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FTR Sport: Indian Motorcycle 2023 Launch

By General Posts

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE ANNOUNCES 2023 MODEL YEAR LINEUP;
REVISES FTR LINEUP & DEBUTS INDIAN CHALLENGER ELITE

  • FTR Lineup Adds Fresh, Vibrant Colors, While New FTR Sport & FTR R Carbon Upgrade to Four-Inch Round Touchscreen Display with Navigation
  • Indian Challenger Elite Delivers the Ultimate in Style & Exclusivity;
  • New Sapphire Blue Smoke Paint with Black Smoke & Titanium Metallic Smoke Combine Premium Quality with Head-Turning Style
  • From Scout to Indian Pursuit, the 2023 Lineup Offers Models & Styles for Any Rider;
  • New Indian Motorcycle Accessories Further Expand Personalization Options

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – November 8, 2022 – Indian Motorcycle, America’s First Motorcycle Company, today announced its 2023 model year lineup, featuring the new FTR Sport and Indian Challenger Elite, along with various model updates and new accessories across the line. In addition, the 2023 lineup features a variety of new color options, highlighted by vibrant color schemes for FTR and FTR Sport on newly designed tank covers.

“Fully loaded with models and styles for the widest range of riders, the 2023 lineup is a powerful testament to our team’s relentless effort to build and refine a truly comprehensive product offering over the past nine years,” said Mike Dougherty, President for Indian Motorcycle. “This effort has been focused across the line and within each model lineup, as evidenced by the introduction of the FTR Sport – the addition of which creates four unique FTR offerings, each with its own style and personality.”

FTR: An American Original
Headlining the 2023 model year news is the introduction of a new FTR mid-range trim, the FTR Sport. Replacing FTR S, the FTR Sport sits just below the premium FTR R Carbon, but above of the FTR and FTR Rally – creating four distinct trim models for riders to choose from.

Designed for riders to cut loose and enjoy the pure sport of motorcycling, the FTR Sport’s bold aesthetics and sporty componentry, including a number plate, chin fairing and seat cowl, take the FTR’s energetic attitude to another level. A totally unique take on American V-twin performance with an unmistakable, muscular style, the FTR truly is an American original.

New for 2023, the FTR Sport and FTR R Carbon are upgraded with a four-inch round touchscreen display powered by RIDE COMMAND, featuring navigation. Three ride modes (Sport, Standard, Rain) provide unique performance experiences for varying preferences and riding conditions, while Lean Angle Sensitive Stability Control and ABS provide confident, predictable handling in all conditions. The FTR R Carbon separates itself as the premium offering with carbon fiber components, premium seat, fully adjustable Öhlins gold front forks and a gold piggyback shock. The FTR Sport touts a new tank panel design and is available in Black Metallic with Indy Red accents and White Lightning with Indy Red and Black Metallic accents. The iconic Indian Script logo tank panels are exclusive to the FTR R Carbon, which is finished with a classy Cloud Silver and Championship Gold pinstriping.

While primary componentry carry-over for FTR and FTR Rally models, all four FTR models now offer a new sport exhaust muffler, and a retuned front braking system, which provides a firmer feel. Indian Motorcycle also moved the speedometer up for easier viewing and added a new clutch for improved feel and performance. With the new tank panel design, as seen on FTR Sport, and the addition of bold, vibrant colors, the refreshed FTR further broadens the appeal of the FTR lineup to more riders. The FTR is available in Metallic Black, contrasted by Lifted Lime branding with matching rear shock, and Stealth Gray, featuring Orange Burst branding, rear shock and wheels. Finally, the FTR Rally features 19- and 18-inch cast wheels wrapped with knobby tires. The FTR Rally is available in new Black Smoke paint, Desert Earth frame, and the iconic Indian Motorcycle Headdress logo emblazed across the tank. Pricing for the FTR lineup begins at $13,499.

For added personalization, Indian Motorcycle is launching nine new FTR accessories. Through a brand partnership with Gilles Tooling, Indian Motorcycle is offering co-branded pieces, including Performance Adjustable Rearsets, and three Billet components: Bar End Weights, an Oil Cap and a Radiator Cap. Performance Adjustable Levers will also be available in spring 2023. In addition, Indian Motorcycle has expanded its carbon fiber offering with three new pieces, including an Exhaust Heat Shield, Frame Guard and a Sprocket Cover. To enhance comfort, Indian Motorcycle has introduced a durable and weather-resistant Comfort+ Seat, which combines comfortable ergonomics with additional padding where needed most.

