The competitors for the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb have just concluded a two-day tire test at the Colorado road course, and it should perhaps come as no surprise that our boy Carlin Dunne has posted the outright fastest lap for a motorcycle during the tire test (the Santa Barbara native set the outright two-wheeled course record last year on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S). What is surprising about Carlin’s result at the tire test is that he was on the Lightning Motorcycles electric superbike. That’s right, the fastest bike so far for 2013′s Race to the Clouds is a 200+ hp electric superbike that is refueled with solar energy. Petrol heads, eat your heart out.
Talking to the Indy Star, Mark Miles (CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent company to Indianapolis Motor Speedway) has put some doubt into the historic venue’s commitment to host the MotoGP Championship. Having a contract to run the race through the 2014 season, Miles said that IMS might opt-out of the final year in its agreement with Dorna (IMS apparently has this option for a brief window after the 2013 Indianapolis GP). However while the news has focused so far on IMS’s ability to opt-out, both Dorna and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have options in their contract to go through with the 2014 round, and with a bevy of variables in the air, we may or may not see three American GP rounds next year.
Surprise! America will be getting a 847cc three-cylinder naked bike for the 2014 model year, the 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Replacing the Yamaha FZ8 in the Japanese company’s line-up, the FZ-09 is the first motorcycle from the tuning fork brand to sport the Yamaha’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The Yamaha FZ-09 comes about as the MIC is reporting its second-consecutive year of growth in the 751+cc sport bike segment, as well as increase in commuter riding over short-distance sport riding. With those trends in mind, Yamaha has punched out the displacement on its middleweight naked bike, and focused on giving riders a comfortable, yet stout, motorcycle. Priced at $7,990 MSRP, we think Yamaha hit the nail pretty much on the head with this one.
In the past few years I’ve come to believe that, while superior physical differences (their reflexes and fine motor skills) are significant, it’s the mental differences that are the most interesting. I suppose anyone who has ridden a motorcycle even a bit beyond one’s comfort zone can appreciate some part of the physical aspect of riding a racing bike. For most of us, even the speed of racers in local events is impressive compared to our street riding. While the skills with throttle, brakes, and balance are on a level similar to the best athletes in other sports, I think that what really sets motorcycle racers apart is their ability to overcome fear.
The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009. If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion.
Darius Glover is a dirt bike racer. Like you and me, he lives to ride, and when he is on two-wheels he feels the freedom that only other motorcyclists can truly understand. The thing is though, Darius is paralyzed from the waist down. Where others would give up their dreams and this sport, Darius at the age of 15 instead pushed onward. No pity parties, no excuses, just simply a daily example of where there is a will, there is a way, and a reminder that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. It’s hard not to get a bit choked up listening to Darius tell his story, but you walk away feeling uplifted after feeling his attitude come across the screen.
Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event. One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy. However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but.
While normally, MotoGP fans never get enough of seeing Valentino Rossi on TV, there is one shot they would (for the most part) gladly be spared. As he leaves the pits, Rossi stands on the footpegs, and pulls his leathers from between his buttocks, before sitting back down again and leaving. These rituals – part useful limbering up, part invocation of Lady Luck – are something many riders perform, in their attempt to exert control over themselves, and over their environment. In a fascinating press release – by far the most interesting we have received in many months – the Aspar team today provided a discussion and explanation of what riders are trying to achieve through the use of these rituals.
Hoping to make it four wins in a row, it goes without saying that the MotoCzysz crew is working hard to close the gap to the John McGuinness and the Mugen team. However, having Team Principal Michael Czysz stuck back in the US, undergoing cancer treatments, must certainly add another level of motivation for the on-island MotoCzysz crew. Making time in their busy schedule, Asphalt & Rubber got to take some up-close photos of the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc. The most obvious changes made to the MotoCzysz E1pc for the 2013 TT Zero race are the use conventional suspension pieces. Of course, it’s not a completely standard suspension setup, as MotoCzysz has developed its own adjustable triple clamp that incorporates tunable lateral flex parameters.
Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne. Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: California Drops Motorcycle Smog Check Legislation – http://tinyurl.com/nodxvh #motocycle
California Drops Motorcycle Smog Check Legislation – Asphalt & Rubber http://bit.ly/yjVuE
Thanks Asphalt and Rubber. We need to all stand together against this corrupt group of legislators; Especially when it comes to our 2 wheeled lifestyle.
Information about California dropping the Smog Check provision in the revised bill appears to be in error. The Senate Transportation committee did pass an amended bill on 05/28/09. However a review of that amendment still very much includes mandatory smog checks for all 2000 and later Class III motorcycles (larger than 280cc) beginning in 2012. In fact, the bill passed the Senate 22 to 17 and is now in the California Assembly Transportation Committee with a scheduled hearing on 06/29/09. All can be verified through accessing bill status at senate.ca.gov and at assembly.ca.gov for scheduled hearings under the Transportation Committee agenda. Such misinformation also appears to be coming from various sources, resulting in a dangerous drop of interest being expressed to legislative representatives representatives by the California motorcycling public. If I am wrong, Hallelujah! If not, I feel it is important that you let readers know the correct facts!
“Minuscule pollution?” Motorcycles contribute to 10% of the smog-producing emissions in CA. Compared to cars, they pollute disproportionately. I’m not sure why this proposal “doesn’t make sense” considering the environmental effects…and this is coming from a guy with 4 bikes, 2 with exhausts. Yeah, I like the look/sound/power of an aftermarket exhaust system, but there IS a good reason for this law to become implemented, even if it isn’t ideal for riders.
Rather than apply to year 2000 bikes, I’d rather see stricter regulations for motorcycle companies with no restrictions on the aftermarket myself, that way guys and girls that are really into their bikes are able to pollute a bit more w/ their exhausts and people buying bikes of the showroom floor to commute on will absorb some of the pollution.
” Motorcycles contribute to 10% of the smog-producing emissions in CA”
YOU ARE EITHER MISINFORMED, HIGH, OR A MORON.
“This story is about emissions. More specifically, it’s about the surprising level of emissions spewing from on-road motorcycles and scooters. In California, such bikes make up 3.6% of registered vehicles and 1% of vehicle miles traveled, yet they account for 10% of passenger vehicles’ smog-forming emissions in the state. In fact, the average motorbike is about 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV, according to a California Air Resources Board comparison of emissions-compliant vehicles.”
Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/11/autos/hy-throttle11
You, my friend, are either misinformed, high, or a moron. Like I said, I am an avid motorcyclist, but I am fully aware of the consequences of my choices, just like everyone else should be.
Motorcycles And Pollution
Should We All Drive Instead Of Ride?
September, 2008
By Andrew Trevitt
Click to View GalleryA recent column in the Los Angeles Times painted a grim picture for motorcyclists based on emissions data. The story, “Inconvenient Truths About Motorcycles and Smog,” explained how motorcycles emit more nitrogen oxides-NOX, byproducts of combustion that contribute to smog-and concludes by claiming that “Motorcycles, even small ones, are more polluting than Hummers.”
Saying that a motorcycle pollutes more than an SUV because it emits more nitrogen oxides is like saying soda is more healthy for you than juice because soda has fewer calories. There is a lot more involved in vehicle emissions than just nitrogen oxides, and the column in the Times is, at best, misleading. It claims that “the average motorbike is about 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV, according to a California Air Resources Board comparison of emissions-compliant vehicles.” I couldn’t find the referenced CARB document on the agency’s website, but I did find actual emissions test data for cars, SUVs and motorcycles on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. Sure enough, many of the motorcycles are listed as discharging more NOX and other polluting byproducts than cars. In the EPA’s test data an ’07 Honda CBR600RR has an average of 0.08 g/km NOX over the various tests. A Lincoln Navigator, in comparison, shows 0.02 g/km for the same byproducts. Carbon monoxide, another smog-producing byproduct, is listed at between 1.7 and 2.4 g/km for the CBR, between 0.6 and 0.8 g/km for the Navigator.
