All the News that Didn't Fit

Two Motorcyclists Down in Mankato
At approximately 11AM on July 20th, a 17-year-old delivery driver for Arctic Ice, a Mankato packaged ice delivery service, crossed the center line on Highway 14 outside of North Mankato and killed two west-bound motorcyclists, Lars A. Albrecht, 49, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and Robert N. Austin, 61, of Canby, Oregon. A car driver and his son were also injured by the out-of-control truck. The driver of the truck was slightly injured. The Minnesota state patrol said the teenager fell asleep at the wheel and allowed the company-owned Dodge pickup to drift into the opposite traffic lane.

Albrecht was pronounced dead at the scene and Austin was flown to St. Mary's in Rochester where he died of injuries. The truck driver's name has not been released because he is underage. Both motorcyclists were wearing helmets.

Motorcycle Hitchhiker
A Victorville, CA motorist discovered a semi-conscious motorcyclist in his backseat as a result of a rear end collision. After a motorcycle slid into the back of a turning minivan, the van driver continued a short distance to his home to call the police before returning to the scene of the crash. Meanwhile, police had arrived at the scene, found a damaged motorcycle, but no victim. The motorcyclist had crashed through the van's rear window and ended up dazed and confused in the van's rear passenger seat. Other than asking for an ice pack for an injured hand, the motorcyclist was, apparently, uninjured. Police said his helmet "sustained most of the impact," No charges were filed and the crash was listed as a "non-injury collision with a twist," according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's office.

American V-Twin Dealer Show
First they have segregated racing events, with each boutique manufacturer lumbering around a track tailed by a dozen identical motorcycles. Now, they want to have their own dealer show without the hassle of those nasty current technology manufacturers messing up the lines of giant chrome cruisers. So, Advanstar Communications is accommodating the "premium" v-twin brands with "The American V-Twin Dealer Show" at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis February 17-19, 2012.The event is designed to be "a haven for Independent Specialty V-Twin Dealers, Harley-Davidson Dealers, Custom Bike Builders/Designers and Multi-Franchise Dealerships with large cruiser lines." No motorcycles with any connection to 21st Century technology will be allowed.

Airbag Jackets and Vests
An US company, SaferMoto, is marketing a line of "airbag-equipped jackets and vests for all ages" that can "deploy in less than a quarter of a second. A tether cord connects the vest or jacket to the motorcycle, and inflation from a compact replaceable CO2 cartridge is triggered instantly when the rider falls." Airbag gear is used by the Tokyo Police Department, is marketed in more than 30 countries, and has been credited with saving lives and limbs by all sorts of riders. The company makes airbag gear for equestrians, too.

Suzuki Evacuates the Beach
Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it would move the motorcycle business from Iwata City to north central Hamamatsu to consolidate operations and to be further from the Japanese sea shore. The new facility, tentatively called the "Miyakoda Technical Center," will be the hub for motorcycle and next-gen alternative energy vehicles engineering and research. The Miyakoda Plant will assemble motorcycle engines and should be in production by 2017. The current facility is only 200 meters from the ocean and Suzuki hopes to avoid catastrophe from the next Tokai earthquake.

Honda vs. India
In March, Honda dissolved its arrangement with Hero Motors, selling the 26% share and severed dealer and distribution arrangements with the Indian manufacturer. While it appeared that Honda was abandoning the massive and Indian two-wheel market (11.79 million units sold in 2010), the company's actual plan is to take on that market directly. Honda opened a new plant in June and will be adding a third manufacturing facility with the intent to increase Indian manufacturing capacity 2.5 times to 4 million units by 2015. The company expects to double its dealerships in 4-5 years, also. Currently, Honda owns a 10% Indian market-share. Hero Motors sold 5.26 million domestic units in 2010 (India, alone) and control 44.7% of that market. In 2014, Honda Hero dealers will have to decide to sell Honda or Hero and both companies are pressuring dealers to make the decision soon. Hero has gone on an engineering raid of the local Yamaha organization and rival Bajaj Auto and has more than four times (approximately 4,000 dealers) Honda's sales outlets.100-110cc commuter bikes, selling for approximately $900, are the volume product in the Indian market Honda is releasing several models in this size and price range.

