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Bosch jet thruster blasts your motorcycle out of a skid
Modern motorcycles have gained safety features like antilock brakes and even (experimental) self-balancing, but riders still highly exposed in crashes. Bosch is trying to stop accidents in the first place in a crazy new way: using jet thrusters. Let's say you've leaned into a steep curve, hit a patch of gravel or sand and started to slide in an unrecoverable way. A sensor will detect the wheel slip and fire gas from an airbag-type accumulator out of a tank side nozzle, creating a reverse thrust that miraculously rights your motorcycle.
Skully plans to ship its Fenix AR motorcycle helmet by summer
It's been a rollercoaster year for Skully. After failing to deliver on its IndieGoGo crowdfunding promises, the company appeared all but dead in August 2016 when LeEco passed on acquiring the firm. However, Skully has since found new owners, resumed development of its AI-guided, AR-enabled Fenix motorcycle helmet and announced plans to begin shipping by this summer.
Honda's 2018 Gold Wing is the first motorcycle with CarPlay
Most of the automakers announcing their adoption of Apple's CarPlay have mentioned them in reference to cars, and for good reason: It only works with screens, which are starting to become widespread on new 4-wheeled vehicles. But on Tuesday, Honda revealed that the new edition of its Gold Wing touring motorcycle would become the first bike to use Apple's iPhone-porting service.
Zero's latest electric motorcycles can recharge in an hour
Zero Motorcycles' electric bikes can be fun to ride, but recharging is another matter entirely. It's tough to wait hours when all you want to do is go back on the open road. That shouldn't be such a problem with the company's just-introduced 2018 models. If you use a 6kW Charge Tank accessory with the newest Zero S, SR, DS and DSR, you can charge up to six times faster -- as little as an hour for the S or DS ZF7.2 when you plug into an ordinary Level 1 outlet. Models with larger batteries can still top up in two hours if you use a Level 2 EV charger. Neither charging rate is as speedy as filling a gas tank, of course, but they're fast enough that you could come home with a low battery and head out again after dinner.
Motorcycle helmets finally get decent heads-up display navigation
I'm a huge proponent of reducing any and all distractions while riding a motorcycle, scooter, or moped. Helmets and padded gear are great, but when you get down to it, riders are still just squishy people zipping through traffic next to giant machines that could kill you if a driver sneezes or decides to text a friend. So the idea of a HUD (Heads Up Display) for a motorcycle is equal parts intriguing and terrifying.
Zero’s DS 6.5 motorcycle was built for urban commuters
For other riders, an electric motorcycle is a two-wheeled invitation to talk. It's the lack of sound that initially tips them off. They always ask about range and speed. But mostly range. How far can they ride before they would have to plug in? With the new Zero Motorcycles DS 6.5, it's a conversation that requires explaining a few caveats about its 67 mile in-city range (it has a smaller battery so it's cheaper and lighter). Surprisingly, they get it.
BMW's latest motorcycle concept links futuristic style and tech
No doubt, BMW has come up with some cool conceptual vehicles lately, with a color-changing Mini and a futuristic, self-driving Next 100 auto. Its Motorrad Vision Next 100 motorcycle, revealed last October, is maybe the coolest yet with a gyroscopic system designed to keep riders upright and safe no matter what. It also looks pretty, well, rad. The company's latest electric motorcycle, the BMW Motorrad Concept Link, is based on the first Next 100 but brings a more refined, commuter-friendly style to the idea of a zero-emission electric motorcycle.
Harley-Davidson embraces the potential of electric motorcycles
Bikers interested in going green have reason to rejoice today. Harley-Davidson has already shown off its prototype Livewire electric bike, and it's promised to offer you a real one in the next five years. Today, the motorcycle manufacturer said it has plans to make 100 new motorcycles over the next 10 years, including an entire range of electric vehicles.
The Alta Redshift MX brings electricity to the dirt track
It's been a long time since I've ridden anything motorized on dirt, but I do remember the noise. The growl of the ATC I rode as a kid, the dirt bikes that sounded like lawnmowers with the muffler replaced with a megaphone. That racket is such a fundamental part of the off-road experience that children put playing cards in their spokes to recreate the sound. But that might change, thanks to the Alta Motors' Redshift MX. The Bay Area-based company is electrifying the race track, and if you can handle the $15,000 price tag, the results are tremendous.
Honda's amazing self-balancing motorcycle defies gravity
Keeping a motorcycle upright at high speeds is simple -- mostly you just have to hang on. Yet when a bike is slowly cruising through a parking lot, in traffic, or at a stop, balance is handled by the rider. That can be difficult on larger, heavier cycles like cruisers. Honda's trying to make bike stability easier with its new Riding Assist technology.
