

from https://www.albawaba.com

Kaspersky has become a sponsor of Aprilia Racing – one of the most successful teams in motorcycle racing history, Partners with Piaggio Group

Kaspersky has become a sponsor of Aprilia Racing – one of the most successful teams in motorcycle racing history. The cybersecurity company’s logos will be placed on the team’s bikes for the entire 2021 season, starting with the first race in Qatar on March 28. The sponsorship comes as part of Kaspersky’s partnership with Aprilia’s parent company Piaggio Group – Europe’s largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer.

This new sponsorship adds to the cybersecurity vendor’s contribution to motorsport. Kaspersky has been a long-time supporter of talented racers, who the company helps to reach their full potential. The global list of athletes, supported by Kaspersky, includes the first female Emirati racing driver Amna Al Qubaisi, as well as Formula One racer Antonio Giovinazzi.

“Kaspersky is committed to securing the technological progress of the mobility industry and to the development of motorsports. Despite working in different sectors to Piaggio Group and Aprilia, we share the same values of constant improvement, innovation and becoming the best at what we do. I’m sure our partnership will be beneficial for the whole mobility, automotive and motorbike community,” says Alexander Moiseev, CBO of Kaspersky.

Aprilia Racing is the most advanced technological expression of the Piaggio Group – it has won an astonishing 54 world titles, including 28 since the Noale-based manufacturer joined the Piaggio Group in 2005. From its inception, Aprilia Racing has been an extraordinary breeding ground for new talent.

“It is a great honor to have Kaspersky’s name on the Aprilia RS-GP livery this year. Our new partner is a successful name in motorsport and we are sure that MotoGP will represent a wonderful new challenge in this realm. Together, we will be able to enhance talents and honor the true spirit of racing, as both Kaspersky and Aprilia Racing have been able to demonstrate in the course of their history,” says Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia Racing.

The sponsorship of Aprilia is part of Kaspersky’s new partnership with Piaggio Group, which gives one of the world leaders in motorcycle production access to the IT company’s time-proven expertise and the ability to securely use the best of what technology can offer. Kaspersky has long been a household name in automotive cybersecurity – for over a decade it has worked with renowned vehicle manufacturers, as well as developers of connected components.

What do Choppers mean to you? I should know. I’ve worked with the greatest builders on the planet. I’ve built a few myself and I started in the industry because of Choppers.

Hell, I worked with the god father of the Chopper, Arlen Ness on several projects. So, what did they mean to me, when I first started to turn a wrench and built my first rat bike chopper? I was maybe 20, recently back from Vietnam, escaped the harsh family and wondered what the hell I was going to do next.

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