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Dec 06

Trike File Meets Mike the Trike

By General Posts

by DaCat

Tuning the Ride with Saddlemen, Legends and Khrome Werks

Since buying this 2017 M8 trike, I’ve been working on refining the ride as possible. This entailed changing the shocks to coil over Legend Revo A’s, adding a lift kit and adjusting everything as optimally as possible.

Also, the front springs were removed and replaced with Legend Axio canister front suspension. The combination of the modified front and rear suspension really made the ride much, much better.

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Nov 20

Yamaha TMax 560cc Scooter for 2022 unveiled

By General Posts

2022 Yamaha TMax comes with updated ergonomics and features
from https://www.rushlane.com by Arun Prakash

Yamaha has taken the covers off from the upcoming 2022 TMax for European markets. The flagship Maxi scooter has received multiple updates in its current iteration over the outgoing model. The scooter is expected to go on sale in many European markets including UK at the start of next year.

TMax has been an immensely successful scooter in Europe since it was first launched in 2001 and has been the best-selling sports scooter in the past two decades. The 2022 model comes equipped with a range of new features as well as updated aesthetics that make it more appealing than before.

Features on offer
In terms of features, 2022 TMax gets a new 7-inch full-colour TFT instrument console enabled with full smartphone connectivity and in-built navigation with Garmin maps connectivity via Bluetooth, Wifi and USB. All these could be controlled through a joystick-like setup on the left handlebar.

Practical creature comforts on offer include heated handlebar grips, heated seats, cruise control, electrically adjustable windshield, and backlit handlebar switches. Other amenities such as traction control, keyless start with Smartkey remote, remote opening fuel cap and seat and multiple ride modes are also included in the package. However, most of these techs are available in the top-spec Tech Max trim.

Powertrain, Hardware Specs
Powertrain of TMax hasn’t been changed with the same 560cc two-cylinder DOHC engine propelling the latest iteration. This motor cranks out 47.6 bhp at 7,500rpm and 55.7 Nm of torque at 5,250rpm with power going to the rear wheel via an automatic transmission and belt drive. That said, there are some tweaks made to the scooter’s hardware configurations.

Suspension setup comprises new 41mm USD forks upfront and a single rear shock which offers a better front-end feel and damping at the rear. Braking duties are handled by dual 262mm front discs and a 282mm rear disc which are complemented by a dual-channel ABS.

Updated Styling
In its latest avatar, TMax has been updated with a sportier and more aggressive styling inspired by supersport motorcycles. It gets restyled twin LED headlamps and a larger windscreen mounted on top of the front apron. The front apron also features a large air intake scoop which gives the face of the scooter a beak-like appearance. The panels are new with a more compact body on offer.

The single-piece seat with a raised tail section features lumbar support for the rider for additional comfort during long journeys. The new TMax sits on a lighter aluminium chassis which should feel easier to manoeuver and handle around corners. A sporty riding posture has been attained with a slightly forward-leaning position by adjusting all points of the ‘rider triangle’.

Yamaha is offering the Maxi scooter in two derivatives- TMax and TMax Tech Max. The former will be offered with three colour options namely Extreme Yellow, Icon Blue and Sword Grey. The latter, on the other hand, will be reserved for UK markets only and will be available in two shades- Dark Petrol and Power Grey. The yellow-coloured alloys and rims also add to the visual appeal of the scooter.

 

Aug 10

Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Road Test & Review

By General Posts

So, you want a new, retro-styled street bike under five grand? There is Good News & Bad News.

The Meteor 350 is a bang-for-buck motorcycle. The Enfield name has more mystique than any of the major brands in this space, and those who appreciate Royal Enfield’s history will be proud to ride the modern-day version. Folks place more value on the bike’s style and personality. The Meteor 350 rides exactly the way it looks, as it advertises – “Cruise Easy”.

If you want a turn-key retro motorcycle with a warranty and a few modern luxuries, give the Meteor a try. It’s a nifty way to go motorcycling without getting in over your head.

Click Here to Read this comprehensive Review on Bikernet.com

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Jun 09

GTM museum finally welcomes the dream machine Triumph Hurricane

By General Posts

by Felicity Donohoe from https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk

Grampian Transport Museum (GTM) finally welcomes the dream machine Triumph Hurricane to the floor as Mike Ward finishes up his final year as curator.