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Indian Challenger Elite: Ultimate in Style & Exclusivity
For riders looking for something more exclusive and elevated from the rest, Indian Motorcycle is offering the 2023 Indian Challenger Elite. With only 150 available around the world, the limited-edition bagger makes a bold statement with its premium Sapphire Blue Smoke Paint with Black Smoke and Titanium Metallic Smoke Accents.

The perfect blend of style, performance and comfort, the Indian Challenger Elite is sure to turn heads on streets and crush miles on open highways. The PowerPlus engine touts a best-in-class 122 horsepower and 128 ft-lbs of torque, and its premium amenities and advanced ride-enhancing technology deliver a ride experience that’s second-to-none. Indian Challenger Elite’s long list of premium features include the following: three selectable ride modes, electronically adjustable rear suspension preload from Fox®, Smart Lean Technology, an adaptive LED Headlight, LED driving lights, an adjustable flare windscreen, Select floorboards, heated grips, 6.5” Powerband Audio with Saddlebag Speakers, and a new Precision Cut five-spoke wheel. All-in, whether riding two-up for a weekend adventure or commuting solo, the Indian Challenger Elite delivers the ultimate in style and exclusivity.

2023 LINEUP: A Diverse Range for Any Rider
Touting a wider range of models and options than ever before, the 2023 Indian Motorcycle line offers a model suited for any rider and a host of new upgrades, including:

  • All Thunderstroke and PowerPlus models receive a new clutch – improving the overall feel and forgiveness. This new slipper clutch reduces engine drag which provides a smoother down shifting experience and comfortable ride while improving your ability to maintain traction when facing poor road conditions. Lastly, the larger friction zone and decreased lever effort reduces your clutch fatigue, which can be beneficial in urban areas or when riding in traffic.
  • Indian Springfield, Chieftain, Indian Challenger, Roadmaster and Indian Pursuit models feature a redesigned LED headlight, which improves reach and spread of light — helping the rider see what lies ahead, while also improving their visibility to other motorists on the road.
  • Integrated buttons on the Heated Seats and Heated and Cooled Seats for PowerPlus and heavyweight Thunderstroke models now feature haptics, which allow riders to feel the button’s responsive when wearing gloves.
    Indian Pursuit with Premium Package models now offer Lower Fairing Storage compartments as standard.
  • Models with the four-inch round touchscreen display can now tie their RIDE COMMAND account from the Indian Motorcycle app or website to their bike, allowing app and web-accessible features like vehicle health, vehicle locator and ride tracking.

Across the line, Indian Motorcycle has introduced an array of new paint colors, including Sagebrush Smoke on Chief Dark Horse and Stryker Red Metallic on Scout Bobber Sixty, Chief Bobber and Roadmaster Limited models. Spirit Blue Metallic is a new color option on Chieftain Limited and Indian Pursuit models, while Titanium Smoke is introduced to Indian Challenger Dark Horse models. For a comprehensive view of the lineup’s new paint colors, please visit IndianMotorcycle.com.

For 2023, Indian Motorcycle is introducing an array of functional accessories. First, in partnership with CruzTOOLS®, Indian Motorcycle is launching three accessories, including two tool kits compatible with all models and an axle adapter for FTR models. To add storage to most models, a new All-Weather Vinyl Tailbag attaches to select passenger seats or luggage racks. In addition, a new Syndicate Heated Seat is available for Indian Challenger models, while a Reduced Reach Kickstand is now available for all Indian Challenger and Indian Pursuit models.

For the Chief line, Indian Motorcycle is launching two new bag options. The Chief Fork Bag attaches securely to the front of the handlebars and is perfect for storing smaller items like gloves, glasses, cell phones or water bottles. The new Chief Bobber Saddlebags are water-resistant and add convenient storage without sacrificing style.

