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CHP Drops Lane-Splitting Guidelines from Website

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The California Highway Patrol has removed its guidelines for lane-splitting in the Golden State on the CHP website, after receiving a complaint from a Sacramento citizen. Though lane-splitting has been a long-time established practice for motorcyclists in California, the act is poorly defined and regulated.

Since California has no provision directly outlawing the practice, motorcyclists are free to lane-split, lane-share, and filter so long as their actions fit under the California Vehicle Code’s catchall provision of “safe and prudent” operation of a motor vehicle. What does that mean? No one really knows.

In an effort to define what it viewed as safe and prudent, the CHP released last February a list of guidelines for motorcyclists to follow while lane-splitting in the Golden State. The guidelines were not law in the de jure sense of the word, but without any other comment from a government entity, they became the de facto rules of the road, which leads us to today.

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News

BMW HP4 Gets ABS-Supported Brakes for Cornering

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Stability control for motorcycles is the new rage right now, after the Bosch MSC system was announced, and made available for the KTM 1190 Adventure.

It seems BMW Motorrad is the next manufacturer to receive this new anti-locking brakes system that works while leaned over, and the BMW HP4 is the first Bavarian machine to get the upgrade.

BMW Motorrad is calling the Bosch MSC system “ABS Pro”, and it functions by adjusting the inputs to the brake calipers based on the acceleration, roll, and yaw of the motorcycle.

This avoids accidentally tucking the front-end of the motorcycling while trail braking, and also eliminates the bike standing up when the brakes are applied while in a moderate lean.

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Bikes

Ride Review: Energica Ego

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Born out of Italy’s automotive epicenter in Modena, CRP Racing is a well-regarded engineering firm, whose roots can be firmly found in car racing’s premier class, Formula One. This year marks 45 years of CRP Racing’s tradecraft, and it also marks the public launch of the company’s Energica Ego electric superbike.

A project we first saw first-hand at the 2011 EICMA show, and later in the FIM eRoadRacing electric series, the company’s Energica Ego electric motorcycle seemed like an over-reach. The design was…umm, different…the naming was tough for English-speakers who were familiar with the Austrian school of thought regarding psychoanalysis, and CRP Racing’s experience with electric drivetrains was a huge question mark.

Fast-forward to the 2013 EICMA show, where the Energica Ego project showed its resilience. The small Italian firm had found a drivetrain partner, its concept bike had been flushed out into a runner, and the folks from Modena were pushing forward with their plans to release a production model. However, we have seen plenty of electric motorcycle startups reach this point before, with the term “production” being used only by the loosest of definitions.

Arriving then at Alice’s Restaurant, a local motorcycle hangout near A&R HQ, I had plenty of skepticism packed with my leathers, helmet, boots, and gloves. However, the design of the Energica Ego had begun to grow on me — it wasn’t the same lustful wanting that I had with the lines of the Mission RS though, nor the racing-bred techno-orgasm that comes with the MotoCzysz E1pc — but it was a certain appreciation that the bird-like nose no longer rubbed me the wrong way.

Just as the Ego had evolved into something more refined and polished over time, so too had the company. After riding the Ego on a modest trip down one of the SF Bay Area’s favorite twisty roads, the impression was solidified —  if I arrived a cynic to the bike launch, I left Alice’s as a convert.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Crutchlow, Dovizioso, & Iannone To Stay at Ducati Corse — Will Ride Radically New Desmosedici GP15

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After all the speculation of massive changes in Ducati’s MotoGP team, all is to remain the same. During the World Ducati Week event held for fans of the Italian marque at Misano, both Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow announced that they would be remaining with Ducati for 2015.

The news means Crutchlow chose not to exercise his option to leave, and Dovizioso was persuaded to sign-on for two more years. In addition, it means that Ducati has exercised its option to extend the contract with Andrea Iannone, with Iannone to be given factory support.

The decisions by all three riders are a both a show of confidence in the ability of Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’Igna to build a more competitive MotoGP machine, as well as a lack of alternatives elsewhere.

The only other factory rides available are the two seats at Suzuki, but given the slow pace of the bike during testing and the amount of development work needed, that was a bigger risk than staying at Ducati.

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Bikes

2015 Yamaha R1 Spotted – DCT, 4 Cyl., & 230hp Rumored

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The eagle eyes at the Australian Motorcycle News bring us our first look at the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1, as Iwata’s superbike was caught testing at the Eastern Creek International Speedway.

With the picture, comes the first rumored details of the new R1, with the biggest news being that Yamaha will bring two versions of the machine to market: one street version, and one for race homologation.

From the photo above, both models will heavily take their styling cues from the current YZF-R6, and will also continue to use a four-cylinder crossplane engine configuration — this revelation squashes any notion of a three-cylinder superbike from Iwata.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Summer Break Surgeries for Crutchlow & Hayden

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With nearly four weeks of rest between the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring and the round at Indianapolis, riders are taking advantage of the break to have surgery. On Tuesday, Cal Crutchlow had surgery to relieve arm pump, and help reduce the swelling in his forearms.

