technical

Dave Currier, aged 68, on Winning Cannonball riding his 1911 Harley-Davidson

by Kevin Wallevand from https://www.inforum.com Fargo man wins Motorcycle Cannonball with 1911 Harley Davidson Dave Currier turned 68 years of age on the road while racing in the Motorcycle Cannonball Earlier, Dave Currier had been a runner-up in 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball riding a 1915 Harley-Davidson His father sold Indian and Harley motorcycles in the 1940s and 50s in Fargo and also raced them Dave Currier credits John Rouland of Northern Crankshaft in Thief River Falls for doing a lot of the technical and engine work on his 1911 H-D “To start it, you have to pedal to start it, it is a belt drive. To move it forward, you have a lever which tensions the belt and the bike moves forward.” – Dave Currier Fargo man wins Motorcycle Cannonball with 1911 Harley Davidson A Fargo man has just won a cross country motorcycle run called The Motorcycle Cannonball. Dave Currier is finally getting some feeling back in his rear-end. He is back in Fargo after competing in the most difficult, antique endurance race in the world: The Motorcycle Cannonball. “I think this has been the toughest ride of my life,” Currier said. “It is a real grind, I had about eight hours in the saddle every day.” Riding his 1911 belt-driven Harley Davidson, Currier and 88 competitors crossed 11 states over 16-days straight. From Michigan to South Padre Island, Texas, they racked up just over 3,700 miles. “The bike is tall. I have short legs, so my feet don’t touch the ground,” Currier said. “To start it, you have to pedal to start it, it is a belt drive. To move it forward, you have a lever which tensions the belt and the bike moves forward.” But Currier, who had a team planning and tweaking this bike, not only competed; […]

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Piaggio, KTM, Honda and Yamaha set up swappable batteries consortium

by Reuters from https://www.investing.com MILAN (Reuters) – Italian scooter maker Piaggio said on Monday it had set up a consortium with Honda Motor Co., KTM AG and Yamaha Motor Co. to encourage the use of swappable batteries for electric motorcycles and light electric vehicles. The Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) aims to broaden the use of light electric vehicles, such as scooters, mopeds and motorcycles, and support a more sustainable management of their batteries, a joint statement said. It will focus on issues such as battery life, recharging times, infrastructure and costs and will work on defining international standard technical specifications for swappable batteries. The companies in the consortium said they welcomed others joining them to extend standards to as many companies as possible. “Urban mobility is going through a delicate transition moment towards electrification. Thanks to this consortium, motorbikes will keep their key role,” Piaggio Chief of Strategy and Product Michele Colaninno said. Honda’s Motorcycle Operations Chief Officer Yoshishige Nomura said the consortium’s objectives aimed to make electric motorbikes more convenient for clients, as their “use on large scale can substantially contribute to the creation of a more sustainable society”. Piaggio Group owns iconic two-wheeler brands such as Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, among others.

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Piaggio, KTM, Honda and Yamaha to set up swappable batteries consortium

from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com The consortium will define the standardised technical specifications of the swappable battery system for vehicles belonging to the L-category, mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles. Piaggio Group on Monday said it has signed a letter of intent with KTM AG, Honda Motor and Yamaha Motor to set up a Swappable Batteries Consortium for motorcycles and light electric vehicles. The consortium will define the standardised technical specifications of the swappable battery system for vehicles belonging to the L-category: mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles. The companies will be working closely with interested stakeholders and national, European and international standardisation bodies. The founding members of the consortium will be involved in the creation of international technical standards. The Consortium will start its activities in May 2021. In the context of the Paris Climate Agreement and the transition to electromobility, the founding members of the consortium believe that the availability of a standardised swappable battery system would both promote the widespread use of light electric vehicles and contribute to a more sustainable life-cycle management of batteries used in the transport sector, the companies said in a joint statement. Also, by extending the range, shortening the charging time and lowering vehicle and infrastructure costs, the manufacturers will try to answer customers’ main concerns regarding the future of electromobility. Michele Colaninno, Piaggio Group chief of strategy and product, commented, “With the signing of this letter of intent, the signatories show their proactiveness vis-à-vis the major concerns of their customers and the political priorities as regards the electrification of vehicles.” An international standard for the swappable batteries system will make this technology efficient and at the disposal of the consumers, added Michele Colaninno.

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Motorcycles and Motorcycling in the USSR

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

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