Harley Takes EV Tech on World-Wide Adventure to Prove Effectiveness on New Podcast

Can Electric Bikes Really Go Anywhere?

The biggest concern I’ve heard repeatedly parroted from the anti-electric vehicle mob is “good luck finding somewhere to charge your Telsa on a long road trip, those things are only good for city commuting”. Harley-Davidson is taking the EV technology they released with their new LiveWire Motorcycle across the entire globe on a 100 day, 13,000-mile trek to prove the naysayers wrong, documented on their H-D podcast series available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In only 30 days, the same engineers that developed the LiveWire were assembled to retrofit the production model LiveWires to sustain the grueling journey ahead. The bikes utilize production-spec LiveWire parts such as the “RESS (Rechargeable Energy Storage System) hardware, chassis, and Harley-Davidson Revelation™ powertrain components” per the official press release. In addition to all of that, the bikes feature prototype wheels, rotors, and tires from their upcoming Pan America adventure touring bike set to release in late 2020, as a 2021 model.

If a 13,000-mile journey doesn’t sell you on the efficiency and reliability of electric motorcycles, I’m not sure what will. Back in June of 2016, Rafael de Mestre did a similar stunt/challenge by taking his 2012 Tesla Model S on a 15,534-mile drive over an 80 day period to prove the same point.

The podcast will include the engineering process as well as the trip itself and any issues the riders may run into along the way. The LiveWire that Ewan McGregor rode in Harley-Davidson’s recent Long Way Up documentary series was far from stock, so it will be great to see the capabilities of the technology with something closer to the motorcycles H-D has available to consumers.

H-D Podcast

TVS Apache RTR 200 4V

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Yamaha: favourites for Barcelona win after Friday’s action?

And what about Rossi? The Doctor went quietly about his business on the opening day and finished P10 on the combined Free Practice Friday timesheets – the final provisional Q2 place. The ultra-experienced Italian explained how the conditions were difficult to deal with, the wind in Barcelona picked up significantly during the afternoon – and the track is a lot less grippy than Misano. Rossi seemed fairly pleased with his day though, saying: “Today was positive because my pace is quite good, I feel good with the bike. It works well, and I feel comfortable. For sure, we will have to work a lot, because everybody will improve for tomorrow, but the first day wasn’t so bad. I’m in P10, but I think my potential is higher.”

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Grip levels, rising rookies and a stunning title race

Check out MotoGP™ Legend Randy Mamola’s things to look out for this weekend at the Catalan GP as MotoGP™ surpasses the halfway stage in 2020

It’s time for you to delve into Randy Mamola’s key points for the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. The MotoGP™ Legend and 13-time Grand Prix winner talks you through some of the talking points ahead of Saturday and Sunday’s track action, as the premier class surpass the halfway stage of a mouth-watering 2020 season.

1. A September Catalan GP – very different conditions to normal

“Barcelona is a completely different racetrack to Misano, it’s a much faster track, much faster and flowing. A lot of riders love Barcelona and obviously the fans do too. Its fantastic. The Ducatis, KTMs, obviously the bikes that have top speed should be doing very well there. It’s quite unusual because we talk about Yamaha not having that much speed, but yet they have won four races this year. KTM have won two, and Ducati have won one so it’s quite funny to see one of those things.

“It’s a different time of year for the Catalan GP. Normally it takes place in June time where we can almost guarantee it to be very hot. I live in the region so it’s definitely not a guarantee for sunshine at this time of year. In fact, last week for WorldSBK they had some big rainstorms so well have to wait and see what happens for the weather this weekend. Another thing for the Montmelo circuit is grip levels, they seem to change very quickly depending on the track temperatures so therefore it will be interesting to watch who gets the best grip out of the Michelin rear tyre, especially in this race so that’s what we’ll be looking for.”

2. Rookies on the rise

“Binder, Lecuona and Alex Marquez, these are our rookies and they are getting stronger. We already know how strong Brad Binder is because he managed to win a race in Brno this year as a rookie and it was his first time on the podium too. Not bad. He looked really strong in the last Misano but unfortunately, he fell off but he was strong enough for a podium I believe.

