Even if most of it is just manipulating pixels, we are big fans of the work being done by the guys at Holographic Hammer, as they are bringing something fresh and unique to the industry, which is always a good thing.
That being said, we wanted to take a minute to talk about one of HH’s recent pieces: a café racer design based off of the Yamaha R1M superbike. The idea is sort of out there, but yet also makes a reasonable amount of sense.
In an effort to improve safety for motorcyclists, BMW Motorrad has developed what it calls an “Intelligent Emergency Call” system, which allows motorcyclists to call for help with the touch of a button on their motorcycle
The system is part of a larger push in Europe for an “eCall” emergency SOS program that would alert emergency personnel to a vehicle crash with greater expediency and efficiency.
According to the pan-European eCall trial, systems like BMW’s can bring emergency services to a crash scene 40% to 50% faster, and the European Commission estimates that an eCall system like BMW’s could save up to 2,500 lives each year (saving €26 billion in the process, as well).
The BMW Intelligent Emergency Call feature has been available on cars in Europe since 1999, and by will be mandatory for vehicles in the EU by 2018. To aid two-wheeled motorists, BMW Motorrad hopes to bring eCall technology to motorcycles by 2017.
We hope that you like rabbit holes, because Episode 21 is mystical journey that at times involves deep conversations about Jorge Lorenzo’s defection to Ducati Corse and chassis dynamics in motorcycle racing.
At other times though, the show includes non sequitur dissertations about Cthulhu, the EPA, men dressed like women, and tentacle porn. So buckle up, grab a drink, and hold on, dear listener – it’s just another day in the Two Enthusiasts Podcast world.
As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!
I know a fair number of photographers whose main body of work is covering motorcycle racing, and the one tune they all sing in perfect harmony is how difficult it is to cover the expenses of traveling to races and then make some profit on top of that.
Some of these photographers do outstanding work, as many of you have seen here on the pages of Asphalt & Rubber, and yet they are trying to survive in an economy where the supply far outpaces the demand.
The demand that exists doesn’t often pay a premium price for premium work, preferring instead to get photos as cheaply as possibly.
This is understandable given that many teams and sponsors in motorcycle racing are themselves operating on shoestring budgets, with some fighting on a race-to-race basis merely to stay involved at their current level of competition. In this, they share something in common with many photographers.
One friend of A&R is the first we know of to use a crowdfunding site called Patreon to help stay involved in MotoGP. Scott Jones is bringing some pretty cool new content to his fans who support him in this way.
The 2017 Dakar Rally isn’t until January of next year, but that hasn’t stopped the ASO from whetting our appetites on the iconic race, with the French organization releasing the details on the route for the 2017 Dakar Rally.
As we reported earlier, Chilé opted out of hosting the 2017 Dakar Rally, and the ASO confirms that next year’s route will go through Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay – the latter being a new venue for the Dakar Rally, since it’s move from Africa to South America.
Paraguay’s capital and largest city, Asunción will host the start of The Dakar, and will be the only stop for competitors in Paraguay. This is because the bulk of the route takes place still in Argentina, with only four stops planned in Bolivia.
The rise of electronic rider aids has come to consumer-level dirt bikes, with Husqvarna now offering traction control on all of its four-stroke motocross motorcycles for the 2017 model year.
Traction control on dirt bikes isn’t a new concept, with racing machines featuring the technology for almost a decade now (in some form or another, and depsite what the rules say), but Husqvarna’s foray into the use of electronics marks a new era for consumer dirt bikes.
As we see already in the on-road segments, traction control and other electronics are proving themselves to be the new horsepower. Their introduction into the off-road realm was all but assured (and started with the 2015 Kawasaki KX450F), and now that day has seemingly come for the masses.
After devastating tremors in the region, Honda’s Kumamoto factory, as well as the facilities of their nearby suppliers, were closed for equipment and structural repairs.
Making progress on those repairs, Honda partially re-opened its Kumamoto facility two weeks ago, though the factory’s production capabilities currently remain limited.
Now, the latest word from Honda is that Kumamoto will be back to full capacity by mid-August of this year, though it goes without saying that the production time will affect the rollout of several Honda machines.
Three race at Le Mans, three winners, and all three displays of complete control. In the first race of the day, Brad Binder waited until the penultimate lap to seize the lead, and render his Moto3 opposition harmless.
Alex Rins took the lead much earlier in the Moto2 race, toyed with Simone Corsi a little more obviously, before making it clear just how much he owned the race.
And in MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo faced fierce competition at the start, but in the end he did just what Valentino Rossi had done two weeks ago at Jerez: led from start to finish, and won by a comfortable margin.
Lorenzo’s victory was hardly unexpected. The Movistar Yamaha rider had been dominant all weekend, quick from the off, and peerless during qualifying.
It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Michael Czysz, who finally succumbed to his years-long battle with cancer today.
Michael is known best in our two-wheeled circles for starting the MotoCzysz C1 MotoGP project, which eventually morphed into the Isle of Man TT winning electric motorcycle race team of the same name.
However, Michael’s accomplishments outside of the motorcycle industry are perhaps even more impressive, as he was a prominent designer for the rich and famous through his Architropolis design firm.
I think it is Michael’s vision for ingenuity in the design world that fueled his work with motorcycles, as Michael’s machines featured a number of innovations of his own creation, which surely flowed from his creative personality.
While we mourn his departure, it is perhaps fitting to realize that Michael left us just a few weeks before the start of the 2016 Isle of Man TT, as a large portion of Michael’s legacy stems from taking the MotoCzysz team to four consecutive TT Zero race wins at the Isle of Man TT – his innovative motorcycles setting record laps in each attempt, no less.
