commuter

Friggin’ Economies of Scale

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by Ujjwal Dey with images & illustrations by Wayfarer In Harley-Davidson’s desperate search for volume sales, Will there be a smaller Harley-Davidson X210 in India? X440 is already the smallest engine – perhaps too small of an engine – to be considered a ‘real’ Harley for those who can actually afford to buy it. A rumoured Harley X210 may share the same design elements as the current X440. The smaller H-D is rumoured to be powered by the same 210cc single-cylinder engine found in the Hero Karizma XMR. Have a look at this editorial story giving you the background and the ground zero of Harley-Davidson’s new speculated adventure. Click Here to read this article, only on Bikernet.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To Stay updated on all Motorcycle News and Events…simply Click & Subscribe to Bikernet’s FREE Weekly Newsletter

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Electric Kawasaki Announced: Ninja E-1 and Z E-1

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These Electric models will aim to capture the 125cc commuter class for urban mobility Kawasaki Europe has officially announced full specifications and details about its first electric motorcycles. Ninja e-1 sportbike and the naked Z e-1 are to be launched in Europe. Both models are classified as 125cc-class motorcycles and will reach European markets soon. It is expected that other markets including Australia, Japan, and America will get these too. Both the e-1 models are powered by the same air-cooled interior permanent magnet synchronous motor, rated at 6.7 hp at 2,800 rpm (claimed peak output of 12.1 hp), and a claimed 29.9 lb-ft. of torque. The curb weight is 298 pounds compared to 324 pounds for the Z 125. Each motorcycle will be powered by two removable 50.4 V lithium-ion battery packs, and each having a nominal capacity of 30 Ah. The batteries are mounted in parallel under a storage compartment where typically a fuel tank is located. After installation, the battery charge levels are shown on the left and right sides of a TFT display. Each battery has its own charge level indicator. Another interesting feature is the three different ways to charge these batteries: plugging it into a charger, connecting it to a charging dock, or, with the battery installed on the motorcycle, by connecting the charger to a port located in the tail. Kawasaki has claimed charging time from 0 to 100% in just 3.7 hours for each battery, and a partial charge from 20 to 85% in 1.6 hours. Knowing the industry reputation of Kawasaki in heavy machinery and not just motorcycles, one can be assured of quality and performance from electric motorcycles presented under a Kawasaki badge. * * * * Tinker and test beyond your garage. Get the free weekly newsletter from Bikernet Blog

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Financial Weightage of Light-Weight Motorcycles

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Volume Sales, Fuel-efficiency, On-road manoeuvrability A decade ago, almost all manufacturers released fairly uninspired, derivative lightweight motorcycles that fit the commuter model, and sold like hot cakes irrespective of lacking common features in American bikes. Not to mention they were fugly like Satan’s spawn. They would make the mid-weight class look like a run-of-the-mill hack job, with the primary focus on cutting costs wherever possible. Thankfully, Royal Enfield changed all of that and stepped up its game with each new model release. Click here to read this global report on emerging motorcycle market. * * * * * * * * Follow the leader, click to subscribe to Bikernet’s Free Weekly Newsletter.

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Honda CBR300R ABS 2022 : Road Test

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by Kyle Smith from https://www.hagerty.com/ Picture this: You’re hanging around the Rock Store at the top of Mulholland Highway with your rental Camry the day before you fly home. The leather-clad crowd around praises the virtues of the GSXR600 chassis and the electronics package on the R1 for what seems like hours before a voice from the ether comes down and declares that, in fact, all of that sucks. Instead the holy follow the real truth of Slow Bike Fast. This truly enlightened rider who belongs to that voice is astride a miniscule machine that looks like a sportbike that stayed in the dryer just a bit too long and has an exhaust note like a mix of an old enduro machine and the Singer your mom used to repair your jeans way back when. Is this person insane or a prophet? There’s only one way to say for sure. I took the Honda CBR300R out for a week of playing in the canyons alongside some high-horsepower (and highly capable) machines to see if it truly held up. This 250cc-400cc market segment is now a packed class, with the KTM RC390, Yamaha R3, Kawasaki Ninja 400, and Suzuki GSX250R all competing for both attention from new riders and track rats alike. That is two very different subsets of buyers but it all boils down to similar wants and desires: Reliability, approachability, and fun factor. Honda comes right out and calls the 300 a commuter machine in some of its press materials. It is an evolution of the CBR250R which lived from 2011 to 2015, after which the engine was upsized to the current 286cc. The non-ABS equipped model comes in at $4,899 plus $600 in destination and freight charges. Add in the well-tuned ABS, as seen on our test bike,