There are several factors that allow cars and trucks to have fewer harmful emissions than motorcycles. All the required hoses, canisters and catalytic converters fit relatively easily under a car’s hood, but not so nicely on a motorcycle. That paraphernalia adds cost and weight, which is more of an issue on a $10,000, 450-pound motorcycle than a $25,000, 3000-pound car. And catalytic converters generate a lot of heat, which can be dangerous as well as uncomfortable when they are exposed on a motorcycle as opposed to tucked away underneath a car. Whatever the reasons, the EPA and CARB regulations are more lenient for motorcycles, and as a result motorcycles do emit more smog-producing pollutants than cars.
But the emissions data is just a small part of the overall impact each vehicle has on the environment, and I don’t think the situation for motorcycles is as bad as it’s depicted in that data alone, or as glum as it’s laid out in the Times article. Primarily, the carbon dioxide emitted by each vehicle must also be considered. CO2 is a product of combustion rather than a byproduct, meaning it is a direct result of the fuel burning. A vehicle that uses less fuel will produce less CO2, and as global warming becomes increasingly important, more emphasis is being placed on fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It’s safe to say that since motorcycles are, in general, more fuel efficient than cars-and especially SUVs-their CO2 emissions are less. In that respect, cars pollute more than motorcycles.
One aspect not considered in the story is how emissions data relates to real-world driving conditions. The EPA measures emissions on a dynamometer using set criteria representative of a mixture of city and freeway driving. But during a typical Los Angeles commute most cars are idling along, no doubt spewing more bad gases than indicated by the EPA’s data. Meanwhile, motorcyclists are allowed to split lanes, keeping their emissions more representative of the testing procedures. On top of that, more motorcycles on the road means fewer cars, reducing congestion for everyone and, in turn, improving the automobiles’ emissions. Certainly these aspects may not be enough to offset the additional pollutants that motorcycles add to the atmosphere, but they improve the situation, perhaps considerably.
Consider the tradeoffs: Yes, motorcycles generate more smog-producing pollutants than the average car. But they use less fuel, dump less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and reduce congestion for everyone. I’m pretty confident that when I ride to work I’m doing less damage to the planet than most of the cars on the road. It’s frustrating that the local paper in a city that suffers some of the worst traffic problems in the country put a lopsided view on the topic when it should be doing more to encourage alternative transportation. I’m all for reducing pollution and saving the planet, and it’s unfortunate that motorcycles do pollute more than cars in some ways, but let’s be realistic: Motorcycles are more a part of the solution than a part of the problem.
Make sure you write to Senator Fran Pavley D-Agoura Hills regarding bill 435 to let her know you oppose it. Here is what I wrote:
Senator Fran Pavley D-Agoura Hills bill 435 is well intended, but will do little to alleviate noise and will only anger the motorcyclists who already have a quiet motorcycle, which is most owners. Why punish the thousands of riders in the state for the abuse caused by a few? I am sure that the owners of bikes with loud mufflers will only put on their original stock muffler for the ride to the check point and get their sticker, only to ride home and spend 5 minutes putting on their loud pipes.
To alleviate this, the noise levels should be monitored, not a required stamp that will do little or nothing to stop the noise. Set up a guideline that requires pipes to be less than so many Decibels at a set distance from the end of the tail pipe while the engine is revved to 3000 RPM’s. Not subjective, etc. No chance to defeat it in court, the decibel meter does not lie and some models cost less then 100 dollars. Then have the enforcement of each bike done by officers on the street. Putting a stamp on the bike will be useless and one more hoop riders have to jump through. I would support a bill requiring Smog Checking of motorcycles to fight the illegal removal of catalytic converters and other pollution control equipment.
Use her address on the form or it will kick back to you!
2716 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://legplcms01.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.aspx?district=SD23