Six amazing all-electric motorcycles
By Cat DiStasio Zero-emissions cars are popping up left and right, but motorcycle design has been a little late to the game. Yet, all-electric motorcycles and are zooming down the streets in increasing numbers. With varying engine sizes, charging times and driving ranges, each new electric motorcycle that hits the market offers something unique. From far-out futuristic designs that look like something Batman would ride to bikes that could have driven off a Star Wars set, cutting-edge electric motorcycles have broken the early trend that suggested EVs ought to look like dorkier versions of their fossil fuel counterparts. Other electric motorcycles target ambitious performance standards -- from blistering top speeds to longer driving ranges and even some fun features like built-in LED effects.
Zero's latest electric motorcycles boast 200+ mile range
With some of the world's biggest bike makers now dedicating time to electric models, Zero Motorcycles knows it has its work cut out. The company has spent the last 10 years refining its gas-free lineup, gradually adding more power and (more importantly) increasing the range, giving riders the incentive they need to make the jump. For its 2017 roster, Zero has done the same again, updating its Zero S, Zero SR, Zero DS, Zero DSR, Zero FX and Zero FXS models, giving some the ability to go 200 miles on a single charge.
BMW's motorcycle of the future doesn't require a helmet
BMW has unveiled a slew of concept vehicles to mark its 100th birthday, but its fourth and last example might be the most daring. Its new Motorrad Vision Next 100 concept motorcycle would supposedly be so smart that you wouldn't need a helmet, or even a padded suit. The key would be a self-balancing system that keeps the bike upright whether or not you're moving -- newcomers wouldn't have to worry about toppling over, and veterans could push limits further than usual.
The After Math: FIRST!
Now that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has come right out and declared "America First", a popular slogan among white nationalists throughout the country, here's a look at some of the other precedent-setting events of the week. Microsoft announced that it's getting into the legal weed game. Regulators have been presented with a proposal for the first US-based human CRISPR experiment. And Broadway announced that it will take the unprecedented step of livestream a musical. Numbers, because how else will we know how unpopular the presidential candidates are?
Harley-Davidson will make an electric motorcycle in 5 years
Harley-Davidson wasn't just fooling around when it showed off its electric Project LiveWire motorcycle. In a chat with the Milwaukee Business Journal, the bike maker's Sean Cummings says that there will be an electric Harley within the next 5 years. That's 2021, if you want to mark your calendar. He's not giving any clues as to what this e-bike will entail, but it probably won't resemble the 2014-era LiveWire.
This freaky electric motorbike was 3D printed with metal powder
The Light Rider is an electric motorbike that weighs just 77 pounds and has a frame like an alien skeleton. Its creator, Airbus subsidiary APWorks, crafted the bike with 3D printing -- but it's not plastic. The hollow frame is aircraft-grade aluminum (this is Airbus, after all) and it takes shape via thousands of thin metal layers produced in a bed of metal powder.
BMW has the first smart emergency system for motorcycles
While cars and trucks have long had smart emergency systems to send help in the event of a crash (think services like OnStar), motorcycles have had to go without -- a scary thought if you've ever worried about wiping out miles away from help. That's where BMW might just save the day, though. It's introducing the first smart emergency tech for motorbikes, Intelligent Emergency Call, to give the two-wheel crowd a proper safety net. You can trigger it yourself, such as when you need to help a fellow motorist, but the real magic comes with its automatic responses.
Meet the Silicon Valley company bringing electricity to motorcross
Brisbane is a quiet community nestled between San Francisco and the awkwardly named South San Francisco. It consists of drab commercial parks that Highway 101 commuters overlook while heading in and out of Silicon Valley. In one of these gray buildings sits Alta Motors. Like the rest of its neighbors, its exterior calm is only interrupted by the occasional car driving by. But soon, this tiny factory will be bustling with the production of off-road motorcycles and supermoto bikes. They won't be as quiet as their surroundings, but they'll be pretty close.
BMW's motorcycle helmet is the connected future on two wheels
In addition to bringing its highly connected concept car to CES, BMW also showed off a HUD helmet that syncs with its ConnectedRide platform delivering a plethora of information right into the face of riders. While it's extremely unlikely it'll ever become available for cycles from other manufacturers, owners of two-wheeled BMWs might want to take notice.
ICYMI: Future motorcycle, brain membrane breakthrough & more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Doctors were able to bypass the blood-brain barrier to deliver medicine to the brain quickly. Yamaha's new electric concept motorcycle is getting attention from even the non-motorcyclists in the office. And a YouTuber constructed a real-life Dejarik gaming table that took him 11 months to complete; well worth seeing.