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Aptera Motors Beta Vehicle

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Happy Holidays from Beta! It’s been a BUSY last few weeks for Aptera. We’ve been hard at work building our first Beta vehicles and now we can gladly say the long hours have paid off. We achieved our goal of taking our first drive in Beta before year’s end and we cannot wait to share more footage with the entire Aptera family soon! Over the last few weeks, we finished the assembly and fine tuning of our very first Beta, which includes impressive improvements in the front and rear suspension as well as neater cable routing of our in-wheel motors. This first Beta will be used for vehicle dynamics testing and for the validation of our suspension design. WHO’S READY TO SEE IT ON THE TRACK? Because of your incredible support of Aptera, this is just one of many milestones we hit in 2021. We now have over 150 employees, 15,000 future Aptera owners and over 8,000 Aptera shareholders from all over the world. We are so humbled by the support of so many people who share our commitment to building the world’s most efficient transportation. We are stepping into the New Year with a lot to be grateful for and much excitement for the year ahead. BEST WISHES TO YOU FROM THE ENTIRE APTERA FAMILY! Still need a last minute holiday gift? You can get 50% off an Aptera pre-order reservation (a value of up to $50) for a loved one until the end of the year. Use promo code HOLIDAY50 at checkout to qualify. And don’t forget, our fundraising round will also be closing on December 31 at midnight. WEBSITE : https://www.aptera.us/

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Why motorcycle lane-splitting is Legal in California but Not in 49 other states

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Why California lets motorcycles legally split lanes while 49 other states do not from https://ktla.com by Tony Kurzweil If you’ve ever been startled out of the doldrums of your afternoon commute by a thundering, lane splitting Harley Davidson and cursed whoever is responsible, you’re not alone. But before you blast the California Highway Patrol with emails listing all the reasons why that congestion-cutting biker should be given a ticket and told to stay in his lane, there are some things you should know. First, not only is lane sharing or lane splitting legal in California but the CHP wrote the safety guidelines as instructed in AB51, which was approved by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016. In fact, although lane sharing occurs in other states, California is the only place where the practice has been made legal. But why? Well, one reason is that lane sharing has been going on in California ever since motorcycles have been on the freeway, so it was important to set some ground rules, CHP Motorcycle Officer Brian O’Toole said. The second, and maybe more interesting reason, is that it makes time spent on the freeway shorter, not only for motorcyclists but for us four-wheel motorists as well. “As motorcycles are moving through, splitting the lanes … that’s one less vehicle occupying that lane,” CHP Motorcycle Officer Brian O’Toole said. “It’s saving the average motorist in a car time … If we were to all of a sudden not allow lane splitting anymore, that’s a motorcycle sitting in the lane ahead of them,” O’Toole said. But just because the motorcyclist has the CHP on their side when it comes to lane sharing, it doesn’t mean they can recklessly speed past you. “It’s still a privilege … We’re the only state left, so it’s a privilege for

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Honda Motorcycle bought in 1981 with zero miles in original condition

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Honda motorbike bought in 1981 that has zero miles on the clock because it was confiscated by its teenage owner’s father and locked in garden shed goes up for auction for £2,000 Honda CB100N was bought 40 years ago but was never ridden by its teen owner Strict father banned him from riding it and it stayed untouched locked in storage After father died, son found his bike in remarkable condition four decades later The 1981 bike is now going up for auction and is expected to fetch up to £2,000 by Katie Feehan from https://www.dailymail.co.uk A 40-year-old Honda bike with no mileage on it has been rediscovered and is up for auction after the disapproving father of its first teen owner banned him from riding it and locked it away in storage for decades. The 1981 Honda CB100N was bought brand new by the youngster in his youth while he lived with his parents. However, his boyhood fantasy of riding a motorcycle never materialised because his strict father banned him from riding it. Instead the machine was left to languish in storage for the next four decades. After his father died the unnamed owner, who is now aged in his 50s, was tasked with clearing out his house in Bridgewater, Somerset, and stumbled upon his old but immaculate bike. He agreed to sell the time-capsule Honda to neighbour Graham Tozer who has now put it up for sale at auction. The bike still has its original tax certificate with an expiry date of July 31, 1982. The odometre displays the exact mileage of a mere four tenths of a mile. Mr Tozer, 64, said: ‘I’m a collector of classic bikes and cars, so six months ago my neighbour called me up and said they needed rid of it. ‘He

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BMW Vision AMBY showcases excellence against H-D Serial 1 e-bikes

