New York Archives - Asphalt & Rubber

News

States Object to Harley-Davidson Getting off the Hook

By Jensen Beeler 02/08/2018 No Comments

In August 2016, Harley-Davidson got into some deep water with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for roughly 340,000 “super tuners” that were sold, which ran afoul of the emission standards for on-road vehicles.

For its misdeeds, Harley-Davidson was slapped with a $12 million fine, along with an agreement to spend $3 million on efforts to mitigate air pollution. It should be noted, that all of this occurred on the heels of Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate” scandal – and timing is everything.

However in July 2017, news came out that Harley-Davidson wouldn’t have to pay the $3 million in pollution mitigation, as the Bar & Shield brand saw some mercy from the Trump Administration’s new EPA.

That didn’t sit so well with 10 states, and the District of Columbia.

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Bikes

Vanguard Roadster Set to Debut IMS New York

By Jensen Beeler 12/02/2016 34 Comments

Say “hello” to the very attractive Vanguard Roadster, which is hitting the interwebs ahead of its official debut at the IMS New York show. Based out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City, Vanguard Motorcycles was founded by Edward Jacobs and Francois-Xavier Terny.

If the Vanguard Roadster design reminds you of something from Confederate Motorcycles, that’s no accident. The two machines share the S&S X-Wedge v-twin engine platform, but more importantly Jacobs was a former designer for Confederate, while Terny brings his business acumen to the startup.

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Banter

Range Rover vs. New York Motorcyclists – Seriously, WTF

By Jensen Beeler 09/30/2013 134 Comments

With the advent of cheap wearable cameras, the internet has become awash with road rage videos, which unsurprisingly sometimes feature motorcyclists. Sometimes these cameras catch acts of two-wheeled stupidity, and sometimes these videos highlight the dangers motorcyclists must face on the open road.

That brings us to our latest edition, where a large group of motorcyclists in New York are caught on film having an altercation with a Range Rover Sport.

We come into the incident after it begins, with a pack of motorcycles enveloped around the SUV on the West Side Highway, and a couple riders already gesticulating with the driver, Alexian Lien. One motorcyclist pulls in front of the Range Rover, brake-checks the four-wheeler, and is subsequently rear-ended…things then spiral out of control from there.

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Banter

Lincoln Tunnel Hooligan Makes The Colbert Report

By Jensen Beeler 04/06/2012 7 Comments

There you are, minding your own business while ripping a fat wheelie through the Lincoln Tunnel on your way to work. Unfortunately, you have to stop because the tour bus in front of you, which is probably full of maple syrup loving Canadian tourists, is crawling along at a snail’s pace. You of course change lanes to resume your morning one-wheeled commute, but realize that the guy behind you is carelessly and dangerously driving while filming you with his cameraphone. The worst part? When you ask the jerk for a copy of the video, he doesn’t even send it to you. Gahh!

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News

AMA Urges NHTSA to Abandon Funding Motorcycle-Only Checkpoint Program

By Jensen Beeler 08/18/2010 9 Comments

According to the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is offering law enforcement agencies funding incentives to setup checkpoints that target only motorcyclists. Based off a controversial program used by the New York State Police, the NHTSA is offering $350,000 in grants to five law enforcement agencies to run the program, which if successful could be further funded and expanded across the entire United States.

The checkpoints, which derive their legality from DUI checkpoint court rulings, primarily look for motorcyclists riding without a license or DOT approved helmet, and cite riders for aftermarket exhaust and lighting modifications. However the checkpoints fundamentally differ from DUI checkpoints in that they specifically are targeting a minority group of citizens (DUI checkpoints involve all motorists), and are doing so with no presumption that there is an increased risk to motorcyclists and the community as a whole when the checkpoints are being conducted.

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Bikes

Victory’s 1700cc Core Concept

By Jensen Beeler 01/24/2009 No Comments

Victory describes the Core as the following:

“Core is a concept motorcycle designed and built by the Victory Motorcycles Industrial Design team to show what a performance cruiser of the future could look like. It consists of only the essentials: engine, frame, wheels and front suspension — no rear suspension. Its unique cast aluminum frame was made by pouring molten aluminum into a sand core, which was removed when the casting was complete.”

In other words, the future will be filled with huge displacement bikes that have no suspension, a wood seat, and be air-cooled…not to mention produced by century old techniques. Someone should remind Victory that time moves forward, not backwards. Never-the-less, we find the Core to be aesthetically pleasing to look at, and would gladly take it around the neighborhood to setoff car alarms.

Sometimes you have to express yourself by making a motorcycle, and this is what the Core is. We can appreciate that.

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