“When we talk about Lecuona and Marquez, both of them had strong weekends. Alex Marquez had a great finish to the double-header in Misano because he finished in seventh place. The thing you have to commend him for is he finished in seventh, less than one second behind Nakagami, who is riding on a LCR Honda bike, and everybody praises Naka so you have to get give that praise to Alex Marquez as well because he is in a tough situation too and I’m sure he is getting a lot of pointers from his brother Marc. Will Lecuona and Alex Marquez be able to continue their speed in Barcelona?”

3. Four points, four riders – a stunning title race

“Four points separating the top four riders: Dovizioso, Quartararo, Viñales and Mir. The top 10 in the Championship is also incredible, separated by just 27 points. Just to give you an example: after the fifth Grand Prix which was the Styrian GP, Viñales was 22 points behind. Now he sits one point behind Dovizioso. Then Mir, who’s four points off Dovi, was 26 points behind at the Styrian GP, so in two races they clawed back a lot of points – 22 to be exact for Mir, and that’s how quickly things can turn around.

“Pol Espargaro is in 10th place, 27 points off and Rossi is just ahead of him in 9th – in between there’s Oliveira, Nakagami, Miller, Morbidelli and the three behind Dovi. Let me know your comments and let me know what you think about what’s going on in this Championship!”

Don’t forget to tune into MotoGP™ FP3 at 09:55 (GMT+2) on Saturday morning as the Q1 and automatic Q2 places will be decided!

Every practice session, qualifying battle and race, exclusive interviews, historic races and so much more fantastic content: this is VideoPass!

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Schrötter sets FP2 pace, Lowes leads overall on Friday

No one could beat Lowes or Marini though, the Brit and Italian sit P1 and P2 heading into Saturday’s action despite finishing P10 and P14 in FP2 respectively. Schrötter’s solid performance in the second session of the weekend sees him rise to P3 from P12, Di Giannantonio leapfrogs Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the combined standings to move up to 4th, the Japanese rider demoted to P5. Behind Nagashima sits Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2) and Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) – none of these riders improving their FP1 times – with Vierge jumping ahead of compatriots Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Augusto Fernandez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) in the top 10.

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Aprilia Tuareg 660 Spotted

An Italian Adventure Machine

Aprilia has a new adventure motorcycle in the works and it’s called the Tuareg, which is a name from the company’s history. The model hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the company is developing it. The bike was recently spotted testing.

According to Motoblog.it, a person recently spotted the bike out testing and was able to snag a photo of the bike. It is shown above. You can also check out the image below and what Motoblog.it has to say about it.

➡️ Era rimasta nascosta dietro il fogliame della teca📷 Adesso è venuta allo scoperto: #Aprilia #Tuareg 660👇 L’endurona di Noale è tornata: ecco le prime foto

Posted by Motoblog.it on Thursday, September 24, 2020

You can’t really see much from the images, but the bike will have the 660cc twin-cylinder engine that’s in the new RS660. It will of course be tuned differently for adventure touring purposes. I’d assume power will be a little lower and the way that power comes on should be far different.

Yamax Z400

The new bike will have the Tenere 700 in its sights. The chassis will need to be quite good, and the bike fully capable of some impressive off-roading feats to compete fully.

It will be interesting to see what Aprilia is able to do with this bike. The RS660 isn’t even available yet, and the company is already making the most of its engine and platform.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Royal Enfield Official Begins Production in Argentina

How Royal Enfield Will Win

Royal Enfield officially began production in its new facility in Argentina. Not long ago I reported that production would begin there, and now it’s officially underway, according to RideApart.

The company has partnered with Grupo Simpa, which it previously used as a distributor to make this new production facility happen. Grupo Simpa will assemble three of Royal Enfield’s models at the new plant.

The new plant will be responsible for the Himalayan, Continental GT, and Interceptor 650. This is a smart move because the bikes have been selling well in Argentina already. It also gives Royal Enfield a good place to export bikes from.

Royal Enfield production in Argentina

“Argentina and other South American countries have been an important market for Royal Enfield,” said Royal Enfield CEO Vinod K. Dasari.

Dasari said that the local terrain and topography create the perfect place for the company’s bikes, which is why they have been such a hit there.