For added comfort, Indian Motorcycle is offering Chief riders an upgraded Comfort+ Solo Seat and a two-up Syndicate Seat. The Comfort+ Solo Seat pulls design inspiration from old-school muscle car interiors. The top is more plush than the stock seat and contours to hold the rider securely and comfortably. The new Chief Syndicate Seat complements the bike’s distinct design, while adding comfort and support for both rider and passenger. The Syndicate Seat is made with a durable, weather-resistant black vinyl that won’t fade.

For Chief passengers, Indian Motorcycle is introducing the Low Profile Passenger Backrest, which complements the bike’s style and adds cushioned support to the passenger’s posterior.

Lastly, the new Quick Release Low Profile Trunk for bagger and touring models is expanding its colorway options. The streamlined Low Profile Trunk will now be available in 58 factory colors.

Initial model year 2023 shipping will vary by model. In the coming weeks, new 2023 bagger and touring models will begin shipping to dealers. New 2023 Scout models will start shipping in December. Riders can learn more or test ride by visiting a local Indian Motorcycle dealership. For more information on Indian Motorcycle, or to find a dealer, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE® Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company®. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.

CRUZTOOLS® is a registered trademark of CYCOACTIVE, INC; FOX® is a registered trademark of Fox Factory Inc.; Unless noted, trademarks are the property of Indian Motorcycle International, LLC.

Golden Age Kit from reputed Florida based NMoto custom Co

By General Posts

Nmoto Nostalgia based on present day BMW R Nine T inspired by BMW R7 pre-war prototype

from https://www.autoevolution.com by Cristina Mircea

Golden Age Streamliner Concept Turns Your BMW C 400 X Scooter Into an Art Deco Masterpiece

Massively spread all across the globe, the pre-war Art Deco style is all about glamour and luxury.

It left its mark on everything from buildings to jewelry, fashion, and of course the automotive industry. Aiming to recapture those exuberant times when style and craftsmanship were the norm, Nmoto welcomes motorists back into the Golden Age, with one of the coolest motorcycle concepts we’ve seen.

Born in France before World War I, the Art Deco international style impressed through its richness and exuberance, using expensive and rare materials. But it was also about modernism, trying to express the technological progress of those times.

Nmoto is a custom motorcycle manufacturer based in Florida and its creations make constant appearances at prestigious museums, festivals, and events such as the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and the likes. There are currently eight models in its lineup, and the Golden Age is one of them.

Announced last year, the Golden Age motorcycle concept is a true masterpiece characterized by a vintage look and modern features. It is the newest design released by Nmoto, aiming to take you back to a time when transportation was about speed but also about skill and style.

Described as a modern incarnation of the 1936 Henderson Courtney Prototype, the bike is based on BMW’s C 400 X scooter. For those who are not familiar with the aforementioned prototype, it was a custom motorcycle built in 1936, at the peak of the Art Deco movement, by O. Ray Courtney. The guy specialized in building custom bikes and this particular one was inspired by the 1930 KJ Henderson and was his most popular build. Also as a side note, Henderson was a motorcycle manufacturer who was renowned for making the fastest and biggest bikes between 1912 and 1931.

Modern incarnation of 1936 Henderson Courtney Prototype, the bike is based on BMW’s C 400 X scooter

Back to our Golden Age, Nmoto sells this model as a kit for the BMW C 400 X scooter, which is powered by a 350cc engine that produces 35 hp. It can reach a top speed of almost 140 kph (87 mph). While its design is as retro and Art Deco as it gets, this streamliner is conceived to offer all the modern features and convenience of the C 400 X.

The Golden Age has a low center of gravity, it is powerful and makes for a great city cruiser, which is no wonder, given that it is based on the C 400 X. The design and reduced weight of BMW’s mid-size scooter make it a practical urban commuter that can tackle dense traffic and tight alleys.

Nmoto’s Golden Age custom bike kit comes in four finishes, with black, red, white, and teal being your available options. You can’t go wrong with either of them, as they all look absolutely gorgeous. The motorcycle is quite hefty at 425 lb (193 kg) and can hold two helmets, for both you and a passenger.

The bike keeps all the modern features of the C 400 X, including the connectivity dashboard with a 6.5” display, keyless ignition, Bluetooth connectivity, ABS (anti-lock braking system) and ASC (automatic stability control), Brembo disc brakes, the heated seat, and on-board computer, to name the most important of them.

