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Jun 27
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Five Motorcycle Sales Trends Shaking the Vintage Market

By General Posts

Prices for classic motorcycles are changing

by James Hewitt from Hagerty.com

There’s a Hagerty Motorcycle Price Guide that uses thousands of transactions to track values on 9751 motorcycles. Here are five trends that stood out to us in the most recent update, released in June.

The smart take in the motorcycle community of late, much like for cars, is that a full-on, concours-level restoration rarely pays — at least financially speaking.

Click Here to Read the full Feature Article. See Photos of the Motorcycle Brands & Models.

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May 18
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Harley-Davidson’s 2nd Generation Serial-1 E-bikes going big on software

By General Posts

Harley-Davidson’s updated Serial 1 e-bikes will feature Google Cloud connectivity
Most of the major changes are under the surface

by Andrew J. Hawkins from https://www.theverge.com/

Serial 1, the electric bike company spun out of Harley-Davidson, launched its second-generation lineup of premium e-bikes — but the biggest changes will be coming to the company’s app.

The updated bikes will come with a host of new software features provided by Serial 1’s new partnership with Google Cloud. The company says that Google Cloud has selected Serial 1 as its new “strategic eMobility partner,” meaning the e-bike maker will be among the first to integrate Google’s software products into its vehicles.

The software-enabled e-bikes will allow owners to track their trips, collect data, and “significantly improve safety and security,” Serial 1 says. It reflects a trend in the e-bike industry to install bikes with cloud-connected software as an additional selling point.

The centerpiece of the new partnership will be the Serial 1 app, in which owners can see turn-by-turn navigation, collect ride data, and control security features on their bike. Serial 1 is promising more high-tech features to come thanks to the company’s “access to Google Cloud analytics and business intelligence and integration with Google Cloud AI functionality.”

Google Cloud will also ensure a stronger connection between the bike and the user’s smartphone. Most e-bikes use Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone app, but Serial 1’s bikes will use cellular and GPS technology, in addition to Bluetooth, to ensure owners can connect to their bikes even when they are not in their line of sight.

Just a quick refresher: Serial 1 is a standalone electric bike company that spun out from Harley-Davidson in October 2020. Its current lineup includes four bikes, ranging in price from $3,399 to $4,999. The brand names are Mosh/Cty, a city bike, and the commuter Rush/Cty, which comes in three variants (regular, Step-Thru, and Speed). Each comes with a mid-drive motor capable of generating 250W of continuous power and hitting top speeds of 20mph — except for the Rush/Cty Speed, which can go 28mph.

The powertrains will be the same in the second-generation bikes. Most of the major changes are under the surface. These include improved security features, such as flashing lights, disabled pedal-assist functionality, and real-time locations.

The Serial 1 app will integrate with Google Maps to provide better navigation, for example, by prioritizing routes with bike lanes. Serial 1’s simplified digital displays are supplied by Brose, a German company that also makes the bike’s powertrain, so users will likely have to mount their smartphones on the handlebars to benefit from these types of features.

The app will also feature a “virtual garage” in which owners can name, track, and digitally manage their e-bikes. This will include a new dashboard for owners to monitor their bike’s ride data, including speed, distance, range, power output (both for the rider and the battery), efficiency, and state-of-charge, among other metrics. Serial 1 owners can record their rides to learn more about their performance and progress. And the app will provide automatic service updates when their bikes are in need of a tune-up.

The physical look and controls for the second-generation bikes will remain largely the same. I loved the bikes when I got to test them out last year. The same team that developed the batteries for Harley-Davidson electric LiveWire motorcycles also developed batteries for Serial 1. The integrated batteries are mounted very low on the frame, which helps with the mass centralization and improved handling.

With this new update, it’s clear Serial 1 is taking aim at major manufacturers like Giant, Trek, and Specialized, which sell premium e-bikes for high-end customers. Specialized, in particular, has been touting the connected software in its Turbo lineup. And like Harley-Davidson, the company just announced that it was spinning out its own brand called Globe that will exclusively focus on utility e-bikes.

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May 17
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Music, Meaning & Motorcycling

By General Posts

Rocking On Requires Some Rolling

by Wayfarer

Sound has more impact on life than we know or credit it for. Sound is not just significant to humans but many lifeforms.

We now have turned sound to music. W have a whole range of music genres to choose from – for entertainment, for ‘edu-taiment’ of kids, for relaxing, for hitting the gym, for romantic night dinners, for wild parties and more.

In this article, there are also a few examples offered of some myths & inspirations from iconic Rock group ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ music & songs.

Often people assume meanings of songs based on lyrics, music style or other socio-cultural information from the period when a song first appeared.

CLICK HERE to read this Exclusive Feature Article only on Bikernet.com

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Apr 14
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Harmful E15 Fuel Labeling Changes that Could Hurt Engines

By General Posts

MIC Tackles Harmful E15 Fuel Labeling Changes that Could Hurt Engines

The MIC is opposing proposed changes by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to modify and remove E15 fuel labeling requirements at gas pumps nationwide. This fuel includes high levels of ethanol, between 10.5 and 15 percent, which can harm powersports engines, degrade performance, increase emissions, cause fuel leaks and even engine failures – as well as voiding manufacturer warranties.

The proposed labeling changes will make it more difficult for consumers to distinguish the difference between E15 and the less harmful E10 fuel, and will fail to communicate the risks of improper E15 use.

“While we appreciate the addition of the word ‘motorcycles’ in the proposed label, we are concerned that the other significant changes to the label minimize its effect and make it look like just another sticker, rather than an alert that people need to pay attention to,” said Scott Schloegel, senior vice president at the MIC Government Relations Office.

“The proposed warning label does not adequately notify consumers about the improper use of E15,” he said. “To the contrary, the proposed changes stress ‘Safe for use in’ rather than drawing ‘ATTENTION’ to the label and instructing them to ‘Use only in’ certain products. The proposed label also removes other critical alert language and replaces it with more matter-of-fact language as outlined in the comparisons below.”

The MIC’s GRO has written to the new EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, stating that the proposed labeling changes will result in adverse environmental, safety, and economic consequences, and deny consumers basic information about engine compatibility. Under the proposed labeling requirements, the words “ATTENTION” and “E15 Up to 15% Ethanol” and “Use Only In” would be replaced with “Contains Up to 15% Ethanol” and “Safe for Use In.”

“The labeling changes do not adequately alert tens of millions of powersports consumers,” Schloegel said. “Fuel dispensers should absolutely be equipped with clear and direct signage.”

A Harris Poll conducted in February 2020, on behalf of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, found that an increasing number of Americans, nearly two in five last year, mistakenly believe that high-ethanol gasoline blends are safe for use in lawn equipment or other small-engine products. The poll found that more than three in five Americans assume that any fuel sold at pumps nationwide is safe for all of their gas-powered products. Further, many consumers said that E15 labeling was ineffective in communicating the danger of using that fuel type in small engines found in motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, and other gasoline-powered machines.