aluminum

Yamaha Motor First to Use Green Aluminum in Japanese Motorcycles

Will gradually adopt low-carbon aluminum in the drive toward carbon-neutral materials Yamaha Motor announced today that it has reached an agreement with an aluminum ingot supplier for the procurement of green aluminum, and began using it as a raw material for parts in Yamaha motorcycles in February 2023. This is the first time for green aluminum to be used in Japanese motorcycles and Yamaha Motor plans to gradually expand its usage in models going forward. “Green aluminum” is aluminum that is refined using renewable energy sources to emit around 60% less CO2 in its manufacture compared to traditionally refined aluminum. Of course, the percentage of less emission by renewable energy depends per manufacturer. Aluminum parts account for 12% to 31%. of the total vehicle weight of a motorcycle, so adopting green aluminum is one effective approach for reducing CO2 emissions from the raw material manufacturing part of a product’s life cycle (falls under Scope 3 Category 1 emissions for supply chains). Through the development of its engineering and production technologies and expertise, Yamaha Motor has actively pushed the use of recycled aluminum, which now comprises some 80% of Yamaha Motor’s aluminum usage. This introduction of green aluminum is meant to complement this and will be employed for parts that still cannot be manufactured with recycled materials. As a first step, Yamaha Motor will utilize green aluminum for certain parts in its large-displacement and off-road competition motorcycles, and Yamaha Motor plans to expand the number of models using the material in the future as available supply volumes allow. In line with the Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050, the company is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality throughout all of its business activities—including its entire supply chain—by 2050. To realize this, Yamaha Motor has set a goal of switching to 100% sustainable […]

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ProTaper Reveals its Industry First Aluminum and Carbon Fiber Handlebar

ProTaper Reveals its Industry First Aluminum and Carbon Fiber Handlebar Offering Greater Strength, Lower Weight for MX Riders Fort Worth TX — January 19, 2022 — ProTaper, the industry leader in motorcycle handlebars and controls, today announced an industry first, a revolutionary carbon fiber-reinforced, aluminum handlebar designed specifically to meet the needs of motocross riders. The ProTaper ACF Handlebar uses a revolutionary Carbon Core system to maintain strength while creating the lightest 1 1/8-inch handlebar in the industry. The use of unidirectional, unwoven carbon fiber creates a core for the bar with a maximum longitudinal tensile strength that is twice the strength of a traditional carbon fiber weave. This carbon fiber core allows ProTaper to reduce the thickness of the strong, 7000 series aluminum alloy walls in key areas, decreasing weight by up to 20% and producing unrivaled impact absorbing flex. In addition, the ACF Handlebar uses ProTaper’s Control+ design, which creates 220 millimeters of space, an increase of up to 40 millimeters, for mounting controls such as hydraulic clutches, ignition mapping switches and electric starters. The Control+ design creates this additional space without ergonomic changes for the rider. “The handlebar is the most critical element in a rider’s control of the bike,” said Randy Valade, brand director for ProTaper. “This innovation in design offers greater control, greater comfort, increased ability to mount crucial controls and reduces weight by up to 20%. Riders have been seeking this advantage for years and now ProTaper will deliver it to them.” The ACF Handlebar is available in four bends to allow rider the fit that they prefer on their motocross bike. The CR High, Carmichael, Henry/Reed and SX Race bends are available in black and retails for $139.99. About ProTaper Since 1991, ProTaper has led the way in premium control components. The brand

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Harley-Davidson Vegas Is an Ode to Drilled Aluminum

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Much more so than when it comes to cars, wheels play a very important role in the motorcycle world. And we’re not saying that from a functional standpoint alone, but from an aesthetics one as well. Whereas custom cars can be made to look good with a variety of such parts, custom motorcycle makers have to be a bit more careful in choosing their hardware, because a poor choice could easily ruin whatever message they are trying to send across. Of course, the selection process is much easier when shops have the means to build wheels in-house. So is the case with German shop Thunderbike. In business for close to three decades now, these guys are advanced enough to have their own production lines for custom parts, including the hardware that allows the bikes to transfer the engine’s power to the ground. Not once Thunderbike has created motorcycles with the sole purpose of advertising the wheels it makes in its own shop. We’ve seen recently that was the case with the Spoke Bob 21, or the Big Spoke. The one here, called Vegas Drilled, is part of the same category. Unlike the two other bikes mentioned, which used a multi-spoked design for the rims, this one goes for a much simpler approach. CNC-machined from aluminum, just like most of the wheels Thunderbike makes, the piece comes with only 5-spokes, and with sizes ranging from 18 to 23 inches. Unlike them though, they have a bicolor cut and polished rim edge. As usual, the wheels are not the only extra fitted on the Street Bob used as a base. A total of around 30 parts went into the project, ranging from the grips and ending with the air ride suspension, and increased the base bike’s value

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