Nmoto’s Golden Age kit includes a carbon fiber body made of nine pieces, front and rear subframes that are powder-coated, new headlight housing and adapter, new turn signal housings, as well as the headlight, turn signals, and rearview mirrors. You also get Golden Age badges for the rear part of the body, a kidney grille, side moldings, and grilles for the rear, an exhaust system relocation kit, premium mountings (original BMW Torx screws), and of course, instructions on how to assemble everything.

Starting at $12,490, the Golden Age kit is now available to order.

Visit their Website at: https://nmoto.com/

Brat Style Custom Indian Super Chief

By General Posts

Go Takamine Adds Classic Vintage Touch to the 2022 Indian Super Chief

by Neil Storz with photos by Jeff Millard

Cool custom motorcycle built by Japanese bike builder and Brat Style founder, Go Takamine.

Go customized a 2022 Indian Super Chief Limited for X-Men and Mad-Max: Fury Road star, Nicolas Hoult.

In true Go style, he took a clean, minimalist approach to the build – adding vintage elements with the bike’s modern performance.

CLICK HERE To Read this Photo Feature Article on Bikernet.com

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Custom Harley-Davidson a Mesh of Parts with Old School Look

By General Posts

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Fancy a modern Harley-Davidson with old-school looks? Look no further than this customized two-wheeler, coming to our screens all the way from Japan.

What you’re looking at was initially a 2017 Softail. It somehow got into the hands and workshop of Japanese custom specialist Bad Land, and got turned into this amazing, old school look and feel motorcycle, christened by its maker Shishigaya Style No. 1.

2017 TwinCam Softail Slim BL Shishigaya Style Custom Specs

  • Front & Rear Wheel : OEM
  • 74″ Old Springer Fork STD. Length : W&W Cycles
  • 74″ Old Springer Fork : Rocker arm / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Front Fender : W&W Cycles / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Headlight : OEM
  • Headlight Grill : Rough Crafts
  • Handlebar : W&W Cycles / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Gasolie Tank : OEM / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Front Fender : W&W Cycles / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Rocker Cover : Ken’s Factory
  • Cam Cover : Ken’s Factory
  • T/M Side Cover : Ken’s Factory
  • Exhaust : PAUGHCO / BAD LAND in One-Off
  • Air Cleaner Cover : OEM / Modify by BAD LAND
  • Paint : Naturally Paint
  • And More…

Like with pretty much all other builds signed by Bad Land, this one too is a remarkable collection of custom parts coming from a variety of shops, and made to fit together in an amazing and elegant way.

Sitting inside the frame to power the beast is a Screamin’ Eagle 110 monster of an engine that breaths through a Paughco exhaust system. The engine spins OEM front and rear wheels, and gets its fuel from an equally OEM tank, massaged into a different form by Bad Land.

Also original equipments are the headlight and air cleaner (it too modified), but that’s about it, the rest is aftermarket. The fork comes from W&W Cycles, which also supplies the large front fender and handlebar, both tinkered with by the builder. The various covers that went into the project have been sourced from Ken’s Factory, and the grill behind which the headlight sits is signed by Rough Crafts.

The bike was completed last year, but we are not being told how much it took the Japanese to put this thing together, or how much it cost to make. You can however get a taste of how work on it looked like in the attached gallery, which shows both the finished product, and some work-in-progress shots.

You can find the full details on the build, one of the coolest from the Japanese shop we’ve featured so far, by Clicking Here.

Historic Off-Road Show at the Harley-Davidson Museum

By General Posts

by Skyler Chun from https://www.milwaukeemag.com

Preview: A Historic Show at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Learn all about the history of off-road motorcycling at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

A new exhibit – about the storied past of off-road motorcycles and the people who rode them – has rolled into the Harley-Davidson Museum.

“There’s a deep history here with this type of riding,” exhibits curator David Kreidler says, adding that the company has long made special motorcycles designed to be ridden across difficult terrain. After all, when the company was founded in 1903, roads weren’t widely paved, and riders needed to be able to maneuver their bikes across rutted earth, or dodge fallen logs and debris.

The “Off-Road Harley-Davidson” exhibit was created to coincide with the introduction of the Pan America adventure-touring motorcycle.