If you've ever considered the possibility that the US might not be the motorcycling center of the universe, these numbers should shed some light on that discussion. In 2010, all domestic and importing manufacturers sold about 664,000 units in the US, with about half of the sales going to the 250cc-and-above category. The US manufacturers exported 493,464 units, 70% of which were over 250cc's and half of our export production went to Europe.

Triumph vs. India?
In a related story, Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK's Triumph Motorcycles (sometimes regarded as the "fastest growing motorcycle company in the world") appointed a "Managing Director for India" and issued a PR statement saying, “India is a very important motorcycle market and Triumph has assessed it carefully before deciding to step in. We see it as the next step in our global business model. The appointment of Ashish Joshi is a signal of our seriousness about success in India. I wish him the best and look forward to comprehensive growth from the Indian market.” [Wonder how a 100-110cc market will react to Triumph's 2,300cc Rocket III? Triumph's smallest bike is the Daytona 675.]

Land of the Brave and Free?
French drivers and motorcyclists banned together on June 18th to stage a protest against their government's draconian attacks on drivers and riders. Across the country, 75,000 motorcyclists staged a ride-in under the guidance of the French Federation of Angry Bikers. In Paris alone, 15,000 participated in the protest. Local police assisted in directing traffic and managing the protest riders' safety. Two of the prime considerations for protest were the banning of lane splitting and filtering and speed trap targeting of motorcycles. While in the US, we can't even manage to get a noticeable showing of motorcycles on the road for Ride to Work Day. [Almost makes you proud to eat French Fries, doesn't it?]

They're Back!

A blast from the 1970's past is back, Ossa is making trials bikes again. Everything on the site is in Spanish, so with the assistance of Babblefish, here's the word:

Certainly, project OSSA is very ambitious. That at time of crisis it leaves a new motorcycle with some concepts totally opposed to the habitual thing is a as dangerous adventure as brave. Those of Ossa have secured their intention with a revolutionary motorcycle.

The new TR280i has appeared today in the Hall Milán.El new equipment of OSSA Factory has chosen the Hall the Motorcycle of Milan (EICMA) to present/display its new and revolutionary TR 280i. It already was in this Hall, in 1965, where OSSA internationally presented/displayed the prototype on which first motorcycle of trial based his: a multipurpose denominated model Scrambler. Today, OSSA Factory returns to choose Milan to present/display the prototype of a motorcycle that it tries to contribute a blowing of fresh air to the sector. The new TR 280i raises an innovating and exclusive concept, a trial motorcycle that the spirit has inherited who characterized the past in the mark of the clover. After near two years of work, the TR 280i is a motorcycle technologically very outpost. With a motor of 2T with electronic injection, it breaks the established schemes and one appears like a quality alternative that, without a doubt, will conquer the fans.

This one is the first passage towards a future in which other projects and other modalities will conform the presence of OSSA Factory in the panorama of the industry international motorcyclist. The Renaissance of OSSA has been possible thanks to the effort of an equipment led by Jordi Cuxart, President of OSSA Factory, patron and defender of the project; Joan Gurt, Chief of a main directorate and impelling of the same; Alexander Laplaza, Financial Director and also patron, and by Joan Rome, Director of the Division of Motor and the person who has been able to reunite them thanks to an extraordinary vision of future. Josep Serra “Xiu” is the engineer and the soul of the new TR 280i, Director of the project and designer of the prototype. In his curriculum he emphasizes his Gas work Gas like person in charge of the development of an innovator and light motor of trial and its collaborations, through Xiu Research and Development SL. in different projects with Rieju, Dunax, Scorpa or in the Tramontana, an exclusive sport automobile of high benefits.

Marc Colomer, Champion of the World of trial in 1996 and five times Champion of Spain, is the one in charge to develop to the new TR 280i. “Very I am deluded with this project because I create firmly in its possibilities. We know that we have left work much ahead but I trust the equipment of OSSA Factory totally. We have already begun to work in some sections of the new TR 280i and the results are hopeful” has declared Colomer. Marc Colomer perfectly knows the capacity Josep Serra “Xiu” then both worked together in Gas Gas.