After 37 years at the helm of GTM, motorcycle lover Mike Ward made sure to see out his last season before retirement with a rare Triumph Hurricane gracing the display alongside the other classic bikes – including an even rarer Triumph Bandit.

Mike said: “With 2021 being my last season at GTM, I was determined to have a Hurricane in this year’s exhibition.

“They are extremely rare, very valuable and much sought-after, but they’re not being used on the roads and to find one was difficult.”

The Hurricane will sit with the dedicated British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) display for just this season.

GTM is open Thursday-Tuesday with plans to resume seven day weeks in summer, tel: 01975 562292. To book tickets go to gtm.org.uk

Mike employed the help of the Triumph Owners Motor Cycle Club, before Scottish-based club member David Currie, from Irvine, rode to the rescue and offered to loan his rare motorcycle to the museum.

Mike’s love affair with Triumph motorcycles began in the early 70s when he was at Lincoln College of Art studying museum conservatorship. As an 18-year-old student, he was the proud owner of a 350cc Triumph 3TA “café racer” complete with clip-on handlebars.

BSA / Triumph had just swept to success with their 750cc triple production bikes, the Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3, with the most famous Trident, “Slippery Sam” – so called after springing major oil leaks in an early race – winning five consecutive production 750cc class TT races at the Isle of Man from 1971-75.

The Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3 was made by Triumph Engineering and BSA (both part of the Birmingham Small Arms Company) from 1968-75. The high-performance bike was technically advanced, bringing a fresh face to street bikes and marking the start of the superbikes era.

Mike said: “That was the golden era of the Triumph Triple just ahead of the Japanese multi-cylinder tsunami which swept the British motorcycle industry aside. Every young enthusiast coveted one, and as soon as I graduated and found employment in 1976, I remember rushing out with my first pay cheque and buying one of the last Triumph Trident T160’s – a dream come true!”

However, with Japanese superbikes hot on their heels, BSA decided a revamp was on the cards. The company sent one of their Rockets over to American fairing creator Craig Vetter to boost the showroom appeal of their Triples.

Vetter employed a sweeping fibreglass combined fuel tank/seat and extended front forks giving it the now-vintage “Easy Rider” look. With its stunning paint job and outlandish triple exhaust, the bike stood head and shoulders above the standard BSA range and, winning popular public appeal, the X75 Hurricane was badged as a Triumph motorcycle.

Norton Villiers Triumph (1973-78) was liquidated in 1978 and in the end only 1,172 Hurricanes were built. Since then, the Hurricane has remained a rarity and one of Britain’s most exciting motorcycles of the 1970’s.

“The Triumph Hurricane has such an amazing story attached to it, said Mike. “It’s a really colourful and cheerful machine – and everyone needs cheering up just now, don’t they?”

 

May 03

Harley-Davidson 1907 Strap Tank Nets Close to $300K in Las Vegas auction

By General Posts

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

It’s been a very hot weekend for motorcycle enthusiasts. On one hand, we had the MotoAmerica series of events over in Atlanta, and on the other the mammoth motorcycle auction conducted by Mecum over in Las Vegas.

As far as the Road Atlanta event goes, we’ve already seen how Indian once again crowned itself King of the Baggers by barely outrunning Harley-Davidson. But the Nevada auction had a champion of its own, and its name is 1907 Harley-Davidson Strap Tank.

Described by fans as the most desirable of all Harley-Davidsons, the Strap Tank family managed to score a number of records when it comes to the sums they went for over the past few years. Back in 2015, for instance, one of them sold for $650k, making it the most expensive Harley ever sold at auction until that time.

The one we have here sold for less, but for an impressive amount nonetheless. $297k is how much someone paid for it, making the model the most expensive one to sell at this year’s event.

Coming from a private collection, the motorcycle is somewhat related to the record-setting one from 2015. It was put together by its owner, Ronald Moreschini, and with the backing of the guy who purchased the $650k Strap Tank, Lonnie Isam.

Seeing how desirable these bikes were, Moreschini set out a few years back to come up with 13 Harley-Davidson Strap Tank replica motors. While doing this, he stumbled upon an original 1907 engine that still had the original carburetor, but also on the native gas and oil tank, forks, and belt tensioning gate.

The motorcycle we have here came to be around these original parts, and was further gifted with original seat and wheel hubs. The result is so exciting, that the two-wheeler was even shown at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum for a while.