One of the highlights of the exhibit, “Off-Road Harley-Davidson,” is the LiveWire, the company’s first all-electric motorcycle. The bike was featured prominently in the Apple TV+ show “Long Way Up,” which followed Ewan McGregor and his friend motorbiking from South America to Los Angeles. Older bikes are also on display.

While the museum is open to the public, it’s planning virtual events as well. To replicate the experience of walking through the galleries, Kridler will lead tours of the exhibit space that viewers can access online if they’d rather not visit in person.

“Off-Road Harley-Davidson” looks back at Harley’s history of all-terrain motorcycles. Visit the Harley-Davidson webpage for more information.

“Off-Road Harley-Davidson” exhibit celebrates the company’s past
by Mark Gardiner from https://www.revzilla.com

To celebrate the launch of its Pan America adventure bike, The Motor Company recently mounted a lovely exhibit called “Off-Road Harley-Davidson” at its museum in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, just as the exhibit was due to open to the public, a surge in COVID cases forced Milwaukee County to close museums!

I recently got a private tour of the exhibit from curator Dave Kreidler. You too can join Dave for a virtual gallery chat on Thursday (cost $6 or free for museum pass holders). The museum expects to reopen to the public next month.

The Pan America has been engineered for everything from comfortable touring to exploring gravel or dirt backroads and taking sand, mud and the occasional river crossing in stride. That might seem like a radical change for Harley-Davidson, but only if you forget that the company’s been selling motorcycles for more than a century. For the first few decades of its existence, sand, mud, and water crossings weren’t off-road challenges — they were features of American roads.

Harley-Davidson is older than 99.9 percent of U.S. paved roads

The first modern asphalt roads were paved in the mid-1800s, before cars and motorcycles. Bicycles became popular in the 1880s and bicyclists were the first group to lobby governments for improved roads. Still, by 1900 less than five percent of America’s roads were paved. There was a bit of an asphalt boom during the First World War, but it was limited to roads connecting manufacturing centers to ports. The war in Europe convinced the U.S. Army that trucks — and roads that could support them — were a strategic asset.

After the war, the Army sent 79 vehicles, 260 enlisted men and 35 officers, including a young Lt. Col. named D. Eisenhower, on a cross-country convoy to demonstrate the practicality of trucks and the need for better highways. They traveled from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco on the Lincoln Highway. Eisenhower returned dismayed by the dismal state of the country’s roads and bridges. Dozens of flimsy wooden bridges were destroyed by the Army convoy!

Little was done to improve the situation until the Works Progress Administration improved and paved about half a million miles of roads as part of the New Deal. Many farm-to-market roads were paved; one New Deal slogan was “Get the farmers out of the mud!”

Ike never lost his interest in road construction and as president he signed the bill that created the Interstate Highway System.

That’s a roundabout way of pointing out that the first 100,000 or so Harley-Davidson motorcycles were used on a mix of surfaces that riders of today would say called for an ADV bike, if not a full-on dual-sport. Back then, though, there were just “motorcycles.”

Curator Dave Kreidler shows “Off-Road Harley-Davidson” exhibit

The exhibit’s not arranged chronologically. “We organized it in five sections, based on the type of riding that the company was selling to people,” Dave said as we stood in front of a 1964 BTH model.

Sold as the Scat, the BTH was a 175 cc two-stroke that’s recognizable as a dual-sport in spite of its rigid rear end and a plunger fork with only a couple of inches of travel. It was one of the last models in a line of lightweight motorcycles based on the German DKW RT 125. (DKW’s intellectual property was essentially seized as war reparations, and versions of the RT 125 were sold as BSA Bantams in Britain, Harley-Davidson Hummers in the United States and the MMZ M-1A Moskva in Russia.)

The Scat was a road-legal trail bike sold with a high pipe, high fenders, and fairly knobby trials-pattern tires. An extra-low final-drive ratio was available as an option. It was one of many Harley-Davidsons that, over the years, were marketed as perfect vehicles for hunters and anglers.

Next up were a couple of displays devoted to touring in the 1910s and ’20s, which would be considered pretty intense adventure-touring by today’s standards.

In 1914, the Model 10-F was Harley-Davidson’s flagship. It had a two-speed gearbox and a “step starter” that allowed it to be started without putting it up on its rear stand. That was a real advantage if you were in terrain where there was no firm, level spot for the stand.