THE MOTORCYCLE OSSA has developed a motorcycle of trial with a new very innovating concept. Basically one has worked in the redistribution of the different elements of the motorcycle of logical form concerning the distribution of weights and other conditioners like the temperature of work of some from his components. Among others aspects the filter house in a very high position has been placed and readily accessible. Elements like the fuel tank, the box of the filter of the air or the radiator have been positioned thinking about the needs of a trial motorcycle. And one has become of rational form, with common sense and a clear objective: that new OSSA TR 280i is a reference within this specialty as were it at the time, the first SEA - Mike Andrews Replica of year 1972.

“The filter of the air in the low part of a motorcycle of trial and a high or located fuel tank next to the escape is concepts that from our point of view do not have logic” indicates Xiu responsible for the project. For this reason, the OSSA engineers considered new OSSA TR 280i placing the different elements from a motorcycle of trial on the table and with a folio in target they designed, them and they redistributed based on its needs.

THE MOTOR The fact that the new TR 280i incorporates a system of electronic injection it has allowed his engineers to redistribute different elements without being in favor conditional of the position of the classic carburetor. “Sometimes the injection system has been placed in the same space in which it was the carburetor, with the fuel tank in the high part of the motorcycle, without considering the option to look for a new positioning. OSSA Factory has let start off to me of zero and this one has been a determining aspect at the time of initiating this project” points Xiu. The situation and ideal configuration of different elements have given like result a very small motor with the inclined cylinder backwards, the intention to be able to locate in the high part of the TR 280i the system of injection and the filter house. The same logic that other manufacturers apply in specialties like cross or enduro, in OSSA considers that it is perfectly valid for a specialty like the trial. The new motor, of 2T, is very compact, with the case of a single piece. The change is extracted straight from lateral and the crank by the opposite side. Considering that the case for of chassis, for the being has been leaving resistant from the set, has been able to make a block compact. Of this form the possibility is simplified of acceding to the change relations. Another important aspect is that the maintenance is economic since to manipulate the propellent is extremely simple. A conventional motor as far as geometries can be considered or thermodynamics but has obtained an extremely compact set like concept. It is of the smallest motors of the moment.

The fuel tank of three liters of capacity has been placed in the place where conventionally the trial motorcycles mount the radiator to improve the distribution of weights. The equipment of OSSA Factory considers that the more light it is a trial motorcycle, the more necessary turns out to have the advanced center of gravity.

When placing the radiator behind the deposit and the filter house, is avoided something so habitual in the specialty of trial because the radiator is covered with mud, with the consequent problems that entail the fact that the motor cannot work to the appropriate temperature. A motorcycle without movement (stopped) has to have the capacity to dissipate the heat of the motor and to mount a electroventilador like in the TR 280i. Therefore, although in a motorcycle of another specialty it would be necessary to apply fresh air canalizations, in a motorcycle of trial no. Since the own fuel tank protects the radiator, the new TR 280i can work to a constant temperature, without being conditional to the possible dirt of the radiator.

On the other hand, to invest the cylinder has allowed to practically mount the admission in vertical after the fuel tank, and so the air intake through filter is located more in one of the elevated points of the motorcycle. Therefore, the watertightness of the filter will be superior and the access to the own filter, very simple through a cover. In the interior, under this same cover, some elements of the injection system will be placed. In this location the components will be affected neither by the temperature of the own motor, nor by the humidity. In the distribution of the elements of the motorcycle one has considered very the temperature to which will work each of them. When having the inclined cylinder and mounting the escape backwards, from the back monoshock absorber can be defined the escape, whose volume is superior to the one of a conventional motorcycle.

CHASSIS Made in aluminum and steel to chromium conditional molybdenum and to the design of the motor, the fuel tank has gotten up in the front part of the motorcycle having formed resistant part of the set. In the zones where habitually in the chromium chassis molybdenum there is many welds and therefore weight, forged aluminum pieces have mounted. The pipe of direction, the treated aluminum deposit, the estriberas and the support of the rods are also in forged aluminum. The rest is of steel to chromium molybdenum, with a very simple and welded structure in TIG.

