MotoGP is to get a head start on the implementation of LED flag panels for the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP season, starting with this weekend’s Portuguese GP at Portimão.
The panels, which will be made compulsory by both the FIM and FIA from 2022, are to be transported from track to track by LED panel manufacturer EM Motorsport, and used for each race.
Yesterday we showed you the MV Agusta RVS #1, the first creation from the Italian marque’s Reparto Veicoli Speciali program, which is making limited run machines out of MV Agusta models.
Reparto Veicoli Speciali comes straight out of the Castiglioni Research Center, MV Agusta’s design studio, and this division will focus solely on making dedicated bikes for special customers. One bike, one customer, is the premise.
The RVS #1 might bear familiar lines to the MV Agusta Brutale 800, but this machine is hand-built and features the most powerful three-cylinder engine in MV Agusta’s lineup, with 150 hp coming from the 350 lbs (and Euro IV compliant) machine.
Today is “pass off old news as new news” day in the motorcycle industry. In addition to re-discovering that Dainese is working on a space suit design (circa 2014), another story from 2011 is getting some play: BMW’s laser headlight technology.
The rehashing of this story comes about as BMW Motorrad is at the Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) today, showing its laser headlight technology now on a motorcycle. Cue your Austin Powers jokes, now.
Laser-powered headlights are already available on BMW cars, with the 7 Series and i8 electric car featuring the technology. Thus, the logical progression was to add the frickin’ laser beams to BMW Motorrad’s flagship model, the BMW K1600GTL, which is showing at CES.
As one of the leaders in today’s automotive and motorcycle advancements, BMW is again pushing the envelope of technology and blurring the lines between science fiction and reality.
The German manufacturer prides itself on state of the art safety features on both cars and motorcycles, most notably the introduction of ABS for motorcycles in 1988 and their semi-active chassis which was released in 2012.
More notably are BMW’s recent updates in motorcycle lighting technology which include BMW’s adaptive headlight technology for the 2010 BMW K1600GT and GTL models, which uses ride height and pitch sensors to automatically level the headlight.
Also, the 2012 BMW R1200GS which was the first motorcycle to feature an LED main headlight with integrated daytime running light.
For 2014, BMW has announced the introduction of Organic LEDs (OLED) which are claimed to be a vast improvement over the inorganic LED lighting that is currently being used.
If you have been watching the practice and qualifying sessions from the Qatar GP, you may have noticed that Valentino Rossi is once again wearing one of his special helmet designs. This one is a bit different though — instead of a crazy or clever paint scheme, Rossi and his crew have subtle lit the AGV Pista helmet’s clear rear spoiler.
Under the night lights of the Losail International Circuit, the effect is pretty astounding. Usually a spectacle of glowing brake discs and flaming exhausts, the night time atmosphere of the Qatar proves itself once again to be an interesting canvas for the light, which Rossi has masterfully tapped into.
A favorite event for our main man Scott Jones, we’ve got a few shots of Rossi and his LED light show. It’s interesting how the LEDs change some of the more classic Rossi photos, and of course it makes Rossi really pop on the TV feed. Enjoy!
The 2013 EICMA show is just a couple days away, and the first OEM on the docket to reveal its new models is MV Agusta. We already know what MV Agusta’s big reveal is the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800, which will be a high-sitting sport-touring machine, complete with hard-bags, that features the company’s 800cc three-cylinder engine.
Teasing the new model now in a video, we can get our first glimpse at what MV Agusta has been cooking up back in Varese. Fusing the three-pipe exhaust of the MV Agusta F3 with the squared-off exhaust tips of the MV Agusta F4, MV Agusta has taken many design elements from its other models to make the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 — note the Rivale handguards and signals, for instance.
We’ll let the video and screen grabs do the rest of the talking, but a couple features of note are the full-LED headlight, Sachs semi-active suspension, and what looks like some sort of Bluetooth / cellphone connection system. We like what we see, and we like what we hear…Monday can’t come soon enough.
Debuting today at the AIMExpo in Orlando, the 2014 Erik Buell Racing 1190RX superbike is already the talk of the event. Based off the company’s uber-pricey EBR 1190RS racing machine, the EBR 1190RX is the RS’s more affordable, yet still potent, street bike sibling.
Featuring 185 peak horsepower in a 419 lbs bulk (sans fuel), Erik Buell Racing is posting some impressive numbers with the EBR 1190RX, though we think the $18,995 is the figure that will really get people excited. Putting the Erik Buell Racing 1190RX in “Ducati territory” for potential buyers, EBR is now a serious street bike company for enthusiasts to consider.
After seeing the front fairing of the new 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 last week, we idly speculated that the design included an LED (light-emitting diode) headlamp, as no bulbs or projector assemblies could be seen in the housing. Another tip-off were the slats in the headlight housing, which can readily be seen, and look very similar to the setup used by Audi on its R18 TDI Le Mans race car. Getting a few tips from our loyal readers, and following up with several of our sources, we can confirm that the new Ducati Superbike 1199 will use a completely LED-based headlight system — the first production motorcycle to use such an assembly.