While researching this exhibit, Dave found a 1914 article in H-D’s dealer magazine describing a young naturalist named Hamilton Laing, who dropped by the Juneau Avenue factory on a ride from New York City to western Canada.

“I got kind of interested and poked around a little bit more on the internet for him,” Dave told me. “Lo and behold, he became a fairly well known naturalist, worked for the British Columbia Museum, and they had all of his papers.”

Laing’s papers included a memoir of another epic ride, from Brooklyn to Oakland in 1915. Laing “talks about the motorcycle in very poetic terms,” Dave said. “There’s this great passage where a speeding car passes him in Pennsylvania, and he goes on for a few paragraphs about how the motorcycle is a superior form of transportation, if you just want to stop and smell the roses. You know, not much has changed actually in that regard.”

The British Columbia Museum noted that although Laing kept his motorcycle for several more years, he did most of his work travel in Canada by canoe. An intrepid fellow!

Another period touring display is a 1921 WJ Sport, one of Harley-Davidson’s rare boxer twin offerings. “The popularity of this machine for cross country touring is due in part to its ability to travel even a burro trail,” bragged an advertising copywriter of the time.

“We wouldn’t call this a lightweight today,” Dave said. “But it was lighter than our Big Twin. The engine was easier to work on and it got good fuel mileage.” In 1921, those were important considerations. Touring riders had to perform most of their own maintenance and repairs; gasoline was expensive and often was only available from mechanics or automobile and motorcycle dealers.

Although you can see that the WJ doesn’t have much ground clearance, it does have a forgivingly low center of gravity, which was surely a boon when picking one’s way through difficult terrain at slow speed.

The next display we looked at was devoted to purpose-built race bikes. Enthusiasts had raced H-D’s heavy big twins in tough off-road events like Michigan’s Jack Pine Enduro forever but by the mid 1950s lighter, purpose-built off-road motorcycles dominated in the dirt.

The 1958 XLCH Sportster was a true production racer, sold without lights. “In some ways you could say that this was our first real off-road motorcycle,” David noted. (The first road-going Sporty — equipped with a headlight — came the following year.)

Both the Sportster and an elegant 1972 ERS Sprint scrambler evoke an era of spare and elegant production racers like the company’s KR and XR flat track bikes. The Sprint was one of the models that emerged from H-D’s acquisition of the Aermacchi company, which happened in two stages. It purchased a half interest in the Italian firm in 1960, then AMF-Harley-Davidson purchased full control in 1974.

One thing that’s conspicuously missing from the exhibit is an Aermacchi two-stroke motocross bike. Harley-Davidson fielded a factory team in the AMA 250 cc Championship on and off between 1975 and 1979. The ’75 MX-250 was produced for one year only. It used an adapted Kayaba fork instead of rear shocks. Although it was not really a competitive motocrosser, Bruce Ogilvie won the 1975 Baja 500 on it.

In 1978, they produced another limited run of MX-250s but the chassis was instantly obsolete compared to the monoshock Yamaha YZ250. The Aermacchi motor made good power but it was peaky as hell. Harley-Davidson sold Aermacchi to the Castiglioni brothers later that year and abandoned its AMA motocross effort altogether in 1979. In spite of its checkered history, the MX-250 is a bit of a cult bike with the vintage MX crowd.

Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should

The most compelling display may be a much abused 1985 FXRP police model. It’s hard to imagine anything further from a factory off-roader. But Charlie Peet, a Harley-Davidson enthusiast from Florida, chose that bike for his mount in the 9,000-mile Trans-Amazon Rally held in 1988.

Peet’s police bike was modified at a Ft. Lauderdale Harley dealership. They fit a larger fuel tank from a BMW, saddlebags, a skidplate, handguards, extra lights, and louder horns! It was shipped to the starting point in Cartagena, Colombia. It baffled the 170-odd other competitors. Most were two-person teams in cars or trucks; the six other motorcycles entered were all purpose-built dirt bikes.

“They voted Charlie least likely to finish because not only was he on this thing, but he didn’t have a support team,” Dave told me. “It was really dangerous. Normally with rallies, you have sweep teams; there were none. Every country handled its own leg of the rally. The maps were a mess. At one point, Charlie was riding and looking at his map, and what he thought was a road was actually the border between two provinces.”