The suspensions have been developed jointly with Öhlins (back) and Marzocchi (front). The back suspension mounts an innovating system of rods that is prote'ge' very and integrated and it is united directly to the forged piece of the chassis. System TTX of Öhlins to the specialty of the trial has been adopted, a system by which the hydraulic valves of the piston and settings have been placed in the outside. This technology already has been used in motocross contributing to many advantages concerning settings as far as simplicity and accessibility. The front suspension is an inverted bracket Marzocchi, a type of suspension that for many years that it was not applied in the specialty of the trial. But unlike other experiences in which a suspension of cross or enduro has adapted, in the TR 280i and close collaboration with Marzocchi, has designed exclusive an inverted bracket for the specialty with aluminum bars.

OSSA Factory enters with own technology the specialty of the Trial and it does with a human equipment with experience and the competitive spirit who made prevail to the mark of the clover. The components of the new motor will be finished in the month of December and the completed motorcycle will begin to try in January. Its production is predicted for the month of 2010 July.

All the News that Didn't Fit

Race a Factory BuellFor only $39,995, you can buy a race-only 1125RR Buell racer, if you are a licensed professional racer who will be willing to compete in the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike class. The Helicon-powered, v-twin comes with a collection of race-ready parts if you are up for the price tag and the competition.

Boston Silences MotorcyclesThe Boston City Council fast-tracked Docket 0658 (An ordinance regulating the noise levels of motorcycles) in a reaction to community complaints of “excessive motorcycle exhaust sound.” The new ordinance requires OEM or US EPA certified exhaust systems on all street legal motorcycles built after December 31, 1982. Violations will result in a $300 fine.

California Won’t Test MotorcyclesThe sponsor, Senator Fran Pavley, of a California bill that would require emissions testing and exhaust system limits for all 2000-and-newer motorcycles has pulled the bill, thanks to the political clout of thousands of “concerned motorcyclists.”

The Killacycle Strikes AgainCummins Power Generation Inc. is sponsoring the world record, 7.89 second quarter-mile electric motorcycle Killacycle racing team. The Killacycle team uses a Cummins Onan Hybrid Quiet Diesel (HQD) generator system to charge the bike at events. The generator has been modified to operate on B20 Biodiesel.

Motorcycle Death at the Tour de FranceA 61-year-old woman was struck and killed by a police motorcycle at the Tour de France as she was crossing a street about 24 miles into the 123 mile 14th stage of the event. The smotorcycle, ridden by a member of the French Republican Guard, slid into the crowd and struck two other spectators, neither was seriously injured.

Motorcycles and Cambodia Don’t MixMotorcycles are the 2nd leading cause of death in Cambodia, right after AIDS. This statistic is somewhat speculative, although during the last 5 years traffic fatalities have doubled in Cambodia and motorcycles are the overwhelming majority of motorized vehicles in that country.

Motorcycle Exhibits CancelingThe 2009 Paris Mondial show was cancelled after major exhibitors let the show organizers know they wouldn’t be attending. Now, Honda and Yamaha have backed out of the Milan, Italy EICMA show. Last year, 1022 motorcycle-related companies participated in the EICMA show. If the two biggest motorcycle companies in the world aren’t going to be there, will the show still go on? The world economic depression took a while to affect motorcycling, but it’s getting to us now.

Zero Emissions Isle of ManThe first one-lap (37 miles) TTXGP, sponsored by Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, was won by Ron Barber riding for Team Agni with an average speed of 87mph (44mph slower than this year’s gas-powered Isle of Man winner) and a top speed of 97.8mph. The Agni X01 was a two-month woodshed project designed by Cedric Lynch and Arvind Rabadia. The Agni was built around the chassis of a 2007 Suzuki GSX-R600 packed with 63 lithium-polymer batteries, for a max capacity of 16 kilowatt-hours (the BTU equivalent of about half a gallon of gasoline). Lynch designed and built the Agni’s two high-efficiency motors.

