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Transportation is changing. If you need proof beyond that statement, take a look at how brands like BMW are envisioning transportation in the future.

There has been no shortage lately of two-wheel brands reevaluating how people will move in close urban environments, and no brand has been experimenting more in this space than BMW and BMW Motorrad.

The German company already showed us last week its electric Honda Grom contender, the BMW Concept CE 02, which is aimed at younger riders (or non-riders) with a fun pint-sized form factory.

Now, the Bavarians have envisioned two more concepts for their last-mile arsenal, dubbed the BMW i Vision AMBY and BMW Motorrad i Vision AMBY. Names only an engineer could love.

The State of Oregon has gotten one step closer to passing its lane-sharing bill, Oregon Senate Bill 574.

We say this because SB 574 passed a vote in the Joint Transportation Committee on April 1st (7 to 4), and now is ready for a vote on the Senate floor.

For those who don’t remember, SB 574 proposes legalizing lane sharing for motorcycles in Oregon when they are riding on a highway with a speed limit of 50 mph or higher; the flow of traffic is 10 mph or slower; and so long as the motorcyclist does not go faster than 10 mph than the traffic around them.

The biggest announcement from Harley-Davidson today wasn’t its adventure-touring motorcycle (though it looks interesting), and it wasn’t its new Streetfighter or Custom models either (one of these I like, the other not so much).

The big news wasn’t the Livewire getting closer to production, though that is close to the mark, and where this story is ultimately headed.

All of these announcement would have been worthy of their own day in the press cycle, but the real news from the Bar & Shield brand is a look at Harley-Davidson’s upcoming electric lineup, which is coming across as very robust, and shows a decisive plan for the future.

Episode 64 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and celebrates another trip around the sun for our lovely podcast…and one of its hosts.

In the show, we talk about Harley-Davidson’s vanishing motorcycle sales, which could be a canary in the mine for the future of the American motorcycle industry.

We also look at two intriguing models that Yamaha will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show: version of the Yamaha Motobot and the Yamaha MOTOROid concept – both which are intriguing machines, with tragic names.

Our show wraps up with KTM’s launch of the new Freeride E-XC electric dirt bike, and what it means for the future of the Austrian brand, and where transportation is headed.

There’s plenty for everyone in this show, and we think you’ll enjoy it.

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.

Episode 63 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and it is a massive deep dive into the future of transportation and the rise of electric motorcycles.

But before we get back, to the future, we first talk about Jensen’s recent trip to California, to ride the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 (named after a university district of Venice, Italy – by the way) and the Aprilia Shiver 900.

Both bikes are revised for the 2018 model year in the United States, and are interesting machines in Aprilia’s lineup. You can read Jensen’s full review on them here and here.

From there, our discussion turns into a impromptu deep conversation about electric vehicles, urban infrastructure, global politics, and the future of transportation.

Talking at the company’s annual press conference and meeting, Honda Motor Company President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo said that the Japanese brand would debut an electric scooter in 2018, presumably as a production model.

Hachigo went on to say that Honda is working on creating what it calls a “highly convenient system for electric commuters” that includes detachable mobile batteries to facilitate quicker recharge times for electric vehicle users.

Big Red is said to be considering a partnership with courier service Japan Post to demonstrate its swappable battery system.

However, this news is not the first time that we have seen Honda exploring electric scooter systems for urban systems,, nor is it the first time that Honda has explored the technology for businesses.

In most of the Western World, motorcycles are seen as a means of easing inner city traffic congestion. But, in some parts of the world, even the efficient transportation options of motorcycles are not enough to keep the roadways moving.

Such is the case in Vietnam, where there is a movement to ban the use of motorcycles within the Hanoi city limits. With the roads already resembling something out of a Mad Max scene, even scooters and small-displacement bikes appearing to be to many in number there (Note: I’m not sure I agree with this premise -JB).

The idea of a motorcycle taxi sounds like a novelty in the Western World, but in Southeast Asia they are an effective and affordable way to cut through the massive traffic jams that occur in these developing countries.

It is only logical then that we see disruptive services appearing in this already lucrative space, so enter into the scheme UberMOTO.

The concept is as simple as the name, UberMOTO is just like Uber’s citizen-based taxi cab system, which allows you to hail a cab from the comfort of your smartphone, except instead of cars, it utilizing motorcycles.

The day may have come sooner than we expected, but the day of commuters being scooted around by self-driving cars is rapidly approaching us. Clocking 300,000 self-driven accident-free miles, Google’s fleet of autonomous vehicles are set to reach another milestone, as the technology company is about to give the go-ahead for employees to use the cars for commuting.

Traditionally driven with one person behind the wheel, and another in the passenger seat (presumably watching a screen of diagnostics), Google says that the results from its tests and track record have shown the two-rider system to be unnecessary, and will thus allow solitary trips in the self-driving vehicles. The idea of course behind the system is that a person becomes a passive driver, able to “be more productive” while in the vehicle, i.e. watching YouTube kitten videos.

While the dozen or so self-driving Google cars are unlikely to make a huge impact (no pun intended) on our local commutes here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is a signaling of the changing times in our transportation system. For motorcyclists, this news should come as a mixed bag.

In this third video of four (see Part 1 & 2 here), BMW sat down some experts to talk about how mobility will change in the future. It’s funny to hear the issues the different sides propose and talk about in regards to automobiles, as they’re the very same sort of subjects we’ve talked about on Asphalt & Rubber in regards to motorcycles.

Some of the key debates explored in Part 3 of the Wherever You Want to Go series include vehicles as purely a form transportation, the “three internets”, the rise of electric vehicles, and of course whether the future of mobility will be fun. There are valid points all around the table in this video, and almost all of it applies to the future of motorcycles (except maybe the automated land train thing…we don’t see that working for two-wheeled machines). Check it out after the jump, and chew on it over the long weekend.

BMW is halfway through releasing a four-part video on the future of transportation, which explores a multitude of ideas including infrastructure, city dwelling, personal transport, population growth, and the environment. BMW obviously is approaching the issue with its automotive hat squarely on its head, and doesn’t directly deal with motorcycles, but when you stop and think about it, cars and bikes are wrapped up in the same situation. While the only the first two videos have been released, there’s already some interesting concepts to think about.

While we wait for Part 3 (Feb. 15th) and Part 4 (Feb. 22nd), chew on these facts and figures: over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, automobiles are parked about 90% of the time, and there’s roughly five parking spots for every car (that’s 1,500 sqft of space just for a single car!). It sure seems like motorcycles could help solve that utilization/space problem.