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Motorbike posts

BMW kicking Garmin's zumo 660 up a notch with the Motorrad Navigator IV

by Ross Miller, posted Jul 6th 2009 at 3:11AM

Sure, Garmin's zumo 660 was designed with the biker in mind, but BMW's taking it one step further with the latest in its branded Motorrad series, the Navigator IV. Based on Garmin's GPS ditty, it's got the same 4.3-inch "glove friendly" touchscreen, voice control, and A2DP support. It can withstand heavy vibration, fuel sprays, UV rays, is waterproof and most importantly, can play your favorite adrenaline-pumping tunes for when those other precautions are being handily tested. Additionally, we've got a four-button motorcycle mount and it comes pre-loaded with a database of BMW dealers, just in case you ever need one in a jiff. Coming third quarter to US and Europe, there's no word on price yet, but as a basis for comparison, the cost of the zumo 660 is about $700.

[Via NaviGadget]

Electric Motorsport's GPR-S e-motorcycle available now for $8,000

by Paul Miller, posted Oct 24th 2008 at 9:52AM

When we spotted Electric Motorsport last year the company was pushing a high-ish performance electric motorcycle prototype, with a top speed of 100 MPH, 100 mile range, a $15,000 pricetag, and a whole bunch ugly battery strapped underneath. Lucky for us, they've taken a very mass-market approach to their next bike, the GPR-S. Boasting a 60-70 MPH top speed and 35-60 mile range, the sleek little bike just might be the perfect commuter ride, and the $8,000 pricetag is much more palatable. The bike can charge in about four hours, or 1.5 hours with an optional speed charger. Even better, the bike is modular in nature, which means you'll be able to swap in a better power system once one comes along with a minimum of hassle. Electric Motorsport has sold 25 of these so far, but they're up and running and ready for sales at volume -- which is surprisingly still an incredibly rare feat in the electric transportation industry, even in 2008.

Becker unveils the Crocodile Traffic Assist Z 100 GPS for motorcycles

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 2nd 2008 at 11:16AM

When you're cruising down the highway on your hog, wind in your face, hair trailing behind you, teeth covered with insects, you probably want a GPS unit that's as rugged and unafraid of dying as you are. That's where Becker's Crocodile (AKA Traffic Assist Z 100) comes in. Nothing says "fearless badass" like a crocodile-skin satnav, replete with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, 2GB on-board memory, 3D terrain and city views, and 42 country maps pre-installed. The device is rubber coated and water resistant, and features turn-by-turn directions optimized for motorcycles, making it ideal for your cross country biker gang meet-ups, or just long weekends cruising the coastlines. The Crocodile will be released in October for €300 (or around $438).

Parrot launches the SK 4000 Bluetooth motorcycle headset

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Oct 10th 2007 at 7:52PM

The next time you're heading down the highway, Easy Rider-style, looking for adventure and what-not, you may also want to remain in touch with the less rebellious and not-so-tattooed outside world. Luckily, the good folks at Parrot have come to your aid with the SK 4000 -- a Bluetooth headset meant for use with motorcycle helmets -- which features voice recognition, an FM RDS stereo, text to speech, A2DP support, 10 hours of battery life (600 on standby), and a handlebar-mounted RF remote control. Sure, you'll have to use The Man's money to get one, but once you do, you'll be free to wave your freak-flag wherever and whenever you choose... as long as you get permission from your wife. Available before the end of the year, €199 (or around $282).

[Via Daily Motorcycle News]

The Enertia electric motorbike

by Conrad Quilty-Harper, posted Jul 8th 2007 at 10:24AM

The electric motorbike scene is so in right now, with the fourth that we've written about in the last two months being the Brammo Enertia. The Enertia is a plug-in bike that does 0-60 MPH in under 4 seconds and can go for up to 50 miles on one charge. Brammo is an Ashland, Oregon-based manufacturer that designed and built the bike, making sure that the bike has six 12 Volt lithium-phosphate batteries -- which don't blow up when punctured, unlike Lithium Ion models. It only weighs 275 pounds too, and most of the weight is near the road because the fuel tank isn't needed. The only problem now is the price: $14,995 for the "Carbon" model, and $11,995 for a later model once production is ramped up.

Solar motorbike uses snail shell shape for surface area

by Conrad Quilty-Harper, posted Jun 24th 2007 at 4:45PM

Powering a car with solar panels is a relatively easy task, but on a motorbike it's a lot harder to find flat surfaces to catch the sun. That means that a solar powered motorbike has got to look rather odd in order to provide enough surface area for the panels: hence the snail shell-like design of SunRed's prototype solar powered bike. When (or if) SunRed completes a real world prototype, the bike's surface area will be 25 square feet, allowing the bike to store enough of the sun's energy to ride for 13 miles at speeds of up to 30 MPH. The motor is integrated into the wheel too, so there's no transmission. Once these "green" bike thinkers sort out the problem of running a bike without oil, we hope they'll move onto making them a little less fugly. It seems like a precedent is being set here.

[Via Autoblog Green]

Lithium Ion motorbike prototype is emission and sound-free

by Conrad Quilty-Harper, posted Jun 2nd 2007 at 3:06PM

Now that Tesla Motors has resurrected the electric car in screeching sports car form, it's the turn of the motorbike to get all Lithium Ioned up. While it's not the first electric motorcycle, it is possibly the most rough and ready design: if you can afford the $15,000 odd fee for a custom modification, a team at the Electric Motorsport shop in Oakland will take out the nasty engine in your ride and replace it with an array of Lithium Ion batteries. As a prototype, the company created a fully electric version of the Yamaha R1 which has a top speed of 100MPH, a range of 100 miles, does 0-60 in 3 seconds, and looks pretty damn ugly to tell the truth. Ya' see, the number of brick sized Lithium Ion batteries required to eke out this level of performance is 28, which have to fit all willy nilly underneath the bike. Fortunately, the company hopes to produce a more refined production model, as well as a cheaper design with less advanced performance.

[Via Digg]