The all electric motorcycle race winner was built from off-the-shelf parts, as opposed to some of the more well-financed entries. For example, San Francisco’s well-financed Mission Motors hyped their “fastest production electric motorcycle in the world [with] a top speed of 150 mph.” Their Mission One finished 4th with a 74mph average speed and a top speed of 88.3 mph.

Auction-ManiaThe multi-mirrored Lambretta scooter from the Who’s 1979 movie, Quadrophenia, sold for £36,000 ($51,000) at auction. Steve McQueen’s 1929 Scott Super Squirrel was bid up to $276,000 at the New York Antiquorum summer auction. Who says the economy is going bust?

Recent Area Motorcycle CrashesOn July 2, 5 motorcycle tourists were injured in a crash on I90 near Stoughton. 25 members of a Wisconsin motorcycling group (ARM, Association for Recovering Motorcyclists) were westbound and “traveling in excess of the speed limit and they were following way too closely” when traffic ahead of them slowed. Five of the motorcyclists were hospitalized, one was evacuated by Med-Flight. Several of the group ended up “going into the ditch” in their attempt to avoid crashing into the slowed vehicles ahead. According to authorities, “None of the cyclists had helmets on.”

On July 17, Mike Brown, a 66-year-old retired Long Lake fire chief, and four friends were ten minutes into their annual cross-country road trip, when Gary Arens, 51, attempted to pass a pickup and hit Brown head-on. Seconds after the crash, Brown was also struck by a car. Both riders died on site at the crash. The motorcycles struck so hard that one caught fire. Authorities said Arens’ relatives believed that he was probably “aggressively” commuting to work. Arens was reported to have been cited for drunken driving three times since 1999.

Mike Brown was a serious motorcycle enthusiast and an active motorcycle safety advocate. "He was a very cautious driver and he made people he rode with...talked them into wearing their helmets and making sure that everybody rode in a safe manner," said Long Lake fire chief James Van Eyll. The riders were in a well-spaced “staggered formation” at the time of the crash, according to the police report.

On July 19, Brian Elfving, 39, lost control of his Harley and crashed into the side of a Solway, MN house. Elfving was not wearing a helmet and died at the scene of the crash.

While highway fatalities have been dropping for other motor vehicles, motorcycle deaths are rising at an alarming rate (72, last year). These two crashes should make us all think seriously about how we ride and the risks we’re taking on the road.

All the News that Didn't Fit (September)

Every month, I do a column for Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly  called "All the News that Fits." The title is exactly what the column is about: I find a bunch of news items and the editor prints what fits on the page. Some months, there is a lot of news space and everything I find ends up in the magazine. Other months, the magazine is full of ads and local information and there is little to no room for ATNTF. So, I thought, "Why let all that work go to waste, when I can put the leftovers on this blog?" That's the sound of me "thinking," in case you were worried that I didn't have that capacity.  

 With that altruistic motive in mind, here is the stuff that didn’t make the cut in the September issue:

All the News That Didn’t Fit

Harley-Davidson Museum Open to the Public

Harley torched the chain ribbon (with acetylene) to the new Milwaukee Harley-Davidson Museum on July 12, 2008. CEO Jim Ziemer received his first tattoo as part of the ceremony and other events marked the day..

Ziemer said “Harley-Davidson has dreamed about building this Museum for a long time. It adds a whole new dimension to the Harley-Davidson experience.”

New Product Releases

Just in time for the end of the cruiser era, Triumph is releasing a 1600cc parallel twin, belt driven, cruiser called the Thunderbird. The bike won’t reach dealers until sometime in 2009. If you are still employed, you will be able to make a deposit on a Thunderbird next spring. Harley is introducing the Tri-Glide Ultra, in 2009. This $30k three-wheeler is intended for the aging, skill-challenged market that is wrestling between the purchase of an electric wheelchair or an image enhancing Harley. If you have the cash, you can have both the balance-compensating qualities of a Hoveround and the image polish of a big twin.

NHTSA Recalls

2008 BMW R1200 GS (46 units): Due to a material defect in the intermediate shaft of the transmission, the shaft could break. The transmission could seize if this occurs.