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Asphalt & Rubber
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Jensen Beeler

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Dirt

Gone Riding: Alta Motors Redshift MXR

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One of my more favorite phrases to tell people is that it is called Asphalt & Rubber for reason, as I am very much a sport bike / street bike sort of guy. That is why I sent hot-shoe Carlin Dunne down to SoCal today to ride the brand new Alta Motors Redshift MXR motocross bike.

Revised with a bevy of improvements over Alta’s original Redshift MX model, the MXR is designed to be a proper race bike. So, we had Carlin pack some extra postage stamps, with explicit instructions go send it.

With 50hp packed into a 259 lbs body, the Redshift MXR has some promising specs, but beyond the spec-sheet, the electric dirt bike brings a new twist to riding an MX course, namely with promises for better hookup and more traction.

How does it work in the wild though? Well, we are going to ride it and find out.

Per our new review format, we will be giving you a live assessment of the new Alta Redshift MXR right here in this article (down in the comments section), and there we will try to answer any questions you might have.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Redshift MXR, before even Carlin’s own proper review is posted. As always, if we don’t know an answer, we will try to get a response from the Alta personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtags #RedshiftMXR

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Lifestyle

This Is the Luckiest Crash I Have Ever Seen

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I have seen a few nasty crashes in my day, and not all of them have had positive outcomes. So, when I say that this is the luckiest crash that I have seen in motorcycle riding, it should carry some weight.

This video comes from motorcycle vlogger Hammy Moto, and it is taken as he rides down a Southern California freeway. For reasons that aren’t clear from our point-of-view in the video, Hammy Moto’s Kawasaki Z1000 begins to have a violent headshake, before finally crashing while near a tractor-trailer.

What happens next is where things get crazy, as Hammy Moto and his bike go sliding across the asphalt, right under the trailer. Popping out the other side, Hammy Moto narrowly misses all the wheels on the trailer, and walks away with just a little road rash to show for the experience.

It is a one-in-a-million occurrence to miss being run-over by the semi in a situation like the one shown. Dudeman is lucky to be alive. Always wear you gear.

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News

Mid-Sized Leaning Three-Wheeler Coming from Yamaha?

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Yamaha has already doubled-down on its leaning multi-wheeler (LMW) concept, bringing us both the Yamaha Tricity scooter and the Yamaha Niken.

Now it seems that the Japanese brand is ready to bring us a hat trick of these machines, with Yamaha CEO/President Yoshihiro Hidaka tipping that the folks from Iwata have more multi-wheel leaners coming down the pipe.

To give us more insight though, a slide accompanying Hidaka-san’s speach should a blurred out model, sitting in-between the Tricity and Niken model, perhaps indicating that a mid-sized LMW is coming to us soon from Yamaha.

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News

Here Comes a New Complaint About Californian Drivers…

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If you are riding in California anytime soon, you might want to think twice before blaming the state’s fleet of drivers, as The Golden State just made it legal for self-driving cars to operate without a human behind the wheel.

While similar actions have stalled in the US Congress (the SELF DRIVE ACT is stuck in a Senate committee), states have begun to take matters into their own hands, like they did in Arizona.

That is right, the dawn of truly autonomous vehicles has just arrived, and it is primed to change the driving landscape as we know it, which by correlation means changes for the motorcycle community as well.

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Dirt

Gone Riding: Triumph Tiger 800 XCa

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Riding bikes is what we do, and the dude abides, so I am out here in Moab, Utah swinging a leg over the new Triumph Tiger 800 XCa – the British brand’s fully loaded middleweight off-road focused adventure-touring bike.

Kitted with extra goodness, the XCa is the more premium counterpart to Triumph’s other off-road 800cc model, the Tiger 800 XRx…and if you are confused by Hinckley’s alphabet soup, don’t worry, you are not alone.

To be clear, the Tiger 800 XCa is the fully-loaded off-road model, complete with a 21″ front wheel and 17″ rear wheel. It includes also things like a heated seat and grips, an aluminum radiator guard, and LED lighting, 

New for the 2018 model year is a bevy of updates, namely a revised dash and smoother three-cylinder engine. Triumph says that there are over 200 changes to the Tiger 800, though you would have a hard time seeing them. This truly a model refresh, not a new machine.

