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Max Biaggi Breaks the Electric Motorcycle Land Speed Record on the Voxan Wattman

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Earlier this summer, we wrote about the efforts of the Voxan brand to break the land-speed record for an electric motorcycle.

The company’s plans included the services of six-time world champion Max Biaggi, and a land-speed record course on the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. That was, of course, until the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Having to relocate their plans to the Châteauroux Airfield ‘Marcel Dassault’ in France, last week Biaggi set not just one FIM record, but 11 of them, on the Voxan Wattman electric motorcycle.

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Recall

Zero Motorcycles Recalls 64 Bikes for DC-DC Converter Defect

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Zero Motorcycles is recalling a bevy of its electric motorcycle models, though only 64 units are affected by this recall with the NHTSA.

As such, the recall concerns the 2021 model year SR, S, DSR, DS, FX and FXS motorcycles, built between August 19th, 2020 and October 5th, 2020.

At the core of the issue is the DC-DC converter on these affected models, which may have insufficient power output margin to operate effectively.

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Racing

Energica Remains as the MotoE Bike Supplier Thru 2022

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We get word today that electric motorcycle maker Energica will remain as the single-bike supplier for the FIM MotoE World Cup through the 2022 season.

That news is not too surprising, considering that Energica had a three-year contract with Dorna to supply bikes to the electric racing series, which included a clear technical roadmap from the Italian brand.

With the MotoE series effectively losing a year of development because of the coronavirus, it thus makes a bit of sense for Energica to remain on for an additional year.

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News

Polaris & Zero Team Up on Electric ATVs, Side-by-Sides, & Snowmobiles

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Polaris Industries and Zero Motorcycles have inked a 10-year deal that will see the two American companies partnering on electric ATVs, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles (but not motorcycles).

While the 10-year duration might be an ambitious commitment, we do expect to see the fruits of this partnership to debut in just a year’s time, with the first model from this partnership expected to come in 2021.

The plan is for Polaris to develop, manufacturer, and sell electric powersport products that use Zero’s drivetrain hardware and software components.

This gives Polaris a jump on electrifying its fleet of vehicles, while it gives Zero some much needed cash from selling drivetrain systems.

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Dirt

California Just Killed Dirt Bikes as We Know Them

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You may have already seen the news from yesterday, where California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that will require all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the Golden State to be zero-emission vehicles by the year 2035. 

The order also goes on to say that the state will phase out all new medium and heavy-duty trucks that are not zero-emissions by the year 2045, thus setting up the state to push electric vehicles onto its roadways in a big way.

There is a third provision in this executive order though, and it is getting far less attention than the other two, but it will greatly impact the motorcycle industry.

This is because Gov. Newsom’s executive order also says that by 2035 California will ban the sale of all new off-road vehicles that are not zero-emissions, where feasible.

Effectively, California has just set an expiration date on the sale of new dirt bikes, side-by-sides, and ATVs within its borders.

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News

Husqvarna E-Pilen Electric Motorcycle Coming in 2022

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The investor presentations from Pierer Mobility continue to be a strong insight into the actions of the KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas brands, and now we have another tip-off for a future model.

This time, it is the Husqvarna E-Pilen – an electric street bike that uses the Vitpilen design aesthetic for its form. According to the presentation document, we can expect that Husqvarna E-Pilen for the 2022 model year.

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Bikes

KTM Electric Superbike Concept by Mohit Solanki

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It has been a decade since the KTM RC8 debuted at the Austrian brand’s answer to the superbike question. Perhaps ahead of its time, the RC8 and its progeny were never strong sellers for KTM, though the bike had its highlights (and struggles).

Now, the “Ready to Race” brand is obviously missing a full-faired superbike in its lineup, despite offering the naked “Beast” that is the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which is a direct descendent of that RC8 project.

Our point? It’s high time that KTM got back into the superbike game, and while the Austrians have made it clear that they are not interested in revisiting the RC8 thesis, KTM is on the forefront of the electric motorcycle movement.

That brings us to these concept creation by Indian designer Mohit Solanki, who envisions an electric superbike from KTM.

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Dirt

EMX Bike is an Electric Motocross Bike from Holland

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Ever since the demise of Alta Motors, the motorcycle industry has been in need of a proper electric dirt bike offering.

There is some hope that Honda’s electric CR prototype could come to fruition, and Yamaha’s electric trial bike certainly looks the business, but as of yet, there is surprisingly nothing on the market that looks like it would be at home on a motocross track.

That might change if the Dutch have anything to say about it, though. Here is the EMX Bike – a joint-project from SPIKE Technologies and Dohms Projects, with support by Yamaha Motor Europe and KNMV, which has been in the works for the last year and a half.

The official launch of the EMX Bike is set for the end of this year, but the team is already teasing their project, which promises 250cc performance, a swappable battery pack, and a potent off-road package.

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Racing

Voxan Looking to Beat the FIM Motorcycle Land Speed Record

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We were surprised to hear that French brand Voxan was going to make an attempt on the FIM land speed record for electric motorcycles (specifically the I.A1.B VII +300kg record).

Last we heard, the Voxan brand was being shut down by parent company Venturi, with the company’s electric cruiser model, the Voxan Wattman, classified as dead on arrival.

Now taking that same platform (though the two motorcycles seem to share nearly no components), Voxan has sprung back to life to try and tackle the outright FIM record for partially streamlined two-wheeled electric motorcycles.

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Bikes

The Nito N4 Concept Is a Little Gem for City Riders

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This little gem, the Nito N4, has been burning a hole in our to-do list for far too long, ever since we saw it at the EICMA show in Milan last year. It’s not a big fancy superbike, and it’s not even a proper supermoto.

Instead, the 15hp Nito N4 is just an attractive people-mover that extends the Italian brand’s offering of urban-use two-wheelers.

On that vein, Nito says that the N4 is good for over 90 miles of range, can reach a top speed of 90 mph (150 km/h), and tips the scales at 385 lbs.

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News

There Is a Special Harley-Davidson Livewire up for Auction to Support COVID-19 Relief

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As of this writing, the official death toll in the United States from COVID-19 deaths stands at 86,248 souls. This is truly a devastating time for our country, both in the loss of life, and the effects it is having on our society.

To provide relief to this pandemic, Harley-Davidson is teaming up with auction house Bonhams to offer a special one-of-a-kind Livewire motorcycle, and all of the proceeds (excluding taxes and fees) from the auction will be donated to United Way Worldwide’s COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund. 

The auction will be held online by Bonhams, from Tuesday, May 12th, 2020 thru Tuesday, May 26th, 2020 , and is available to only for participants from the United States.

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