Crutchlow had had swelling in his forearms since crashing at the Sachsenring in 2013, a situation which previous surgery has done little to relieve. Though he posted a picture of himself on Twitter with both arms in bandages on Tuesday, he was fit enough to type several messages on the social media website a day later. Crutchlow is expected to be fully fit and back in action at Indianapolis.

Nicky Hayden has had more invasive surgery. The Aspar rider has been suffering the after effects of his first-corner crash at Valencia 2011 ever since it happened, Hayden breaking a scaphoid in the incident. Further crashes exacerbated the injury, and his wrist became seriously inflamed at Jerez earlier this year.

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Dirt

The 5 Most Dangerous Motorcycles in America?

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Contrary to what the AMA or motorcycling gentry may believe, not all motorcycles are created equal. Due to a combination of marketing, riding styles, and environment, the following five types of motorcycles are the country’s most dangerous.

While the NHTSA doesn’t track motorcycle accidents and crashes based on the type of motorcycle being ridden (among other things), the cultural factors that surround motorcycle injuries and fatalities paint a stark picture, which we’ve shared with you here.

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Racing

Watch Dean Harrison Have a Moment at the Southern 100

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Real road racing fans surely were aware of last week’s Southern 100, the Isle of Man’s other motorcycle racing event. For those not familiar, the Southern 100 takes place near the town of Castletown, on the 4.25 mile Billown Circuit, and features many names you would recognize from the Isle of Man TT.

Guy Martin claimed title this year to the 2014 Solo Class Champion distinction, while Conrad Harrison & Jason Crowe took the honors in the sidecar class. Unsurprisingly, Harrison’s son Dean made some news as well at the Southern 100 (fresh off his first race win at the Isle of Man TT).

Having a “moment” going through the Church Bends, on the return section back into Castletown, Harrison gives us a reminder on the physics that surround the limits of adhesion. Thankfully for the 25-year-old, a cool YouTube clip is the only result from this snapshot of time.

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MotoGP

Moto2: Brough Superior Race Bike Will Debut at Silverstone

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Despite some early promise, there has been much complaining of a lack of innovation from chassis builders in Moto2. the bikes have followed the same basic layout as all modern race bikes since the late 1980s: aluminium twin spar chassis and conventional suspension arrangements.

The only real interest has come from wildcards. At Le Mans, the French Promoto Sport team raced their Transfiormer chassis, with some solid results. Beyond that, the bikes have been pretty much identikit.

At Silverstone this year though, another interesting wildcard will get its first public running. The British round of Moto2 will see the Brough Superior make its debut in a competitive race, after making an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the Energica Ego Electric Superbike

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Asphalt & Rubber had the fortunate chance to ride the Energica Ego today, and before I get to a proper review of riding the electric superbike, I wanted to reintroduce this Italian machine to our readers, because while A&R might have been one of the few outlets to cover Energica, this new player in the “E2V” space might still strike you as unfamiliar.

A project from Italy’s respected engineering firm CRP Racing, I first had the opportunity to see the Energica Ego at the 2011 EICMA show. The machine wasn’t a runner at the time, as CRP was still looking for a drivetrain partner that could supplement CRP’s already extensive knowledge in chassis design.

Fast-forward to the 2013 EICMA show, and the Energica sub-brand debuted its first production electric superbike, the Ego. The naming might be a bit tough, especially for us Anglophones, but this 134hp, 143 lbs•ft superbike packs a punch, and is remarkably well-refined.

I will leave the full review for a more-detailed article, but the short version of it is pretty positive. I came to the launch skeptical of Energica and the Ego, but left very impressed with the company its machine — the conversation about production electric motorcycles now has to include this potent Italian brand and its first product offering. Enthusiasts should take note.

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MotoGP

The Comprehensive MotoGP Silly Season Update, Redux

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This year’s silly season – the endless speculation about who will end up riding where next year – has not so far lived up to the expectations from the start of the year. With all four factory Honda and Yamaha riders out of contract at the end of 2014, real fireworks were expected in the battle to secure signatures.

That bidding war never unfolded, and with Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa back with Repsol Honda, Valentino Rossi already signed up to Movistar Yamaha, and Jorge Lorenzo looks likely to finalize his deal – a two-year contract with some kind of option to depart after a year – before the season resumes again in Indianapolis.

But the silly season has been far from a disappointment. Over the past couple of weeks, the jostling for the remaining seats in MotoGP has really taken off, with the promise of wholesale changes taking place up and down the grid. With the exception of Pol Espargaro, who is expected to remain at Tech 3 for the second year of his two-year contract with Yamaha, just about every other seat on the grid could see a new occupant.

The arrival of Suzuki and, it now appears, Aprilia offers four new factory seats to vie for, opening up new opportunities for the current crop of riders. The upgrading of Honda’s RCV1000R makes the production Honda a more attractive proposition. And there looks set to be an influx of young talent into the class. The 2015 MotoGP grid could look very different, once you look past the top four.

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