In spite of that, he was one of four motorcyclists to reach the finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Harley-Davidson engineers convinced the company to acquire Peet’s FXRP so they could study it. Evidently they couldn’t believe it had finished the race either.

The FXRs were the first new models released after the management bought Harley-Davidson back from AMF. The chassis was developed with input from a young pup named Erik Buell, and there are people who claim these are the best hogs ever farrowed. Be that as it may, this 1,137 cc beast, which weighed 683 pounds, was a crazy choice for the Trans-Amazon Rally.

Into the modern era

The exhibit also includes a 2006 Buell Ulysses and Ewan McGregor’s LiveWire from the recent Long Way Up TV series.

The Ulysses, recently profiled on Common Tread, is another short-lived model that became a cult fave once it was discontinued. In this case, the whole Buell brand was killed off. It’s often seemed to me that Harley-Davidson employees dare not speak the Buell name, but perhaps the Ulysses reputation will be rehabilitated to help establish the Pan America’s bona fides.

McGregor’s LiveWire might be cool to see but next to Charlie Peet’s FXRP, McGregor and Boorman’s ride was little more than a jaunt.

All of this leads to, of course, the Pan America. Even the museum doesn’t have one of its own yet. The bike on display at the moment is a late prototype or early production model that belongs to the Parts & Accessories side of the business. They used it to test the fit of components and as a photo model.

With the exception of the Ulysses, the motorcycles on display in “Off-Road Harley-Davidson” are too old to be thought of as Pan America progenitors, so it’s up to you to decide whether the exhibit serves to bolster faith in Harley-Davidson’s ADV chops. That said, I admire The Motor Company’s sense of its own history, which obviously includes a lot of very adventurous riding that is nicely shown off in this exhibit. As I’ve come to expect from the Museum, the lighting and displays are beyond reproach.

David Kreidler scoured his employer’s extensive archives for photos, copies of old ads, and other ephemera which round out the stories of the motorcycles on display. As noted, a few models were conspicuous by their absence but it’s better to leave visitors wanting more than footsore and overwhelmed.

In addition to this week’s virtual debut of the exhibit, the museum is planning to reopen to the public on March 5 with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Tesla among companies sued for complicity over child labor in Congo

By General Posts

by Matthew Lavietes from https://www.autonews.com

NEW YORK — Five of the world’s largest tech companies, including electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc., have been accused of being complicit in the death of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo forced to mine cobalt, a metal used to make telephones and computers, in a landmark lawsuit.

The legal complaint on behalf of 14 families from Congo was filed on Sunday by International Rights Advocates, a U.S.-based human rights non-profit, against Tesla, Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc..

The companies were part of a system of forced labor that the families claimed led to the death and serious injury of their children, it said.

It marked the first time the tech industry jointly has faced legal action over the source of its cobalt.

Images in the court documents, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, showed children with disfigured or missing limbs.

Six of the 14 children in the case were killed in tunnel collapses, and the others suffered life-altering injuries, including paralysis, it said.

“These companies — the richest companies in the world, these fancy gadget-making companies — have allowed children to be maimed and killed to get their cheap cobalt,” Terrence Collingsworth, an attorney representing the families, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cobalt is essential in making rechargeable lithium batteries used in millions of products sold by the tech industry.

More than half of the world’s cobalt is produced in Congo.

Global demand for the metal is expected to increase at 7 percent to 13 percent annually over the next decade, according to a 2018 study by the European Commission.

The lawsuit said the children, some as young as 6 years old, were forced by their families’ extreme poverty to leave school and work in cobalt mining owned by the British mining company Glencore. Glencore has previously been accused of using child labor.

Some children were paid as little as $1.50 per day, working 6 days a week, it said.

In response to a request for comment, Dell said in an email that it has “never knowingly sourced operations” using child labor and has launched an investigation into the allegations.

A spokesperson for Glencore said: “Glencore notes the allegations contained in a U.S. lawsuit filed on 15th December 2019.

“Glencore’s production of cobalt in the DRC is a by-product of our industrial copper production. Glencore’s operations in the DRC do not purchase or process any artisanally mined ore.

“Glencore does not tolerate any form of child, forced, or compulsory labor.”

