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BMW Could Be Building Electric Motorcycles In Five Years

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by Brad Anderson from https://www.carscoops.com/ It’s not just electric cars that have started to pop up with increased frequency in recent years as all-electric motorcycles are also becoming more commonplace. BMW Motorrad doesn’t appear to be in a rush to bring electric bikes of its own to the market, however. While recently speaking with Cycle World, head of BMW Motorrad Dr. Markus Schramm said that electric motorcycles may make sense in urban environments, but that could be it. “As the Vision DC Roadster concept shows, we see this as a power portfolio of the future,” he said. “In the urban environment, it is possible that there will be an electric BMW motorcycle in five years. In the touring, off-road, and sport segments, I am not sure that we will see them.” The BMW Vision DC Roadster was introduced at the company’s #NEXTGen event back in June as an all-electric model featuring a battery pack with metallic cooling ribs and two fans. Sending power through the rear wheels is a cylinder-shaped electric motor. The bike has an exterior design unlike any other BMW motorcycle and is not expected to find its way into the production line. “I am convinced that the motorcycle as a product becomes more and more important—not about commuting, but as leisure product,” Schramm added during the interview. “Electric mobility will be important for motorcycles in urban areas within five years.” If electric power becomes more common on motorcycles focused on urban commuting, it seems inevitable that more enthusiast-oriented motorcycles will retain their high-revving internal combustion engines for years to come.

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Panasonic-Equipped Vehicles At CES 2020 Include Harleys

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by Jim Henry from https://www.forbes.com Panasonic-Equipped Vehicles At CES 2020 Include Harleys And Even A Battery Powered Fire Truck Panasonic Automotive branches out at the upcoming CES 2020, adding motorcycles from Harley-Davidson and compact, “right-sized” electric trucks for commercial use from Tropos Technologies Inc., to the Panasonic stand at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. “We’re doing a lot of collaboration,” Andrew Poliak, Panasonic Automotive CTO, said in a phone interview. CES 2020 runs Jan. 7 through Jan. 10 in Las Vegas. Media previews begin Jan. 5. Panasonic is a world leader in automotive batteries, automotive infotainment, and vehicle connectivity solutions. At CES 2019 a year ago, Panasonic and Harley jointly unveiled the Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle, the first battery powered Harley built by the manufacturer. Besides the electric powertrain, the LiveWire was introduced along with a suite of connected features Harley calls H-D Connect. Some functions, used in conjunction with the H-D smartphone app, are aimed specifically at the electric motorcycle, like searching for recharging stations and the ability to check remotely how much the battery is charged. This year, starting with the 2020 model year that began in August 2019, Harley is rolling out connected features for many of its bikes with internal combustion engines, too. For instance, owners can check fuel level remotely instead of battery charge. Other features work for either electric or traditional powertrains, such as service reminders and tamper alerts. There’s also a stolen vehicle tracking service. Meanwhile in May 2019, Panasonic and Tropos announced a partnership to produce battery powered commercial vehicles. According to Poliak, those include a small “fire response vehicle,” and small delivery trucks aimed at fulfilling the “last mile” requirement for fast delivery. John R. Bautista III, Tropos CEO and founder, said in a video on the Tropos web site that

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Return of the Titan

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A Brother Brings the Giant Back to Life and Youth to His… I had the wants for another custom bike but have turned into a cheap old fucker since getting SS at 62. I’m still a chopper guy and decided a Big Dog or Texas Chopper was it. Limited funds had me loosing auctions on EBay. Up pops a ‘98 Titan with no reserve only 300 miles away. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FEATURE ARTICLE

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NAWA’s Radical Electric Motorcycle Highlights The Potential Of Supercapacitors In EVs

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by Bill Roberson from https://www.forbes.com/ Despite the fact that they have built an electric motorcycle, French tech company NAWA Technologies, or just NAWA for short, isn’t in the business of building electric motorcycles – they build batteries. But maybe they should reconsider the motorcycle market option, especially in light of the one-off bike they did just indeed build, because it’s a serious looker packed with possibly industry-changing technologies. The NAWA Racer’s sleek, minimalist styling comes courtesy of a collaboration with Envisage Group, who have been involved with Jaguar and other brands that want some cool lines with their new tech. One highlight is a hubless rear wheel, although the bike is covered in cool touches including the wrap-around LED taillight and duck-tailed seat. But beyond the slick lines and hubless rear hoop of the NAWA Racer, the cafe-racer inspired from-the-future motorbike carries an underlying technology that significantly boosts performance and could signal a significant step forward for electric motorcycle performance – or the performance potential of anything that needs batteries for motive power, including electric cars. NAWA has added a supercapacitor to the Racer (NAWA calls it an ultracapacitor, and have branded it as NAWACap), and the short version of the technese is this: A supercapacitor is similar to a battery, except it can be charged in seconds, and can then dump that charge at an extremely high rate – far beyond what a battery can provide – for an instant boost in power. It can also repeat that feat millions of times without any substantial performance losses. NAWA isn’t the first company to put a supercapacitor into service; supercar maker Lamborghini is integrating a supercapacitor system into their new Sián hypercar (sorry, but all 63 are sold out at $3.6 million per copy). According to information provided by NAWA,