Still, these are welcomed updates to the class-leader, and I have high hopes for riding the XCa on Moab’s dusty and dirty trails – the previous edition was a very capable off-roader, after all.

Per our new review format, we will be giving you a live assessment of the new Triumph Tiger 800 XCa right here in this article (down in the comments section), and there we will try to answer any questions you might have.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride the Triumph Tiger 800 XCa, before even my own proper reviews are posted. As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Triumph personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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WSBK

Tire Issues Means Pit Stops for WorldSBK Race 2 at PI

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Because of tire wear issues during Race 1, at the World Superbike season-opener at Phillip Island, Sunday’s Race 2 will include a mandatory pit stop, where riders can come in and change machines.

Due to the extra-abrasive conditions found at Phillip Island this year, these race change will also affect Sunday’s World Supersport race, as well.

Similar to the tire issues we saw in the MotoGP Championship at Phillip Island, back in 2013, Sunday’s race will include a mandatory pitstop before the end of the 12th lap for WorldSBK riders (after nine laps for WorldSSP riders), which will operate under the series’ flag-to-flag rules.

This means that riders will dismount their machine, and mount a new bike, fitted with fresh Pirelli race tires, in order to avoid the tire-wear issues found during Saturday’s race.

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Bikes

BMW S675RR Concept by Nicolas Petit

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I really like the idea of BMW making a supersport model, to compliment the already potent BMW S1000RR. The category is a tough one though, and it is dominated by the Japanese brands. Maybe, this is why BMW Motorrad is the perfect brand to disrupt the supersport segment.

The S1000RR made a killing in the liter-bike space, because it brought European features and performance, at a Japanese price-point. Because of the success that resulted from that formula, maybe the Germans can do the same in the 600cc segment.

Putting some pen and paper to this thought, Nicolas Petit has inked together a render of a proposed BMW supersport machine, which he dubs the BMW S675RR.

As the name suggests, the bike is powered by a 675cc three-cylinder engine, and visually it makes a strong connection to the next BMW S1000RR, which we have already seen leaked in spy photos.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #71 – Chapless Apps

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Episode 71 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is our first recording in 2018, and the show is an absolute classic. It is also the first show where I’ve left in all of Quentin’s constant throat-clearings, just so everyone knows why it takes forever to edit this things (not really, I’m just lazy).

The show catches us up on some recent industry news, namely a bevy of stories from Harley-Davidson, including the closure of the York plant and the upcoming electric motorcycle from the Bar & Shield brand.

We also talk a bit about Triumph’s recently revamped motorcycles, as well as the results from this year’s edition The Dakar race in South America. We then get into some blasphemy, and discuss why the Britten V1000 might be the most overrated motorcycle in two-wheeled history.

The show finishes with a look a Honda’s partnership with Forever 21 and what it could mean for the US motorcycle industry.

It’s an entertaining and interesting show, with a plenty of topics that we think will spur some conversations in the comments section. So, bring a bulletproof vest, and brace for impact.

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. 

We hope you will join the conversation, and leave us some audio comments at our new email address: twoenthusiasts@gmail.com.

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Rumors

Trademark Hints at Harley-Davidson Electric Motorcycle

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Has Harley-Davidson just tipped its hand regarding its upcoming electric motorcycle? It would seem so, according to the latest trademark application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Registering the name “Revelation” with the USPTO, Harley-Davidson has set aside the trademark for two uses: 1) batteries for vehicles, and 2) drivetrains for electric motorcycles and vehicles.

Other publications are running this story as the “Revelation” name being the moniker for Harley-Davidson’s production version of the Livewire electric motorcycle concept, but the actual trademark makes a very clear alternative to that narrative.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Hafizh Syahrin Will Replace Folger at Tech 3

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Confirming what had been the suspicion at the MotoGP test in Thailand, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team has confirmed that Hafizh Syahrin will race with the squad for the 2018 season.

The Malaysian rider showed good pace on the Yamaha YZR-M1, and promises a great deal of potential to the satellite MotoGP squad – more importantly, he fit into the tight criteria that team boss Herve Poncharal required for Folger’s replacement.

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