Tesla, Apple, Google, Microsoft did not immediately respond for comment.

The legal complaint argued that the companies all have the ability to overhaul their cobalt supply chains to ensure safer conditions.

“I’ve never encountered or documented a more severe asymmetry in the allocation of income between the top of the supply chain and the bottom,” said Siddharth Kara, a researcher on modern slavery who is an expert witness in the case.

“It’s that disconnect that makes this perhaps the worst injustice of slavery and child exploitation that I’ve seen in my two decades research,” Kara said.

More than 40 million people have been estimated to be captive in modern slavery, which includes forced labor and forced marriage, according to Walk Free and the International Labour Organization.

Science Is Not Objective Because It Is A Product Like Anything Else

By General Posts

In my view, climate change is an issue concocted to distract from the larger issue of ecocide which is a direct result of human expansion.

People recognize that science is a product like any other media. People with degrees do research, which anyone who has fudged a lab report can testify can be slanted through variations in technique, and then publish that research.

They do this through grants, employment, or in anticipation of selling lots of books, magazines, movies, or other products. Academia has the same problem and this is why we are continually discovering that their theories were over-hyped, two decades later.

Usually these take a detail and amplify it into a theory of everything, and then it turns out, it was just a detail that cannot tell us much of significance, but at the time it was sold, it seemed to justify and exalt the lifestyles of those who bought the product.

READ the Story at Bikernet.com by Clicking here

HIGHWAYMEN – Adventure Biker Fiction Book

By General Posts

HIGHWAYMEN – Adventure Biker Fiction Book

E-book FREE from 15-March to 19-March on Amazon

Click: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PG5BDPD

Paperback for $ 8

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1799285219

The Highwayman’s life is such, too many people and too few relationships. These tales from distant roads describe with a pulp flavour the men on the run. They run from the law, from conformity, from daily grind, from love and from themselves. Indulge yourself in a fantastical world of adventure and possibility.

The rider loves nothing but his iron horse, but he is lured into temptations on his journey; can he defeat the demons of his past chasing him. Crime is an inevitable truth of modern society. The urban cowboy rides over obstacles to justice, crushing the evil-doers while saving the damsel in distress.

Mark Curer writes fascinating variables of Biker Fiction, shifting from loner to posse riders and from murder to romance. His style is unique, voice murky and words playful. His protagonists battle small goons to organised crime syndicates. The female characters are daring lady-luck and baring their heart. Change of times, change of roads, change of heart – you will go through all as you revel in the raw tales in this collection of short-stories.

Motorcycles and Motorcycling in the USSR

By General Posts

Motorcycles and Motorcycling in the USSR from 1939: A Social and Technical History
Hardcover – April 16, 2019 – available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com//dp/1787113140/

Motorcycles and Motorcycling in the USSR from 1939 provides the first accessible English language account of motorcycles in the Soviet Union. Concentrating on the wartime and postwar period until 1990, prior to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, it covers the motorcycles produced, and looks at the way in which they were used at home and exported abroad.

Chapters cover wartime, models produced, the social character of Soviet era motorcycling, and wide-ranging sport. With planned rather than market-led production based around copies of pre-war German BMW and DKW models, the industry churned out hundreds of thousands of utilitarian and rugged machines that were very different from the more fashion-orientated machines produced in the West.

These motorcycles went under the place names of the producing factories: Ishevsk, Kovrov, Moskva, Minsk and, of course, the large flat twins produced in Irbit and Kiev under the Ural and Dnepr names. With a strong emphasis on Soviet era illustrations, the book provides an insight into a life, based on idealism and ideology that has now passed.

Photographs and images, many of them from private family collections, show Soviet bikes as well as popular imports Jawa from Czechoslovakia, and Pannonia from Hungary.

Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Veloce Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1787113145

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Colin Turbett got his first motorcycle at age 15 and has owned, built, and cried over mostly British bikes ever since. He currently looks after a 1949 BSA Gold Star, as well as a modern bike. Colin spent a long career in social work in the West of Scotland through which he was a successful textbook author. In recent years motorcycle trips to Eastern Europe have triggered an interest in the utilitarian machines produced there during the Communist years. He has always been interested in the history of the Soviet Union, and this book brings several of his passions together.