Now it is probably heading over to another private collection, where it will most likely spend some time before it will most definitely show up for sale once more.

Highlights

  • Color Grey
  • Not for highway or public road use
  • Engine # 1877
  • Original factory engine
  • Original carburetor
  • Original gas tank and oil tank
  • Original belt tensioner
  • Original front forks
  • Original wheel hubs
  • Original seat
Mar 30

Harley-Davidson grants board seat to investor Impala

By General Posts

#by Svea Herbst-Bayliss from https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) said on Monday it settled a board fight with Impala Asset Management just days after the investor began pressing to replace two directors at America’s oldest and best-known motorcycle maker.

An independent director, mutually agreed on by Impala and Harley, will join the board after the company’s annual meeting, which was held in May last year, and before July 31.

Impala, which owns roughly 2% of Harley’s stock, nominated two directors two weeks ago as the $2.8 billion hedge fund wanted the iconic American brand to return to its roots after focusing on electric motorcycles and concentrate on its core riders. It had criticized the company for losing market share and for being slow to fix poor returns. In January it pushed for the ouster of Chief Executive Matt Levatich. He resigned in February after five years as CEO during which the company lost more than half of its value.

On Monday, the two sides cast aside some differences as the coronavirus outbreak makes it tougher for companies to stay in business and falling stock prices are hurting many investors.

Harley and Impala entered the “agreement in the spirit of cooperation during trying times, viewing it as a necessity to move forward,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

The $2.7 billion company’s stock fell 4.38% on Monday to $17.02, having tumbled some 50% since the start of the year.

Two weeks ago Impala nominated former auto industry executive Brent Dewar and Leo Hindery, Jr., who has public board experience, as directors to Harley’s nine member board.

Now neither will be considered for the board seat, according to the agreement. Impala will not be allowed to suggest someone working for the fund for the board seat.

Impala is run by former Soros Fund Management Chief Investment Officer Robert Bishop.

At the end of February Harley tapped long-time board member Jochen Zeitz as interim CEO but the investment fund has criticized his compensation package of as much as $8.5 million.

Zeitz, a former CEO of German apparel and footwear maker Puma, has led a push for sustainability at Harley and was a force behind The Live Wire, the company’s first production of an electric bike.

Mar 25

A Brother’s Decade-Long Seat Search

By General Posts

From Los Angeles to Vegas and Back
By Gearhead with photos by Wrench

Story line started about ten years ago, during the bare bobber era. I was looking for a seat to go with an old school flat-tracker look. I had a pair of Flanders flat tracker bars, but it did not look right with the King/Queen seat. Remember, choppers were dead, done, caput.

I was looking around for that solo look, so when the wife didn’t want to ride with me, I had a solo way to go.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Dec 01

Commute to work for just a £1 a week

By General Posts

Commute to work for just a £1 a week: Car firm SEAT unveils zero-emission electric motorcycle that it claims will save the average biker hundreds of pounds a year in running costs

  • Motorcycle has range of 71 miles for each charge and cost 60-70p per charge
  • Power is from a 11kW motor, which is equivalent to a 125cc petrol engine
  • It is not known if the e-scooter by Spanish company Seat will go on sale in UK 

by Milly Vincent from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

An electric motorcycle that can do a 100-mile weekly commute for approximately £1 has been unveiled by Spanish car firm Seat.

The e-Scooter concept is a response to a growing demand from urban commuters for zero emission mobility solutions.

With the equivalent to a 125cc petrol engine, its 11kW motor gives it a 0-31mph time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 62mph.

Incredibly the motorcycle has a range of 71 miles between charges and will typically cost just 60-70p to fully charge.

The average fossil-fulled motorcycle can go around double that on a tank of petrol, which would likely cost around £20, meaning the electric bike offers quite a saving.

And with the average British motorcyclist riding approximately 5,000 miles per year, the e-Scooter would cost them around £1 per week in electricity if the production model is eventually sold in the UK.

SEAT’s new motorcycle is the Spanish firm’s latest response to urban motoring and follows this month’s launch of the Mii Electric, its first ever zero emission car.

The e-Scooter was unveiled in Barcelona in a partnership with Silence, and will enter full production next year.

The firm is yet to confirm if the electric bike will be sold in the UK, which is one of Europe’s largest market for motorcycles, with more than 1.1 million bikes registered.

