From the monthly archives:

December 2005

The Art of the Motorcycle

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 12/24/2005

in Motorcycle Design, Motorcycle Shows, Vintage Motorcycles

Do you ever catch yourself staring at a motorcycle? I don’t mean just looking at bikes, we all do that, I mean staring at a machine because it looks so damn good, everything is just right, every part relates to everything else, nothing added that doesn’t belong, it catches your eye and you smile. It [...]

Motorcycle air pollution

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 12/23/2005

in Economics and Politics, Motorcycle Business, Science frontiers

A group over in Switzerland has just concluded a study and they’re pointing their finger at motorcycles as being nasty little air polluters. The study by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research says motorcycles emit “16 times more hydrocarbons, three times more carbon monoxide and a ‘disproportionately high’ amount of other air [...]

{ 7 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Aermacchi isn’t a name you see very often these days unless you spend your time at vintage race events but Aermacchi motorcycles are some of the sweetest looking little machines around. Aermacchi made and still makes aircraft over in Italy. Back around 1950, they got into the motorcycle business and started building small displacement motorcycles, [...]

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Motorcycle Rings and other Motorcycle Jewelry

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 12/22/2005

in Motorcycle Accessories

Too late for the holidays but if you’re a biker, and you need just the right thing to subtly show what you think about all the time, try these motorcycle rings. Ulrich Ehlers makes jewelry over in Germany. A lot of it is oriented to the biker crowd and it’s pretty neat. Every now and [...]

{ 1 reader commented, what do you say? }

How should motorcycles adapt for aging riders? If you’ve been on the road since the 60’s or 70’s, you, ahem, … we, might begin looking for a few things on our bikes the twenty something rider wouldn’t think about.
There was an interesting article yesterday on how the automotive industry is changing as it recognizes [...]

{ 1 reader commented, what do you say? }

So, Yamaha wants a hybrid motorcycle before the end of the decade. Can someone explain why? When Yamaha president Takashi Kajikawa said that was one of his goals for the company, it had me scratching my head. A couple months ago I said there was no need for hybrid motorcycles (right before the Gen-Ryu appeared) [...]

{ 13 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Smartuki video

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 12/19/2005

in Motorcycle Builders, Workshop & Tools

Here’s a video of the Smartuki in action. If you doubt that motorcycle powered cars have potential, you need to see this. Also listen, it sure doesn’t sound like your average Smart car!
Update: I also came across this video of a Smart car running into a barrier for those of you who think they [...]

{ 11 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Vespa exploded view

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 12/19/2005

in Alternative thinking, Motorcycle Shows, Workshop & Tools

Cutaway drawings and exploded views are a neat way to see how mechanical things go together but what if you did it with the real thing? There was an art exhibit in Turin where the artist took three Vespa scooters, left one intact, removed the outer panels on the next and completely disassembled the third. [...]