Tag Archives: environment

Why You Should Prefer Getting a Motorcycle Over a Car

(Sponsored post)

Bikes and cars both have their benefits. Not that cars are any less useful, this article focuses more on promoting motorcycles. We have discussed why you should prefer to get a motorcycle instead of a car. Car is more useful when it’s snowing or raining; otherwise, bikes have much more benefits to offer. While you shouldn’t say no to a giveaway offer to win a car, bike lovers would even sell that car to get a new bike. Here is are the reasons behind their enthusiasm.

Get a Better Mileage

A bike gives a lot better mileage compared to a car. Depending on the bike, you can get even four times more mileage. This saves a significant amount of money on gas, especially if you have to travel regularly. Two people can easily go anywhere on a bike at the same cost. You don’t need a car unless you are three or more people going to the same place. Then why pay for the gas of those three people when you are traveling alone?

Easily Beat the Traffic

Bikes don’t get stuck in traffic. They can easily find a way between cars in a traffic jam. This helps you beat heavy traffic and reach your destination always before time. Time is money and riding a bike saves you time. Even if there isn’t much traffic, you can reach your destination before a car without speeding.

Riding a Bike is More Fun

It is understandable that you can’t go to the office on a bike in extreme weather conditions. But how often do you get extreme weather? Think about enjoying the pleasant weather that is always here. You get to feel the breeze and your surrounding on a bike. This makes bike riding way much more fun than sitting in a comfortable seat with no contact to the outside world. A car may be more comfortable, but people also travel thousands of miles on motorcycles.

Easy to ParkParking squeeze

One thing everyone hates about cars is parking them. You need to have sufficient space where you can turn the car and ensure you can easily open the doors. If you slightly touch anything, it will cause a dent and the paint will wear off, leaving you with extra expense of hundreds of dollars. Guess what? You never have to worry about parking a bike. You can stop anywhere on the side and lock the bike. It won’t disrupt any traffic nor get in the way of pedestrians. This again saves you time in addition to the trouble.

They are Better for Environment

Most motorcycles are a lot better for the environment compared to most cars. They drink less fuel and produce fewer pollutants. They also require less maintenance and take less space on the road for the others. Motorcycles are also easier to park at home as you don’t need the space of a full room for them. Some even park them inside their apartments.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Tarform Luna is an electric pineapple express

The Tarform Luna electric motorcycle is claimed to be more environmentally sound as it uses non-toxic, biomaterials such as flax for body panels and pineapple material in the seat.

It was unveiled last December with the special Founder Edition costing from $US42,000 (about $A61,200).

Now the standard Racer and Scrambler models are available for pre-orders starting from $US24,000 (about $A35,000).

Tarform scramblerTarform Scrambler Tarform racerTarform Racer

Luna production starts in late 2020 for delivery in 2021.

Taras Kravtchouk, the New York founder of the Tarform Luna electric motorcycle says their bikes use “honest materials that do no harm to our environment”.

Some critics say electric vehicles are not environmentally sound because of the emissions involved in extracting the precious metals for the batteries and the toxicity of recycling material at the end of the battery’s life.

Evolution in extraction, manufacturing and recycling processes is reducing those impacts with less use of materials such as cobalt and increasing use of repurposed lithium-ion batteries.

Tarform electric pineapple expressTarform’s electric pineapple express

However, the jury is still out on the real impact of EVs.

Reports about the whole-of-life impact of electric vehicles compared with internal-combustion-engine vehicles vary substantially.

Pineapple express

Taras hopes to improve the whole-of-life environmental impact by using biomaterials in the construction of his bike, such as pineapple in the seating.

He also claims materials have been “ethically” sourced.

Other components are not permanently glued or bonded, making upgrades and repairs easy.

Taras says his goal is to use fully recyclable materials and no petroleum-based products. Of course that will mean something other than conventional tyres.Tarform electric pineapple express

“At Tarform we treasure the freedom to ride in nature and feel responsibility to build vehicles that do no harm to our environment,” he says.