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A futuristic new electric motorcycle that will power itself by braking

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by Michael Thomsen from https://www.dailymail.co.uk Futuristic new e-motorbike uses a lightweight ultracapacitor that allows it to harvest up to 90 percent of its braking energy – but the prototype won’t ever be sold The Nawa Racer will have a 99-horsepower engine and have a range of 180 miles It will be powered by a hybrid lithium batter and ultracapcitor system The ultracapacitor will rapidly store and discharge energy released from braking Nawa isn’t planning to release their bike commercially The company hopes the energy system will inspire other manufacturers A new electric motorcycle will use an innovative system to capture energy from its own brakes to extend its range up to 180 miles, more than 50 percent further than other electric motorcycles. Called the Nawa Racer, the e-bike will be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show 2020 in January, and was developed by the French energy technologies firm Nawa. The Racer will have a 99-horsepower engine that will allow it to go from 0-62mph in under three seconds, and come with a 9-kWh lithium batter pack. The real star, however is a unique ultracapicitor system that acts as a secondary power source for the engine and which is housed elegantly above the battery in the motorcycle’s frame. The unique ultracapacitor system that will help give the back a maximum range that’s 70 miles more more than Harley Davidson’s anticipated LiveWire. The extra range is made possible by a unique system that captures energy generated when the bike brakes. Unlike traditional lithium batteries, which are both slow to recharge and have a limited number of times their cells can discharge energy before wearing out, ultracapacitor can be charged quickly and repeatedly discharge small amounts of electricity with minimal wear. This makes it an ideal power source for in-city driving, where frequent

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E-bikes to rule the US EV market in next decade

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In the last couple of years, e-bike sales have been growing steadily in the US, but they still represent a small part of the overall segment in the country. Electric vehicle market in the US in the next decade will be dominated by e-bikes, claims a media report. It forecasts a total of 113 million e-bikes will be sold in the country between 2020-2023. Sales of the electric bikes in the US have grown more than eight-fold since 2014, claims the report further. In the last couple of years, sales of e-bikes have been growing steadily in the US, but they still represent a small part of the overall bike segment in the country. As the report claims, e-bike sales jumped by an incredible 91 per cent from 2016 to 2017. Also, it grew 72 per cent from 2017 to 2018 to reach $143.4 million, as revealed by market research firm NPD Group. Between 2006 and 2012, e-bikes represented less than 1 per cent of total annual bike sales. In 2013, US customers bought 1.85 lakh e-bikes, while across all of Europe, 1.8 million units were retailed. The media report quotes Jeff Loucks, executive director of Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications centre, who said that e-bike sales will not increase evenly across the US. He forecasts cities, in particular, will see the biggest adoption rates. As he said, “We’re seeing more people move into the urban core of cities throughout the United States. And it’s just going to put a huge load on the roadways and on public transportation systems if some of that isn’t taking place by bike.” from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

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Rik Albert blends love of motorcycles, cars with art

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by Thia James from https://thestarphoenix.com Saskatoon’s Rik Albert speaks about his unique art and his 10-year quest to bring an ergonomic bike handle bar to market. “You build that?” asks a man walking along the residential street where Rik Albert rides his bike, equipped with a Toon bar, a raised handle bar of his invention. Albert explains that the handle bar is for people with carpal tunnel syndrome — since it’s intended to relieve some of the pressure put on the rider’s wrists — and people with spinal injuries, since the rider remains in an upright position. “Holy smokes,” the man replies. Both continue on their way. The Toon bar has been a 10-year passion for Albert. It’s still at the prototype stage, but he’s been an unfailing advocate for his invention. He created a video, wrote a letter to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and has appeared on local television to spread the word about his creation. He reached out to DeGeneres, who is originally from Louisiana, because they share Acadian roots, he says. He’s originally from New Brunswick. Albert’s father was from New Brunswick and his mom was from Western Canada; they met in Ontario and moved to New Brunswick, then to Montreal, where he became bilingual by learning English. When his parents divorced, he moved to Esterhazy, Sask. when he was about 10 years old. “(When I) got off the train, I could see the Atlantic and I could see the Pacific, and went ‘Wow, this is flat,’ ” he jokes. Albert went on to work for General Motors and Harley-Davidson, which speaks to both of his passions, cars and motorcycles. The idea for the raised handle bar came almost out of necessity. As he puts it, he’s already used seven of his nine lives. When he

