Episode 37 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and is packed full of motorcycle discussion for your open-road loving hearts.
This show covers a bevy of topics that we think you will find interesting, the first of which is about Harley-Davidson.
Continuing our live chat video series on YouTube with members of the motorcycle industry, on Monday, June 1st at 10am PDT / 7pm CEST, Asphalt & Rubber will be sitting down with Peter Halldin, one of the co-founders of MIPS.
For those who missed our recent story about MIPS, the Swedish company is at the forefront of helmet rotational impact research, and has been developing safety solutions for helmet brands in the motorcycle, cycling, equestrian, and snow sports industries for the past 20 years.
I was so impressed by what Peter and his team had to say on the subject when I visited MIPS in Sweden last year, that I immediately changed what helmets I wore when I got back to the US. As such, I am very excited to share this news and information with our Asphalt & Rubber readers and viewer.
Motorcycle helmets and innovation are three words I would not often put together in a sentence – at least, not in an affirmative use. This is because the motorcycle industry is incredibly slow to change, and furthering that regard, helmet manufacturers are at the pinnacle of resistance when it comes to technological progress.
For proof of this, look no further than the modern motorcycle helmet design, which has gone unchanged for over 50 years, and still offers the same basic concept: a hard exterior shell made from plastic or composites, a layer of styrofoam for impact absorption, and a comfort layer for the rider’s head.
In the same duration that motorcycle helmets have remained static in design, we have seen man walk on the moon; the proliferation of personal computers, the internet, and smartphones; and even the Boston Red Sox have overcome the Curse of the Bambino and become World Series champions, not once, but four times.
But yet, we have continued to build helmets the same tired way.
This isn’t because motorcycle helmets have reached some sort of peak design. Instead, this stagnation comes primarily from two factors: first, there is no driving force pushing for increased motorcycle helmet safety and effectiveness (sorry, hardline free market economists); and second, it is incredibly cheap to make a motorcycle helmets in their current forms.
There is however, a day coming when the motorcycle industry will have to reckon with a sea change regarding what goes on our heads when we ride a motorcycle, and that day is coming sooner rather than later.
This next, next big thing in motorcycle helmet technology is the implementation rotational energy mitigation designs and devices, of which at the forefront is the Swedish brand MIPS.
Episode 17 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and this is another topic-packed show that runs the gamut of the motorcycling experience.
As such, this show is full of highs and lows, and we start out with a conversation about a motorcycle that is near and dear to both our hearts, as the Ducati Streetfighter V4 prototype has finally broken cover. Ready to race at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, we speculate about what the production version could look like.
From there we talk about racing at the Bol d’Oregon – a six-hour endurance race outside of Portland, Oregon that is put on by the Sang-Froid Riding Club. An event we highly recommend, there is nothing more fun than riding a slow motorcycle fast.