The Tarform is powered by a 41kW air-cooled electric motor that drives the rear wheel via a roller chain and has almost 200km of city range

The Luna uses a 10-kW lithium-ion battery pack, reaches 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 150km/h.

It uses Ohlins suspension and IRS brakes.

The 3.3-kW onboard charger can charge the battery up to 80% in 50 minutes.

Tech features include blind spot detection system that vibrates the seat to warn the rider, a 180-degree rearview camera and an app to track data about the bike.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Are electric motorcycles taking the Mickey?

Ok, so electric motorcycles are not as constrained on design as traditional bikes, but are some of the latest models simply taking the Mickey!

We recently showed one that looked like an X and another that had pineapples in the seat and now there is another made mostly of wood while the latest concept looks like a USB stick.

Wooden bike

Newron Motors founder Sébastien Mahut has spent years on his prototypes and has now unveiled a concept with a body almost entirely made of wood.Newron Motors electric wooden motorcycle

It’s actually quite beautiful with swirling, flowing lines and glowing blue lights. Does it give you wood?

But it’s also a bit impractical. What happens if you have a crash? Do you get out your whittling knife and make a new part?

We also wonder about the flexible nature of wood, the ageing when exposed to the weather, splinters in the nether regions, etc. So many issues!Newron Motors electric wooden motorcycle

And isn’t using wood running counter to the whole greenie thing of electric vehicles?

Ok, it’s just a concept and we don’t expect the production model — if it ever sprouts — will be made of wood.

Flash bike

Polestar SLR USB Polestar SLR concept

Car designer Arthur Martins has now turned his attention to motorcycles with this Polestar Salt Lake Runner (SLR) concept that looks like a USB flash drive. 

We love a slim bike like the Moto Guzzi Le Mans and Ducati Scrambler, but this just looks totally uncomfortable and unrideable in anything more than a straight line! Maybe that’s why they call it a Salt lake Runner.Polestar SLR USB

Arthur says it’s a work in progress, but that he wants to make a street-legal version. We’ll see.

Taking the Mickey

Are these guys taking the Mickey or just trying to get some media exposure?

If it’s the latter then it’s worked. At least with us!

But expect that there will be more zany electric motorcycles to come and take the Mickey out of us, given the current crop of eccentric designs.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Meet the electric pineapple motorcycle!

The Tarform electric motorcycle is claimed to be more environmentally sound as it uses non-toxic, biomaterials such as flax for body panels and pineapple material in the seat.

Not sure if we would like sitting on the rough end of the pineapple, but at least Taras Kravtchouk, the New York founder of the Tarform electric motorcycle is considering environmental impact.

Some critics say electric vehicles are not environmentally sound because of the emissions involved in extracting the precious metals for the batteries and the toxicity of recycling material at the end of the battery’s life.

Evolution in extraction, manufacturing and recycling processes is reducing those impacts with less use of materials such as cobalt and increasing use of repurposed lithium-ion batteries.

However, the jury is still out on the real impact of EVs.

Reports about the whole-of-life impact of electric vehicles compared with internal-combustion-engine vehicles vary substantially.

Pineapple express

Taras hopes to improve the whole-of-life environmental impact by using biomaterials in the construction of his bike, such as pineapple in the seating.

He also claims materials have been “ethically” sourced.

Other components are not permanently glued or bonded, making upgrades and repairs easy.

Taras says his goal is to use fully recyclable materials and no petroleum-based products.Tarform electric pineapple express

“At Tarform we treasure the freedom to ride in nature and feel responsibility to build vehicles that do no harm to our environment,” he says.

The Founder Edition, unveiled this month, starts at $US32,000 (about $A46,700). Subsequent models should cost less.

The Tarform is powered by an electric motor that drives the rear wheel via a roller chain and has just 160km of range.

They don’t specify whether that is city or highway cycle, but it does have regenerative braking which improves range in the city where you use the brakes more often.

Taras hopes to make it safer by including sensors and artificial-intelligence connectivity to warn riders of nearby vehicles and alert to impending collisions.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com