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Ultra Carbon Looks Like a Motorcycle But Is Really an Electric Bike

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by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com/ We know, electric bikes are a dime a dozen these days, as are fat-tire bicycles. With the ongoing conversation on the climate crisis and the need for urgent action to reduce exhaust emissions, various alternative, greener mobility solutions have sprung. E-bikes are among the most popular, and the offer is so varied anyone can find something to like, depending on budget and preferences. Italian maker Moto Parilla knows that too: with e-bikes, you really have to think outside the box in order to get people to notice you. So, it’s trying to carve a separate niche of the market for itself, offering a pedal-assist bicycle that works just as well in the city as it does on the most difficult trail, but which was designed with the latter in mind. Ultra Carbon represents an improvement over the Carbon range from Moto Parilla: it’s powerful and reliable, designed to be taken out on the bumpiest road, but it’s also fully customizable. Moto Parilla even goes as far as to call it a work of art because it will be hand-building each bike according to its new owner’s specifications, with every detail hand-finished. Based on photos alone, you have to admit: the Ultra Carbon packs a punch. It’s sturdy enough to fool the untrained eye into mistaking it for a motorcycle, but it’s elegant at the same time. “Starting from the Carbon line, the Ultra goes beyond to highlight the concept of uniqueness,” the maker says. “Every Ultra is designed around the biometrics of the rider. The aluminum frame is obtained by a single aluminum block. As a sculptor, the numerical control machine removes the aluminum excess to find aggressive shapes and lines, to indulge the engine power, the speediness and the personality as well.” What this

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Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

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by Chris Bumbray from https://www.joblo.com THE STORY: The year is 1996 – the future. A biker (Mickey Rourke) and his cowboy pal (Don Johnson) team up to save their favorite bar from going under. To pull this off, they plan a heist but wind up in possession of a massive load of a popular new street drug called “Crystal Dream.” THE PLAYERS: Starring: Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Chelsea Field, Giancarlo Esposito, Tom Sizemore, and Daniel Baldwin. Directed by Simon Wincer. “I was fortunate enough to work on a film with Don, the only bad part was-the director sucked, but Don knew so much about behind the camera stuff, he used to tell director where to put the camera. It would be my pleasure to let anyone know Don Johnson is a very great actor and has been underrated for many years. I mean the guy so good looking, all he has to do is blink and you can’t take your eyes off him.- Mickey Rourke’s Instagram THE HISTORY: Both Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson were in transition in 1991. Rourke was coming off of a slew of disastrous films, including the much-maligned WILD ORCHID and DESPERATE HOURS, while Johnson was still struggling to establish himself as a leading man in the wake of “Miami Vice” finishing its TV run. Thus, the two signed on to do this high profile, big-budget action flick, which I’m sure seemed like a can’t miss proposition at the box office to them both – this being the heyday of R-rated action. Suffice to say, the movie was met with uniform hostility from critics, with many mocking the product placement in the title, with the leads being named after their favorite brand of motorcycle and cigarette. BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID this was not. It

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Savic Electric Motorcycle Is Thor’s Hammer in the Hands of Mad Max

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Because there are so many startups now in the business of making – or at least planning to make – electric motorcycles, it’s impossible to know them all. Yet, from time to time, one stands out, like it’s the case with Melbourne-based Savic Motorcycles. Led by a man who at some point in his career worked for Ford Australia, Dennis Savic, the company set out to create an electric bike even Mad Max would be proud of riding on Fury Road. Designed as a c-series cafe racer, the bike is officially Australia’s first locally-made electric two-wheeler that should offer decent performance levels for an incredibly affordable price. Sometime in the near future, there will be three variants of the Savic bike available, namely Omega, Delta and Alpha, each with a differently-sized battery and increasing range: 120, 150 and 200 km, respectively (74, 93, 124 miles). Zero to 80 percent charging time ranges from 2 to four hours. The electric motor fitted on it, of unspecified power, allows for 0 to 62 mph acceleration of between 3.5 and 5.5 seconds, depending on the version. Built as all motorcycles in its class for speed and handling, the Savic does not look particularly comfortable, but it does look.. familiar. The seat for the rider and the part that in conventional bikes is the fuel tank come together to become what looks like half of Thor’s hammer mounted on two wheels. Just by looking at it, one could say this cafe racer will be prohibitively priced, but it truly isn’t. The Australians plan to sell the entry-level Omega for $12,990, while the top of the range Alpha would retail for $23,990. There is no word yet on when production is expected to start, but Savic is already accepting submissions

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