Lucas Casasnovas, head of urban mobility at SEAT, said: ‘We aim to become an ally for cities and the SEAT e-Scooter concept is the answer to public demand for a more agile mobility.

‘Our collaboration with Silence is an example of how cooperation between partners enables us to be more efficient.’

The e-Scooter concept has been developed for all motorcyclists but is geared more towards ‘motosharing’.

It is fitted with two USB input sockets and a place to hold a mobile phone.

A phone app can monitor where the bike is located and track its battery usage and the battery is easily removed from the bike and charged inside.

Joan Melenchon, a designer at SEAT, said: ‘We mostly wanted it to be a vehicle that is straightforward, iconic and practical.

‘We steered away from making a visually minimalist package, concentrating instead on its pared down utility.’

SEAT is spearheading the Volkswagen Group’s ‘micromobility’ strategy and has also built a 100 per cent electric quadricycle called Minimo.

 

Mar 07

Women on Trikes: “Wild and Crazy” True Stories

By General Posts

With International Women’s Day on 8th March, we would like to showcase two stories from Women on Trikes series. Read how Susan and Nerolie got into triking and why they are living the dream with Trikes.

https://www.touroztrikes.com.au

https://www.rewaco.com

Susan – “Wild and crazy and it felt a little bit rebellious”

A surprise and spontaneous ride to high school on the back of a friends new Trike while living in a small country town in New Zealand, was the very moment I knew I wanted one. It was love at first ride, I was hooked.

At the time I was not old enough to have a car licence, but I will never forget how it felt to be on the back of the Trike. It was cool and it was different, lots of people had two-wheeler bikes, but this chopped up, backyard, custom made Trike was the real deal, it was wild and crazy and felt a little bit rebellious.

I moved back to Australia a few years later, and I never really saw many trikes. Every so often I would look around to buy one, but they were hard to find and never quite what I was looking for.

Most trikes were motorbike conversions but I wanted a long-raked style trike with a low centre of gravity but also one that would not spend more time in the garage being pulled apart and repaired. I’m not a mechanic, I just wanted to ride.

Life got in the way of my dream – kids, family, work all took priority for many years, and a trike was not something I could afford and it was not practical. How would I fit a baby seat to a trike?

In my early forties, the internet had made looking for a trike a lot easier, but they were still hard to find. I was prepared to travel to America to find a trike and bring it back to Australia, as there seemed to be a much bigger selection of trikes overseas than there were in Australia.

I finally came across the custom-made German Rewaco Trikes and could not believe my luck when I discovered they had a dealer in Australia.

I collected my trike around Valentine’s Day and it is still the love of my life. Since owning my trike and racking up nearly 50,000Ks I have met people from all walks of life, been involved in charity and fundraising events which give me a great amount of satisfaction but most of all I just love the wild, crazy rebellious feeling of cruising around Australia.

People young and old still stop and stare, and most fuel stops involve a conversation with a stranger asking what sort of motor it has. I still giggle at the reactions I get and the shocked whisper of “oh and it’s a girl riding it”.

Kids stare out the back window of their parent’s car waving at me, and I always wonder if one of them will grow up remembering the first time they saw my trike cruising down the highway and want one when they are older.

Nerolie fell in love with a Trike too

“Geez, that’s bright green, not sure about the colour. Then the green seemed to grow on us and now I absolutely love Kermmi!”

Growing up on a farm allowed me to ride motorbikes all the time…this sadly all changed once I moved into a town. Years went by and at the age of 38, I decided life is too short and went and got a motorbike licence. Read more…

I started with a Yamaha 650 Vstar. Due to an injury, I struggled to ride it or even get it out of the garage.

My partner Brendon and I had heard about trikes. We decided to look into buying one as this would enable me to still enjoy riding and it was something we could both still do together.

April 2016, we headed off to Bendigo to have a look at TOUROZ Trikes and maybe have a test ride to see if we liked them.

Col had a green and black demo RF1 LT sitting there.

First thoughts were: Geez, that is a bright green, unsure if I like that colour.

After some chatting with Col the green seemed to grow on us. Well the test ride did not happen, we said stuff it, you only live once!

We came home with that beautiful green machine nearly 3 years ago, and I haven’t looked back…

I absolutely love Kermmi. I feel so great riding, and the freedom you feel with no pain! I would not change it for the world.