A bit of news that has gone under the radar: at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Volkswagen Group Chairman Matthias Muller dropped a bombshell, saying that the German company’s house of brands would all have a fully electrified lineup of vehicles by 2030 – at the latest.
The initiative is called Roadmap E, and while Volkswagen is focusing mostly on it automotive holdings, the Germans have made obvious signs that they are including their Italian motorcycle company, Ducati, in this push to go electric.
The most obvious indication comes from the company’s press statement. In it, the Volkswagen Group says that by 2030 “there will be at least one electrified version of each of the 300 or so Group models across all brands and markets.”
Want a better reality TV option than the Discovery Channel’s reboot of American Chopper?
How about something that follows the in-shop antics of a group of people who are actually talented at making custom motorcycles? How about a show that follows people who are funny and entertaining in normal life, and aren’t just TV’s base caricature of the lowest common denominator?
If that sounds like something that would appeal to you, then we think you will like a new RESTRICTED series from the folks at Classified Moto.
The show launches on November 8th on YouTube, and we are eager to see the antics and builds that it reveals.
Hold onto your butts, because the Teutuls are about to have a television show again, as the Discovery Channel is rebooting the incredibly popular American Chopper TV show.
In it, Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. will once again stir the pot of their family feud, as they face off against each other as they build custom motorcycles and vie for title of “Biggest Man-Child in the History Humankind” on cable television.
The news is of course a double-edged sword for the motorcycle industry, as American Chopper’s popularity was responsible for bringing motorcycling outside of our niche media focus, and putting it into the mainstream public consciousness.
Conversely though, the reality TV show feeds off some of the worst personalities that have ever been created, which doesn’t exactly put motorcycling’s best foot forward in the eye of the public, and only furthers the counter-culture perspective the general population has of motorcycles.
How do you say “The Adventure” in Italian? You start with an air-cooled 1,100cc Ducati engine. You then strip the chassis it comes with, down to only its most essential elements, and then from there you create a purpose-built ADV machine.
You will want to focus on the details too though. Details like long-travel suspension and knobby tires mated to 21″ and 17″ wheels, which are a must, especially if you want to create significant ground clearance.
Contrasting headlights and extensive crash protection help complete the transformation as well, and of course some stylish, but functional, bodywork should wrap everything together.
When you are done with all that, you have the L’Avventura by Walt Siegl – an Italian-bred dual-sport that begs to be taken down wooded trails, lofted over jumps, and railed through dirty berms.
KTM just doubled-down on its electric motorcycle offering, debuting today the 2018 KTM Freeride EXC – an electric enduro model that builds out further the current Freeride E platform.
This isn’t just the old KTM Freeride E with a few extra enduro parts added to it though, instead the KTM Freeride E-XC launches the next iteration of the Austrian brand’s electric motorcycle lineup, coming with significant changes.
For starters, KTM has beefed up its electric package, with a more powerful motor and a larger capacity battery pack, not to mention more of the off-road prowess that you would expect from the “Ready to Race” brand.
Cummins is better known for its diesel truck engines, but the Fortune 500 company makes its money from also selling generators and alternative energy power sources.
So maybe, it shouldn’t come as a surprise then to learn today that Cummins has acquired Brammo, Inc. and its electric drivetrain business.
Before we should go further, we should point out that Polaris still owns Brammo’s motorcycle business, which it bought separately back in 2015, and that this purchase by Cummins applies only to the parts of Brammo that Polaris didn’t buy, including Brammo’s race bike, the Empulse RR.
Ducati is set to release five new models at this year’s EICMA show, and it is giving us a sneak peak at one of the first of those machines: the 2018 Ducati Monster 821.
The basic mechanics of the previous Monster 821 remain the same, but for the new year, the Italian brand has revised the Ducati Monster 821 to look more like its bigger sibling, the Ducati Monster 1200.
As such, the fuel tank and tail of the Monster 821 have been changed, along with the bike’s exhaust and headlight. Ducati has also added a full color TFT display to the Monster 821, which shows selected gears and fuel status.
The FIM is getting into the helmet certification game, creating a new protocol – as part of the FIM Racing Homologation Programme (FRHP) – to test helmets that are worn in FIM-sanctioned motorcycle races.
Previously, the FIM had relied upon domestic testing criteria, such as DOT standards in the United States, ECE standards in Europe, and SG/JIS standards in Japan.
With those standards varying in how they test motorcycle helmets though, the FIM Technical and Circuit Racing Commissions saw a need to create a single unifying helmet crash test protocol that will be used at any event the FIM sanctions, starting in the year 2019.