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Jensen Beeler

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A major piece in the silly season puzzle came into place today, as Dani Pedrosa re-signed with the Repsol Honda MotoGP team. This should put to bed any ideas that Pedrosa was ready to jump ship to Yamaha’s factory MotoGP team, though sources do confirm the two parties were in talks.

The news also gives a clear path for Maverick Viñales to move to the Yamaha garage, leaving the Ecstar Suzuki team at the end of this year, though official word on that has yet to appear, despite much talk on the internet.

Now 30-years-old, Dani Pedrosa has been a Honda rider throughout his career, and with today’s announcement, he seems certain to finish his career riding for Big Red.

It is again with a heavy heart that we have to report the passing not only of a colleague, but also a friend, as Rob Harris passed away yesterday, while riding dirt bikes in Ontario, Canada.

A Brit who found his way into Canada, “Editor ‘arris” was very much the engine that drove the Canadian motorcycle news website Canada Moto Guide, serving as its Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief.

His departure will mean the creation of a huge hole in the Canada’s motorcycling landscape. The intersection of old-school journalism values, with new-school media savvy, Rob was one of the good ones.

Episode 25 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out for your two-wheeled pleasure. This episode sees David (MotoMatters) & Neil (Crash.net) discussing the French GP at Le Mans, while I provide color commentary and mild comedic relief.

In all seriousness though, the show covers extensively the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 races in France, and gives an ongoing update to the rumors and movements in the paddock for the 2017 season.

Our main focus of the latter is course about the reports from the British and Spanish press, about Maverick Viñales’ future, whether he will go to Yamaha or stay with Suzuki. As has been the case, this seems to be a situation that is constantly changing, and a lot has moved in this space since we recorded this show.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on FacebookTwitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

I know we have mentioned before our love for endurance racing machines. The FIM Endurance World Championship just doesn’t get nearly enough play to soothe our appetite.

It is the last international motorcycle racing series that has a proper tire war; it has strong factory involvement that can see a number of brands winning on any given weekend; and it is also the only true “team sport” in motorcycle racing. What’s not to like, right?

Leading the pack so far this season is Team Kawasaki SRC, which won the season-opener at Le Mans, with riders Greg Leblanc, Matthieu Lagrive, and Fabian Foret at the helm.

Team Kawasaki SRC has always been one of the stronger teams in the Endurance World Championship, and this year it looks like thing could finally come together for “Team Verte” – though we still have a lot of racing left to do.

Summer is right around the corner for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so the obviously appropriate time to talk about a snowbike is now, right?

What the SnoPed lacks in seasonal appropriateness, it absolutely makes up for in super-villain stature, as the modern-looking snowbike looks like it rolled (is that the right verb?) off the set of a Hollywood spy movie.

The brainchild of American designer Joey Ruiter, SnoPed features a 90cc engine (out of a Chrysler Sno-runner) underneath its sculpted body, which isn’t exactly going to blow your socks off when knee-deep in the powpow, but is enough to scurry down a groomed cross-country trail.

I know what you are already thinking, everyone and their mom already has an action camera. To make matters worse, GoPro (the leader in this realm) has seen its stock price drop in what can only be described as a complete free fall for the past month, thanks mostly to lagging sales.

So, how can action cameras be the next, next big thing in the motorcycle industry? The answer is a simple one, if you will allow me to explain.

The next, next big thing for motorcycles isn’t the cameras themselves – those are basically already at commodity status for consumers – but instead the future for action cameras resides in integrated camera platforms for motorcycles, and other action sports.

There is a lot of business school “bullshit bingo” in that last statement, so let me break it down to you in human-speak.

Motorcycle brands need to realize how consumers are using their vehicles, and adapt to meet those needs directly. In this case, it means offering an integrated video recording solution with their motorcycles.

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!