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SOURCE: https://www.autoevolution.com/ SOURCE: https://www.financialexpress.com/ BMW unveils Vision AMBY electric bikes: 300+ km range, 60 km/h top speed! BMW Motorrad Vision AMBY Breaks the Norm With Striking Design and Advanced Tech Of BMW’s 2021 IAA display, a very interesting one is the BMW i Vision AMBY, a peddle electric bicycle that boasts three speed ratings – 25 km/h for cycle tracks, 45 km/h for the city and 60 km/h for multi-lane roads (although, higher speeds would require a licence as well). The i Vision AMBY also gets the rest of fancy EV features like geofencing which can be used for automatically adjusting its speed. It is one of five different concept vehicles with which the BMW Group is presenting at the IAA Mobility event. While users of the BMW i Vision AMBY have to constantly pedal in order to benefit from the assistance of the electric drive system, BMW Motorrad Vision AMBY accelerates via a throttle grip One of the five concept vehicles showcased by BMW at IAA Mobility 2021 is truly innovative – neither a bike or a motorcycle, the BMW Motorrad Vision AMBY blends the best of each category with advanced connectivity and geofencing technology. BMW unveiled two electric vehicles with two wheels under the “Adaptive Mobility” (AMBY) concept. Both of them come with three speed levels for different types of road, and require an adequate driving license, insurance license plates, and a helmet for riding at maximum speed. Compared to the BMW i Vision AMBY that requires constant pedaling, the Motorrad Vision uses the throttle grip and features footrests instead of pedals, like a motorcycle. According to BMW, while it resembles a bicycle, the new Motorrad Vision flaunts the features of a powerful motorbike, including an 830 mm-tall (32.6”) seat, a large bicycle fork, a small headlight with

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Electric dream: Horwin CR6 reviewed

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by Fraser Addecott from https://www.mirror.co.uk Sales of electric two-wheelers are booming and with manufacturers producing bikes like this one, it’s easy to see why. It seems difficult to keep up with the number of new electric two-wheelers coming on to the market these days. The trend was already under way and has only been accelerated by the pandemic, with commuters and others looking for alternatives to public transport. Figures from the Motorcycle Industry Association show sales of electrics for June up 155% compared to the same month last year. Sales for the year up until last month are also up 210% compared to the same period in 2020. That is impressive growth, with the majority of bikes sold falling in the 50cc and 125cc equivalent categories. Artisan Electric is a British company established in 2016 with a “mission to change the face of electric motorcycles and scooters with industry-leading innovation and product quality”. The company offers a range of seven electric bikes and scooters – and the one I am testing here is the CR6. This is a 125cc-equivalent machine, with a pretty cool retro-meets-futuristic look. The air-cooled electric motor is powered by a 3.96kWh Panasonic lithium-ion battery. Careful riding will produce a range of around 60 miles. Haring around flat out – top speed is about 55mph – will cut your range to around 30 miles. That may not sound much, but the CR6 is aimed at commuters and for jaunts into town, so it’s perfectly adequate. A full charge from zero takes around four hours, but bear in mind you’ll hardly ever be charging from completely flat, so shorter times are more realistic. Charging is via a standard three-pin socket and a socket in the side of the bike. The battery comes with a reassuring three-year warranty. On

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Yamaha XSR125 makes global debut

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from https://www.financialexpress.com Smallest neo-retro XSR to launch in Europe in June. A new-retro-styled Yamaha has just been revealed which would make fun daily commuter, enter XSR125 – the smallest XSR to date. The Japanese manufacturer is expanding its 125cc portfolio with the XSR125 which is based on the same platform as the MT-125 and R125 but with classic clothing. Although it packs a range of modern features which are quite a necessity now. Yamaha XSR125 is powered by a 124cc liquid-cooled SOHC engine that puts out 14.7 bhp at 10,000 rpm and 11.5 Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm and is paired with a six-speed transmission. The engine boasts advanced Variable Valve Actuation and is Euro V compliant. Being a neo-retro, the XSR125 gets a round headlamp casing but with an LED lamp and an LED tail lamp as well, a rounded fuel tank design, and a long flat seat. Bodywork has been kept at its minimal with the underbelly revealing the engine and radiator, but it does get an engine guard. The instrument cluster is a retro-themed LCD display with a chrome outer finish. Colour options include Redline, Impact Yellow and Tech Black, along with contrasting decals for each. Suspension setup includes 37 mm upside-down forks and swingarm for the rear and brakes are covered by a 267 mm disc up front and a 220 mm at the rear. Tyre sizes are 110 and 140, front and rear. It weighs in at 140 kg with a seat height of 815 mm, 160 mm ground clearance and a fuel tank capacity of 11 litres.

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