Harley Davidson Livewire

“Our decision to start assembling our motorcycles in Argentina is proof of our long-term commitment and confidence in the market,” he said.

The focus, at least at first, will be on South American markets for the motorcycles made here. I would expect as things progress this plant will become an important strategic part of Royal Enfield’s plant to take its 650cc models to every market on the globe.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Harley-Davidson Closes Up Shop in India, Kills Sportster in Europe

Harley’s Making Moves

Harley-Davidson is going through some serious restructuring, and the company has had to make plenty of tough decisions. It announced its Rewire strategy, and that entailed some shakeups on a global scale and some reworking of its lineup. As of now, the company will close up shop in India and it will pull the Sportster lineup from Europe. 

Actually, about a dozen models will leave European shores due to the fact that Harley won’t upgrade the engines for Euro 5 emissions standards.

The intention behind this move is to save money. Moto Station reached out to Harley-Davidson France. A company representative noted that the Sportsters weren’t selling well enough to warrant the upgrade to Euro 5 standards. In 2021, European riders will see the last of the Harley Sportster.

That’s not to say Harley doesn’t have a replacement on the horizon. There’s always the chance that the company will add another, similar bike in the future to the European market.

As far as India goes, the company will stop all production, sales, and operations there. The move will “boost restructuring expenses this year to about $169 million,” according to Bloomberg.

Better Deal Petition

Again, this might not be forever. Once Harley gets its feet back under it and has things rolling along well, it may re-think about entering the Indian market. It could even do so with its Chinese-made small-displacement bike, the 338R.

Needless to say, Harley is struggling, but it seems to be trying hard to right the ship. Let’s hope it can do what it needs to do.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Morbidelli sets Barcelona FP2 benchmark, Zarco close in P2

In the early stages of FP2, a lot of riders were able to go quicker than their FP1 lap times. Morbidelli, Binder and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) all rose into the top four to slot in behind FP1 pacesetter Quartararo, with Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi also improving their times. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) then went up to P4 on the combined times to shove Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) down to P6 from P2 in FP1, the Italian, Quartararo, third in FP1 Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) the only riders inside the top 10 not going faster in the first 15 minutes of the second 45-minute stint of the weekend.

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Fernandez remains fastest after Moto3™ crash-fest in FP2

Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) remained fastest at the close of Day 1 of the Monster Energy Catalan Grand Prix thanks to his lap in FP1 on Friday morning, however, the Spaniard’s advantage was halved after Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) topped FP2 despite a tumble. Last week’s victor Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) takes the final spot inside the top three, four tenths adrift of Fernandez who was the only man to dip beneath the 1:49 barrier.

Source: MotoGP.comRead Full Article Here

Injury to delay Webster’s JM Honda Racing MXGP debut

News 25 Sep 2020

Injury to delay Webster’s JM Honda Racing MXGP debut

Fill-in rider to miss Mantova triple-header while shoulder and elbow recover.

Image: Supplied.

Injuries sustained while competing in Germany’s ADAC MX Masters will delay Kyle Webster’s debut in the MXGP World Championship with the JM Honda Racing team.

Webster, 24, had been called in to deputise for Benoit Paturel aboard the CRF450R from Mantova’s triple-header in Italy beginning this weekend.

It was an incident at the start of moto one that resulted in Webster cracking his shoulder and elbow injury, which will sideline him for up to three weeks. He’s hoping to return by Lommel in mid-October.

“It was very unfortunate to go down like that just before my MXGP debut,” Webster explained. “I was feeling good on the bike and was really looking forward to racing in Mantova.

“The injuries I picked up are a bit strange and I don’t feel that banged up actually. My elbow is a lot better already and my shoulder doesn’t hurt that much. We’ll have to see how quick it heals but I can’t wait for my first MXGP event.

“I will be attending the races in Mantova this weekend as a spectator, so that should allow me to get a better idea of how the races work and to familiarise myself further with the JM Racing team.”

JM Honda Racing team manager Jacky Martens added: “We were already pleased with Kyle’s progress in training and, until the crash, he was having a solid day. It’s obviously disappointing for everyone not to have Kyle racing in Mantova, but we’re now focused on the next races with him to heal up and be at 100 percent when he’s back.”


Source: MotoOnline.com.au

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